Best Interfaces For Home Studio (2024 Updated)

I replaced my 2nd generation Scarlett 2i2 with the 3rd generation 4i4. I was a bit skeptical of the software application required to set the inputs to line/instrument, but it turned out to be fairly intuitive.

The unit comes with a pad and air feature. Pad is self explanatory (gain reduction for loud recordings), the air setting is supposed to model some classic microphone preamp or something to that effect.

I’m not totally sure what the difference is, but I’ve left the Air feature on anyways while recording and I’ve been pleased with the results, how much of that satisfaction is a result of the Air setting is hard to say since I haven’t actually done any objective testing but it certainly doesn’t seem to hurt anything by having it on.

Initially, when I got the hardware going on my iMac I experienced significant lag while using Logic at various times, particularly when I was trying to copy logic drum tracks or expand the timeline but also while trying to do basic functions as well.

I was concerned that I would have to get more RAM for my Mac which is problematic because the model I have makes it both difficult and expensive to increase RAM. However, after a few repeated uses the issue seems to have subsided, so I don’t really know what that was about or whether the change in hardware even had anything to do with it, however it definitely was not an issue while I used my 2i2 so it’s something to consider.

I mainly upgraded because I wanted to start using midi with my electronic drum kit and that was basically as easy as plug and play (aside from a couple added steps in Logic which didn’t have anything to do with the 4i4).

However, for some reason the midi tracks seem to cause Logic to experience errors during playback when I close and then reopen a project. Again, can’t say that this is a result of the 4i4 but I’ve been able to resolve the issue by simply quitting Logic entirely before reopening a project which isn’t much of an inconvenience at all.

A great high quality product! Design- I love the sleek and compact design. The red matte metal contrasts well with the glossy black front and back panels. It has more than enough Jack inputs and contains two ports that function as both XLR and Jack inputs- awesome! It has LED’s on the panels which indicate the selected inputs (INST, AIR, PAD) which can be changed via the focusrite interface.

Sound and preformance- Amazing sound quality covering a full range of frequencies! There is also pretty much zero latency so it sounds great and is very much a joy to record with. Handling- For the past couple weeks of use, this audio interface has been very intuitive to use, I’m a novice producer yet I’ve barely had to touch the manual! It also comes with its own interface which allows you to change the inputs and their volumes.

The box has a light around the volume knobs which advises you on the correct volume to have the instrument at (green, orange or red). This interface is also great for troubleshooting when you don’t know whether there’s an issue with the setup or the DAW.

The interface is great. As a first time user there was a bit of a learning curve so a few things I had to find out for myself. First off. If you previously used “ASIO4ALL” for everything, DON’T USE THAT.

use “focusriteASIO” Using ASIO4ALL my recordings were off beat and I had crazy latency. After hours of changing sample rates I found out to just change the setting. I found the direct monitor function to do me no good at all because you can’t adjust the volume of the mic to hear yourself properly when you record.

You can only adjust the gain which then will distort your recording if you turn it up too high. so. useless. Better to just use your DAW. Also I got running noise from my computer going through my monitors from the interface.

Using ground loop isolators degraded the quality of the playback audio. So I found the only options to be deal with it, or pay a crazy amount for a power conditioner. So. I deal. I also didn’t hear much difference in my vocals using the AiR filter.

I have a decent mic, so maybe it helps lower end ones idk. Outside of those things, it works great! No latency, once it’s set up it’s easy to use. It seems solid, and I hear it’s reliable. I hope I can save someone a headache or two.

I normally don’t write reviews but this interface’s drivers and mix software is so bad I thought I might save someone else from having to deal with it. I used it in windows 10. As of 11/21 in order to get the adat inputs to work properly and monitor through the mixer you need to change the sample rate to another rate and back to the one you’re using after powering up (every time).

I learned this after doing some research and apparently this has been a know bug for years. To add insult to injury the real-time mix/monitoring SW is terrible. Its divided into mixes per output pairs, which is fine/workable, but the solo is global and mutes all other busses.

So, if for example, you want only mic one on Adat 3/4 you’d have to mute or turn down every other channel instead of just soloing the channel you want and all faders are up by default. Maybe there’s a shortcut but I had to much to do to find it.

Also there’s no way to save monitor mixes. Also if the mixer is active I think you have to route the HW channels to the logical Adat channels going to the DAW rather through the mix SW then access them directly from the driver unless you bypass the mix software all together loosing no latency input monitoring which makes the solo implementation all the more worse.

I’m not sure I’m describing this properly but it was arcane and annoying. Also, there’s plenty of zipper noise pulling down the bus output faders. It’s pure frustration. The pres and build quality are fine and it comes with some nice bundled sw that I had no use for but would come in handy if you’re starting from zero.

I’d stay away from this box until presonus redesigns the SW. There are decades older options with better functionality and whatever money you’re saving isn’t worth it. Something like: “Presonus is our day job.

Designed by musicians” is proclaimed under the stock photos on the the box. It might be good for them to hire some engineers to work the bugs out.

