# What audio interface to choose if working with a lot of plugins + audio files!



## Allen Constantine (Feb 1, 2022)

Hey fellow friends and colleagues,

I hope you're all well and safe from the Omicron variant and (hopefully not many more to come)...

I was curious on your opinions on a good/decent audio interface when working with a lot of plugins + audio files, etc...

On another note, I've gathered some own choices - which one would you grab given the topic circumstances?

I'm inclined towards the UFX+ from RME but I'd love to hear your takes if it's not too much...

Here's my list of choices:









Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen


18i20 3rd Gen este cea mai versatila interfata din gama Scarlett. Se monteaza in rack si iti pune la dispozitie 18 intrari si 20 iesiri de o calitate sonora excelenta, indeajuns cat sa poti transforma orice spatiu intr-un studio de inregistrari.




www.zeedoshop.ro












Universal Audio Apollo Solo USB Heritage Edition Interfata audio USB


Apollo Solo este o interfata audio profesionala 2 x 4 cu conexiune USB si conversie A/D si D/A de inalta calitate. Monitorizarea este impecabila, aceasta interfata fiind dotata cu un amplificator de casti foarte performant. Datorita constructiei robuste si design-ului de dimensiuni reduse...




www.zeedoshop.ro












Antelope Zen Go Synergy Core Interfata audio USB


Zen Go Synergy Core este prima interfata 4x8 de la Antelope conceputa pentru aplicatii de home studio. Aceasta este echipata cu componente de cea mai inalta calitate si ofera sunet profesional de studio, intr-o unitate care se poate transporta cu usurinta intr-un ghiozdan. Cu convertori AD/DA si...




www.zeedoshop.ro












Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB


Clarett 8Pre USB este o interfata audio USB cu 18 intrari si 20 iesiri pentru Mac si PC. Este echipata cu preamplificatoare de microfon Clarett pentru un semnal curat si detaliat si conexiune ADAT.




www.zeedoshop.ro












Presonus Studio 192 Interfata audio


Interfata audio Presonus Studio 192 la ZeedoShop. Drept Retur 30 Zile, Transport Gratuit la comenzi peste 249 RON, Suport tehnic specializat!




www.zeedoshop.ro












Focusrite Clarett+ 8Pre


Clarett+ 8Pre este o interfata audio USB cu 18 intrari si 20 iesiri pentru PC si Mac. Aceasta ofera conversie de inalta calitate, si preamplificatoare Clarett+ cu headroom foarte mare si distorsiuni aproape inexistente. Este ideala pentru artisti, trupe, producatori si ingineri de sunet.




www.zeedoshop.ro












RME Fireface UFX+ Interfata audio


Suntem Distribuitorul Autorizat RME in Romania! Avem cele mai importante produse mereu in stoc, preturi avantajoase si posibilitatea testarii in Showroom.




www.zeedoshop.ro





Best wishes,
Allen

PS: Budget at this point is around 800 Euros but in June I'll get a funding for 2500EUR...
PPS: Kindly use Google translate(if it's not activated by default) - Websites are in Romanian language.


----------



## J-M (Feb 1, 2022)

I can wholeheartedly recommend RME. I've had the 802 for a couple of years and it's been rock solid.


----------



## Allen Constantine (Feb 1, 2022)

J-M said:


> I can wholeheartedly recommend RME. I've had the 802 for a couple of years and it's been rock solid.


Thanks a lot for your recommendation! 

I'll get the RME UFX+ in June, but I would need one from this list as of now, just because my Focusrite Saffire PRO 26 (Firewire) is practically dying... Have to do something with the firewire drivers or so because I get a lot of audio crackles and popping while playing almost any audio. Sample rates are switching by themselves, something is fucked up in it...(really old interface). 

So, until June, I'll have to choose something cheap and on USB, just to replace the old one and was thinking of the scarlett 18i20... 









Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen


18i20 3rd Gen este cea mai versatila interfata din gama Scarlett. Se monteaza in rack si iti pune la dispozitie 18 intrari si 20 iesiri de o calitate sonora excelenta, indeajuns cat sa poti transforma orice spatiu intr-un studio de inregistrari.




www.zeedoshop.ro





Thoughts?


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 1, 2022)

One thing - the number of plug-ins and audio files you can run has to do with your computer system, not really your audio interface.

The exception is if you choose an audio interface that runs plug-ins on its own hardware rather than the computer, e.g. the UAD one.

