Great decision! Spend enough time to get your head around the Totalmix software! The first years, I did not utelized its potential - it is even better than sliced bread 🙂
What kind of differences you see with that upgrade? I’m thinking to go from vault interface to Neumann but not sure if i can justify the price difference
@@lavvafimusic8618 First off there is a very obvious performance hike. The BabyFace rarely glitches out on me, on very rare occasion I have had to raise the buffer size, but that was before I upgraded my computer. Secondly, the inputs on it are CLEAN, like surgical level clean. I could tell because I compared it to other big name interfaces like UAD Apollo and even Aurora Lynx, and even the SSL 2+. I like having clean recordings, gives me max freedom to shape the sound after. Third, there's also a VERY OBVIOUS improvement to the clarity of what I hear back, regardless on whether I listen through the cheap Presonus Eris 3.5s, or my Dynaudio monitors, or my headphones, Sennheiser HD 600s and Slate Digital VSX. The decisions I make when mixing can be very nuanced, because the sound from the BabyFace is not colored. Some people love color in what they hear, not me. The conversion, both ways, is phenomenal! There's the added benefit of having larger i/o count, which I can utilize when I later go hybrid, and other perks like the TotalMixFX software it comes with. The price difference was worth it. Hope this helps!
For the intermediate group of folks, the Audient iD44 is a fantastic choice. I moved to it from the TC Electronic Impact Twin (used from 2008 to 2017 or so), and I couldn’t believe the difference in preamp quality and AD/DA conversion. They say it has the exact preamps in their huge consoles.
Audient interfaces are plagued with defects, and are known to break down after a year of use. Add to that they ignore customers who have these problems and reach out to them. I know this because both a friend of mine and myself had audient interfaces (id44 and id22 respectively), and not only did mine have issues from time to time, my friends broke down in one week! He contacted them to replace it and they ignored every email he sent. He ended up having the dealer take it back after they told him that not only is it a common issue, the id44 was completely sold out and they had no idea when it would be in stock. So he went with a MOTU and has had zero issues. I sold mine a little before the one year mark, as I didn't want a broken interface that I have no idea how to fix. I was in an audient community group on Facebook, and there was hardly a day that you wouldn't see one or more posts about a broken interface, and audient ignoring them. The main problem with them is the preamps, while sounding truly excellent, they run very hot, and will overheat eventually. I've heard that it's actually not too hard to fix, if you have the skills. But I've seen so many problems and complaints about being ignored that I had to get rid of mine even though it still worked, most days at least. If I were you I'd seriously think about switching brands, their consoles are the only thing that is truly quality
@@tricitytypebeat8622 thanks for this info. I have kept my Motu M2 as a backup. I only ever record two channels of audio...so if the audient ever fails, I will fall back on my Motu. I must say the motu is the most solid interface I have ever used. If we are speaking from a pure reliability standpoint, I will always choose Motu, RME or Metric Halo. The ID 44 MK2 was more of an experimental purchase for me.
I agree, Budget interfaces sound a lot better today then they did years ago. I always say conversion matters, but not as much as you think. A lot people blame conversion for their mixes, when there are so many other factors that effect your sound more than conversion
@@TheAudioCzar Spelling on the other hand, is a lot worse THAN it was years ago, despite the means to check it being at people's fingertips using the device they're typing on.
i bought the audient 44 mkii and i couldnt be happier. for the price point the converters and headroom are really really great. the preamps are awesome and again i mean for this price point.
Rockin’ the Apollox16 with BAE, API, and Burl outboard pres and lovin it! Upgraded to this interface a few years ago from a Digi003 Rack unit and that was SURELY a big difference in sound, especially when I then also replaced my old Mackie ‘big knob’ with a Dangerous Music Monitor ST. It’s been fun hearing and obsessing on the sound quality changes/improvements over the years! You can learn a lot from it! Happy holidays yallllz!
I LOVE that you are going to be providing content for acoustic treatment. Thank you for all of you incredible work. I wish you, your family, and friends a very Happy Holiday, Exciting New Year, and revealing NAMM experiences!
Hi Barry I upgraded my Apollo from a solo to a twin x it was a price that was a unbelievable I’m glad I did it I’m happy with my twin and I won’t be upgrading any time soon great video 👍👍
Hi Barry, Henrique from Brazil here. Nice talk. You’re right about foreseeing what to expect from your converters and predict what your needs will be in the long term. fact is, tecnology is evolving to a point where no more loads of outboard gear is really needed. Actually no outboard gear is needed anymore. Many interfaces come loaded with outstanding preamps and later on in the process you can tweak to your liking. Also, converters become so good that whaever you choose, you will be able to hear everything clear with proper stereo positioning. Me, myself, have been using the first gen of Orion by Antelope since 2013 and still it serves me more than well. The only thing that has been buging me about replacing it is the fear of having it incompatible with a short upcome of macOS which would lead me to keep an expensive paper holder and I don’t want that for sure. Prices for converters of this range have also skyrocketed which keeps it even more dificult to make a move. What would you in my case? Keep it until it dies or sell it now and buy something that’s not that pricey, yet present a good IO count and superb conversion for the price? Or maybe wait to see what’s new next month at namm??
I recently updated from the SSL 2+ to the SSL 12. I wanted more inputs to plug in my Roland Fantom. SSL also upgraded the DAC/ADC to 32bit 🔥 I can definitely hear a difference also.
Here's one thing I want to add to this discussion: If you get something like the RME UFX II (2k Bucks), you not only get an interface with good preamps and lots of inputs, it's basically also a mixer, a programmable patchbay and a monitor controller. I absolutely love that ARC remote along with it. I run all my synths into it, as well as a nice little analog fx chain for tracking and mixing. 8 Preset buttons allow to easily switch between settings for mixing, vocal tracking, guitar/bass tracking, synth noodling, synths through analog chain,... This is gonna be my interface for a very long time and I absolutely love it!
I love my 2 Quantum 4848’s! They’re amazing. I was so upset with Presonus for discontinuing them. I’ve got a growing hybrid set up that I want to support. I had planned on getting at least one more. Hopefully they’ll just come out with a quantum 4848 TB 3 or 4. Hopefully that’s where they’re heading. The 4848 really is great.
Ya, I gotta agree with you. I am a professional mixer. The best decisions I ever made that improved my sound were 3 things. First, a full room treatment package from GiK Acoustics, second was the best monitors I could afford, and third was Sonarworks. If you don't do at least two of the 3, just save your money to do them lol. It's all a waste till you get at least 2 of those right!
100% agree. I lastly got a pair of Auratones as second monitors, and I can't recommend them enough. It's like having a senior eng. telling you what's wrong.
Just bought an interface for traveling, RME Babyface Pro FS. At home I have the focusrite clarett 8. I’m done buying any “all in one” interfaces that include preamps. I used to use a Rosetta 800 for my converters and plugged all my outboard preamps into that and then went spdif into my digi002. I love that type of setup. I would never recommend the focusrite clarett 8 because you can’t turn on phantom power to just one preamp (you can only use 48v on groups of 4 preamps. Also, you can’t bypass this preamps AT ALL, even by going line in. So my BAE 1073 has to get colored by the focusrite input transformers.
Yes Barry, please do a detailed video on what to use and how to do effective sound treatment in home studios (where indeed your majority viewers including me reside ! ). Thank you.
I got an RME UCX 10 years ago and don’t see any need to upgrade. Still sounds great and I expect RME to support it for many more years. If I was to upgrade it would be to reduce latency, which isn’t too bad with the UCX.
I have a Presonus Quantum (with the digitally controlled preamps) and I couldn't be happier. The monitor outputs could be a little hotter, but that's a very minor thing. I previously owned an MBox Pro 3 which wasn't all that bad to begin with, but I needed at least 8 inputs with expandability to record full bands and the Quantum sounds so much better to my ears. I will 100% agree you'll be better off getting your room treated. It's a battle you'll be forever fighting against. You can make your own panels for around $200-$250 in materials from a big box store like Lowes/Home Depot that will get you eight 2x4 foot panels that are 2-3 inches thick. Put them on the sides, one overhead, and 1-2 on your back wall and you'll notice an improvement in stereo image. Later on you can build some thicker ones for bass trapping in the corners. I built enough I have 4 I can move around and set up as a makeshift gobo for tracking acoustic, guitar amps and vocals.