Thankfully they have changed the rear power input to USBC, which is great news. My last one never got used because the input was broken, it ran a similar cable to a printer. Warranty runs out after one year and I never even got to use it.

It costs the same amount to post out and repair as to buy another new one. Definitely make sure you’re getting USBC. Don’t wrap the cable around when storing and transporting. Unplugging is absolute must.

Take care of your gear. Quality wise, it does the job. If recording directly you will need to have a DAW with VST3I, VST, VST3 files to augment the sound virtually. It basically turns your computer into an amp.

Only for those who wish to record at home and avoid studio costs. Don’t waste your time if you don’t have a computer. Check for Mac compatibility.

I got this interface as a replacement for the MOTU 896HD, as that one was making the audio crackle and sound horribly distorted after several hours. It was even hot to the touch when it was switched on.

This machine? The Focusrite Scarlet 18I20 is the exact opposite of the MOTU! For half the price of the MOTU, I’ve got the best audio ever, without any crackles and mains hums! It’s so amazing it’s not even funny! It even stays cool to the touch no matter how long it’s been switched on! And, unlike the MOTU, it’s made of all metal instead of plastic and cheaply made parts.

Focusrite is a wonderful company. I have their Red3 Dual Compressor and Limiter, which I got in 2004, and it still works wonders to this day! If only Focusrite Control could let you add an audible click when you switch Fantom power and other parameters on and off, for those like me who are sight challenged (I have no sight at all), who can’t see lights.

Other than that, I give this machine 5 stars! Better yet, I give it 1,000,000,000,000,000 stars!.

I wanted a way to leave a few devices connected to an amp for “live” practice and also to a PC for recording. I’d looked at ways to do this with a mixer and an audio interface and then I found this Scarlett 8i6 – which for me has exactly the right options and hit the sweetspot costwise.

It’s a good, solid-feeling device and sound quality is amazing. It needs their routing software to set it up but works as a stand-alone “mixer” without the PC running once it’s been configured. That software is a little bit glitchy but in a way you quickly suss how to work around.

There’s also a huge amount of goodies to download – VSTs and DAWs – and they have regular download offerings and promos for subscribers. Not the cheapest interface but perfect for me and I’d say I got value for money.

I’m not a musician nor a producer, podcaster, YouTuber, nor anyone else who records much, so why did I lay out my own hard earned cash for this thing then? Well, I had a few different needs that this one piece of equipment handles very well.

First and foremost, I’m a music lover. I have a decent sized library of records and a couple of bulging hard drives with ripped cds. I need a way to losslessly rip my records to my computer. I had actually used a Focusrite Saffire but an update to my computer made that piece unusable.

This unit seems to be a step up rather than a near replacement as my rips are coming out clean. I also needed a high quality interface between my computer and hifi and the Scarlett once again handles the job with aplomb.

It sounds pretty fantastic honestly. Very clear and true to the source material. I also do a little online radio show as an excuse to hang out with long distance friends so I needed a good mic input on my computer.

Well that’s what the Scarlett is made for so of course it does that well. It also acts as a dac for playing cds with an old Blu-ray player as a transport. It just works at that too. So one product that’s a vinyl ripper, soundcard, mic input, and s/dif dac and sounds terrific too boot? That’s a home run in my book.

So you don’t have to be a recording engineer or pro musician to get this, I’m letting you know right here and now that it is perfectly at home in a hifi environment as well. You do need to fiddle with it a little and adjust some settings in your computer to get it to jive with your system but it’s not real hard to do.

Once that’s done though you have an incredibly versatile and well built solution to all kinds o audio problems. Well worth the asking price IMO.

I use the interface for my guitars into my computer for virtual amping, and also to record. It was working great until I connected the headphone out of a small lunchbox amp (a 6505 Piranha) to the line in on the Focusrite and the interface screeched at me, then lit up like a Christmas tree, and has stayed that way for 2 days.

Reinstalls, removing power, etc, it refuses to register in Device Manager in Win 10. I’m pretty sure its toast, and I don’t know why. The use case is something its already made for. Other than this incident Ive had Focusrite interfaces before and they were great, this is the first one out of three over the last 4 yrs that I’ve had a problem with.

The others were sold/traded to others so I could upgrade to whatever the next one was. Now im at a place where I need more inputs and outputs, so I got the 8I6-up until this incident it was exactly what I needed for the size footprint that I have.

The software routing is a little wonky, and Id like that it had more tactile button control rather than having to use Focusrite control for everything, but overall its a solid unit. I can’t find any situations like mine on the Web, Reddit, etc, so this particular incident sounds to be pretty limited.

Overall: I recieved my Onyx Producer as a gift. I also have an Audient iD14, so it’s easy to do a side by side, A/B comparison between the two. 1st off. Hat’s off to the build quality from Mackie, this interface is a top choice for mobile uses.

The Mackie driver installs/works perfectly in every DAW I tried it with, basically every DAW. Really is built like a tank, knobs/pots are heavy duty and smooth. Not average anything will do, this unit uses premium parts.

