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The Essentials for “Best Audio Interfaces”
There are no such mandatory criteria for a particular audio interface to qualify as the “best audio interface in this price range.” A 2in/2out audio interface may be the perfect choice for you if you are planning for bedroom/drawing recording and it would be a waste to use an interface there which has dozens of in/out counts. In another scenario, it would be irrelevant to buy a hybrid (firewire cum USB connectivity) interface if you never plan to connect via firewire anytime soon and can save a few bucks by choosing an interface having USB connectivity only. So, the point is, detailed research on your requirement as well as product specification is imperative before making a selection. Your analysis of your needs is up to you; an analysis of best choices of audio interfaces available for you is given below.
Key Points to Consider Before Buying
Buying an audio interface can be very tough and confusing, especially if you are a rookie in this field because their plenty of attributes associated with an audio interface and you just don’t know which features are important for you. Of course, every feature are important and experienced professionals opt for themselves the product that precisely meets their requirements, but the key specifications/highlights to look out for, before buying a particular audio interface must be these:
What are the Best Audio Interfaces Brands?
Quite a plenty number of brands are there, which manufacture good quality audio interfaces. Ranking these brands is a difficult task simply because there are numerous conditions which need to be considered by which rating must be done. However, arbitrarily if the rating is done based on the popularity of products/ number of products sold, the ranking would be as follows:
The Top 5 Audio Interface under 100
USB 2.0 | 2/2 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, MacOS | Pro Tools | First Focusrite Creative Pack and Ableton Live Lite, Focusrite Control, Softube Time and Tone Bundle, Focusrite’s Red Plug-in Suite | |
USB 2.0 | 2/2 | 24 bit/48 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Presonus Studio One Artist 3 | |
USB 2.0 | 2/4 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase | |
USB 2.0 | 4/4 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase | |
USB 2.0 | 2/2 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS, i-OS | Cubase AI, Cubasis LE |
1 – Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd Gen) USB
2 – Presonus AudioBox USB 2×2
3 – Behringer U-phoria UMC404HD
4 – Steinberg UR12 USB
5 – Behringer U-Phoria UMC 204HD
The Top 5 Audio Interface under 200
Products | |||||
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USB 2.0 | 6/6 | 24bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Ableton Live Lite, Scarlett Plug-in Suite (RTAS/AU/VST), Red 2 & Red 3 Plug-in Suite (AAX/AU/VST), the Softube Time and Tone Bundle, Novation Bass Station | |
USB 2.0 | 2/2 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Pro Tools | First Focusrite Creative Pack and Ableton Live Lite, Focusrite Control, Softube Time and Tone Bundle, Focusrite’s Red Plug-in Suite | |
USB 2.0 | 2/2 | 24bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS, i-OS | Cubase AI & Cubasis LE | |
USB 2.0 | 2/2 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Studio One Artist, Virtual StudioLive™ (VSL) | |
USB 2.0 | 2/2 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS, i-OS | Cakewalk Sonar X3-LE/ Abelton Live Lite 9 |
1 – Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 (1st Gen)
2 – Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (1st Gen/2nd Gen)
3 – Steinberg UR22MKII 2-channel USB
4 – Presonus Audiobox 22VSL
5 – Tascam US-2x2USB
The Top 5 Audio Interface under 300
Products | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
USB 2.0 | 18/8 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, MacOS, i-OS | Ableton Live Lite, Scarlett Plug-in Suite (RTAS/AU/VST), Red 2 & Red 3 Plug-in Suite (AAX/AU/VST), the Softube Time and Tone Bundle, Novation Bass Station | |
USB 2.0 | 18/20 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase | |
USB 2.0 | 4/4 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS, i-OS | Ableton Live Lite, CakeWalk Sonar X1 LE | |
USB 2.0 | 4/4 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Studio One Artist 3 | |
USB 2.0 | 4/4 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS, i-OS | Cubase AI |
1 – Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 (1st Generation)
2 – Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820
3 – Roland Quad Capture
4 – Presonus Audiobox 44VSL
5 – Steinberg UR44
The Top 5 Audio Interface under 500
Products | |||||
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USB 2.0 | 18/20 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS, i-OS | Pro Tools | First Focusrite Creative Pack and Ableton Live Lite, Focusrite Control, Softube Time and Tone Bundle, Focusrite's Red Plug-in Suite | |
USB 2.0 | 18/18 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Studio One Artist 3 | |
2 6-pin FireWire sockets | 20/20 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Midnight Plug-in Suite (RTAS/AU/VST), Red 2 & Red 3 Plug-in Suite (AAX/AU/VST), and the Softube Time and Tone Bundle | |
USB 2.0 | 16/4 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Cubase 4 LE | |
USB 2.0 | 4/4 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Pro Tools, Logic, Live, Cubase |
1 – Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 (2nd Gen) USB
2 – Presonus audio box 1818 VSL-Advanced
3 – Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 Professional
4 – Tascam US1641
5 – Avid M-Box High Performance 4×4
The Top 5 Audio Interface under 1000
Products | |||||
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USB 2.0/ USB 3.0/ Universal connectivity | 18/18 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS, i-OS | Audiodesk 4.0 | |
USB 2.0 | 16/12 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Ableton Live-Lite | |
USB 2.0/ Hybrid Firewire (IEE1394) | 16/16 | 24 bit/96 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Logic, Sonar, Cubase and Pro Tools | |
6-pin Firewire 800 | 28/30 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Audiodesk 4.0 | |
USB 2.0/ Firewire | 8/8 | 24 bit/192 kHz | Windows, Mac OS | Pro Tools, Logic, Live, Cubase |
1 – MOTU Ultralite AVB
2 – Roland studio capture
3 – Allen Heath ICE-16 16 Channel Multitrack Recorder with USB/FireWire Interface
4 – Motu traveler MK3 Firewire
5 – Audio M-Box Pro High Resolution 8×8
What are the Best DAW Software?
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is a major and crucial area you need to be aware of while selecting your audio interface. Let’s look at a list of top 5 DAWs available in the market:
FAQ
Conclusion
In a nutshell, all these feature descriptions and comparisons of technical specifications of best audio interfaces under different price range are done so that you find it easier to select which user interface best suits your requirement and budget next time you plan to buy one. It is imperative that you must be precisely aware of your needs, situations and other related conditions before opting for any of these products mentioned above.