Best Interface For Pro Tools (2025 Updated)

I have just gotten into recording music and didn’t want to invest too much into the equipment. I have been familiar with the Focusrite brand for a long time, and knew that a lot of my musician friends use their interfaces for their own professional recordings.

I checked a lot of reviews and validated those assumptions. I bought this and have loved using it. Just having it plugged in constantly is a huge source of inspiration. I can fire up my DAW and start playing immediately knowing that I am getting a very clean and crisp instrument signal with negligible latency.

I only use this with a guitar and a violin so I don’t have firsthand experience with using a mic. I also do not have studio monitors so I just monitor with a pair of Audio Technica m50x’. I could not be more pleased with the performance of this interface.

My only gripes with it are the lack of a direct / USB blend knob and a usable signal meter. For the former, there is a button that switches from the direct signal to the USB one, but having the ability to blend the two would help if you need to play along to a backing track.

For the latter, I get that the glowing ring is cool looking, but it’s not actionably useful if you’re trying to monitor your gain levels. By the time you see the red ring, you’re already clipping making it difficult to adjust in real-time.

Otherwise this is a GREAT interface and incredible value for money. I can’t recommend this enough for beginners in home recording or even for pros who don’t need more than two inputs.

I bought this because I need guitar and mic inputs. I have been using it daily since I received it three days ago and I have not encountered any problems so far. Aesthetics: The metal shell is attractive and it is not very reflective so it does not create any glare from my computer monitor even in the dark.

I only wish it came in multiple colors. The face is well designed and everything is labeled clearly. The buttons and knobs all look nice. Hardware Quality: I have to say that I could probably drop this on my kitchen floor and the unit would be fine.

The only breakable parts are the input gain knobs because they protrude about 1/3 inch from the face. Speaking of knobs, the monitor volume knob is very smooth and satisfying. The input gain knobs are stiffer to turn, but this is not a problem as it makes them much more precise.

Sound Quality: I haven’t experienced anything other than clear sound from all of the inputs and outputs. Portability: This is a big thing for me because I don’t like to have a bunch of cords to unplug every time I want to move my equipment.

The single USB-C makes it possible to simply unplug the entire device from my laptop and take my laptop with no hassle or I can just unplug it from my laptop and plug it into a different device. Overall this is a very good product, especially for the price.

I haven’t found any compromises or issues yet.

I’ve purchased two of these so far. One was a while back which we use to record voice overs on a Windows 10 PC at a TV station. We’ve had no trouble with it at all. The other was purchased more recently.

I needed a clean balanced output on a computer running Ubuntu (a Linux/GNU based operating system). After trying the one I had already bought, I purchased another. It’s not officially supported, but it seems to work OK.

I did have one instance of having to unplug the device and plug it back in to get audio working in a particular application, but I’m not sure if I should blame the audio interface for that yet.

I started out with live meeting production and podcasting with a traditional mixer that had a 2×2 interface. I thought having the hardware effects on board made it the best choice. But since upgrading and implementing this, I have direct control over levels and eq from the same PC I’m streaming from.

HOWEVER. This states that it comes with a version of pro tools, and it doesn’t. This is mostly due to pro tools no longer offering that particular version and no fault of M-Audio. Voicemeeter is a better ASIO live application anyways, but the advertising needs to be updated.

Remember that line from Jurassic Park? The kid picks up the cool goggles and the lawyer says, “Are they heavy?” The kid goes, “Yes” and the lawyer replies, “That means it’s expensive, put them back. ” HA! The M-Audio Air 192/14 is heavy and expensive but WORTH IT! The performance is so smooth and the unit will give a boost to your audio creation because the professional build lowers your buffer rate on the computer.

It’s really amazing. It has double headphone jacks, a slew of channels to plug all your gear into, vintage switches, bright LEDs and the HUGE KNOB is my favorite part (get your mind out the gutter) The knob is smooth and so convenient to use as the master out.

I am more than pleased with this unit, WAY MORE THAN PLEASED! The M Audio Air 192/14 is the central hub of my studio.

I’ve used an M-Audio 2-channel audio interface for over 4 years now. Before that, I used an MBox. I’ve never needed more inputs or any sends in my small home studio until recently. So, when I got extra money from this whole pandemic crisis, I decided it would be an appropriate time to upgrade my studio.