I would give this a 4 star if an Audient iD14 is a 5 star, preamp and headphone-wise. The MIDI i/o is the extra plus of the Producer 2-2. This unit made me a Mackie believer, it has out-performed interfaces twice the price of this one.

Again, it’s nice to have zero driver issues no matter what DAW I use in Windows. Headphone amp is above average, not equal to the iD14’s though. Plenty of mic gain, I like them because they don’t add anything to signal.

An excellent mobile interface; it’s solid plus reliable and surprisingly inexpensive.

I was using the line in on a sound blaster X-Fi plat to record into my DAW from a Mackie mixit 8. This meant the inevitable loss of range and woeful latency, an absolute nightmare for recording vocals.

I also have stereo sound sources that I wanted to record (External synth and VT03). The 2 inputs being able to take the left and right channel for stereo (From the mixer) is great, with the added bonus of midi ports for my synth.

The sound quality and low latency from this device is fantastic, all the synth sounds are coming through bright and clear. Vocals from the VT03 sound as they should with very minor latency that is barely noticeable (At maximum resolution!).

I would definitely recommend this to anyone starting out with computer music – it is the missing piece that completes my home studio and certainly did not disappoint.

the Onyx does just as advertised, simply and at an unbeatable price. Good clean signal from my e. guitar and mic inputs, playback sounds good. Just make sure you check its input/output levels are up in the Audio/MIDI Setup controls (Mac); I didn’t at first and couldn’t get even close to a loud enough output from the Producer, thought it was a bad unit and about to return it when I stumbled upon Audio/MIDI Setup.

Was just used to my previous Apogee Duet which uses their Maestro software to set levels instead of CoreAudio.

I did purchase this device because it has a good usability, and is known to have enough gain to drive even problematic microphones. I tested it with two different microphones. The Sure SM58 works perfectly with this interface.

There is especially no white noise on the line. So if you have a dynamic microphone then this interface might be a good fit. The AT2020 is a condenser mic and this one didn’t work as well as with other audio interfaces that I tested.

Switching the phantom power on (which is necessary for this mic) results in a hearable white noise on the line. I listened to other Youtube videos and could hear the same issue with the AT2020 on their recordings.

I guess it is the built-in amp. Another Audio-interface of another company didn’t show the same issue with the same settings (-12. -16dB). Another indicator that it could be the built-in mic amp is that I was able to solve the issue by adding a phantom powered in-line preamp that adds 25dB of gain by itself.

This allowed me to lower the application of the Wave XLR down to a degree that I don’t hear the white noise anymore by being able to record clean audio at -12. -16dB. Pros: – Software is cool and does what it is intended to do – The interface itself is really simple to use.

The LED indicators are allowing to fine tune the levels quite fine-grained – Works great with dynamic mics Contra: – UX of the software Wave Link could be better (e. g. , enabling/disabling monitoring output) – I had issues with the AT2020 producing too much white noise.

I suspect that this is an issue with other phantom powered mics, too.

Pros – Device makes everything simplified through software only. -Great routing through easy User Interface Cons – Software will crash randomly and all of your audio will stop – Bad Support, the company doesn’t have solutions for the many bugs of the device and software.

– You cannot get a best buy warranty for this device and it really needs it Overall while it does what it advertises, it does not do it consistently. There will be issues at random times. If you are using this for recording, content, or even basic calls.

Then this will be a major inconvenience.

Are you a streamer and want to take your audio to the next level? Buy this instead of the GoXLR. It cost less and with the wave link software access, you have all that audio control for your stream. No USB mic usage wit this, need XLR mic and cable.

I upgraded to the Blue Spark SL Black with this and my mic quality is superb! Setup is easy, but you do need to make some changes in your audio output settings in your system to work flawlessly with the Wave XLR.

Once it it set-up, you might shed a tear that it works extremely well.

Heard nothing but great things about this unit and SSL as a whole. Saldy I was sent a faulty unit and didnt notice until after the 30 days returns online window but still covered under warranty. I was told I needed to pay for shipping to get my unit repaired.

making the cost of the unit sky rocket to a price it was not ever worth. Bad business practices when it comes to getting what you paid for. My unit came with channel one broken making am noise but is was so quite I didnt notice for months when I was trouble shooting another issues.

Id stay away from SSL for their customer support alone. I’ve never heard any thing but great things about ssl but sadly that was not my case at all. After reading reviews a finish user had the same issues with his unit as well must.

Be a common problem.

I was sceptical about the price point but knew that if it was coming out of the SSL factory it at least needed to be tried out! All in all an amazing product that is easy to use straight out of the box and looks and sounds amazing! The 4K switch adds a subtle bit of presence and bite to the signal that is reminiscent of the 4000 series they are so well known for.

The plugins that come with it are handy also though I’m not sure how often I’ll be using them! Either way, free plugins are never a bad thing! Highly recommend!.