I upgraded from the Presonus AudioBox 96 to an Antelope Discreet 4 two years ago and the converters, sound quality, & clarity improvement was just insane paired up with Adam A7X monitors. Definitely will have this setup for awhile
I got a discrete 8 a bit over a year ago and just absolutely love it - the Antelope software is also much more intuitive than the Focusrite that I had. I also picked up a D-Box + and that thing made a world of difference as well.
I just upgraded my 2013 scarlet 2i4 to a MOTU M2. The 2i4 still works fine BUT the knobs I noticed, have a sticky residue on them, which could be capacitor internal leakage. When I got the scarlet, the drivers sucked. They caused a false impression the back usb connection was faulty (with the first gen drivers), by dropping connection all the time and when you touched the unit, it would also drop connection. As windows updated over the years, you could see that focusrite was finally getting their driver "act" together and it never drops connection today. I use my unit for bedroom guitar playing and the main concern is accurate amplitube in room guitar tone. Most advice/reviews are geared toward mic users so us guitarists are in the dark on what's best for us tone wise. Thanks for confirming I made the correct decision to upgrade.
Yeah, I’m curious what’s coming! I probably won’t upgrade for a while because I just got the Apollo x 16 like maybe three years ago and it’s still doing a great job for me :)
I personally think that if you are going to upgrade your audio interface, you should treat your monitoring first (room and speakers), otherwise you wont be able to hear a big difference in sound, that's why I can't upgrade my 1st gen scarlett 18i20, becase I cannot treat my room as I'd like. Great vid!
Its been kind of a controvertial interface but i bought Black Lions revolution because it was on sale for 273us. I honestly cant believe how good the conversion is. Big difference from my older ua twin duo. Im honestly pretty impressed. If they continue updating drivers for it that is. But for the money ive never heard better comversion anywhere near its current sale price.
I use external preamps so not really super relevant for me specifically but I do use an Apogee Symphony MK1 in my B studio for conversion and that unit still holds up in blind tests to any of the modern pro units I have tried on demo and I found that pretty interesting. Pretty sure the Mk1 was 2011 or sometime round that!
I have the same experience with the first Apogee Duet from 2007 I think. Never heard a modern interface that‘s really better except for the new Duet 3. Alltough in terms of recording quality the old Apogee still sounds more interesting on some songs.
As you said, it really depends on what you are looking for. Better (as in more accurate) converters would be a consideration. I use an Apogee Symphony and will not even consider "upgrading" that until the Black-face models come down in price, and/or I move to a new computer. Changing the hardware will only be for reasons of computer+Mac OS compatibility. If you are entry or mid level, you are better off getting better monitors or headphones (open back for mixing and closed back for tracking).
I JUST upgraded my old 1st Gen Orion 32 to a new Orion 32 + Gen 3. So far so good on the newest version of Protools running Big Sur 11.7 on my Mac M1 Mini. Antelope has had some issues in the past but overall I’ve been extremely pleased with the performance and their customer service is really great. I call and a person answers. Now I have to sell all the extra gear I “wanted” when I had more expendable income in years past lol. The gear acquisition syndrome is real folks! 😂
That is good to hear, as you said they have been hit or miss in the past, that has affected people's confidence in them. They make amazing interfaces, killer conversion, when they are working, they are an incredible value.
I just traded my HD Omni for a couple of amps and recently received my new Tascam Model 24. I love it to death!!!!! Got my HD Omni in 2014 and my 2012 MacPro bit the dust at the beginning of the year. Well over do and totally no computer now, LA610MKII or HA73-Model-24-AudioScape Buss Comp-Tascam DP-03 for the Mastering function. Couldn’t be more liberating and happier!
I was running a used motu 8 pre firewire I picked up for around 130 bucks back in 2016. After a few years, only 4 of the 8 channels were working. About a year and a half ago I upgraded to the Apollo x8p heritage edition, so I got a bunch of plugins to get me rolling into the UAD world. I've bought a few other plugins on sale since then. I have no regrets and I think its one of the best home recording gear purchases I've ever made. Not only have I gotten to use good emulations of analog gear I could never afford, but the preamps sound fantastic even without using a unison plugin on them. It's been a huge difference compared to the other interfaces I've owned.
I wanted to connect some digital effects processors and they offered both analog and digital I/o. I’d never had any experience with this so I called a sales rep and told him what I had. He set me up with a small interface which included two digital ports, although S/PDIF and AES. So a couple of adapters later, I had my digital I/o wired in with the analog ports as well. That was great for a while, but I learned to prefer the analog, at the time, because I could really slam the input and the occasional distortion was cool, it would go into the delays and was something I’d never heard. But as time passed, those mic preamps didn’t sound so good with distortion, so I added my first two ch of outboard. Finally these could handle gritty garb and still sing. It continued to grow, more than doubled in size, and I needed more and more channels so I went back to the same sales outfit for a much bigger interface and kept both. Learned about word clock cables quickly, so the two interfaces can run on the same wavelength (or whatever they’re actually doing). Then I filled in comfortably, if I wanted something in the rig I just added it. Meanwhile it was a lot more comfortable routing signals here and there. That’s something I was afraid of in the beginning, learning the DAW. But it’s all actually quite logical and simple really. Nice to be able to separate all the recordings into separate tracks by recording specific channels. I still had a lot to learn about phase, about bitrate, and sample rates. But there’s some great information out there these days. The more I learned, the more comfortable I became with my rig. Which works pretty well, and if you position your mics and align your phase, and keep an eye on the top end noise, can make some really clean sounds. Definitely agree on room treatment, I need it badly. I’ll look forward to what you do next. Would be nice to be able to KNOW how much bass is right, every time and not have to load previous mixes and use them for templates. It’s a pastime for me, when I’m not at work I like to learn. Thank you Barry. Best wishes.
I’m also upgrading from a 12 core cheese grater to a Mac Studio and I’m going from a FireWire based RME Multiface to an SSL12. Was kinda shocked how better it immediately sounded. I think my Multiface was having issues. Very happy with the SSL12 so far, especially with my Softube Console and Fader with the SSL 9000K XL plugin
Really enjoy your content! In the last few years I’ve tried the Focusrite Scarlett 2nd and 3rd gen, Audient ID44, Mackie Onyx, Focusrite Clarett series, and Apollo Twin all with outboard preamps (Neve 511). I was pretty unimpressed with the Audient. The Clarett and the Apollo seemed to be the best overall. But the Mackie Onyx was surprisingly amazing! Really liked it more than the Scarlett and Audient.
I upgraded from a Focusrite pro 14 (now considered obsolete I guess) to an Apollo X 6 and a satellite duo a couple years ago. I’m on a late 2013 iMac with an ssd 1 TB and 16 gigs ram. I’ll never need anything else. I’m starting to mix on my AKG 371’s instead of on my Kali second generation IN 8’s cuz I can’t treat my room and I’m sick dealing with the consequences.
I have an M-Audio Firewire 410...which I've used sinced 2005. Drivers weren't supported in 2022. Got a MOTU M4 as a stop gap...but I'm super impressed.
The RME Babyface Pro is a rock solid desktop interface. I spend 99.9% of my time in the box, however I've done some really nice recordings with it. The AD/DA converters are very, very good. And RME drivers are the absolute best in the industry. Anyway, as pointed out in the video, your money is likely better spent on room treatments and a decent set of stiudio monitors.
Ive got a motu 896hd ive used since 2002. Best product, but looking for some newer conversion in the premium quality range. Was interested in apollo, rme, and prism. The titan converters really just blowing me away.
I do a mix: combining a good ADAT pre-amp with my old RME interface (13 years old). Still more reliable than my experiments with new interfaces from other companies. And like you said: I can use my additions and my experience with the tools (Totalmix - it is the same for each interface) later on. Since RME is still selling soundcards based on the HDSPe-Design, I am expecting to be covered with drivers for at least the next 5-10 years. Long story short: a good interface from a professional vendor can live in your studio for 20+ years! Disadvantage? Yes: You can't geek out about interfaces, if your one is just doing the job. Regarding the monitor situation: I know, most people say you can't mix on headphones... But in my experience, a pair of really good headphones combined with a legit amp will outperform every bedroom/speaker arrangement easily. You have a studio-like room? Better for you... BTW: I'm not talking about mixing with earbuds 🙂
Great video. I have a legacy apogee symphony I/O mk1. Of course this is high end but getting older! They came out with the mk2 which I’ve considered. But I’m also looking at RME products. Should I sell and upgrade??? Thanks!!