I believe this was a perfect step up in my game. Setting it up is a little more cumbersome than my M-Audio device was. The M-Audio I had was literally just plug and play- once I plugged it in, the computer found the drivers and everything and it worked right away out of the box.

I still went and downloaded the external controller for it from M-Audio’s website. But, I didn’t HAVE to do that for it to work. This Scarlett unit does require you to go ahead and download some software and install it for it to be of use.

However, it also has more than just two inputs to deal with- there’s also the sends, which the M-Audio device didn’t have. I don’t hear any latency or buzz or anything in the unit and it is immediately responsive to the controls.

It also has dual headphone outputs, so I can have an artist in my studio getting a feed directly from the box instead of having to use a splitter or anything to send them a signal. The sends are also nice because I have some stuff that was recorded previously at another studio and I have some outboard FX I’ve inherited that I wanted to be able to run those recordings through.

Now I can do that. This is a perfectly good mid-level AI for a home studio or portable recording purposes. I would definitely recommend it (it was recommended to me) and would certainly purchase again if given a second chance.

The only reason I rated it 4 instead of 5 stars is because I reserve 5 star ratings for products that REALLY wow me, when this merely met all of my expectations.

I’ve had this item for about 3 weeks and it’s been a joy to have! The first thing I noticed as soon as I unboxed this interface is the build quality! This thing is made to last! It’s extremely well built and this makes it great if you’re on the go.

The knobs have great precision and resistance for you to make meticulous adjustments to your inputs and outputs. I really love the dual headphone jacks and with Focusrite Control you’re able to control what comes out from your interface! One thing I wish was possible to toggle would be the Air feature on the inputs.

You have to toggle the Air feature through the Focusrite Control software. Also just note that this interface is NOT powered through USB! It needs its external power adapter (which is included with various adapters for international use).

Other than that, the Air feature is outstanding! It gives it some really airy openness on vocals and also instruments (especially on acoustic guitars. For some it might add some harsh frequencies, but it’s nothing a bit of EQ cannot solve! I use it along Ableton and also Logic Pro and it’s helped me separate sounds coming out of the interface through it’s various outputs for more volume control in live performance settings! This has totally met my expectations and beyond! For anyone looking for a great, reliable and flexible interface for live performance or small band recordings, look no further! This is an awesome piece of equipment and worth the money!.

I upgraded from an 18i6 gen 1 and it’s a great device, it includes feedback loop capability which the old one didn’t. That makes capturing sound direct from the pc via Yt/web etc simple. It’s look and feel are solid and smooth with good visual cues from the various lights that show all active inputs and settings.

Setup was a breeze and a minimal amount of effort was all I needed to have it installed as my daw interface using Pro Tools. The Focusrite control software is very easy to use and everything you need to adjust is easy to find and do in the software.

It’s early days still but the sound quality is excellent.

I am so glad I purchased this Audio interface. I also purchased the MPC Live with this unit and they are a powerhouse together. This interface works great with Protools and PreSonus Studio 1 software.

It has a quick response on the automated fader, and has great quality sound. It doesn’t have midi, but I don’t need it. The MPC Live has all my Midi and CV needs.

Works like a charm especially in applications like resolve and paired with shure SM7B. The usb capability also adds that modern touch and the two XLR inputs allows this interface to work great for podcasting.

Setting it up is easy and updates are also consistent. Has a lot more controls than most interfaces, and also works well with the M1 Mac OS.

Works great with Ubuntu 18. 04 linux, qjackctl, ardour, & audacity. The input/playback knob is invaluable to find the right balance when recording vocals over the other tracks. I’m exchanging it because the USB input is flaky and it drops power sometimes when I’m changing cables in the front, even though I’m trying to be careful not to move the box around at all.

Hopefully the next box won’t be flaky. If I don’t update the review after this, assume the new box is good-to-go. Cuz if it’s bad I’ll probably come back to drop it down a few stars. Because of the options on this little box I would actually rate it at 4.

5 stars. Would be nice if it had an external power supply option.

I have used this USB interface steadily for about a week now and so far so good. I had to buy it when I switched to recording on a Mac because my old m-audio interface is now obsolete and there aren’t any new Mac drivers.