How many ins and outs do you need, and what other features are important to you? If two interfaces are 800 Euros, but one has 2x2 ins and outs while the other is 18x4, all things being equal you'd expect the 2x2 to sound better.


----------



## Allen Constantine (Feb 1, 2022)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> One thing - the number of plug-ins and audio files you can run has to do with your computer system, not really your audio interface.
> 
> The exception is if you choose an audio interface that runs plug-ins on its own hardware rather than the computer, e.g. the UAD one.
> 
> How many ins and outs do you need, and what other features are important to you? If two interfaces are 800 Euros, but one has 2x2 ins and outs while the other is 18x4, all things being equal you'd expect the 2x2 to sound better.


Hey Nick, 

Thanks for your message. Well, I would need at least 18 ins, 20 outs. Hence the reason I was thinking about the scarlett 18i20. 

On the other hand, my PC is pretty solid (Ryzen 3900x, 64GBDDR4 3200mhz, SSD's, NVME's, etc)
I just want a USB replacement one as the old saffire firewire has a lot of problems even when I listen to a .mp3 or .wav outside my DAW.


----------



## PaulieDC (Feb 1, 2022)

What @Nick Batzdorf said above.

Another vote for RME hands down. I've owned so many audio interfaces I lost count, all companies you listed except UA, and we know their stuff is great especially if you are going to use their plugins. But the tried and true stable-as-cement driver award goes to RME. I have the Babyface Pro FS, and before i got the RME I had audio crackle issues even on a 14-core i9, 128GB ram, all NVMe blah blah blah. Could barely play a small project without Rice Krispies coming out of my system with a PreSonus Studio 192, one of their more upper-priced units. RME Babyface pro shows up a couple years ago and I now forgot I ever had issues. If you have the budget for the Fireface UFX, that's pretty awesome.


----------



## Allen Constantine (Feb 1, 2022)

PaulieDC said:


> What @Nick Batzdorf said above.
> 
> Another vote for RME hands down. I've owned so many audio interfaces I lost count, all companies you listed except UA, and we know their stuff is great especially if you are going to use their plugins. But the tried and true stable-as-cement driver award goes to RME. I have the Babyface Pro FS, and before i got the RME I had audio crackle issues even on a 14-core i9, 128GB ram, all NVMe blah blah blah. Could barely play a small project without Rice Krispies coming out of my system with a PreSonus Studio 192, one of their more upper-priced units. RME Babyface pro shows up a couple years ago and I now forgot I ever had issues. If you have the budget for the Fireface UFX, that's pretty awesome.


Hi Paulie, 

Thanks for your message and thoughts! 
I completely understand your points, but as I mentioned, I'll have the budget for the UFX in June, therefore, I need to choose something out until then...

I thought that usb works better than the old firewire...


----------



## J-M (Feb 2, 2022)

AllenConstantine said:


> So, until June, I'll have to choose something cheap and on USB, just to replace the old one and was thinking of the scarlett 18i20...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've owned two Focusrite interfaces (2i2 and 2i4, 1st gen) and worked with 18i20 one time. They're solid interfaces for the money, but the drivers leave a lot to be desired imo. I don't know if they've improved, might want to look into that before making a decision.


----------



## Allen Constantine (Feb 2, 2022)

Thanks a lot guys for all your help! 

Eventually, I ended up grabbing the Scarlett 18i20 gen 3 and it seems stable as of now! 

I'll switch over to the RME UFX+ in June as everybody seems to be recommending that beast!


----------



## Loïc D (Feb 2, 2022)

There was a sales period in France 3 weeks ago and I just bought an Antelope Discrete 8 for 1350€.
(RME has no availability so far)

The sound quality is stellar and software and perfs are fine (and it came with complimentary Edge Solo microphone).

Antelope plugins can be used in the Antelope console or in DAW using a bridge plugin (on Mac, at the expense of latency).


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 2, 2022)

AllenConstantine said:


> I thought that usb works better than the old firewire...


It doesn't necessarily work better, it's just available on every computer and usually doesn't require dedicated drivers - meaning they're Class-Compliant, built into the operating system so you don't have to worry about them being updated.


----------



## Leo (Feb 2, 2022)

Steinberg AXR 4 - it's a completely different league. 
Quality for hardware synth, best preamps for mic's.
I didn't believe it too much, but I'm considering buying another one, it's truly high end interface.
And of course total integration with Nuendo (cubase).