I like interfaces with usb c and built in dsp to spread the processing around devices. I also like iOS compatible units with device line level ins along with the XLR. In 2021 I went with a stienberg UR44c. Built in stand alone mixer and fx gives beginners a plug n play options with great results.
I used a focusrite 18i20 and while it was ok I found just downloading, initially and getting to work was a major hassle. Out with 18i20- IN with a Roland Studio Capture, drivers downloaded in 2 minutes (ezpz) and was rock solid. However I could never get low enough latency for some VST's. Out with Roland IN with RME UCX 2. Drivers solid, latency gone, just a wonderful interface, my only issue was learning curve for Total mix which can be bit overwhelming, but once sorted it's been great.
I'm working on TotalMix videos now, I went through the same nonsense, its so opposite of the way most people think about routing. There videos are not very good either IMHO. Like you said though, once you get it, its mind blowing how powerful it is.
I bought a Motu M2 around 1st quarter of 2020 when they first came out, I still love it. Great mic pre's, flat frequencies (no extra color) and powers my DT 770 250 ohms headphone perfectly. I've considered getting a UAD Solo but right now it's just not a priority because I'm getting what I need with what I have. Once I add more hardware (which I plan to do) then I see myself moving upwards to something more versatile.
I just upgraded from Motu M4 to Apollo solo. Big difference imo. But what I didn’t anticipate was how the uad plugins are very dsp heavy. A channel strip will take half of its energy and after adding a LA2A comp it overloads! After doing some research I figured out how to work around it and use a combination of lower dsp plugins or print with certain plugins and add others later. It’s not that bad but down the line I’ll probably have to buy one of those DSP accelerators for 1k 🤦♂️ I didn’t hear many people on RUclips talk about that so I was kind of upset when I bought. But once I got used to it I’m glad I made the change, Apollo sounds amazing. But I’d recommend getting the Twin over Solo for the extra dsp.
Barry, I just gambled on an Aurora N coming from an Apollo Twin, ID14, and 404HD. The headphone section on this thing is night and day compared to any of the others. I can hear many things that were not so easy to distinguish before. K701 phones. For pure listening fun, this is as good or better than anything I’ve heard at Axpona or Head-fi conventions. I’ve never heard famous albums in this much detail and with this much transparency. The sound is full without any bass bloat. No harshness either. The scientific measurements people have done are among the best out there. Sometimes I’ve had to use the Hilo’s though. Lynx told my Sweetwater guy that the headphone section’s impedance is 0, which is what I wanted. I’ve been a reader of Nwavguy’s work for a decade and he’s saved me a lot of money. The only hardware I have is the Fusion and the Lynx converts it tremendously well. The committed file in Pro Tools sounds extremely close to the original track with the active hardware insert. Fusion always works too. On the ID14, I couldn’t even figure out the routing. On the Twin it would work or it wouldn’t. 404hd was consistent but it was pure analog and thus you had to turn both left and right channels and hope the volume was correct. Headphones is what I use because I’m not in an environment where I can really treat it. Some environments can’t even be treated well as I’m sure you know. I’ve not tried the preamps yet. Or hooked up any monitors. A big problem is that we can’t try gear out. I got this stuff because I used it on Access Analog. But it sounds much clearer in the real form than through AA. Not sure how to explain that one. Same file and same settings, very different result. I’m assuming those guys have Mogami cables or something as good. A word on DAWs. Pro Tools is the only one that can use Cranesong plugins. To me, that is a huge deal. They are elite.
Lynx makes amazing converters, on a different level than UA. The thing with UA is DSP, they have really never had great conversion on the Apollo series units, odd though the UA 2192 had amazing conversion compared to the competition when it came out!
I think it would be incredibly invaluable if you taught us all how to make your own acoustic treatment. I can’t think of a more profound gift to your “students” if you will, bc that’s what we are, you’re teaching many of us and so in a way that’s what we are. Instructors in audio programs aren’t doing that, full sail probably isn’t teaching their students how to make their own acoustic treatment. And it can be one of the most expensive things to purchase for a studio yet one of the most essential things to have in order to excel. Please consider it being a top priority to show us. I think many others would agree. Thanks so much, Barry
I’ve been using the Craneborne R8 and using 2 Focusrite Clarett 8 pre via ADAT. I use one Clarett for outboard having 2 distressors , HA Successor, Stam LA 2, Audioscape 1176 and a Tegeler Vari Mu I use the other Clarett for additional mic pre’s when recording drums. I use 2 Camden and 2 Capi’s in the 500 slots of the R8 and have the other 4 slots for my Wes Audio Dion and Prometheus. The headphones amps and the conversion on the Craneborne R8 are great. I also use Studio One and love it. Eventually like to buy some more coloured preamps I have a couple more I/O for a couple more pieces of outboard for the future love the hybrid mixing thing
@@jaredholton3145 I like the Clarett a lot the preamps are very good too it works perfectly with the ADAT syncs up great to the Craneborne it has the d sub connectors which go to my outboard gear for better cable management
@@ryanweber1367 I just picked up the clarett 8pre usb. MASSIVE difference between this interface and the scarlett that I was using. Primarily, the noise floor is about nonexistent. Second, the AD/DA converters are crazy good. I can actually hear the subtle compression and eq moves I'm making now.
Barry i love your channel its helped me out a lot. I know how you feel about recommending how people spend their money but I've done a lot of research on this and id like to know your opinion. I have a home studio with a RME fireface 400 i purchased when it first came out its still reliable but since Rme doesn't support the drivers anymore (the last driver update was 2017) is it time to upgrade to get better AD/DA converters?. Thanks
I just upgraded to Motu Ultralite Mk5, going from Motu m4. Not so much difference though. I think you are right Barry saying that quality of sound belongs to our hearing experience. For example, I am trying to use external preamp (warm audio wa12 mkii) and honestly I cannot justify big quality jump over Motu. Some another tonality, and that’s it. So as you said Barry, there comes question - ‘why’ we do upgrade.
I use my Focusrite Clarrett 4 Pre Thunderbolt with my 2015 IMac Retina 27” and the sound is incredible. I think technology only goes so far, so we are at the pinnacle currently. How many upgrades to your OS and hardware do you actually need? It’s a good question to ask oneself. It comes down to talent & knowledge of your current setup. Good vid brother!
Thats for sharing 6our knowledge. What about budget interfaces that were bought 10 years ago, but are still made and sold today? Like the behringer umc22? Are they still on par with newer designs? Or would going to a more recently designed interface(even one still in the budget range) be wise?
Small cute Steinberg ur22c is on the way to me right now. For recording and streaming on the go with channel strip in DSP. Compact, simple, useful, cheap, but well enough. It will be here in few days.
I've been using the RME UCX the first gen for a while. It's been serving me well and think it sounds great, but I know this is a pretty old unit nowadays. I'm wondering how much of an improvement the new UCX II has over it. Is it worth upgrading?
Definitely, if you have an interface from the last 10 years, you most probably don't need to update, as long as you don't run out of inputs, or are desperately for using UA plugins and don't have it already. I have a Focusrite 2i4 mkII (cheap and great), and I couldn't be happier with it, as I play all instruments by myself. But, if I'm going to upgrade to a bigger studio one day, to record bands, I would go for at least one or two Apollo or Focusrite with 8 inputs.
I’m in the market for getting a new audio interface -- all I do is record vocals -- I don’t need any i/o at all … I want purely for digital conversion - I have external pre amps and I just would like my conversion to be as good as I can get it within reasonable price- what do you advise ? Mastering converter like adi pro or antelope pure / amari? Or is an interface suitable ? I feel like I’m wasting money on interfaces because I don’t want the pre amps -/- if you have something to recommend let me know
Pretty much the best you can buy under $300. Have one, love it. At $400-1000 there's "better" options but 95% of people wouldn't notice the difference.
I'm waiting for you to review the SSL Big Six :) i think it gets overlooked as an interface because of the Mixer but it does the same thing. I want to know your opinion of the converters in it. for someone that uses outboard synths is it better to use it as all in one conversion and all ,or use it for the SSL console sound and get different converter to use with it like Babyface Pro or Prisim Lyra?