Long time user of the Bid Red, and it was about time I dipped my hands into something silver and with the biggest reputation in audio alongside the other big names in the industry. Best, upgrade I’ve ever done in the past year or so-even though this product just came out last year with covid hit.

Only compromise I had to deal with was to lose two channels from the usual 4 I carried with me to remote recordings, but we’re talking about SSL here. You can’t go wrong here, especially with the 4K feature bring so much life into your source for playback, and recording.

Highly recommend this to anyone that is either starting out in audio or has been experienced int he studio and live environment.

Rock solid performance using the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter. I had this connected to an OWC Dock and frequently switched the dock between a work laptop, a home laptop, and a Windows 10 desktop with an Alpine Ridge interface.

It’s had zero problems in about 2 years. Everything has been perfect. It has the interesting feature of allowing you to set levels and enable/disable phantom power via MIDI CC. The only catch is that the manual mixes up 0 and 127 for the phantom power toggle, but it’s easy to figure out.

Also, phantom power for each of the four inputs is controllable separately. It’s super useful to have a few presets for levels for different instruments.

Overall: Hands down, the Presonus Quantum has exceeded every expectation and hope I had. From the build quality to routing, ease of use and functionality – Quantum has it all. To preface, I work as a studio engineer.

My system revolves around Logic Pro X. I’m far more into ease of use over esoteric and expensive gear. So I skip the studio’s Neve preamps and Avid converters for a streamlined approach. After years of using a MOTU 8pre as my main interface, I needed to upgrade to something with far more versatility.

I bought a Focusrite Clarett interface. But I found the mix software to be less than intuitive. So I sold the interface and sprung for the Quantum. And boy am I thrilled I did. I’ve been using the Quantum for the last 6 months.

Here are some of the features I adore about this thing: + Latency is Non-Existent The Quantum’s major billing is how fast it is. The latency is non-existent thanks to its Thunderbolt connection. But on top of that, the Quantum has no obtrusive Mix Software.

You know how interfaces always have their own mix software? Well as far as I’ve gathered that Mix Software exists to circumvent any issues around Software Monitoring and Latency. But the mix software itself, it turns out, adds its own latency.

So Quantum skips the middle man and ditched the Mix Software. This is perfect, because I much prefer monitoring through Logic. Quantum does come with software to manage preamp levels, phantom power and outputs of the hardware unit.

But there’s no middle man here. Software Monitoring within the DAW is all you need. + Talkback Mic The integrated Talkback system is worth the price tag alone! Instead of having to pick up a separate talkback to patch in, Presonus included one with Quantum.

Fire up a track, set it’s input to Input 27, and you’re off to the races. The Talk and Dim switches are easy to engage. I say download SoundRadix’s free Muteomatic plugin and you won’t have to wear the buttons out.

That’s what I use, so I’m able to leave the talkback running for the whole session. + Recall-able Digital Preamps Digital preamps are the way to go! I love being able to set these preamps to a specific value.

And when I turn off the unit and return later, Quantum remembers the values. Digital Audio rules for its instant recall-ability. Now there’s an interface that capitalizes on the brilliance of digital technology.

Each channel is accessible through two buttons under an infinite rotary knob. Press the left or right buttons to flip through the channels. Use the rotary knob to adjust the channel’s volume. I was a little nervous because none of the channels have any sort of dB pad.

But it turns out I never need one. These preamps seem to have a tremendous amount of throw. Plus they sound great too! + All the Routing You Could Possibly Need There’s plenty of inputs and outputs to cover any need you might have.

If you ever need to expand, there’s SPDIF and ADAT (I connect my Eleven Rack via SPDIF). But the cherry-on-top is the dual Thunderbolt inputs. This makes it super easy to daisy-chain devices. In my case, I get to use my external monitor through my Quantum.

+++ If you can’t tell, I love this thing! Using Presonus’ Quantum is effortless. I don’t expect to be looking at interfaces anytime soon.

This worked okay for recording from a mixer board, but using an external mic with the internal pre-amps didn’t go too well. Past the 1-2 o’clock mark on the main gain knobs made a lot of noise. Also, the main output is really quiet.

I couldn’t swap it out for a Samson mixer because I had to adjust the amplifier’s gain up such that I could hear noise from that! Also, for a form factor that leans towards desktop use, I wish they would have mounted the headphone jack on the front.

MIDI I/O and main outputs are one thing since they don’t usually get moved around, but headphones, not so much. The XLR jacks on the font make mobile/portable use a pain because wires have to stick out the front and the back.

I would have rather seen everything but the headphones on the back of the unit. If you use a laptop, you might loose power to the interface if you close the lid, so beware that it needs power from the USB port to operate even if you aren’t using the PC for audio processing.

Now for the good stuff. The dynamic range is pretty good for most uses if the gain isn’t maxed out. The headphone output is nice to listen to, but I didn’t test it to see if I could hear any latency.

You can use this to record two separate channels in Audacity running on Debian Linux with no trouble–I didn’t need any crazy drivers, but JACK wasn’t working right for other reasons. I suspect Ubuntu Studio would have been just fine with it.