The only issue I had was in using the new box as my input with the Mac’s direct output to headphones for monitoring. This created some sort of ungrounded circuit which resulted in a lot of buzzing. When I switched to using the box as the monitor instead, everything was fine.

Clear sound, no problems. Works immediately with Mac – no need to download drivers. I wish the metal switches on the front were push buttons instead because they seem a little flimsy, but they work, so that’s my only complaint.

While I have not used other similar products to compare it with, this compact and useful box connects a variety of input and output ports to computer using provided USB-B to USB-A cable. (Presumely a USB-B to USB-C cable would work similarly, but need to buy separately.

) XLR, 1/4 phone, RCA, MIDI ports all available. Note headphone jack is 1/4, so converter is needed for 1/8 mini jack (and mine fits straight but not right-angle plugs, which is a minor limitation); ideally I’ll like a 1/8 output jack too.

Audio in and out are recognized immediately on Linux. Biggest issue I have is that both dynamic and condensor (using built-in phantom power) mics output is low even at max gain, and using 5V DC power source.

Haven’t tried yet but I might run through a preamp first to boost (and EQ) signal, though that would conflict with having efficient setup that this unit otherwise provides.

The Zoom U-24 portable audio interface is easy to use with any DAW. The two inputs take XLR & 1/4 inch male plugs so you can record two electric guitars, or acoustic guitars, or one of each, or one with vocal at once.

Also has midi in & out & headphone monitor. Very portable. Great for the price.

For a portable unit its quite big but when you realise how many ports they had to cram in it makes sense. Really clean audio with low noise however as with any interface you wont get the benefit of this unless you are using balanced jacks.

2i2 gen 3 – Excellent interface, I route my mic and guitar (active and passive) or bass through this interface to ableton live light and I have the audio routed to two monitors or monitor headphones or both.

It is capable of monitoring in mono or stereo (one input on each side) the plugins work amazingly although a bit difficult to set up, but that is mostly the windows operating system. The sound quality is excellent and I use a bunch of different pedals in the front end.

Sometimes I will route through an amp and send audio out to the front of the interface and sometimes I will use the interface in front of an amp; either way it functions flawlessly and after seeing many other interfaces in action I can’t find a better one for this price.

I would recommend this for anyone doing home recording. It functions well with all of the DAWs I have used and comes with protools first, and licenses for a bunch of plug-ins to get started. I have been using this interface for a year consistently, almost every day, and I have yet to experience all of its capabilities.

The drivers are updatable and I do not notice any lag. This little red box is totally capable of replacing a huge pedal board if used with the right MIDI foot controller. I also use the interface with my Launchpad Pro and have no issues with audio routing.

5 stars highly recommended!.

I purchased a Scarlett 2i2 new from Musician’s Friend a few years ago. Immediately after receiving the interface, I plugged it into my Mac and recorded several tracks in GarageBand. The interface was simple to set up and worked seamlessly.

for about an hour. When it quit working, I assumed that I had set up something incorrectly, and decided it was a sign that I needed to put it down to take care of other responsibilities at the time. Without ever getting back to troubleshooting, I eventually put everything back into the original packaging and stored it in a closet with my other gear and put recording on the backburner.

I have since pulled the Scarlett 2i2 back out of the box to begin recording again only to find out that the interface is still inoperative. It still will not recognize any instrument or microphone plugged into either input on the face of the box.

The gain LED’s do not light up, but will give an intermittent orange flash that is probably an error code of sorts. I have gone through all technical support articles on Focusrite’s website. I have been in contact with Focusrite via email and over the phone.

I have watched countless YouTube videos of other users with the same or similar issues. I have dug through forums to explore other potential solutions. All to no avail. The last bit of advice I got was from Focusrite telling me the interface had an internal hardware issue and that it would need to be replaced.

Ultimately, the issue is that this product didn’t last more than an hour in a home studio. Before purchasing this product, run a few Google searches to see just how many people have encountered input issues with the Scarlett.

You’ll be surprised. With added longevity, it would be worth every bit of 5-stars. The sound quality was great for home use, and the unit was simple to use. However, although the price is very appealing, I would highly recommend spending the money for a more reliable USB interface.

I have several 2-input interfaces I’ve used over the years, including a Fast Track Pro and the gen 1 Scarlett 2i2. I set up a test using my Rode NT2A mike (and a couple others) to compare those boxes with my new 2i2 Gen 2.