Thank you! I was looking for what to do and so on. I did invest in my new PC around 3000€ becourse - it has to work for the next 10 yrs minimum.. and i was thinking about buying a new interface expanding to analog and so on. Now i did realize the money to invest and the benefit of it - is no way to go. I can do so many things within the Box - and the 3 ch. Summing in my mixer and recording it does color the Mix in a nice way. But the industry does not give me a cheap and fair way to expand into a high level of outputs and get the Analog Mixing. Every choice was looking wrong, to expensive and it was always junk to buy. And i realize - i am a christ. I believe in his word and wisdom, to buy all that stuff is not the way i should go. The difference between mixing analog and digital is still there but - i can get it to lets say 80% just by what i already do have and can do. The rest 20 % are not that much important. And without the rest of the Studio gear - its just out of reach. And even if i do win a lottery - and get all that stuff - it does not and will not make the musik. The musik comes from a totaly different thing. And to invest all that bucks time and mind into the tech - the musik is becoming more and more smaller and smaller until i do have all that stuff and stop makeing musik. Or have fun makeing musik. It would turn into obsession of gear and a believe that gear transform me to some better professional. But in the end Gear is just gear. And it is for shure a dark Rabithole. If the companys want me to use their stuff - they have to give it to me for free. I will not invest the rest of my live in to gear that is sinfull expensive. Its quality yes. And is so wicked and truly a dream to work with - but in the end. Knobs Faders and all that tech - takes away time and money. From the important things in Life. Mostly it does take away Love and makes distance. We should always remember that the thing in live we do not have is TIME. And Time with our loved members of the Familie cannot be payed in money. The time will come that they will be gone. And whats left? Only tech that will be not in use becourse our inner pain stops us from using it. And that makes it clear for me. There is no future to invest money and time in all that things. Only to say: I did it analog.. the price it to high.
I also bought the Presonus Quantum 2626 recently and agree, love the near zero latency tracking, no need for DSP, plenty of I/O and potential to expand via ADAT - so easy to use and set up with Logic, no need for complex mixing software, just plug in and go!
@@Campfirecoyote-c3h Yep I agree ... "love the near zero latency tracking". I added the Revive Audio MODIFIED Behringer ADA8200 via ADAT and have more than I need now as far as inputs.
Has anyone here experienced both the Mackie Dl16s with Onix preamps and the Soundcraft Ui24r with Studer designed Preamps? Which one would be better? Thanks!
Upgrade to RME and never look back. The baby face is the best. Next motu m2 m4. In terms of latency they are the best. IMO low latency and stability is number one. Preamps.....plugins can emulate preamps. IE Neve...
Hi, Barry, great advice as always just wanted to ask if you to buy an interface what type of connection would you prefer, thunderbolt, usb , pci, etc... with the future of tech to consider?
I record drums in my studio through a 20 channel Ramsa board and 2 digi 002's. I would like to upgrade but I need 16 channel's of IO. Is there a 16 channel interface that anyone can recommend that isn't over $2000
I am upgrading from the 2012 cheese grater FireWire monster. Over a decade of interfaces and tech has passed me buy. Of course come a new Computer. Looking at UAD and RME. It really easy to self distort the importance of features that you may or may not need. In the end your making music. I’m still likely to submix my hardware synths from my Ashly LX308B I have not researched UAD and their driver support.
But seriously, I have an Apollo twin MKii with an old Focusrite Octapre (not Scarlett, it’s older). Can you recommend a couple of four or 8 channel ADAT preamps That would match or improve on the audio quality of my built-in Apollo preamps?
Im about to go from a scarlett solo 4th gen to an apogee symphony desktop for the dsp processing and the conversion. I struggle a lot with monitoring with low latency and I think having something like the ecs channel strip would negate the latency issues Ive been having trying to use compression while tracking. If anyone sees this comment let me know your thoughts.
I have Apollo 8 and 16 Silver. I picked up in the beginning of 2020. AND the 16 came with pro tools and lots of UAD plugs from the previous owner. I track alot of sound modules and a MPC X. I use mostly my preamp first. 2 Manley Force , Universal Audio 4-710 and I have Neve 5024 4ch running threw the 4-710 to have 8 ch going into my Apollo 8 via ADAT. I also use Phoenix Audio 8 ch preamp as well. Do you think I really need to upgrade to one of the newer Apollo black or heritage
The silver series DAC was not very good compared to other interfaces in its price range when it came out, so yes the newer boxes have better conversion, especially on the DAC. Whether its worth it or not, only you can answer that.
No...that's some incredible equipment there and you're just splitting hairs at this point. More important would be performance and room treatment. Everything you have already is very much professional grade from converters to preamps etc. Bases on what you have I'm guessing your monitors and treatment are also excellent.
i still love my digi 003 rack but my 2012 macbook pro is dying now. i have m1 mac mini but don’t know how to connect the digi 003 😢. thinking about getting smaller interface with adat so I can still use the 003. would it be a smart choice?
Don't shoot the messenger, but the 003's converters are not very good at all, they were considered fairly poor when they came out. The 003 control surface on the other end, was very good for the price. Most people used the control surface and then added an external converter via ADAT to compensate for the 003's below average conversion. Today's interfaces, even very inexpensive ones are much, much better. Additionally, the 003 will not work with newer USB3/Thunderbolt computers.
This is very timely. After a year of research I'm upgrading from an SSL 2+ to RME BabyFace Pro FS.
Great decision! Spend enough time to get your head around the Totalmix software! The first years, I did not utelized its potential - it is even better than sliced bread 🙂
@@derived-doom 😂 Sliced bread is crying! Thanks for the tip!
What kind of differences you see with that upgrade? I’m thinking to go from vault interface to Neumann but not sure if i can justify the price difference
@@lavvafimusic8618 First off there is a very obvious performance hike. The BabyFace rarely glitches out on me, on very rare occasion I have had to raise the buffer size, but that was before I upgraded my computer.
Secondly, the inputs on it are CLEAN, like surgical level clean. I could tell because I compared it to other big name interfaces like UAD Apollo and even Aurora Lynx, and even the SSL 2+. I like having clean recordings, gives me max freedom to shape the sound after.
Third, there's also a VERY OBVIOUS improvement to the clarity of what I hear back, regardless on whether I listen through the cheap Presonus Eris 3.5s, or my Dynaudio monitors, or my headphones, Sennheiser HD 600s and Slate Digital VSX. The decisions I make when mixing can be very nuanced, because the sound from the BabyFace is not colored. Some people love color in what they hear, not me.
The conversion, both ways, is phenomenal!
There's the added benefit of having larger i/o count, which I can utilize when I later go hybrid, and other perks like the TotalMixFX software it comes with. The price difference was worth it.
Hope this helps!
For the intermediate group of folks, the Audient iD44 is a fantastic choice. I moved to it from the TC Electronic Impact Twin (used from 2008 to 2017 or so), and I couldn’t believe the difference in preamp quality and AD/DA conversion. They say it has the exact preamps in their huge consoles.
Recently got the iD44 MK2. Love it.
Secommended
Same here. From Tc el. Impact twin went to Id44. Big difference in sound, but to be honest I prefer the interface of Tc, due to simplicity.
Audient interfaces are plagued with defects, and are known to break down after a year of use. Add to that they ignore customers who have these problems and reach out to them. I know this because both a friend of mine and myself had audient interfaces (id44 and id22 respectively), and not only did mine have issues from time to time, my friends broke down in one week! He contacted them to replace it and they ignored every email he sent. He ended up having the dealer take it back after they told him that not only is it a common issue, the id44 was completely sold out and they had no idea when it would be in stock. So he went with a MOTU and has had zero issues. I sold mine a little before the one year mark, as I didn't want a broken interface that I have no idea how to fix. I was in an audient community group on Facebook, and there was hardly a day that you wouldn't see one or more posts about a broken interface, and audient ignoring them. The main problem with them is the preamps, while sounding truly excellent, they run very hot, and will overheat eventually. I've heard that it's actually not too hard to fix, if you have the skills. But I've seen so many problems and complaints about being ignored that I had to get rid of mine even though it still worked, most days at least. If I were you I'd seriously think about switching brands, their consoles are the only thing that is truly quality
@@tricitytypebeat8622 thanks for this info. I have kept my Motu M2 as a backup. I only ever record two channels of audio...so if the audient ever fails, I will fall back on my Motu. I must say the motu is the most solid interface I have ever used. If we are speaking from a pure reliability standpoint, I will always choose Motu, RME or Metric Halo. The ID 44 MK2 was more of an experimental purchase for me.
