Which usb interface do you use and do you like it?

[PorkPieGuy]

Looking for a decent usb interface. I already have software I like; I just need an interface. I dont need more than 2 channels at a time.

So, which one do you have and how do you like it?

[paulchevin]

My current audio interface is a firewire one - the Focusrite Saffire LE - which is definitely the most reliable and best-sounding interface that I've used to date. However, before that I tried a number of different USB interfaces, with varying degrees of success. As with so many things, it all depends on how much you are prepared to spend and the audio quality you're after. Also, if you intend to work with a lot of tracks and/or MIDI, you should probably be looking for a USB 2.0 interface - many are not and therefore only utilise a fraction of the 480 Megabites per second available with USB 2.0. If you're just using a few tracks, USB 1.0 will normally suffice.

The first USB interface I tried (and one I've kept for mobile recording) was the Tascam US122, which has worked well for me and is very robust. I'd describe the sound quality as being quite good, but the preamps are perhaps not the best. The newer US122L and US144 operate on USB 2.0 and should therefore give better performance.

I also have a Line 6 Toneport UX1, which I bought for electric guitar modelling. This has always been very stable, but you need to run the Line 6 software whilst recording. The UX2 version has dual mic preamps and phantom power and the reviews suggest that these are OK, plus the price is quite reasonable, so it's certainly worth a look.

Another USB interface I tried was the Lexicon Omega. This sounded great, but like a lot of users I had real problems with it losing communication with the computer, so I exchanged mine for an Emu 0404 USB. Those who have managed to get their Omega to work correctly seem to swear by it, but reliability is clearly an issue. I note that Lexicon have just brought out a new range of high-end USB interfaces called "IONIX" - these are rumoured to be very good indeed, but they may cost more than you would want to spend.

The Emu 0404 USB is arguably the best-sounding budget USB interface. It uses good A/D and D/A converters, operates on USB 2.0 and is very quiet. To my ears the preamps sound a bit "dark", but they are certainly very quiet and you get the benefit of switchable soft-limiters for recording. Also, the breakout box can be used as a standalone dual mic preamp, which is quite handy. The only downside is that it does not operate on USB bus power, so you always need to carry the external power supply around. I only sold mine because the Saffire sounds much better and has really good preamps.

The above are the interfaces I have experience of, but I note that the Edirol UA-25 seems to be very popular and the new version, the UA-25EX is supposed to be even better.

I hope that helps!

Paul

[jackstrat]

I have two Line 6 TonePort UX-2s (now named Studio UX2) and love 'em.

Phantom power mic ins, guitar in, backed up by the great Line 6 effects, amps, preamps, etc. Very hard to beat. Even if you're acoustic only, the preamps (mic'ed guitar and vocal) and effects can be very useful. And if you play electric, or record a mix, it provides great electric guitar/bass amps.

It also provides zero latency monitoring, VU meters, lots of audio connects...just a great deal all around.

And for a few extra bucks you can add on 60+ amps, tons of effects, etc.

http://line6.com/podstudioux2/sounds.html

Remember, like all USB sound devices, if you're hooking up to a Windows laptop, disable the wireless adapter when recording.

Jack

[TBman]

I have a Tascam US-122, its about 3 years old. There are newer models available now.

[Michael T]

MAudio Fast Track Ultra, killer preamps and super clean-quiet.

http://www.m-audio.net/products/en_u...rackUltra.html

[PorkPieGuy]

I'm looking pretty hard at that Tascam US-122L. I have a little single-tube pre-amp that I use now (studio projects vtb-1). I only plan on recording acoustic instruments using a condensor, but it would be really nice to be able to record stereo. Right now, I'm only recording through my factor soundcard (1/8") jack. I've gotten pretty good results, but I know it would be better if I could do USB.

Thanks everyone!

[jackstrat]

Again, the big advantage of the Line6 UXs is there preamp simulations. They are very good.

Jack

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by jackstrat

Again, the big advantage of the Line6 UXs is there preamp simulations. They are very good.

Jack

I don't how much amp simulation I'll need recording the hammered dulcimer.