There is definitely a difference in clarity between this box and the two older ones. Even when a friend assisted to the tests would be “blind”, I could consistently identify the Gen 2. I was NOT able to distinguish between the Fast Track Pro and the 2i2 Gen 1; they both produced slightly muddier recordings.

It was enough of a difference that I immediately switched everything over to the 2i2 Gen 2. THEN I noticed that the CPU use in Ableton Live had gone up significantly when I played back some complicated sessions, and even caused a particularly complex one to stutter – which had never happened with the Fast Track Pro.

I tested to see if it was because I had the 2i2 Gen 2 set at a higher bitrate (96K) but even on 44100 the CPU usage for the 2i2 Gen 2 is higher. I’m not sure if this is due to the Fast Track having a more efficient driver – but it worries me a little and cost this interface a star.

Most of the work I do is not very complex, so this should be fine for most recordings. I’ll keep the Fast Track Pro around, though, in case I need it for more complex work.

Great interface if you want a portable equipment of good quality. The monitoring possibilities are great, there is the difference with other interfaces of equal quality. If you decide for her, just be careful when you turn off the computer, first turn off your monitors or you will feel how they are beaten.

For whatever reason whenever the ONE interface is plugged in, my protools crashes when I try to activate the input. Its possible that there may be an issue in my own software, but oddly it never happens when any other interface is plugged in.

I love the device and it works, I just wish I could use it without my protools crashing. or at least knew why this is happening.

An amazing American made product that has unsurpassed quality fidelity and design. I use it daily with my Guitar based film soundtrack music. Absolutely love it ! Highly recommend this must have in any recording studio item.

After a few tests, sounds really good. The gain goes high, knobs feels strong and fluid like a much more coslty device. The noise is a little present when you turn up all levels but it’s acceptable.

Works really well with iOS devices. Little knob selects amount of feedback, something I missed on other micromixers. Only complaint … A tad bulky, if it was smaller it could ride the guitar.

The Scarlett 18i20 Audio Interface is the best option if you’re recording with multiple mics and instruments. Don’t even consider anything else! B&H offers the best price, delivery and service of anyone as well.

so don’t waste your time – shop and purchase with B&H and you can’t go wrong. I’ve been buying photo, computer and sound/recording equipment from them for over 20 years and never had a single bad experience ever!.

I bought a Line 6 UX8 about 10 years ago to record myself and up-and-coming area bands/artists. Recently one of the pres died and two more started on their way out. It was time to replace it. The Scarlett 18i20 (2nd Gen) was comparably priced.

Wow! What a difference 10 years of progress in this technology has made! I followed the link to the Win10 drivers, quickly downloaded and installed them and then plugged in the unit. When I opened Ableton Live it immediately recognized the new unit and was ready to go.

I’ve had 2 recording sessions so far and the pres on this thing are much warmer and have WAY more headroom than my old gear. Plus, it has the light pipe ports that will allow me to add 8 more channels if the need arises; an expansion feature the UX8 sorely lacked.

I’ll be recording a full band very soon and am looking forward to the drum sounds I’ll capture with this thing. I’ve only had it a little less than 2 weeks to date but I’m thrilled with it thus far.

I got this to use with Pro Tools 12 native on my MacBook Pro. I needed something that would work with PT, give me at least 8 analog ins and one S/PDIF in, have low latency, and not cost a fortune. My previous interface, which cost about one and half times as much, was abandoned by its manufacturer, and stopped working permanently in Sierra.

The Focusrite bolted right up to all my I/O, works and sounds great, and has all the I/O I needed. I have an extensive setup of external preamps and compressor/limiters, so I wasn’t so much interested in the preamps in the Scarlett as the balanced I/O, but these do sound great.

I’ve experimented with the onboard preamps compared to my pricier preamps, and they compare very favorably. The switchable levels on the first couple of channels, and the flexible routing through the control app make the 18i20 very versatile.

My only small gripe is that the 1-2 inputs are only accessible from the front. I run a snake from my preamp patch bay to the first 8 channels, and like to be able to have those patched, but be able to patch in from the front with a keyboard or something if needed.

In order to make that work with this unit, I needed to run the 1-2 to another patch bay by the 18i20, and pitch cables to the front 1-2 inputs. Not a big hassle, but a hassle nonetheless.