This is a 2 in-2 out USB interface. As long as you keep the gain low, they sound really good, and you don’t hear noise from the pre-amps. I plan on returning this and buying a Behringer U-Phoria or a Tascam recorder/interface instead, although a Zoom product is also on the list of options.

I need something more suited to confined spaces and portable use.

I bought this to upgrade from an ancient M-Audio interface, and I wish I’d done it years ago. I’ve had problems with audio drivers in the past so I was pleasantly surprised that this one was recognised immediately, and I didn’t have to fiddle with any settings for my DAW to recognise it.

But it’s not just great for recording. I’ve connected some monitor speakers to the outputs and my phantom powered XLR mic, and my guitar effects to the inputs so I can use it as a mixer and bypass my computer altogether.

I have guitar lessons online and I use the AudioBox as a mic in Zoom and balance my guitar and voice. I can use also the input/playback control to adjust the noise I make and the voice of my guitar teacher in my headphones.

The latency has improved over my old interface, and it sounds crisper too. It’s also really compact so it sits nicely on top of my desktop PC and it feels robust too. I can’t fault it. I bought it for one purpose, and now I use it for almost everything – instead of having to use my PC settings to change mic/speaker/headphone outputs I just use the AudioBox.

It wasn’t a very exciting purchase – not like a new guitar / amp / pedal – but it’s surprisingly rewarding.

My application is a dedicated MIDI/audio interface for a VirTual Theater Pipe organ. A MIDIfied console from an actual 1920’s Theater pipe organ drives a complex MIDI switching system which in turn drives a sample player.

MIDI information is transferred to and from the console, utilizing the USB 96. The audio from the sample player is also output to reverb and power amps via the USB 96, so it has a lot of work to do. The USB 96 never misses a beat with 8-channel two-way MIDI as well a very clean audio stream duplicating all the complexities of a WurliTzer theater organ.

The unit replaces both a MidMan Anniversary 2 x 2 which would occasionally give MIDI glitches and a Creative Labs sound card, a necessary move when organ operations were transferred from a desktop to a laptop and from Win7 to Win10.

Installation was seamless, and the unit performs perfectly in its application. It works so well, I got a second one for music production on my DAW, which is also used for sample processing for the organ.

These devices are rock solid.

Due to the way Steinberg sets this up it takes hours to just input the codes to get started. Since I needed something to work rather immediately this wasn’t the ideal choice. Once it was connected it proved to be awkward and mostly unworkable.

After 3 or 4 days I just sent it back and I’m awaiting my refund. It might be a good device, but for me it was completely unworkable and for the most part a waste of my time and energy.

If you need to get your digital sound (music) out of your computer (and who doesn’t) there are traditionally 2 ways to do it. You can use your computer’s on-board sound card or mother board chip for simply playing through the computers’ speakers or headphones, or, you can go the whole hog and purchase an external USB Digital Audio Converter (DAC) and enjoy a raft of advantages over your computers limited capabilities.

On the other hand, if you are a musician and/or vocalist and wish to record your guitar, keyboard or vocals into a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), an external USB sound card is the ONLY way to do it.

Your on-board soundcard is simply not capable of recording or playing back at anything like an acceptable quality and does not have the right connections anyway. Such a device is the Focusrite 2i4 DAC.

The 2i4 is part of a large range of affordable DACs from Focusrite and the model number designation tells you more about what the unit is capable of, in this case it is 2 for 2 analogue switchable microphone/instrument input pre-amps and 4 for the 4 analogue outputs to connect speakers or outboard gear.

The 2i4 also has the added bonus of MIDI in/out connections making this a very versatile device for the home studio or professional on the move. As it is bus powered (from the USB) no mains electric power supply is necessary to run it.

There are many competing DACs on the market and choice can be bewildering. I have tried many of them and at the price point, in my opinion, the Focusrite devices simply sound better. It is a very subjective issue but thousands of professionals can’t be wrong.

When you combine this with a sturdy aluminium build quality and minimal plastic, you can begin to realise why the Focusrite range of DAC’s are the market leaders. I have absolutely no connection to Focusrite, I’m just a very satisfied consumer of their products for the past 10 years and am happy to relate my experiences in the hope that it will help others.

As a matter of interest I have experienced zero technical failures with the 3 Focusrite DACs I have owned.

The Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interfaces perfectly with my Mac (running OS X El Capitan) and the mic preamps are excellent. The setup makes recording to my DAW (Logic Pro X) a fun, latency-free experience.

The small KRK studio monitors are just right for nearfield track mixing in my small studio. I think the front port bass on the KRK RP4G3’s is helpful in my acoustically less-than-ideal studio environment.

This is quality home studio gear that makes recording & mixing excellence possible at a budget price. The online buying experience at ProAudioStar was terrific; their website is easy to navigate, secure and offered this complete package at a very low price.

Handling, packaging & shipping were top of the line. I highly recommend the products and ProAudioStar to anyone.

