Best and Worst Audio Interfaces 

00:02 The Behringer UMC 204 HD has high sound quality and great value. 02:00 The SSL2 and Universal Audio Volt 4 are recommended audio interfaces for home recording. 04:09 SSL2 has top-notch sound quality with extremely low noise floor. 06:05 Universal Audio Volt 4 is recommended for recording up to four channels at a time with low noise floor and vintage mode. 08:20 Dedicated line inputs add value and flexibility for external preamp use. 10:04 Limitations of the Universal Audio Volt 4 and Volt 476p audio interfaces 12:14 Metric Halo audio interface offers flexible routing and future-proofing 13:58 External device can help process plugins for high demand sessions. 15:40 The audio interface received a low value score due to noisy preamps and lack of features.

Awesome list! I cannot believe this is only 112 views, this is too much quality content. Thank you so much for the effort and money spent on doing this, awesome job!

Good video. Over the past decade audio interfaces designed for home studio use have improved by leaps and bounds. A big part of this are the excellent DAC chips available today, which combined with good, stable (software) drivers, make round trip latency so low that it is generally imperceptible. Also, better mic preamp designs and loop-back features in newer interfaces have helped to sell more (low sensitivity) Shure's SM-7Bs and EV's RE-20s for the fast-growing podcast market. Today, bad audio interfaces are rare, while the market is flooded with really good ones.

I wanna thank you. I have watch lots of videos on these devices. yours by far has been the most informative and educational. Thank you very much for the time you took to make this. i for one appreciate you

I like the footnote you made when talking about the Volt 4's line inputs not having mic pre's for when running through external analog pre-amps. The camera lens analogy is very good. So many folks are using AI's hybrid analog/digital with outboard gear yet double dipping on coloring with 2 mic pre's in unison. I wish the SSL 12 had that option to bypass onboard pre's as well not be USB powered. I have a SSL2+ on a M1 mac mini and Apollo Twin on windows and both are excellent. I'll probably grab a Volt 476 as I plan to add more external gear (have a 1073EQ and a SSL VHD pre's).

Awesome video. Thank you so much for making it. The Behringer interface is so overlooked. I have the UMC 404 HD as a backup interface in my studio. It sounds great, and I love that it has inserts. I track with compression most of the time I use the Tascam model 12 as my main interface and I love that thing.

what held me on this video, was introducing the products honestly, and straight to the point, no dragging on. brilliant experience for when upgrading, no listening to some ones EGO tell you about "how much they know" (too much of that on here) 10 Stars x

You just gained a new subscriber! Love the no BS straight to the point review

The UAD interfaces are mostly amazing for being able to *reliably* track with high-quality plugins with very low latency and no chance of "dropouts" that inevitably occur when trying to do input monitoring in your DAW at low buffer settings. You can set a high buffer in the DAW and record through amp sims, compressors, reverbs (some of the best sounding ones that exist) etc, in the UAD Console with very low latency.

Apollo is largely justified by unison mode in terms of recording more traditionally and the fact that if you've bought UAD plugins in the past, you need DSP to run them (not so important now they're shifting to native plugins). Recording in unison with Neve 1073 is pretty much amazing - it's a great device!

Hi, first of all I wanted to congratulate you on your videos.... Really interesting, well done and educational. My need is for live use with my band. 20 years ago I was using a pc with a m audio firewire 410 with which I used to manage stereo backing tracks, drummer clicks + vst instruments played live, all driven by cubase. Now it's been 20 years (in which I've been away from gigs) and I'm undecided on what to buy. I have 3 macbook pro's at home so I could use one of them for audio. I don't need to record: I just want to be able to manage backing tracks and simultaneously play vst instruments live (using main stage or gig performer or something... I'll have to look into that too). So I'll need at least 4 outputs (using the backing tracks in mono on one channel and the click on another channel + 2 stereo channels for vst). The idea is to get a soundcard that I can then also use in the future if I decide to switch to ipad (to lighten up the equipment). I also need to connect at least two keyboards via midi, and this I could do by adding a usb hub. I also need traditional midi inputs because I have an old keyboard that doesn't send control changes via USB but only via the midi outputs (although I could probably use a midi to USB cable). Currently what sound cards do you feel like recommending for the use I need? Thanks in advance

SO much good information in this. Thank you so much for your expertise.

I bought a Motu M2 when they 1st came out and I could never be happier. Great preamps, very low noise floor and zero coloration of sound. Plus the LCD is pretty to look at! 😁

Nice video, very in-depth! I wonder how the SSL2 compares with the Audient ID4 MkII though as it's been included many times in a lot of top audio interface lists

Thanks, this seems pretty clear and helpful to a newbie like me with fairly basic needs wanted to get something appropriate mainly for personal or 'guest voice overs for video work

Bro thank you for this educational video! I’m excited to get my first, basic home studio set up!

This is such a well put together high quality video. Thank you so much!

Nice video. I have both the Behringer UMC204HD and the SSL 2+. I had some issues with the Behringer with Apple Silicon Macs leading me to try the SSL 2+. I am quite pleased with the SSL 2+. I had tried out a MOTU M4 and it screeched and made horrible noise so I swapped it for the SSL 2+ which has performed flawlessly.

I love your review videos! Your "real world" advice and extensive measurements leave no stone unturned. I'm curious why the MOTU line (M2, M4 & M6) aren't included in your comparisons. What are your thoughts on these interfaces? The reason I ask is I'm visually oriented and their level meters would help me know if my levels are set properly.

Kris, thanks for all the information, time and effort you've obviously invested. Do you have any opinion on or have you tested interfaces such as the mini fuse 2, or some of the other budget interfaces?

