maybe looking for new audio interface

[El Chiguete]

Ok so I have a M-Audio Fast Track Pro audio interface and now that I upgrade it to W10 they dont have updated drivers so a few glitches happend from time to time. So I was asking myself should I get another newer audio interface? I just need something small with maximun 2 inputs if I ever record in stereo.

So what are your recomendations?

[MarshallJMP]

Steinberg UR22 (192kHz 24bit) is really good and not to expensive and you get a free cubase AI7 with it.You can't go wrong with these.

UR22  https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/audio_interfaces/ur_serie/modelle/ur22.html

Cubase AI7  https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/steinberg_yamaha/cubase_ai.html

[El Chiguete]

That interface looked good but then I read this comments:

¨The UR22 is very bare bones, very basic. The UR22 DOES NOT have a software mixer program. You cannot make ANY routing or panning adjustments. The only adjustments are the knobs on the unit, and they don't cover the basic needs of a recordist. The only UR22 software is the Yamaha usb driver, which only allows you to set the buffer setting, that's it!!

The point here is that every audio interface I've ever had (including basic sound blaster and internal audio) all have had a software mixer program. Examples of scenarios that cannot be accomplished with the UR22:
1) Direct monitoring, and pan the input l/r in the headphones, only comes out in the middle.
2) Direct monitoring, and mute one of the 2 inputs. no way.
3) Route the signals to one or the other outputs (headphones or monitor output) no way- both get same signals.
Again, every interface offers these and more with their software.¨

And watched this review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI8XAcGSRe4

So now im not sure about it... for sure is better than the one I have and probably I dont need some of those options but maybe it will be nice to have them in case I need them in the future.

[MarshallJMP]

It does have a software mixer program,cubase AI (32 audio and 48 midi tracks should be more then enough)

Point one and two are hardware but point 3 can easily be done in cu base.And in this price range you won't find anything that has these direct monitor options.

And it only costs 117 euro so not bad.Just tought you wanted something like the fast track pro.Now i also have the fast track and my son has the UR22 and it's very good,good asio drivers,it only has around 5ms delay at 128 samples and around 3.5 at 64 samples.It's a lot better then the fast track which costed a lot more back in the day.

It just depends what you really want to do with and of course there are better units but not for this kind of money.

[GuitarBuilder]

Elantric et all have done extensive testing on audio interfaces on the VGuitar Forum.  While their focus has been on interfaces that work well with iOS, these will by definition be class-compliant and at least 24-bit.  This means they should work exceptionally well with PCs and Macs.

Here's the thread:

http://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=11781.0

Also:

http://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8291.0

BTW - these folks are extremely high-tech knowledgeable and their inputs are typically spot on.

[Systematic Chaos]

Don´t ditch your interface just yet.....
Recent W10 upgraders seem to face the same problems as those who upgraded Mac OS X to El Capitan
Here´s some compatibility news/facts for both W10 and OS X:
http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/windows-10-compatibility-information/

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/el-capitan-mac-os-x-10-11-compatibility-information/

[El Chiguete]

Well further testing will go on next week when I get the SM57 that I ordered and I can start recording

[El Chiguete]

Good news, so far it hasnt been a problem (don't know why it did before) so I will be using this interface for sometime now .

[dazzyB]

Using a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP which I got cheap. I thought that using firewire was the way to go, but now it seems USB has taken over. 

Darren

[Harley Hexxe]

Hi Gang,

   This looks like a good place to ask this question: Do I really need an audio interface to get good quality recordings using DAW?

    Thanks,

    Harley 8)

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, generally DAWs' have audio interface(s) built in, or they wouldn't be a DAW. A DAW combines A/D D/A converters (which is what audio/digital interfaces do) with inbuilt software/hardware to digitally record, route and process the inputs/outputs. So the 2nd part is what PC programs do (QBase, Protools etc), so software running on your PC hardware. The sound card is the I/O A/D, D/A converter. You can buy (as being discussed here) a better (more expensive, more channels) audio interface.

So simple answer is probably no as your DAW has this I/O already. Can you buy a better I/O device than in your DAW, yes (bring some $s, the more the better), can you use that with your DAW ? depends, generally no, and it would only be an advantage if you can bypass the DAWs analogue inputs and feed the direct digital signals from the I/O into the DAWs software/hardware (eg SPDIF input on DAW if it has one ?? as this is optical/digital and also if the I/O has SPDIF (most do BTW)).

But many aspects are involved in a good quality recording (disregarding the playing here), the first and foremost is what do "you" consider good. Can you hear the difference ? do you care ? Eg if you are making MP3s', ACCs, YouTube clips, it doesn't matter that much as the quality of those formats is so limited (albeit very convenient).

If the I/O on your DAW is pretty limited (eg 44.1khz 16bit (CD qual)) and your DAW can handle (process, record) better sample formats (48khz 24bit is quite usable and I'd describe as what you might consider the start of good quality) and you can sample at that format then sure. But I suspect your DAW won't cope ? Do you have it's user manual, I can check the possibilities for you.

[MarshallJMP]

Depends also what you have now?

[Harley Hexxe]

Hi Richard, MJMP,

  Right now, I'm using Audacity. The problem is, I have a laptop to save the recordings on, and the only way to do it is through the mic input jack. This is why I'm thinking I may need an audio interface to connect the data through the USB port, (Maybe???) It seems to me, that connecting through the mic jack would give me a poor audio transfer.
   
   Harley 8)

[MarshallJMP]

That's what i thought you were using.First the quality of those inputs is poor and you will get to much delay.Best is to get an external usb audio device with good ASIO drivers.

[Harley Hexxe]

Hi MJMP,

    Thank you for clearing that up. If I understand that correctly, then this interface, (whatever kind I happen to find that is affordable), will convert the audio into digital information, and send it to the Multitrack software in the laptop. Does this lose some of the nuances in this process? By that I mean, if I wash the audio through my reel to reel to get the tape compression and a bit of tape warmth, will that get lost in the conversion process?

    Thanks,

     Harley 8)