[mhs]

I tried to read through this carefully and didn't see the word's 'multi-track' in here. Maybe most of the USB interfaces (with or without real-time monitoring) will suffice.

Here's what a few friends and myself have come up with (or consider to be "our" truth about USB audio):

NOTE: This is only true with Windows PC's because Windows PC's use an antiquated Stereo Driver input model, and that is the audio input driver. Not even an ASIO does away with it, but it tries to get the OS closer to the hardware (the USB IF). This is a problem. MAC's and Linux OS's do not use this model thus, not such a problem:

Windows PC + USB

1) Latency: This is detectible by me without any difficulty and is a showstopper immediately. I don't care about 'real time monitoring' unless it is on the recording device, not the external audio interface.

2) Latency isn't such a big problem if you are only recording 1-x instruments at the same time, (ie: no multi-tracking). Even the 'real time monitoring' can be useful.

3) I did experiments with 3 different USB audio interfaces (xx-122 Tascam series, small mbox, small (2 input) m-audio), using a) Win PC, b) Linux PC. With the Win PC, none of the 3 were adequate for multi-track, all were adequate without monitoring for normal acoustic recording. With the linux PC, all were much more adequate for multi-track on audacity with a minimum of latency considering they are using a latency-ridden technology.

Maybe I just don't know the tricks, but I can't really see building much of a recording system on USB. The "latency" drawback in recording is such a killer.

If you don't consider latency an issue, then I have to admit, they all sounded fine.

[Alexrkstr]

Love my MBox 2. I started out with the MBox Mini, but I wanted two phantom power inputs so I went with the MBox 2. I have no complaints.

Also, it's good in case you want to jump to the professional side since it includes ProTools LE. You might need to spend some time with the software to be familiarized with it but once you get the basics down you'll be good to go.

[ljguitar]

Hi ppg...
In the USB category one of the best is the Lexicon Lambda - $150 with software, really decent preamps, separate inputs for everything, and physical knobs for dialing in the input, output, headphones and dialing down the latency externally on the box...

I think it is the hidden treasure in usb interfaces...my gigging partner has one and it makes recording very simple and straightforward.

I see the fact that it is physically a little bigger than other interfaces as a plus in that it is easy to make adjustments without micro-tweaking everything.

Separate inputs for XLR, line in, instrument in, and insert and midi if you need it...comes with software. Full 48V switchable phantom power too...and switchable stereo/mono on both lines and mics. It's a lot of interface with great quality...and not very expensive.

Lambda - click

[paulchevin]

Originally Posted by Papol

I tried to read through this carefully and didn't see the word's 'multi-track' in here. Maybe most of the USB interfaces (with or without real-time monitoring) will suffice.

Here's what a few friends and myself have come up with (or consider to be "our" truth about USB audio):

NOTE: This is only true with Windows PC's because Windows PC's use an antiquated Stereo Driver input model, and that is the audio input driver. Not even an ASIO does away with it, but it tries to get the OS closer to the hardware (the USB IF). This is a problem. MAC's and Linux OS's do not use this model thus, not such a problem:

Windows PC + USB

1) Latency: This is detectible by me without any difficulty and is a showstopper immediately. I don't care about 'real time monitoring' unless it is on the recording device, not the external audio interface.

2) Latency isn't such a big problem if you are only recording 1-x instruments at the same time, (ie: no multi-tracking). Even the 'real time monitoring' can be useful.

3) I did experiments with 3 different USB audio interfaces (xx-122 Tascam series, small mbox, small (2 input) m-audio), using a) Win PC, b) Linux PC. With the Win PC, none of the 3 were adequate for multi-track, all were adequate without monitoring for normal acoustic recording. With the linux PC, all were much more adequate for multi-track on audacity with a minimum of latency considering they are using a latency-ridden technology.

Maybe I just don't know the tricks, but I can't really see building much of a recording system on USB. The "latency" drawback in recording is such a killer.

If you don't consider latency an issue, then I have to admit, they all sounded fine.

You haven't specified whether it was the old Tascam US-122 that you tested or the newer "L" version, so it may be that all the interfaces you tried were USB 1.0.

