The Best Audio Interface to fit your recording needs

Home recording technology is getting cheaper by the minute leading to more and more people diving into the music making business. This is leading to a flood of new products entering the market every year as well. With the number of different audio interfaces available which one is the best interface for you?

There really is no number one best audio interface out there its all about needs. If you’re a solo acoustic singer/songwriter (like me!) you don’t need a 16 input Pro-tools HD rig in your bedroom. In this article I want to layout what your thought process should be when shopping for a new usb audio interface.

Inputs: What are you recording?

USB audio interfaces are generally broken down into the number of available inputs. Knowing how many inputs you need is based on how many instruments you want to record simultaneously. Again if your are solo acoustic singer songwriter you could get by with an interface with only a single microphone input, but if you want to record a full band all at the same time you may need at least 8 simultaneous inputs.

Not all inputs are created equal

When comparing different recording interfaces its important to note the types of inputs included not just the total number of inputs. Some smaller usb interfaces might say they have 8 simultaneous inputs but that includes auxiliary inputs, inserts, and digital S/PDIF inputs, these types of I/O are for connection external devices and are not pre-amp inputs for microphones or instruments.

If you’re looking for an interface that can start recording multiple mics and instruments right out of the box you want to look at the number of XLR mic/line inputs the unit has as well as the number of included pre-amps. It’s great to have a device that included 8 xlr inputs but if it only has 2 pre-amps than you are going to need an external mixer or pre-amp to run mics and instruments into those inputs.

I/O Expandability

Maybe you don’t need more than 2 inputs at the moment but what if the time comes where you do need to record a drum set of a live band? This is where buying an audio interface that gives you an option to expand your inputs and outputs via digital I/O connection like ADAT light pipe.

 ADAT light pipe is a single digital connection that can carry 8 additional input signals. This way in the future when you are ready to expand you can purchase a 4-8 channel mic pre that has a light pipe out put and connect it to your existing interface. Also this allows you to upgrade the A/D (audio to digital) converters as converters in cheaper interfaces are not always the best.

What about recording software?

Many audio interfaces come with some sort of recording software or DAW (digital audio workstation) usually it is some sort of light version and not a full featured version. Yet there are some audio interfaces that are an all in one solution, the most popular of which are the Digidesgn Pro Tools LE packages. Digidesign are the makers of the famous Pro-Tools recording software and interfaces like the Mbox usb device.

A quick note on the pro-tools products; if you want to use pro-tools you must have a Digidesign interface like the Mbox or 002, non-digidesign interfaces will not work with the software. This is an extremely limiting factor when it comes to pro-tools products, and is also one f the reasons I have switched from a Pro-Tools guy to a Cubase guy. Digidesign has branched out a little in recent years offering the Pro-Tools M-powered which will run on M-Audio devices. You can see my review of the M-Audio Fast Track Pro here.

Every other DAW software out there lets you use any usb interface you choose, including a digidesign product! Now I’m not going to get into a Pro-tools or not Pro-tools debate here, that is another hub altogether but I will say there are some amazing pieces of software out there not made by digi.

Sound Quality

Unless you plan on going to the music shop and doing an A/B sound test with your hand dandy oscillator in tow there are not a a lot or truly reliable ways to figure out which audio interface sounds best. Searching forums and review sites should help you determine which interface has the best sound A/D converters and mic pres, but there are specs pertaining to audio quality that your should look out for.

Bit depth and sample rate are to critical audio specs when it comes to digital sound. CD quality audio is played back at 16-bit 44.1 kHz, but you can now by recording interfaces that go to 24-bit 192 kHz sampling rates.  Sampling rates vary from; 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k, and 192K.

 Audio interfaces that give you the option to record at all of these rates are quite expensive but I would not by an interface that didn’t at least have a 24 bit option.  Being able to record at a bit depth of 24 bit instead of 16 bit is makes a bigger difference than being able to record at 192 KHz sampling rate. Recording at 24-bit 48 KHz is the sweet spot so I would recommend looking for usb interfaces in that range.

Now there are many other specs that relate to the audio quality of the A/D converters and mic pre’s but that gets into a lot of nerdy techie stuff that is beyond the scope of this hub.

Keep in mind the higher the bit and sample rates the more hard drive space the audio takes up. I personally never record higher than 48 KHz when doing a generally music recording.

What to look for when shopping for the best usb interface for you

When shopping for the best audio interface here are the main things you need to consider when choosing the device that works best for you.

• Define your budget so you know what you can spend
• Figure out how many inputs you need
• Will you need to expand your inputs in the future?
• What about software? Do you want to use Pro-Tools? Is software included?
• Does the interface allow for recording at higher bit rates and sampling rates? Do you need it to?

 I hope this article has helped you in your search for the best audio interface for you. Remember it is all about your needs as a musician or audio engineer.