I agree, Budget interfaces sound a lot better today then they did years ago. I always say conversion matters, but not as much as you think. A lot people blame conversion for their mixes, when there are so many other factors that effect your sound more than conversion
So true its usually simple things like the levels and people using too many plugins trying to make the music "louder"
@@piffromney1916 exactly! Mic and preamp and your room will have a greater effect on your recordings then conversion.
@@TheAudioCzar Spelling on the other hand, is a lot worse THAN it was years ago, despite the means to check it being at people's fingertips using the device they're typing on.
i bought the audient 44 mkii and i couldnt be happier. for the price point the converters and headroom are really really great. the preamps are awesome and again i mean for this price point.
Rockin’ the Apollox16 with BAE, API, and Burl outboard pres and lovin it! Upgraded to this interface a few years ago from a Digi003 Rack unit and that was SURELY a big difference in sound, especially when I then also replaced my old Mackie ‘big knob’ with a Dangerous Music Monitor ST. It’s been fun hearing and obsessing on the sound quality changes/improvements over the years! You can learn a lot from it! Happy holidays yallllz!
I got a RME Fireface 400 I bought back in 2010. It still sounds and works great!
Ha ha, I won: bought my RME as a christmas present to myself in 2009... Still using it, today it is living in a Thunderbolt case.
Audient iD14 was a game changer for me and first really good interface.
I LOVE that you are going to be providing content for acoustic treatment. Thank you for all of you incredible work.
I wish you, your family, and friends a very Happy Holiday, Exciting New Year, and revealing NAMM experiences!
Love your presentation and common sense.
@BarryJohns Regards from Spain. I love your channel, thank you for all the great information. I hope your having an awesome day!
Audible distortion at @11:40 Barry check it out
Hi Barry
I upgraded my Apollo from a solo to a twin x it was a price that was a unbelievable I’m glad I did it I’m happy with my twin and I won’t be upgrading any time soon great video 👍👍
Hi Barry, Henrique from Brazil here. Nice talk. You’re right about foreseeing what to expect from your converters and predict what your needs will be in the long term. fact is, tecnology is evolving to a point where no more loads of outboard gear is really needed. Actually no outboard gear is needed anymore. Many interfaces come loaded with outstanding preamps and later on in the process you can tweak to your liking. Also, converters become so good that whaever you choose, you will be able to hear everything clear with proper stereo positioning. Me, myself, have been using the first gen of Orion by Antelope since 2013 and still it serves me more than well. The only thing that has been buging me about replacing it is the fear of having it incompatible with a short upcome of macOS which would lead me to keep an expensive paper holder and I don’t want that for sure. Prices for converters of this range have also skyrocketed which keeps it even more dificult to make a move. What would you in my case? Keep it until it dies or sell it now and buy something that’s not that pricey, yet present a good IO count and superb conversion for the price? Or maybe wait to see what’s new next month at namm??
I recently upgraded from AIR 192/8 to AXE I/O and very glad I did.
I recently updated from the SSL 2+ to the SSL 12. I wanted more inputs to plug in my Roland Fantom. SSL also upgraded the DAC/ADC to 32bit 🔥 I can definitely hear a difference also.
I just went to the SSL 12 as well from the Apollo Twin USB. To me it is much better to my ears.
@@djsilent01 Dope & Exactly 🔥🙏🏾
Here's one thing I want to add to this discussion: If you get something like the RME UFX II (2k Bucks), you not only get an interface with good preamps and lots of inputs, it's basically also a mixer, a programmable patchbay and a monitor controller. I absolutely love that ARC remote along with it. I run all my synths into it, as well as a nice little analog fx chain for tracking and mixing. 8 Preset buttons allow to easily switch between settings for mixing, vocal tracking, guitar/bass tracking, synth noodling, synths through analog chain,... This is gonna be my interface for a very long time and I absolutely love it!
RME also has incredible drivers. Solid choice 👍
Is the older UFX as good or close?
I love my 2 Quantum 4848’s! They’re amazing. I was so upset with Presonus for discontinuing them. I’ve got a growing hybrid set up that I want to support. I had planned on getting at least one more. Hopefully they’ll just come out with a quantum 4848 TB 3 or 4. Hopefully that’s where they’re heading. The 4848 really is great.
Ya, I gotta agree with you. I am a professional mixer. The best decisions I ever made that improved my sound were 3 things. First, a full room treatment package from GiK Acoustics, second was the best monitors I could afford, and third was Sonarworks. If you don't do at least two of the 3, just save your money to do them lol. It's all a waste till you get at least 2 of those right!
100% agree. I lastly got a pair of Auratones as second monitors, and I can't recommend them enough. It's like having a senior eng. telling you what's wrong.
Barry Johns for president! I've learned alot from your videos .peace brother!
Thanks! Have a Merry Christmas!
Just bought an interface for traveling, RME Babyface Pro FS. At home I have the focusrite clarett 8. I’m done buying any “all in one” interfaces that include preamps. I used to use a Rosetta 800 for my converters and plugged all my outboard preamps into that and then went spdif into my digi002. I love that type of setup.
I would never recommend the focusrite clarett 8 because you can’t turn on phantom power to just one preamp (you can only use 48v on groups of 4 preamps. Also, you can’t bypass this preamps AT ALL, even by going line in. So my BAE 1073 has to get colored by the focusrite input transformers.
Yes Barry, please do a detailed video on what to use and how to do effective sound treatment in home studios (where indeed your majority viewers including me reside ! ). Thank you.
I got an RME UCX 10 years ago and don’t see any need to upgrade. Still sounds great and I expect RME to support it for many more years. If I was to upgrade it would be to reduce latency, which isn’t too bad with the UCX.
I have a Presonus Quantum (with the digitally controlled preamps) and I couldn't be happier. The monitor outputs could be a little hotter, but that's a very minor thing. I previously owned an MBox Pro 3 which wasn't all that bad to begin with, but I needed at least 8 inputs with expandability to record full bands and the Quantum sounds so much better to my ears. I will 100% agree you'll be better off getting your room treated. It's a battle you'll be forever fighting against. You can make your own panels for around $200-$250 in materials from a big box store like Lowes/Home Depot that will get you eight 2x4 foot panels that are 2-3 inches thick. Put them on the sides, one overhead, and 1-2 on your back wall and you'll notice an improvement in stereo image. Later on you can build some thicker ones for bass trapping in the corners. I built enough I have 4 I can move around and set up as a makeshift gobo for tracking acoustic, guitar amps and vocals.
I upgraded from the Presonus AudioBox 96 to an Antelope Discreet 4 two years ago and the converters, sound quality, & clarity improvement was just insane paired up with Adam A7X monitors. Definitely will have this setup for awhile
I got a discrete 8 a bit over a year ago and just absolutely love it - the Antelope software is also much more intuitive than the Focusrite that I had. I also picked up a D-Box + and that thing made a world of difference as well.
I just upgraded my 2013 scarlet 2i4 to a MOTU M2. The 2i4 still works fine BUT the knobs I noticed, have a sticky residue on them, which could be capacitor internal leakage. When I got the scarlet, the drivers sucked. They caused a false impression the back usb connection was faulty (with the first gen drivers), by dropping connection all the time and when you touched the unit, it would also drop connection. As windows updated over the years, you could see that focusrite was finally getting their driver "act" together and it never drops connection today. I use my unit for bedroom guitar playing and the main concern is accurate amplitube in room guitar tone. Most advice/reviews are geared toward mic users so us guitarists are in the dark on what's best for us tone wise. Thanks for confirming I made the correct decision to upgrade.
Need to wait for UAs next flagship interface
Yeah, I’m curious what’s coming! I probably won’t upgrade for a while because I just got the Apollo x 16 like maybe three years ago and it’s still doing a great job for me :)
I personally think that if you are going to upgrade your audio interface, you should treat your monitoring first (room and speakers), otherwise you wont be able to hear a big difference in sound, that's why I can't upgrade my 1st gen scarlett 18i20, becase I cannot treat my room as I'd like.