Once upon a time scoffers would sneer at BEHRINGER as a purveyor of low-end junk. This is an outdated view as, with the falling cost of technology, the current products seem to offer much the same quality as more prestigious brands for a fraction of the cost.

Over the years I’ve use MOTU, Focusrite and RME interfaces and I am not in the least bit offended by the sound of the UMC1820. In fact, it’s exceptionally good. Even the build quality seems comparable.

I chose the product as I now use open source software exclusively and, as a class-compliant interface, was said to work well with Linux. This I can confirm. Just buy it.

I have had this 3 months and love it. I have waited to review this to see how I really felt. I use Studio One and wanted multiple inputs. The inputs are very clear and have no noise, even when cranked up.

I like the fact that all inputs have – Iine/inst and Pad. There are two independent headphone jacks that can be assigned to outputs 1/2 or 3/4, with separate volume control. The headphone outputs have a lot of power.

Even when playing acoustic drums I barely turn them up halfway. It can be expanded by another 8 ins/outs using ADAT. I added a used Behringer ADA8000 Pro-8 using an optical cable and it worked perfectly.

This allowed me to set the units across the room from each other with just one optical and headphone cable. I am running an windows 10 desktop with an I7 and 32gb of ram. I haven’t had any driver or compatibility problems at all.

I was able to set the buffer as low as 64 with no problems. I have several older 2 input interfaces and this sounds so much better. I was considering several different interfaces. I felt that the Focusrite and Presonus would have been reliable, but were out of my price range.

The Tascam interfaces were appealing, but there were so many concerns about the drivers. I have several Behringer products and feel that they are a good brand despite the feelings many have. Unlike a couple other interfaces I have, I am able to adjust the settings and allow my DAW, chrome and the media player to share the interface at the same time.

This makes multi-tasking possible. I think there was a code for Tracktion included in the purchase, but I think Traction may already be free. When I registered there was a link to download some vst effects and instruments.

I think most of these were also free items. I didn’t set it up since I already use Studio One. The only complaint is that the bundle of software might not be as much as comes with other interfaces. For the price and features of the device I feel that extra software isn’t needed.

If you dont need many channels of IO, dont have a rack, but want great sound for home or portable recording, the Duet USB features a fantastic sounding DAC and pres. The built in volume knob and touch screen make basic adjustments a breeze without having to loud up the app on your computer.

And class compliance on the Mac makes using this interface seemless not just for recording with logic, but for use in Zoom, etc.

Apogee Duet is great product for recording audio. It is very versatile and portable. I use when I record on the go as well as in the studio. It is great for the solo artist, acoustic styled music and more.

Most other fire-wire recording devices do not sound as good and are not as integrated with Logic Pro audio application. Lastly, install and setup is rather easy and you should be recording music in less than twenty minutes.

The only problem that I encountered was a popping/clicking noise when I tried recording; having said that, it was my fire-wire port and not the apogee device. After switching the duet to another fire-wire port the problem was remedied and I was off recording (I used the front port on a G5 PPC).

All in all, I’m glad I spent the extra money and got a quality product that meets my standards.

I’ve been a full time musician/engineer for 30 years. Worked in a studio that had neve console and studor tape machine. Now that I’ve transitioned to “in the box” recording I bought this apogee to replace my motu interface and immediately I could tell the difference.

Apogee is the real deal. If you have a Mac. look no further for a stellar interface.

I am pairing this unit up with my Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 to get 18 analog ins. Everything works great! The Clarett Octopre sounds fantastic and I am able to insert all my external preamps to the back of the Octopre for the best sound quality.

Overall, I am very satisfy with the unit.

Upgraded from the scarlet range for the added I/O and preamp circuits. Was well worth the investment. The relatively short user manual gets you up and running quickly and I’ve found zero problems with the software/hardware communication.

The unit itself is solidly constructed and sounds amazing. Perfect for larger I/O requirements such as multitracking or inserting outboard hardware. Very solid investment for a studio centrepiece.

I bought the 4-channel Clarett to replace my aging Digi 003. The 003 works fine but I don’t want to upgrade Pro Tools for it, and I was running into freeze-ups using OS X Capitan with an old version of Pro Tools.