I went for the 2i4 instead of the 2i2 for the extra 2 output ports. Now glad I did. Have upgraded from one input to two. Recording two instruments onto individual tracks in my DAW & outputting to pair of Rokit 6s plus Adam Sub7 subwoofer.

v high quality sound to the monitors and virtually No Latency. Quality headphone output and can adjust monitor / headphone output independently. Again, No (detectable) Latency on HP monitor. Perfect for mike to HP monitoring.

Very easy setup. must download ASIO driver, but after that, plug and play Didn’t realise it before but Scarlett is made by Novation (from whom I expect high quality). Excellent value for money. I’m not bothered about the Ableton, but so you know.

it’s the free version anyway, so nothing special there.

Note: I swear to God this is not an ad, I genuinely just absolutely love this product and it deserves to be talked about! I could not be more thrilled with the UA Volt 276. Firstly, the set up is extremely easy, and I LOVE the fact that it doesn’t require plugging into the wall if you are using the usb-c to connect to your computer.

I’m a crowded studio space, any available plugs are valuable. The sound is great and clean, and the analogue preamp finally gives me that pro audio *shine* on the sound of my vocals and guitars I’ve been searching for for literally years! The compressor is also amazing, it adds fullness to the sound in just the way a great compressor should, and it makes mixing much easier as well if you aren’t great with compressors in your DAW like myself.

All of what I’ve already listed make it well worth the asking price, but what truly blows me away is the free software. The value is truly out of this world, I couldn’t believe how many free, HIGH QUALITY plugins you get with the Volt.

The main talking point is of course Melodyne Essentials, which is an industry standard and a must for any music-maker. To give my flowers to a less hyped up plug-in, I especially like the Marshall amp Simulator, and I’ve tried many amp simulators.

Combined with the Hi-Z instrument setting, the preamp, and the compression, the sound is rich and full of life, which is definitely NOT the case with most other amp simulators. I would humbly say this is the best single purchase I have made for my studio and for a future in creating studio quality music from home.

This audio-box is truly a must-have in my opinion, ESPECIALLY if you are just starting out and don’t know what to get. Combined with a little learning and a little acoustic treatment, I doubt you’ll find any better sound quality or value on the market anywhere even remotely close this price range.

I’d give it an 11/10 if I could.

The packaging is beautiful; the paper documentation is nonexistent. The online documentation is extremely thorough. If you are a beginner or even if you don’t know the differences between balanced and unbalanced cables, the online material is awesome.

Super simple and to the point while explaining everything you could ever want to know about the unit and some basic sound engineering principles. Build: It has a rugged construction and feel to it in part because its aluminum.

The knobs are plastic but passable. The volume pots are smooth. The rear IO is perfect in terms of the ports available and can be powered by the USB C port. Sound: It sounds great. Fairly quiet preamps with a lot of gain makes for an awesome combo for the price.

I’ll probably never use the Vintage button. The front IO accepts Line level signals only through the TRS part of the jack and automatically switches to it. Complaints: IT DOES NOT SHIP with a USB C to USB C cable 🙁 Only a USB A to USB C.

With most computers now having USB C, this is frustrating. It does also come with a USB A to 5v barrel connector to power it as well. Conclusion: I love the build quality, sound it produces, and simplistic design.

I don’t like that it does not come with a modern USB C cable.

The interface has two XLR-1/4 inch inputs in the front and two 1/4 inch inputs in the back. I tend to not use the compressor options, but they’re nice to have as an option. The headphone output has enough oomph to drive some 600 ohm higher impedance headphones quite well.

If you’re worried about excessive power draw from USB, you can use the included 5V wall wart for ease of mind. My only complaint is that the 48V phantom power is applied to both of the front panel inputs.

I’ve yet to see a small USB interface that didn’t do that though. Most devices should have protection from phantom power applied in error, but you may want to be careful especially with some mics. There is a few second delay from when the 48V button is pressed and when the power is actually applied though.

If you don’t need the extra inputs and extra monitor outputs in the back or the compressor option, I would save some money and get the Volt 2. Looks like it has the same performance recording wise as the 76 series, as far as I can tell.

You will lose the signal level indicators on top though.

Hi Samashersss!! So long story short. my Focusrite 2i4 died on me after 2 years of daily use, getting It fix wasn’t an option ( Focusrite charges 85$ for any kind of replacement + shipping ). I decided to get a new one and I was about to purchase the newer Focusrite model when I saw this interface at the store and really liked the colors and the solid build, and I decided to give it a shot.

So in my personal opinion as a Music Producer, and sound Engineer I can say Presonus got a winner here. the ONLY downside of this interface is the latency, with my old Focusrite 2i4 I was able to get around 5-8 ms.

And I was very use to it, now with the Presonus I need to adjust the Ms to 10-12ms to get a decent playback. ( without click and pops ). I know it’s nothing related to my computer specs, because I have a very VERY powerful computer with SSD and all the latest gear, if presonus fix this latency issue in the near future then they got a loyal costumer here, otherwise I will stick to Focusrite products.