Great vid!
Its been kind of a controvertial interface but i bought Black Lions revolution because it was on sale for 273us. I honestly cant believe how good the conversion is. Big difference from my older ua twin duo. Im honestly pretty impressed. If they continue updating drivers for it that is. But for the money ive never heard better comversion anywhere near its current sale price.
I use external preamps so not really super relevant for me specifically but I do use an Apogee Symphony MK1 in my B studio for conversion and that unit still holds up in blind tests to any of the modern pro units I have tried on demo and I found that pretty interesting. Pretty sure the Mk1 was 2011 or sometime round that!
I have the same experience with the first Apogee Duet from 2007 I think. Never heard a modern interface that‘s really better except for the new Duet 3. Alltough in terms of recording quality the old Apogee still sounds more interesting on some songs.
I just went to the new SSL 12. I’m really enjoying the sound.
Barry! Take the foam off the window! Let the sun in!
Great video thank you so much. Would you even consider going from Volt 2 interface to Neumann MT 48 😅
As you said, it really depends on what you are looking for. Better (as in more accurate) converters would be a consideration. I use an Apogee Symphony and will not even consider "upgrading" that until the Black-face models come down in price, and/or I move to a new computer. Changing the hardware will only be for reasons of computer+Mac OS compatibility. If you are entry or mid level, you are better off getting better monitors or headphones (open back for mixing and closed back for tracking).
I JUST upgraded my old 1st Gen Orion 32 to a new Orion 32 + Gen 3. So far so good on the newest version of Protools running Big Sur 11.7 on my Mac M1 Mini. Antelope has had some issues in the past but overall I’ve been extremely pleased with the performance and their customer service is really great. I call and a person answers. Now I have to sell all the extra gear I “wanted” when I had more expendable income in years past lol. The gear acquisition syndrome is real folks! 😂
That is good to hear, as you said they have been hit or miss in the past, that has affected people's confidence in them. They make amazing interfaces, killer conversion, when they are working, they are an incredible value.
I just traded my HD Omni for a couple of amps and recently received my new Tascam Model 24. I love it to death!!!!! Got my HD Omni in 2014 and my 2012 MacPro bit the dust at the beginning of the year. Well over do and totally no computer now, LA610MKII or HA73-Model-24-AudioScape Buss Comp-Tascam DP-03 for the Mastering function. Couldn’t be more liberating and happier!
I was running a used motu 8 pre firewire I picked up for around 130 bucks back in 2016. After a few years, only 4 of the 8 channels were working. About a year and a half ago I upgraded to the Apollo x8p heritage edition, so I got a bunch of plugins to get me rolling into the UAD world. I've bought a few other plugins on sale since then. I have no regrets and I think its one of the best home recording gear purchases I've ever made. Not only have I gotten to use good emulations of analog gear I could never afford, but the preamps sound fantastic even without using a unison plugin on them. It's been a huge difference compared to the other interfaces I've owned.
I wanted to connect some digital effects processors and they offered both analog and digital I/o.
I’d never had any experience with this so I called a sales rep and told him what I had. He set me up with a small interface which included two digital ports, although S/PDIF and AES. So a couple of adapters later, I had my digital I/o wired in with the analog ports as well.
That was great for a while, but I learned to prefer the analog, at the time, because I could really slam the input and the occasional distortion was cool, it would go into the delays and was something I’d never heard.
But as time passed, those mic preamps didn’t sound so good with distortion, so I added my first two ch of outboard. Finally these could handle gritty garb and still sing.
It continued to grow, more than doubled in size, and I needed more and more channels so I went back to the same sales outfit for a much bigger interface and kept both.
Learned about word clock cables quickly, so the two interfaces can run on the same wavelength (or whatever they’re actually doing). Then I filled in comfortably, if I wanted something in the rig I just added it.
Meanwhile it was a lot more comfortable routing signals here and there. That’s something I was afraid of in the beginning, learning the DAW. But it’s all actually quite logical and simple really. Nice to be able to separate all the recordings into separate tracks by recording specific channels.
I still had a lot to learn about phase, about bitrate, and sample rates. But there’s some great information out there these days.
The more I learned, the more comfortable I became with my rig. Which works pretty well, and if you position your mics and align your phase, and keep an eye on the top end noise, can make some really clean sounds.
Definitely agree on room treatment, I need it badly. I’ll look forward to what you do next. Would be nice to be able to KNOW how much bass is right, every time and not have to load previous mixes and use them for templates. It’s a pastime for me, when I’m not at work I like to learn. Thank you Barry. Best wishes.
I’m also upgrading from a 12 core cheese grater to a Mac Studio and I’m going from a FireWire based RME Multiface to an SSL12. Was kinda shocked how better it immediately sounded. I think my Multiface was having issues. Very happy with the SSL12 so far, especially with my Softube Console and Fader with the SSL 9000K XL plugin
Really enjoy your content! In the last few years I’ve tried the Focusrite Scarlett 2nd and 3rd gen, Audient ID44, Mackie Onyx, Focusrite Clarett series, and Apollo Twin all with outboard preamps (Neve 511). I was pretty unimpressed with the Audient. The Clarett and the Apollo seemed to be the best overall. But the Mackie Onyx was surprisingly amazing! Really liked it more than the Scarlett and Audient.
Hi Bryant, which Mackie is this? Are talking about the Mackie Onyx Producer 2x2?
@@franksmit7251 yep that’s the one!
I upgraded from a Focusrite pro 14 (now considered obsolete I guess) to an Apollo X 6 and a satellite duo a couple years ago. I’m on a late 2013 iMac with an ssd 1 TB and 16 gigs ram. I’ll never need anything else. I’m starting to mix on my AKG 371’s instead of on my Kali second generation IN 8’s cuz I can’t treat my room and I’m sick dealing with the consequences.
I still am with my audient id14 mk1. Only recording vocals and guitars. Neg. points: latency, headphone amp and possibly some instabilities...
I have an M-Audio Firewire 410...which I've used sinced 2005. Drivers weren't supported in 2022. Got a MOTU M4 as a stop gap...but I'm super impressed.
big upgrade in conversion.
The RME Babyface Pro is a rock solid desktop interface. I spend 99.9% of my time in the box, however I've done some really nice recordings with it. The AD/DA converters are very, very good. And RME drivers are the absolute best in the industry.
Anyway, as pointed out in the video, your money is likely better spent on room treatments and a decent set of stiudio monitors.
That's the one i'm considering upgrading to from the focusrite scarlett 3rd gen would you recommend upgrading?
I have an apollo twin i love it upgraded from a focusrite 2i2 my upgrade would be one of the rme interfaces honestly
Ive got a motu 896hd ive used since 2002. Best product, but looking for some newer conversion in the premium quality range. Was interested in apollo, rme, and prism. The titan converters really just blowing me away.
Any experience with modern prism sound interfaces Barry??
Upgraded from an Apollo x4 to an Apolo X8, and the audio conversion is WAY FREAKIN BETTER !
I just upgraded from a apollo usb to a Motu 929es
I love the different. Great move for me
I love it
I do a mix: combining a good ADAT pre-amp with my old RME interface (13 years old). Still more reliable than my experiments with new interfaces from other companies. And like you said: I can use my additions and my experience with the tools (Totalmix - it is the same for each interface) later on. Since RME is still selling soundcards based on the HDSPe-Design, I am expecting to be covered with drivers for at least the next 5-10 years. Long story short: a good interface from a professional vendor can live in your studio for 20+ years!
Disadvantage? Yes: You can't geek out about interfaces, if your one is just doing the job.
Regarding the monitor situation: I know, most people say you can't mix on headphones... But in my experience, a pair of really good headphones combined with a legit amp will outperform every bedroom/speaker arrangement easily. You have a studio-like room? Better for you... BTW: I'm not talking about mixing with earbuds 🙂
PRESONUS DID COME OUT WITH THEIR NEW UPGRADED QUANTUM INTERFACE
Not the Quantum 48/48.
Great video. I have a legacy apogee symphony I/O mk1. Of course this is high end but getting older! They came out with the mk2 which I’ve considered. But I’m also looking at RME products. Should I sell and upgrade??? Thanks!!