Certainly, if you try to use a USB 1.0 interface for multi-track recording you are likely to encounter significant latency. However, USB 2.0 is capable of similar performance to firewire........ unless you use other USB devices on the same bus. I certainly didn't find latency to be a problem with the Emu 0404 USB and reviews also reported no problems.

Having said that, even if you do have high latency, it should still be possible to record additional tracks using the real time monitoring because the software should compensate for the latency and lay down your new tracks in perfect time with the others. My old ST Audio PCI interface suffered appallingly from latency, but I was still able to do multi-track recordings. The only time latency became a problem was when trying to play soft synths in real time.

Of course, some laptop users without either a card slot or a firewire connection have no option but to use a USB interface.

Paul

[paulchevin]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi ppg...
In the USB category one of the best is the Lexicon Lambda - $150 with software, really decent preamps, separate inputs for everything, and physical knobs for dialing in the input, output, headphones and dialing down the latency externally on the box...

I think it is the hidden treasure in usb interfaces...my gigging partner has one and it makes recording very simple and straightforward.

I see the fact that it is physically a little bigger than other interfaces as a plus in that it is easy to make adjustments without micro-tweaking everything.

Separate inputs for XLR, line in, instrument in, and insert and midi if you need it...comes with software. Full 48V switchable phantom power too...and switchable stereo/mono on both lines and mics. It's a lot of interface with great quality...and not very expensive.

Lambda - click

The Lexicon Lambda is in the same series as the Omega and I can certainly vouch for the audio quality. I think the preamps are designed by DBX and they are almost as good as the ones on my Saffire interface.

I can't comment on the reliability of the Lambda, but I get the impression that most of the problems with the Omega related to the Windows operating system, with Mac users fairing a lot better.

Certainly, if you can get one of the Lexicon units to work, the sound quality will be excellent.

Paul

[mhs]

Hi Paul,

Like I said, I probably don't know the tricks.

Were you using a Windows OS?

I was using USB 2.0 in all cases. It worked pretty good with Linux and I hear similar results can be had with a Mac, but not Windows.

If you get good results, then I am either too sensitized to latency or you are correct or both.

I might vote for the "I'm too sensitized theory" because I coded and sold MIDI applications where customers said "it was great", while I thought "this is crap" because of the obvious latency. Guitar synths have always driven me nuts because it takes two to three vibrations of the string to convert pitch to voltage (and then .. -> MIDI).

Thanks.

[paulchevin]

Originally Posted by Papol

Hi Paul,

Like I said, I probably don't know the tricks.

Were you using a Windows OS?

I was using USB 2.0 in all cases. It worked pretty good with Linux and I hear similar results can be had with a Mac, but not Windows.

If you get good results, then I am either too sensitized to latency or you are correct or both.

I might vote for the "I'm too sensitized theory" because I coded and sold MIDI applications where customers said "it was great", while I thought "this is crap" because of the obvious latency. Guitar synths have always driven me nuts because it takes two to three vibrations of the string to convert pitch to voltage (and then .. -> MIDI).

Thanks.

Hi,

Perhaps I haven't explained myself as clearly as I should. I have only ever worked with the Windows XP OS for audio work. As far as I know, all recent Windows-based computers offer USB 2.0.

However, a surprising number of the USB audio interfaces being sold today still use the old USB 1.0 protocol - perhaps so that they can still work with older computers. These interfaces do work with USB 2.0, but only at USB 1.0 file transfer rates, which are pedestrian (as low as 16 MB/sec, I think)!! Clearly, this is bound to cause latency problems, making real-time playing of soft synths totally impossible. The problems seem to be worse when both audio and MIDI are used at the same time. Consequently, I have only ever used my Tascam US-122 for recording solo acoustic guitar, where latency isn't an issue.

Hopefully, the newer Tascam US-122L, which does utilise the full bandwidth of USB 2.0, should work as well as the Emu 0404 USB. Ultimately though, it's dependent on the drivers.

I confess that I have no experience of either Linux or Mac-based OS, so it may well be that USB devices do suffer less latency problems with them.

Paul