That’s it. That’s my personal opinion and it’s the kind of reviews I like to read when I’m About to buy something. Clear and honest. Well. take care anyone who’s reading this review and have a wonderful day with your music! Ps ; DAW’s – Presonus Studio – Fl Studio 12.

I’d be hard put to find a better 2-in 2-out audio interface in this price range. It works with USB-A or USB-C (both cables included) and integrates flawlessly with DAWs. The front-facing input/playback mixer knob is handy for getting a quick, and also means if you aren’t using the DAW you can easily just crank it to “Inputs” and run live with no computer.

Firm connections for mics and lines. Separate headphone volume control on the front. Just all-around a solid unit.

I use this for church applications. It connects my laptop to the church organ (which is a midi-capable digital Allen instrument). I can not only play the organ via midi songs that I create on Personus Notion6, but I also add virtual instruments played through Personus Studio One 3 DAW, through the organ speakers.

In the past I have used, and been happy with, the Personus Audio box 96, but I replaced it with the studio2/6 because it has two additional outputs allowing me to add additional instruments to the mix.

Highly recommend this gear and the support at Personus is excellent.

I properly placed a Shure SM57 mic in front of my guitar amp amd plugged it into the mic channel of the itrack solo. But in Garageband, it sounded muffled like it was in another room. Turning up the volume just made it loud.

and muffled. Yes, you can record guitar directly on the right channel of the device but you can only use the annoying and bad-sounding virtual amps in Garageband. My real guitar amp sounds waaay better.

I was doing better using a USB condenser mic and recording my amp into Garageband that way. Unless there’s some secret trick here, the Focusrite itrack solo and the Shure mic and cable were a waste of money.

The device does exactly what it promises. Issue is the application. Was only able to get it to work with FocusRite applications. I used “Tape” for sound recording and “Impact” for video recording. Had issues with pretty much any other IOS app I tried.

Also, the Impact recording seems to require a headset to listen to; was not able to get the ipad speakers to work with the app to review any video recorded. If Focusrite improved their two apps, this would be an awesome product.

In terms of quality of sound recording, it was pretty good. I am using it to record sound from my Roland digital piano and other than the app issues it has worked well.

I’m very new to this type of devices so some of you may already know most of this. For those new to this I may help you a little, although it is kind of specific to the H&K TM18 head. The reason for my purchase was solely to be able to listen to my H&K TM18 at night with headphones.

For that it does work. The H&K has the red box built in and an XLR output. I just plug the XLR to the device (guitar input), put the power soak on “”no speaker”” and I’m up and running with my headphones being the only output, well sort of.

YOU MUST have the ipad (or computer) connected to the device for it to work in any way, despite the fact the device has its own power supply. If you do not have an ipad or computer to use it will not work.

I also discovered that despite the fact the H&K uses an XLR output, you cannot use the mic (XLR) input on the device. The sound is not right, its low and bad, I’m sure most folks already know this, I didn’t.

I needed to get the XLR to 1/4 and plug into the guitar input for it to sound decent. That being said it is a lot of fun. You can use garage band, your music collection or I guess about anything and play along.

There is a tape app for the ipad that allows you to record yourself. I cannot find any other apps for the ipad although I guess there are apps you can use on the computer in addition to the tape app.

I have not used any other features but may start to look into that later.

I’ve been recording audio for several years. Up until this purchase I used the Tascam US-1800 and was using it with Studio one with zero problems. I was very optimistic with this purchase. I bought the 192 & the DP88 with dreams of plug and play fun and they were all shattered by a lot changes to Studio one brought on by UC Surface.

Being the first time I’ve used any remote device software it was very confusing. There were a lot Windows bit rate and playback difficulties. Now, two months later, alot of presonus forum searches and tears/ anguish later, I’m proud to say that have regained control of my Computer Recording again.

Uc Surface works how it should as well as the hardware. The preamps? Real nice!. and I’ve never been happier. In retrospect: read your manuals as well as learn from others on the presonus web forums.

Love my new B-stock Studio 192 Mobile interface. It has a Burr-Brown (Texas Instruments) DAC and sounds great. It integrates very well with my Studio One DAW which is why I bought it. It has a great software control panel with built-in Fat Channel DSP effects during monitoring during tracking, and allows multiple mix scenes and switching between three sets of monitors.

I sold my UA Apollo Twin Duo to get this and they both use Burr Brown and sound the same to me, BUT this costs half as much! Definitely recommended this 100%.

Depending on your DAW capabilities (and personal skill), this interface can help you go from making demos to making productions. I use Presonus Studio One 3 Pro and the software integration is flawless.

The fat channels allow me to record at 1. 5 ms of latency with effects at 24 bit 96k. All in all, it’s worth it, and if you use studio one it’s definitely worth it.

I am a hobbiest musician but I have been at it for a long time and I have a bit of experience with DAWs and Interfaces. I needed to replace a Presonus unit that had died and this interface had everything that I needed at a great price.

