I plan on using my Analog Four with Overbridge and MIDI syncing my RYTM.
I use an Native Instruments Audio 8 DJ sound interface. I feel the sound from the interface is not up to scratch and sometimes there is a clicking sound when using this device. If I bypass the sound card and use the internal speakers the clicks and pops disappears which would point toward the sound card rather than settings in the DAW.
Should I invest in a new sound interface? If so, which one should I be looking at? Price range ÂŁ200 - ÂŁ500.
Or just wait until the RYTM VST is released, then I won’t need an interface, right?
I don’t plan on hooking up any other hardware, just my Four and RYTM.
If you don’t need microphone preamps but want loads of clean channels for all your Elektrons and other synths with top-notch conversion and fast drivers, look at the Echo Audiofire 12.
Wow that looks pretty damn good. Maybe the Audio fire 8 would suffice as i only have the RYTM and the Four. Do i need an all singing and dancing interface when i’ll be using OVERBRIDGE via USB for my two Elektron units? All i need is a unit to connect to my external speakers.
On second thoughts I would pay max £400 for a good unit. Any other recommendations? The Focusrite’s Saffire Pro 40 looks quite tasty too.
Would I notice a marked increase in sound quality with a diffreent sound interface compared to the AUDIO 8 DJ?
The AF4, AF8, and AF12 have great specifications. Massive dynamic range for the price.
Many years ago I was in some financial distress and had to sell off my Metric Halo and Lynx interfaces. I used an AudioFire4 with busted preamps that I got off eBay for $100 for a couple years afterward, and it suited me just fine, especially on the D/A monitoring side of things.
I couldn’t much work with latencies below 512 samples at 44.1khz in Live, on a quad Mac Pro, but it was good enough and they do have latency-free direct monitoring when going into the interface.
I am surprised you are having issues with the Audio 8 DJ, though.
These are generally rock solid interfaces. Have you contacted NI support about the issues?
Another interface to consider is the Focusrite Scarlett series. The 18i8 is affordable with some expansion capability over ADAT. Workable latencies on my newer 8 core Mac Pro were lower than my AudioFire4, but higher than my current Apogee Duet 2.
The thing with audio interfaces is… they’re probably the least important part of the chain. But once you’re used to a good one, it’s very hard to go back. Fast and stable drivers, low latency, truthful conversion, flexible routing… these are all things that you’ll quickly get used to and won’t want to miss. I use a Metric Halo 2882 and it’s overkill for what I do but I won’t trade it in for something more simple. Ever.
I hear good things about the Focusrite boxes for what they cost, fwiw.
I might be more finicky than you, but my Avid soundcard crashed a few years ago and I bought a Scarlet as a short term solution. I hated it, the sound was terrible. I quickly bought an RME and I would strongly suggest an RME in terms of conversion, latency, stability etc…
If all you want is an accurate DA convertor and word clock for your monitors and DAW then there are probably cheaper options out there
if you plan on sending audio over USB exclusively your focus should be on an interface with a proper D/A converter & flexible monitoring options for sending the audio out to your headphones / monitors.
IMO the scarlett stuff is OK, it will get the job done but in terms of latency / conversion / routing it’s leagues below anything from Motu, RME, Metric Halo (if you’re on mac)
Going up from here will be very expensive, UAD stuff is tops but will be thousands more for a decent configuration.
I opted for the less is more route and just got a nice 2 channel converter that my OT outs stay glued to my DAW is a glorified 2 track tape recorder
i’d go for a used rme babyface. they should start popping up on ebay more now that the babyface pro is out. i’ve had mine for 4 years now and it’s never had a single issue. sounds great.
Ok, first off, you using a laptop or a desktop? mac or pc?
Secondly, what speakers you have? Active/Passive? What connections you have for them?
Personally I’d just wait until overbridge comes, soundcards with massive I/O can be costly (if great soundquality is desired) and demand a lot from the connection for multichannel low latency operation.
If however you need other options, I’ve heard the apogee lil boxes are quite nice…if you’re a mac user, that is. Seems like they have a summer campaing that gives you waves plugs with the card:
Also, I think this new box might be killer, check it!
I only will be using USB to send audio from the AF and RYTM using a Ableton (once OB is released for it).
Out of all the top choices here it looks like the Radial USB pro would suit my needs the most? XLR direct to XLR on the monitors and I don’t need lots of I/Os… Not bad for 250 quid.
Another vote for RME here, I have a Babyface and am most happy with it. I did have an Apogee Duet but returned it as the firmware update was fundamentally flawed. I am considering a ADAT interface for more in’s and out’s though (just a cheap Behringer one). The RME has the lowest latency I’ve ever experienced.
Absolutely love it. Mainly because it’s the one piece of gear I never have issues with. Ever (well…after having struggled with TotalMix, that is). Fire it up and just forget it, never worrying that it won’t sound gorgeous or send something anywhere or merely work.
You don’t want the Radial. That’s used to turn a USB signal into a balanced signal. It won’t solve your latency (“click”) issue.
Anyway if youre considering getting serious about production you’ll need a proper interface. Babyface will do you well for quite awhile.
Forgive me for high jacking your thread for a second: any of you babyface users use a controller to get hands on with TotalMix? Difficult to set up?
Yeah it doesn’t seem something people do often. We’ll see.
BTW i also have a Behringer Ada8000. It does the line-level job just fine. Sucks outs are XLR only and can’t route from within but for the price it’s a nice little piece of kit.
Loadsa RME fans in here, eh? low latency is the only notable feature in an RME product, conversion-wise they’re a bit overpriced comparing to contemporary equivalents IMO… But at least they seem to have a reliable reputation.
Your monitors seem to take 10 kiloohms for input, so the Radial will not work in your situation. FWIW the Radial box is a class compliant audio interface + high quality DI, calling it a USB converter sounds odd?
If you can get a Babyface for cheap second hand I guess it’s not a bad choice either, but for paying full price… I’d seriously research further into it first. RMEs were all the rage 10 years ago (and back then just about the only prosumer option), but IMO the competition in audio interface market has become much fiercer since then.
EDIT: Just to refresh my memory, I checked the price of a new Babyface…? Man you can get an entry level Apollo for that amount of cash! I’d certainly consider investing such a sum of money very carefully if I were you (like, research it for 6 months )
did i read this wrong?
your audio interface is basically the most important thing in the chain when it comes to audio quality. specially if your recording into your computer using any of its analog channels. a bad IO with a bad jittery clock, and cheap Op amps, and poor construction. . well why bother with thousands in analog synths and gear if your just gonna record them with crap.?
i have a Motu interface with modification to the analog channels.
the mods made it night and day with what i was hearing. i couldn’t imagine how bad an A4 or Rytm would sound through a behringer IO.
my DAW is a glorified 2 track tape recorder
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