Some audio interfaces come with extra bespoke software that lets you select input and output configurations and might also add other routing options or even effects. How easy this extra software is to use is also an important factor. While most of the time latency is unnoticeable and if it remains consistent it’s easily fixable in post-recording, this article is going to discuss the different causes of latency and the things you can do to fix them. Direct Monitoring Direct Monitoring

Note: The direct monitoring feature can be switched from Mono to stereo, in case you’re running a stereo microphone set. the sound quality is exemplary, and the feature set brings them in line with our modern needs for streaming and podcasting. Conclusion In the end, the best audio interface for you will at least partly come down to price, so you’ll be pleased to know that our list of recommendations in this guide covers a broad range from beginner to pro. We’d also recommend reading our guide focused specifically on the best budget audio interfaces if you have less to spend.

Recording is a lot easier when you've a USB audio interface that's full of bright iDeas

Straight out of the box these are smart‑looking devices. The all‑metal construction gives them a decent heft and a luxuriously smooth feel. The grey tone and colour‑matched knobs gives them a subtle and serious presence on the desktop, and it’s remarkable how much cooler the capitalised logo looks than the lower‑case ‘swoosh’ they used previously. These are beautiful little boxes. Want to grow your studio business? Invest in Audient. – Audient on Audient keeps Lito’s Place on Top of Film Work The headphone amplifier design was first introduced on the iD22 and was paired with a dedicated, high-quality Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), which together provided professional audio performance to our user’s desktops. With the introduction of the iD44, the iD4 (MKII) and the iD14 (MKII), a few small improvements were added. We captured an acoustic guitar through the DI input while simultaneously recording the vocal with an sE Electronics RNR1 through the mic preamp. The mic requires phantom power and a fair amount of gain, but gave us the ability to set the null point to point at the guitar, providing a reasonable amount of separation between the two. While Audient’s EVO 4 and 8 are compact interfaces, 16 definitely ramps things up in terms of size and connectivity but still retains their best features and ease of use. EVO 16 is a 24 in/24 out up to 24-bit 96kHz design, with eight mic/line inputs and eight balanced TRS outputs. The remaining I/O uses two pairs of optical connectors offering 16 I/O channels. Rounding things off are two headphone outputs.

The technical specifications line up nicely with other interfaces in their range. Comparing them to their own even more budget‑friendly EVO 4 and EVO 8 interfaces there’s not much in it on paper. They both run at 24‑bit and 96kHz; they have similar signal‑to‑noise of 101dBu, slightly improved dynamic range at 120dB, the same 58dB gain range on the mic input, slightly less on the JFET input.

To that end, a USB 3.0 connection is required, and although you can get the unit to function on a USB 2.0 connection, this is not supported and would likely be unreliable.

On the front of the interface you get the ¼” D.I. Input as well as the ¼” and 3.5mm headphone outputs which offer free latency monitoring. Computers like to do work with large amounts of data at a time every once in a while rather than small amounts of data in an almost constant stream as this means no other processing (such as graphics) can be done at the same time.The original iD44’s primary strength was always the superb quality of its mic pres and converters. This version ramps up the performance even further and adds a handful of nifty new features. The Volt range has the affordable market in its sights, and here we're looking at the Volt 176 and 276. These look very different from other UA interfaces and have a very different remit. There’s no plugin hosting, onboard software processing, or Console software. These are plug-and-play, with UA’s excellent preamps and, in the case of the two units here, the benefit of onboard analogue processing. We're big fans of the Universal Audio Apollo Twin X here at MusicRadar, and this super interface has some incredibly powerful features that will offer a serious upgrade to anyone’s home recording experience. It comes in two formats, Duo and Quad which are named for the amount of DSP processing chips they possess. When recording using a computer, one thing you’ll want to understand is Latency and how it can affect your sessions. Modern computers are wonders of technology and can process audio at incredibly fast speeds. Audio quality is where ID44 MkII really shines; everything else is icing on the cake, but that icing is layered deep and tastes exceptionally sweet.

This, for audio systems, causes a problem as audio requires a constant stream of samples due to being a continuous waveform. To do this, audio systems have what’s known as a buffer. SSL 12 is a 12-in/8-out interface, with four XLR combo mic/line inputs with high gain ‘SSL-designed’ mic preamps (including a +48v option for using condenser mics). Two inputs at the front can be poached for recording hi-Z instruments like guitars, bass, or vintage instruments. You get four balanced outputs and two sets of headphone outs. The extra eight inputs come by way of an ADAT connection. The Volts are a radical departure for UA, but they deserve to shake up the budget interface market with a great design, a plug-and-play workflow, and hard-to-beat audio conversion. It's bad news for other affordable interface makers: these are great! Universal Audio used to focus on the high-end market with interfaces that boasted both a quality signal flow and also acted as hosts and accelerators for the company’s very well-regarded plugin range. That changed with the Volt range, a set of four units that eschew the plugin hosting in favour of value and more standard features. The more expensive 176 and 276 are reviewed later in this buyer’s guide, but the Volt 1 and 2 offers most of what they deliver bar their extra 1176-style compression. Most interfaces are class-compliant, so will work out of the box –just plug them in and start using them straight away. Some come with extra software you will need to access some of their more detailed functions and routing. Many, especially mobile interfaces, are bus-powered so you don't have to plug a mains power supply into them.

Audiophile design on a budget is a tricky goal. Audient's iD4 is a popular and newly updated interface

Both interfaces use M-Audio’s Crystal Preamp design, and this provides you with plenty of clean neutral gain, great for lower output dynamic mics or weedy passive guitars. Both can sound pretty nasty when they’re overloaded so we kept well away from the red clip LED. Occasionally, direct monitoring is not possible so the journey through the signal chain has to be done. Processing Processing Clarett is Focusrite’s premium USB range with three models and a decent bundle of software including Focusrite’s Red 2 and Red 3 plugins and Plugin Alliance’s bx_console Focusrite SC. Clarett+ focuses on improving audio performance rather than expanding that feature set.