Physically this interface is pretty nice if you like the desktop layout–it was a change for me and I do like it now that I am used to it. I wouldn’t say that the knobs and switches are high quality but they seem to be o.

k. I was disappointed that the big monitor volume knob isn’t a detented pot–I think that would have made sense since it is such a prominent feature but it feels ok and does the job. The switches for headphone source and phantom power are slider type not rocker type–I think rocker switches have a more premium feel.

These are really my only complaints and they are pretty minor once you start using it. Oh, the included USB A-C and C-C cables are ridiculously short!–unless you are using a laptop plan to buy longer cables! The things that I really like: first off, I think that sound is very good, they talk about improved AD/DA conversion and I think they deliver.

I have KRK Rocket 7 monitors with an M-audio Sub and I have no complaints at all about the sound quality–even iTunes stuff sounds better than ever. I have used the preamps for acoustic guitar, electric guitar (mic’d tube amps) and some vocals so far and I think they do a nice job.

I wouldn’t say they are particularly colored but they do seem to roll off the harshness of the top end but should still work well with preamp plugins if you want more color or drive. They do seem very detailed–I had to adjust my acoustic guitar mic’ing technique because these preamps were picking up a lot more pick and fret noise–things that I had never noticed with my Presonus or Motu interfaces.

When set up proplerly I was enjoying the acoustic sounds. This interface also has two straight line inputs (7/8) that would be perfect for external preamps. I have been using the direct guitar inputs a lot since getting this set up.

They don’t offer anything like variable impedance, just level control, but they seem to work just fine for getting my guitar tone into plugins. I am using this with Presonus Studio One and I think it is a great combination.

Studio One has something similar to ProTools Hybrid Engine (but all native processing)–it allows live/recording inputs to be monitored at low latency while recorded tracks are running with a higher buffer setting to conserve processing power–results will still depend on your computer and what you are doing but it a very good native solution.

The Windows driver for the AIR 192 14 offers way more granular buffer settings than my Presonus interface. This means that I can really fine tune the buffer size to get the lowest latency my system can handle.

This driver starts at 16 samples and increases in increments of 16–others that I am used to might start at 96 samples and increase in much larger increments (96, 128, 256, 512. ) If you understand this stuff this is very important and, to me, impressive and I can play technical guitar stuff with low latency.

Other things that I am impressed by: Simply turning the interface on/off is very quiet–I have had other interfaces that make you shudder when you are shutting down your system thinking that you have probably shortened the life of your monitors.

Being able to switch the headphone outputs between outputs 1/2 and 3/4 on the panel is very cool–Studio One has an easy Cue Mix feature to take advantage of this. Phantom power activation on pairs of mics instead of all-or-nothing works great for me.

I am not sure about the metering on this yet. I like that it is more than just clipping indication, but I am not sure how far I can actually push it yet–I tend to trust the Input Level readout in Studio One over this for now but it is there and should be useful once I understand it better.

The included software is basically a collection of stuff that you can get free from the vendors anyway with, I believe, the exception of the AIR FX Collection which seems to be pretty good. If they are still advertising ProTools First with it, it is not true because Avid has discontinued Pro Tools First–this is clearly stated when you register your products and go to install it.

They do include Ableton Live Lite and MPC Beats so you will have a free DAW solution to start with. I would not recommend this as a portable solution–it is heavy and the knobs are vulnerable but, as a desktop home studio interface, I am really very happy with it so far.

I wanted a newer Audio Interface. I think the primary benefit of this unit is the mic lines connect in the back and the controls are on top so it is perfect for a desktop configuation. The audio quality is nice and it does the job perfectly.

I would say this is one of the best audio interfaces out there for desktop production and home studio use for a 2×2 set up. I came from a Mackie Black Jack 2×2 and this newer M Audio 192/6 is nice as well.

I would say they are about the same in quality sound wise, though the Black Jack is a USB type 1 and I think this M Audio is USB2 standard which is quicker. It is basically a really nice 2×2 with midi as well which I don’t use.

I like the preamp power. it sounds great over headphones. The phantom power for my condenser mic is nice though the gain is up pretty high. It was also the same on the Mackie so I’m guessing it’s the AKG perception 200 mic I have.

it seems to need a lot to drive it. Well, it all works. I basically use this for daily conference calls but it’s nice to know I could do a nice voice-over anytime. I like the two combo mic inputs on the back which take XLR or 1/4.

There is also a monitor out stereo out which would have been nice in RCA as well but I have a couple of 1/4 to RCA adaptors which work fine to overcome this. I don’t use the two instrument inputs on the front end, but be warned you can’t do both the XLR and front input at the same time on the same channel if you were hoping to do this.

I would also point out the 192/4 model will work nearly the same for a little less mondy and it is about the same but it only has one XLR output in the back which meets my current needs but I wanted options for possibilities of adding a second mic so that was my reason for selecting the 192/6 model Unfortunately the headphone jack went bad so I just ordered a 192/8 with a 2 year warranty.

I still think these are great units I just got a bad one.