I like interfaces with usb c and built in dsp to spread the processing around devices. I also like iOS compatible units with device line level ins along with the XLR. In 2021 I went with a stienberg UR44c. Built in stand alone mixer and fx gives beginners a plug n play options with great results.
I’m a longtime Studio One and Quantum user; and a PreSonus Producer/Artist. 👍🏻👍🏻
I used a focusrite 18i20 and while it was ok I found just downloading, initially and getting to work was a major hassle. Out with 18i20- IN with a Roland Studio Capture, drivers downloaded in 2 minutes (ezpz) and was rock solid. However I could never get low enough latency for some VST's. Out with Roland IN with RME UCX 2. Drivers solid, latency gone, just a wonderful interface, my only issue was learning curve for Total mix which can be bit overwhelming, but once sorted it's been great.
I'm working on TotalMix videos now, I went through the same nonsense, its so opposite of the way most people think about routing. There videos are not very good either IMHO. Like you said though, once you get it, its mind blowing how powerful it is.
Upgraded from a Mbox Mini 2 to the Volt 476 not because of a want but because of a necessity.
I'm sure you also noticed that the conversion is much better on the UA
is it worth to upgrade a audient id14 mk1 for a apollo solo? for the sake of uad plugins and unison pre to tack vocals
That is where I am right now. Have you bought the solo? If yes, can you recomment ut?
I bought a Motu M2 around 1st quarter of 2020 when they first came out, I still love it. Great mic pre's, flat frequencies (no extra color) and powers my DT 770 250 ohms headphone perfectly. I've considered getting a UAD Solo but right now it's just not a priority because I'm getting what I need with what I have. Once I add more hardware (which I plan to do) then I see myself moving upwards to something more versatile.
I just upgraded from Motu M4 to Apollo solo. Big difference imo. But what I didn’t anticipate was how the uad plugins are very dsp heavy. A channel strip will take half of its energy and after adding a LA2A comp it overloads! After doing some research I figured out how to work around it and use a combination of lower dsp plugins or print with certain plugins and add others later. It’s not that bad but down the line I’ll probably have to buy one of those DSP accelerators for 1k 🤦♂️ I didn’t hear many people on RUclips talk about that so I was kind of upset when I bought. But once I got used to it I’m glad I made the change, Apollo sounds amazing. But I’d recommend getting the Twin over Solo for the extra dsp.
I'm happy with my MOTU Ultralite mk5, combined with my FOCAL's, so far...
Barry, I just gambled on an Aurora N coming from an Apollo Twin, ID14, and 404HD. The headphone section on this thing is night and day compared to any of the others. I can hear many things that were not so easy to distinguish before. K701 phones.
For pure listening fun, this is as good or better than anything I’ve heard at Axpona or Head-fi conventions. I’ve never heard famous albums in this much detail and with this much transparency. The sound is full without any bass bloat. No harshness either.
The scientific measurements people have done are among the best out there. Sometimes I’ve had to use the Hilo’s though.
Lynx told my Sweetwater guy that the headphone section’s impedance is 0, which is what I wanted. I’ve been a reader of Nwavguy’s work for a decade and he’s saved me a lot of money.
The only hardware I have is the Fusion and the Lynx converts it tremendously well. The committed file in Pro Tools sounds extremely close to the original track with the active hardware insert.
Fusion always works too. On the ID14, I couldn’t even figure out the routing. On the Twin it would work or it wouldn’t. 404hd was consistent but it was pure analog and thus you had to turn both left and right channels and hope the volume was correct.
Headphones is what I use because I’m not in an environment where I can really treat it. Some environments can’t even be treated well as I’m sure you know.
I’ve not tried the preamps yet. Or hooked up any monitors.
A big problem is that we can’t try gear out. I got this stuff because I used it on Access Analog. But it sounds much clearer in the real form than through AA. Not sure how to explain that one. Same file and same settings, very different result. I’m assuming those guys have Mogami cables or something as good.
A word on DAWs. Pro Tools is the only one that can use Cranesong plugins. To me, that is a huge deal. They are elite.
Lynx makes amazing converters, on a different level than UA. The thing with UA is DSP, they have really never had great conversion on the Apollo series units, odd though the UA 2192 had amazing conversion compared to the competition when it came out!
I love my little Yamaha AG 06 mini mixer/interface. Yamaha has been in the game for a long time and makes what they want.
I think it would be incredibly invaluable if you taught us all how to make your own acoustic treatment. I can’t think of a more profound gift to your “students” if you will, bc that’s what we are, you’re teaching many of us and so in a way that’s what we are. Instructors in audio programs aren’t doing that, full sail probably isn’t teaching their students how to make their own acoustic treatment. And it can be one of the most expensive things to purchase for a studio yet one of the most essential things to have in order to excel. Please consider it being a top priority to show us. I think many others would agree.
Thanks so much, Barry
I’ve been using the Craneborne R8 and using 2 Focusrite Clarett 8 pre via ADAT. I use one Clarett for outboard having 2 distressors , HA Successor, Stam LA 2, Audioscape 1176 and a Tegeler Vari Mu I use the other Clarett for additional mic pre’s when recording drums. I use 2 Camden and 2 Capi’s in the 500 slots of the R8 and have the other 4 slots for my Wes Audio Dion and Prometheus. The headphones amps and the conversion on the Craneborne R8 are great. I also use Studio One and love it. Eventually like to buy some more coloured preamps I have a couple more I/O for a couple more pieces of outboard for the future love the hybrid mixing thing
How do you like the Clarett?
@@jaredholton3145 I like the Clarett a lot the preamps are very good too it works perfectly with the ADAT syncs up great to the Craneborne it has the d sub connectors which go to my outboard gear for better cable management
@@ryanweber1367 I just picked up the clarett 8pre usb. MASSIVE difference between this interface and the scarlett that I was using. Primarily, the noise floor is about nonexistent. Second, the AD/DA converters are crazy good. I can actually hear the subtle compression and eq moves I'm making now.
@@jaredholton3145 The Clarett is definitely an upgrade from the Scarlett happy to hear you like it
Almost helpful.. is there a stat or metric to check on our older interface to know if it needs an upgrade?
Still using my RME Fireface 800! That thing is rock solid.
I had one many years ago for remote recording and it was solid then too!
RME Baby, pun intended.
Barry i love your channel its helped me out a lot. I know how you feel about recommending how people spend their money but I've done a lot of research on this and id like to know your opinion. I have a home studio with a RME fireface 400 i purchased when it first came out its still reliable but since Rme doesn't support the drivers anymore (the last driver update was 2017) is it time to upgrade to get better AD/DA converters?. Thanks
I just upgraded to Motu Ultralite Mk5, going from Motu m4. Not so much difference though. I think you are right Barry saying that quality of sound belongs to our hearing experience. For example, I am trying to use external preamp (warm audio wa12 mkii) and honestly I cannot justify big quality jump over Motu. Some another tonality, and that’s it. So as you said Barry, there comes question - ‘why’ we do upgrade.
Apollo Silver still kicking over here paired with a DBox+.
@BarryJohns what do you think of the Ferrofish for outboard gear vs RME? I know you have experience with both. Thanks
I use my Focusrite Clarrett 4 Pre Thunderbolt with my 2015 IMac Retina 27” and the sound is incredible. I think technology only goes so far, so we are at the pinnacle currently. How many upgrades to your OS and hardware do you actually need? It’s a good question to ask oneself. It comes down to talent & knowledge of your current setup. Good vid brother!
Hi Barry! In your opinion is it worth buying an Apogee MK1 today?
Thats for sharing 6our knowledge. What about budget interfaces that were bought 10 years ago, but are still made and sold today? Like the behringer umc22? Are they still on par with newer designs? Or would going to a more recently designed interface(even one still in the budget range) be wise?
Small cute Steinberg ur22c is on the way to me right now. For recording and streaming on the go with channel strip in DSP. Compact, simple, useful, cheap, but well enough. It will be here in few days.
I upgraded my audio interface from Akai MPCX to MOTU M4 . Major difference in sound .
I've been using the RME UCX the first gen for a while. It's been serving me well and think it sounds great, but I know this is a pretty old unit nowadays. I'm wondering how much of an improvement the new UCX II has over it. Is it worth upgrading?
