Yes I know this topic has been covered many times before but not recently and to my satisfaction; apologies in advance to those who are getting their flame-throwers out.
I’m in the market for a new audio interface to use with Cubase 12/13/14.
I’m tired of my Scarlett 2i2 Gen 3’s habit of disconnecting itself from CB, requiring an audio reset, and tired of fruitlessly troubleshooting the issue.
My needs are simple: 2 in 2 out. I’m willing to pay for low latency, but not interested in fancy software adjuncts or a jillion channels. I’d just like the darned thing to be as simple, reliable, and quiet as possible - kind of what the Scarlett would be if it worked consistently.
Everyone apparently loves RME, but even their smallest seem to come loaded with software and boasting those jillion channels I don’t need or want. I’m a little leery of Steinberg’s own interfaces because they use dedicated power supplies, and in my experience wall-warts inevitably come with the curse of ground loops. I’d be delighted by reports that Steinberg’s are hum-free if that’s your experience.
Anyone have an interface suggestion that they love that I can afford (< $1000 US) and get along with?
RME HDSPe AIO Pro PCEi £600 + xtras, £200.
I know you’re wary of RME, but the software is actually useful, is not intrusive, doesn’t use a lot of resources (8 megabyte installer). The interface is internal, so no pesky USB, needs one slot for the card plus another for the input expansion card. They’re quite small.
I’ve been using my AIO (the Pro’s predecessor) for EDIT! 10 years not 13 years. (Oops)
As an owner of a RME Fireface UCX (USB connection to the host), I can just tell that it isn’t the case. Beside the TotalMix software that allows you to route properly your in and outs in a very flexible way, including loopbacks if needed, and the USB Setting window itself, it’s as simple as can be, in my view.
A slight note of caution, though, concerning TotalMix : it is very powerful but also rather delicate to setup as wanted, but once done, save your settings as a “workspace”, and you’re done, as you can retrieve it anytime, in case something could go wrong.
So, I would suggest the RME BabyFace Pro. I don’t own it, but it seems to be the one that matches your needs and it shares with the UCX the second to none RME USB driver.
No ground loop related issues, on my end. Actually, I prefer this solution over any USB powered one. But it also depends of your own living space ground setup, of course.
The RME Babyface pro fs would fit your needs. The extra adat channels can be hidden if you are not using them. TotalMix is actually very useful once you get used to it.
I could do devil’s advocate I guess haha. I had great luck with MOTU for over 20 years, went through almost all the iterations of the 828 units. I was on an RME Digi 96/8PST on Windows up until about 2001 or so, moved over to a Mac G3/G4. Ended up getting the first firewire 828, and just stuck with that lineup.
No problems whatsoever in all that time on a Mac, can’t vouch for PC performance.
But that said, I was using my 828x and a Pulse 16 up until the beginning of December when I got a second Pulse 16 and an RME Digiface.
TotalMix did take some getting used to, but it was a matter of a half hour or so and I had my whole workspace setup and done. It can be as simple or complex as you want it to be really.
If you can order from Thomann in Germany, you can get a Digiface and a single Pulse for a little over $1300 (this included shipping to the states and whatnot too). Or for around $900 or so you can get a Digiface and something like a Behringer ADA8200 state side (but this will only be 8 in and out)
Hard to suggest anything but RME on PC.
Where everybody else gets their drivers from the people who create the chips on the audio interface, RME writes drivers from scratch themselves. They are unmatched.
Thank you, gentlefolk. Consensus is hard to argue with.
But wow the least expensive RME product will cost me more than a new install of Cubase Pro, more than the PC I’m running it on, heck even more than my favorite guitar.
Will need to mull this over. If I have to reset the Focusrite 3X per day at 10 Seconds per reset, how many of those annoying inconveniences adds up to $1000+? Please don’t answer that…
Yeah, RME here, all digital though (AES).
It never had issues and still releases drivers after 20 years, which is why I chose it.
If it ever fails I’ll get RME again
Why don’t you buy a used RME? They keep the drivers up to date and the hardware is literally indestructible. Even though used ones are still pricy (for a reason) you can easily get them for half the price or even less.
I second what @almaelectronix said: Once an RME - always an RME.
A simple UR24C would fit the bill for a fraction of the price of any RME options.
RME is great, but not a magical solution and without complaints either.
There is nothing wrong with other audiointerfaces in general, you are right.
But since the OP was specifically asking for low latency and reliability RME is definetly ahead. At the end of the day it is a question of your specific needs and what its worth to you. But I get it - the thread reads as if there is no alternative to RME. That, of course, is not the case.
Original poster here. If you were in suspense, I finally opened my wallet, took out all my cash, and got the RME Babyface Pro FS. It is worlds away from the only other audio interface I’ve ever owned, a Scarlett 2i2.
I liked the 2i2 just fine. I’d probably still be using it if the connection between it and Cubase hadn’t started to randomly drop, sometimes many times per day. It was a problem that was immune to (a whole lot of) troubleshooting and appeared on C12, C13 and C14.
The improvements are obvious. The Babyface’s preamps are so very quiet - even when cranked. At any buffer setting, the Babyface has 1/2 the latency of my Scarlett. Better still, I can use the Babyface at a lower buffer setting (64 samples!) with no dropouts, which lets me monitor through Cubase with my effects applied.
Best of all the Babyface is thus far a total rock - always connected, always flawlessly moving the music around. The reliability, low latency and sound quality are worth the price. So thank you all for your advice.
BUT I will sorely miss the simplicity of my old interface. Direct monitoring was simply the push of a button. Gain and volume control were via a few obviously labelled knobbies on the front. RME’s products are so very much more than mere interfaces. They are intergalactic musical train stations, and even in DAW mode TotalMix is much more complex than a few buttons and knobs.
I should and will learn TotalMix more thoroughly, but to what end? I’m just a guy in a basement with a few instruments, which I record one or at most two at a time.
In conclusion: Babyface sounds really great, works really great. RME rules, but please consider making a product of this incredible quality that is just a simple audio interface.
Haha, don’t worry. Total Mix is really not that complicated once you’ve wrapped your head around the surprisingly simple concept behind it.
Why does the image of an “intergalactic musical train station” trigger an association with the Desaster Area band for me? The answer must be 42.
Man RME was literally raffling off Babyfaces at NAMM this past weekend. I was so bummed I forgot to get passes this year hah (I live like 30 minutes from it).
TotalMix took me a bit too, but after an hour or so I had my Digiface all setup and ready to go. If you run into any trouble let us know and one of us can walk you through it. My setup is just a straight 32 in and out so I didn’t really need to do too much aside from changing over my ADAT playback channels to come out of their respective outputs and not the ‘main bus’ .
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