I am running the Clarett to a 2014 Mac Pro with 12 cores and 16 gigs of memory (the one that looks like a black cylinder). It’s a monster desktop machine. The buyer needs to get their own Thunderbolt cable, by the way.

The unit does not come with one. The Clarett is easy to set up–after installing the Focusrite Control app—really just plug and play. I like the ‘Air’ function on the pre-amps that seems to lift and center sounds (I record acoustic guitar mostly).

I found the Focusrite pre-amps not to have as much gain as I wanted, but it was easy to plug in external preamps (an SSL Alpha Channel and a couple Grace Design 101s). I wish the Clarett pre-amps could be defeated with a switch but some web digging revealed that the signal chain goes through them even when they are seen to zero volume.

Ah, well, small thing. I got dropouts when I set the input buffer to 96 samples (1 ms) but that’s ridiculously low latency. I am using it now at 512 samples without issue. Recording at 88khz and 512 samples yields latency of 5.

8 ms. Thunderbolt is really fast. The Clarett can record many more than four channels. It has inputs for 4 XLR channels, 4 line inputs Balanced TRS), and ADAT and SPDIF connections. The digital connections need an external device of course, but I count 16 inputs channels in the config window.

The package of Softube plugins that came with it is a treat. I already had a couple I had paid real money for. TS1 reverb is especially nice. One could want a lot more in their interface, and Universal Audio and other premium companies sell them for thousands.

This unit is hundreds–a huge bargain in comparison.

Overall: I’ve been using this interface for around 3 years now and have never experienced what the only other review (at the time of writing) is talking about with “audio dropping out” and having to unplug it and plug it back in, so not sure who “everyone” is that’s complaining about this.

Sounds like user-error to me, which seems to be a huge problem with user reviews at large – but I digress. For the price point, it’s a decent interface. Anecdotally, the XMAX preamps do impart a somewhat sterile quality in comparison to my much cheaper and smaller SSL 2+.

I have not used the scientific method to back this claim up quite yet, but thought it would be worth mentioning that to my ears there is something about the preamp’s character that I don’t love. Some complaints I have are that you cant manually switch the inputs to LINE mode, you have to insert a TRS cable to do so.

Also, I cannot personally figure out if there is a way to make outputs 1 and 2 separate from the main outs. As far as I can tell, there is no way to do this, so you’re essentially down 2 outs for a total of 6 when you look at it like that (there’s 2 headphone mix outs on the front already).

I spent far too much time spelunking the internet for this information to no avail. This leads me to my final and perhaps most pertinent complaint – the customer support from PreSonus. That is to say, it appears to be non-existent, or at least it did when I tried to contact them via phone for weeks in hopes of finding out whether or not it’s possible to route signals that are NOT identical to the main outs to outputs 1 and 2.

To be fair, this was over a year ago, so hopefully something has changed since then. Their support forums also appeared to be largely abandoned by anyone but confused customers. What dey got goin’ on over dere in baton rouge, them?.

I was *upgrading* my home equipment from a 150 dollar interface, the UR 22 (which has worked perfectly for me for over 6 years and I would recommend over this any day), I have outboard gear and all that fun stuff.

Well, no matter what play back is coming out whether it is my DAW, the internet explorer, windows, doesn’t matter the sound crackles out my left speakers through every output this interface has. The main out puts, both headphone ports and with multiple headphones.

I went to PreSonus customer support, and I waited 14 hours for them to just close my ticket without any warning without giving me a bit of help even after I gave them every piece of information they asked for.

I would not recommend for my worst enemy to deal with PreSonus customer support, ever.

Got this to use with my 3XS system on an X299 A II mobo and a Titan Ridge TB3 card. After a bit of faffing about in the bios with help from Scan, thunderbolt 3 showed it’s face. I then followed the instructions with the Interface.

Once I discovered that every time I switched it on I had to run “Scan for new hardware” in Device Manager, everything is hunky dory. Looking forward to using it in StudioOne 5. It’s great value for the money with all the inputs and outputs you would need (OK, I am a bit jealous of the digitally controlled preamps on the Quantum and Quantum 2, but at this price something had to be left out), plus that latency !.

or should I say lack of it. I’m happily playing my guitar through Helix Native @ 44. 1K, a block size of 16, input 50ms, output 65ms. Almost real time monitoring. This will do for me 🙂 Usual great ordering, service, and fast delivery from Scan.