I would ask that question in RME’s forum and get feedback from people who made the move already.
is the apogee symphony desktop interface compatible with the m1 mac mini
Definitely, if you have an interface from the last 10 years, you most probably don't need to update, as long as you don't run out of inputs, or are desperately for using UA plugins and don't have it already.
I have a Focusrite 2i4 mkII (cheap and great), and I couldn't be happier with it, as I play all instruments by myself. But, if I'm going to upgrade to a bigger studio one day, to record bands, I would go for at least one or two Apollo or Focusrite with 8 inputs.
I’m in the market for getting a new audio interface -- all I do is record vocals -- I don’t need any i/o at all … I want purely for digital conversion - I have external pre amps and I just would like my conversion to be as good as I can get it within reasonable price- what do you advise ? Mastering converter like adi pro or antelope pure / amari? Or is an interface suitable ? I feel like I’m wasting money on interfaces because I don’t want the pre amps -/- if you have something to recommend let me know
What do you think about the Motu-M4?
Pretty much the best you can buy under $300. Have one, love it. At $400-1000 there's "better" options but 95% of people wouldn't notice the difference.
I'm waiting for you to review the SSL Big Six :) i think it gets overlooked as an interface because of the Mixer but it does the same thing. I want to know your opinion of the converters in it. for someone that uses outboard synths is it better to use it as all in one conversion and all ,or use it for the SSL console sound and get different converter to use with it like Babyface Pro or Prisim Lyra?
Thank you! I was looking for what to do and so on. I did invest in my new PC around 3000€ becourse - it has to work for the next 10 yrs minimum.. and i was thinking about buying a new interface expanding to analog and so on. Now i did realize the money to invest and the benefit of it - is no way to go. I can do so many things within the Box - and the 3 ch. Summing in my mixer and recording it does color the Mix in a nice way. But the industry does not give me a cheap and fair way to expand into a high level of outputs and get the Analog Mixing. Every choice was looking wrong, to expensive and it was always junk to buy. And i realize - i am a christ. I believe in his word and wisdom, to buy all that stuff is not the way i should go. The difference between mixing analog and digital is still there but - i can get it to lets say 80% just by what i already do have and can do. The rest 20 % are not that much important. And without the rest of the Studio gear - its just out of reach. And even if i do win a lottery - and get all that stuff - it does not and will not make the musik. The musik comes from a totaly different thing. And to invest all that bucks time and mind into the tech - the musik is becoming more and more smaller and smaller until i do have all that stuff and stop makeing musik. Or have fun makeing musik. It would turn into obsession of gear and a believe that gear transform me to some better professional. But in the end Gear is just gear. And it is for shure a dark Rabithole. If the companys want me to use their stuff - they have to give it to me for free. I will not invest the rest of my live in to gear that is sinfull expensive. Its quality yes. And is so wicked and truly a dream to work with - but in the end. Knobs Faders and all that tech - takes away time and money. From the important things in Life. Mostly it does take away Love and makes distance. We should always remember that the thing in live we do not have is TIME. And Time with our loved members of the Familie cannot be payed in money. The time will come that they will be gone. And whats left? Only tech that will be not in use becourse our inner pain stops us from using it. And that makes it clear for me. There is no future to invest money and time in all that things. Only to say: I did it analog.. the price it to high.
Just upgraded not too long ago (within the past year) to a Quantum 2626 and love it. It was a big difference from my Focusrite Scarlett Solo.
I also bought the Presonus Quantum 2626 recently and agree, love the near zero latency tracking, no need for DSP, plenty of I/O and potential to expand via ADAT - so easy to use and set up with Logic, no need for complex mixing software, just plug in and go!
@@Campfirecoyote-c3h Yep I agree ... "love the near zero latency tracking". I added the Revive Audio MODIFIED Behringer ADA8200 via ADAT and have more than I need now as far as inputs.
Has anyone here experienced both the Mackie Dl16s with Onix preamps and the Soundcraft Ui24r with Studer designed Preamps? Which one would be better? Thanks!
Upgrade to RME and never look back. The baby face is the best. Next motu m2 m4. In terms of latency they are the best. IMO low latency and stability is number one. Preamps.....plugins can emulate preamps. IE Neve...
Does anyone know if the RME UCX 2 can continue outputting its mix even if the MacBook it’s connected to crashes? Is it independent like that?
Hi, Barry, great advice as always just wanted to ask if you to buy an interface what type of connection would you prefer, thunderbolt, usb , pci, etc... with the future of tech to consider?
Thunderbolt is the safest bet. PCie physical cards are not as relevant any longer.
@@BarryJohns Thanks for your help, an Happy Holidays
I record drums in my studio through a 20 channel Ramsa board and 2 digi 002's. I would like to upgrade but I need 16 channel's of IO. Is there a 16 channel interface that anyone can recommend that isn't over $2000
How do you run both Digi 002s together? When I had one back in the day I couldn’t figure it out.
I am upgrading from the 2012 cheese grater FireWire monster. Over a decade of interfaces and tech has passed me buy. Of course come a new Computer. Looking at UAD and RME. It really easy to self distort the importance of features that you may or may not need. In the end your making music. I’m still likely to submix my hardware synths from my Ashly LX308B
I have not researched UAD and their driver support.
Don’t do UA if you have windows. Trust me. It won’t even run and AMD system properly too.
Good video.
Do I need to upgrade from the Digi 03 rack to something else to Apollo series ? Will I here the conversion difference ???
i wonder what improvement would there be if i moved fr FOCUSRITE 18I8-3RDGEN {with that super low buffer size performance, 64] to RME hhmmm
But seriously, I have an Apollo twin MKii with an old Focusrite Octapre (not Scarlett, it’s older). Can you recommend a couple of four or 8 channel ADAT preamps That would match or improve on the audio quality of my built-in Apollo preamps?
Im about to go from a scarlett solo 4th gen to an apogee symphony desktop for the dsp processing and the conversion. I struggle a lot with monitoring with low latency and I think having something like the ecs channel strip would negate the latency issues Ive been having trying to use compression while tracking. If anyone sees this comment let me know your thoughts.
I have Apollo 8 and 16 Silver. I picked up in the beginning of 2020. AND the 16 came with pro tools and lots of UAD plugs from the previous owner. I track alot of sound modules and a MPC X. I use mostly my preamp first. 2 Manley Force , Universal Audio 4-710 and I have Neve 5024 4ch running threw the 4-710 to have 8 ch going into my Apollo 8 via ADAT. I also use Phoenix Audio 8 ch preamp as well. Do you think I really need to upgrade to one of the newer Apollo black or heritage
That’s almost the same situation I’m in I have an older twin dou silver should I really upgrade 🤷🏾♂️ or is it still good
The silver series DAC was not very good compared to other interfaces in its price range when it came out, so yes the newer boxes have better conversion, especially on the DAC. Whether its worth it or not, only you can answer that.
No...that's some incredible equipment there and you're just splitting hairs at this point. More important would be performance and room treatment. Everything you have already is very much professional grade from converters to preamps etc. Bases on what you have I'm guessing your monitors and treatment are also excellent.
i still love my digi 003 rack but my 2012 macbook pro is dying now. i have m1 mac mini but don’t know how to connect the digi 003 😢. thinking about getting smaller interface with adat so I can still use the 003. would it be a smart choice?
Don't shoot the messenger, but the 003's converters are not very good at all, they were considered fairly poor when they came out. The 003 control surface on the other end, was very good for the price. Most people used the control surface and then added an external converter via ADAT to compensate for the 003's below average conversion. Today's interfaces, even very inexpensive ones are much, much better. Additionally, the 003 will not work with newer USB3/Thunderbolt computers.
@@BarryJohns yeah it's the right time to move on. thank you.
Maybe in 20 years that "vintage bad converter sound" will become highly sought after and everyone will be bidding up 003s 😂
Regarding acoustic treatment I recommend people get Sonarworks' software first!
Grandpa, I don't even own one to upgrade from 😤😂
What get on computer get in rack unit
upgraded to Lynx Aurora 16 from a focusrite saffire pro 40 yesterday
dont forget you can use it in standalone mode. Im using my retired saffire as a live recording rig so i can multitrack live bands
@@borisCHoppz exactly what I’m thinking! Will most likely need it for headphone mixes but I need to figure that out with a console I got recently
Apollo X4. Super good. Super pro.
Still using two Presonus Firestudio Tubes lol. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it