----------



## Allen Constantine (Feb 2, 2022)

Leo said:


> Steinberg AXR 4 - it's a completely different league.
> Quality for hardware synth, best preamps for mic's.
> I didn't believe it too much, but I'm considering buying another one, it's truly high end interface.
> And of course total integration with Nuendo (cubase).


Thanks for this info. I was looking at it but the question is, as it's newly released, can it beat the UFX+ in terms of driver support and tech? RME it's top of the line in every major studio nowadays.


----------



## Leo (Feb 3, 2022)

RME was my second choice, the converter is definitely good.
With my old card (Zoom UAC 8) I had to be careful whether HW synth had balanced output or unbalanced and my Moog Grandmother gave in an unpleasant noise.
Everything was resolved without any worries with the new card (AXR4U).
Driver are from Yamaha, in Nuendo without any problems. Don't forget that AXR4 have 32-bit integer resolution and a sample rate of up to 384 kHz. Everything was resolved without any worries with the new card. No noise, clever routing, (in my case USB Type-C) and dsp mix:










and meter


----------



## Allen Constantine (Feb 3, 2022)

Leo said:


> RME was my second choice, the converter is definitely good.
> With my old card (Zoom UAC 8) I had to be careful whether HW synth had balanced output or unbalanced and my Moog Grandmother gave in an unpleasant noise.
> Everything was resolved without any worries with the new card (AXR4U).
> Driver are from Yamaha, in Nuendo without any problems. Don't forget that AXR4 have 32-bit integer resolution and a sample rate of up to 384 kHz. Everything was resolved without any worries with the new card. No noise, clever routing, (in my case USB Type-C) and dsp mix:
> ...


Thanks for your insights on this! A lot of good thoughts to think about! I'm stuck between RME and AXR4 at the moment. Can't really decide - I'll have to dig more into these two... My mind tells me RME just for the driver and stability support...


----------



## Leo (Feb 3, 2022)

Clear, RME is also a good interface. Maybe I would decide according to your DAW.

I just described my personal experience with AXR4 - one of my best investments.
I also recorded no only HW synth like Moog, Iridium but also live instruments like cello, violin.
And I'm satisfied. 
But I'm sure RME will also be a good investment.


----------



## Jeremy Spencer (Feb 3, 2022)

If I were on PC, I'd go for the Antelope. It's sounds great, comes with nice plugins and is damn sexy.


----------



## Allen Constantine (Feb 3, 2022)

Leo said:


> Clear, RME is also a good interface. Maybe I would decide according to your DAW.
> 
> I just described my personal experience with AXR4 - one of my best investments.
> I also recorded no only HW synth like Moog, Iridium but also live instruments like cello, violin.
> ...


Thanks for your input! Clearly, I'm using Cubase and AXR4 would fit the best for it as it's designed by Steinberg. But I don't really know how support will be in 5+ years in terms of drivers etc...One thing I know is that RME always focuses on having many years of driver support even for discontinued interfaces... Really tough choice...


----------



## Leonaar (May 3, 2022)

I agree, but I would definitely look into Antelope. I love my Orion! I also have Rme, but the connectivity and plugins in the Antelope open up a new world. Superior clock and the ease of routing in the interface literally anything to anything. The mic’s are the most versatile and extremely well built. Firmware and software updating and upgrading regularly with no extra cost. Even the support service is fast and friendly, if you ever would need any help or extra explanation.


----------



## Allen Constantine (May 3, 2022)

Hi guys, thanks so much for your thoughts! 

I eventually ended up going with the RME Fireface UFX II. Loving it so far! I also got the ARC usb, which is quite handy.


----------



## gsilbers (May 4, 2022)

AllenConstantine said:


> Hi guys, thanks so much for your thoughts!
> 
> I eventually ended up going with the RME Fireface UFX II. Loving it so far! I also got the ARC usb, which is quite handy.



What happened to the scarlett? or why did you switch?


----------



## Allen Constantine (May 4, 2022)

gsilbers said:


> What happened to the scarlett? or why did you switch?


I still have the Scarlett 18i20 gen 3. Not using it anymore and will probably sell it. The Fireface is in another league in terms of drivers and stability. I switched mostly for the drivers and the overall quality. The sound coming out of the RME is unmatchable. More crisp and focused. Also, I'm loving the TotalMixFx and the DuRec mode. The ability to record only with the interface is pretty neat!


----------