Nice detailed and scientific analysis... I've had to do that "camera" thing when using external preamps and noise can accumulate, as well as the "color" of the sound is hard to predict what you'll get as a result. Thanks for using that analogy. IOWs, just by switching out the "VINTAGE" preamp color in the Volt, it still boosts the signal and introduces color and noise... abet less color. And then you'll have to reduce you gain too. I'm getting a Volt because UAD finally has released Native Versions of their plugins (well many of them). This removes the need to by expensive external UAD Satellite Accelerators for UAD plugins! Yea!!! I have 10 cores in my i7 CPU... Why not use them instead of SHARC Cores? That's what my Neural Network Models do. Or I can send the calls to a GPU but my laptop doesn't have something as powerful as a NVIDIA GPU. So we make due with what we have, but today's laptops are quite powerful for music creation applications.

Nice list! Would’ve liked to see the Motu M4 and Audient Evo 4 to see how they compete in your list

Wow this is a great presentation and so much info. Thanks for the well produced video.

This was VERY helpful! Time to get rid of my 2i2 finally. Thank you. Subscribed

I wish you would’ve included the Audient interfaces! I have the Audient ID14 MKII, sounds good! Wanted to see an comparison from you with that and the SSL 2

Great quality video, content, shots and edits! Viewers will always point out the audio interfaces you didn’t include. But, in fact, all these interfaces are very good quality. I have an Apollo x4 in my studio and find the unison pre-amps with UA channel strips are top notch. Part of the value is the UA Console software - very flexible. But, then for my mobile setup I have an inexpensive EVO 4 from Audient. Technically the EVO specs are better than most of the interfaces in your review and it was one of the few that have a “loopback” which I need for videos that include system sounds, plus DAW and mixing. If you need loopback, half the interfaces on your list won’t deliver.

I use the Yamaha AG03. It's due for replacement soon so have you any idea where the new version would sit on your graphs? Absolutely terrific video btw👍.

Solid information and details, thank you

I'm a very happy owner of an SSL 2+. The audio quality of its mic pres are IMHO just as good as my old sold Mindprint Envoice and Joe Meek TwinQ from the early 2000s. My only wish is that the extra outputs weren't RCA connections and that I could have a separate pair of alternative monitor outs like my old M Audio C600 and Digidesign M Box 2 Pro interfaces.

Great reviews. Providing information that I don’t see other reviewer give. The only thing that caught me off guard was stating that SSL is not a known brand. 🤯. To me this brand has been sought after since I was a kid lusting over equipment in magazines. Lol. Maybe I’m looking from a different perspective. I also saw some comments and people saying that Audient was not mentioned. I must say that I’ve had a couple of Audient interfaces, and although they sound and perform well, they do not have longevity. They just seem to die 😵. I wound up going back to RME after my last Audient died.

So helpful. I'm glad I was directed to this video!

Fantastic video and not just some aimless rant. Actual audio samples included. Good job. Thank you.

Apogee and RME would have been nice to include. Just going by my headphones from RU-vid I think the UMC204HD and Telefunken mic sounds really great.

I love my Apollo Twin X because of the unison pre-amp system AND not just running reverb in my real-time recording, but a list of effects that (I find) positively effect the energy of my vocal performance. In fact, no other piece of gear I’ve ever owned at any price has more positively effected my vocal recording. Not a Neumann, not an outboard pre-amp or compressor…nothing. Absolutely worth the extra $$$ for me.

Extremely helpful thank you!

Very informative video! Great tips and "behind the scenes" info! You nailed it!

I'd love to see a comparison of their drivers

Thank you for the nice video, but I think you were a bit unfair to the Steinberg UR22c. Although it might be a bit noisy when you record a very quiet source, it comes with great features that many interfaces don't have. 1. Onboard DSP fx (and quite good actually) 2. Comes with a very nice suite of fx that use the DSP chip and so they make it very easy to record with fx and no latency and you also have the choice not to print them. 3. The above give you the ability to stream with fx (instagram/Facebook/RU-vid live etc.) 4. Connectivity : It can be plugged directly to an iPhone, iPad and record, stream or anything else and also use the onboard dsp with these devices 5. Comes with Cubase AI which is a very good DAW for beginners and not only. 6. Standalone mode so you can take it with you and even use it as a 2 channel mixer with onboard fx, controlling it through an iPad/iPhone For all these reasons I think that you unfair, because you are judging the interface only because of the preamp noise, which again is not a serious factor if you are not using the quietest mics on the planet. Of course I agree with you about the Metric Halo. It's in my top 3 list as well. I agree for the quality of the behringer, too, but I would everyday go for the Steinberg between them two for the additional features. Thank you for the video. Greetings from Greece.

UNBIASED, THATS GREAT! I am very impressed with the fair opinions in this video. My BIG TAKEAWAY, 476 vs 476P…476 for the 2 inputs that bypass the preamps!! Wow, you’re the only one that said it. This provides more options for using external preamps and not being forced to pass through the 476’s preamps. THANK YOU!!! I been thinking about this for days now and I gotta say I feel I am making the best decision to go with the 476 over the 476P, to meet my current recording needs. Plus I could use a splitter if I need two headphone jacks, hahaha. Thanks again! You have a new fan.

Hey Get.Beautiful, thanks for recommendations which are actually helpful.

The Steinberg stuff sounds amazing compared to it’s focusrite counterparts. In the lower end of things it is the best at 1/4 the cost of the SSL interface which is the next level I would be comfortable with for a on the go solution.

I have a UR22C which I got for the DSP capabilities. You didn't mention that you can have realtime compression, EQ, Reverb, AND a guitar amp/gate/speaker sim on EACH channel simultaneously with no latency. I don't print the FX, but it's a real pleasure to track with.

Thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge.

THANKS a bunch for your helpful advice.

I bought the behringer uphoria 404hd when it first came out for $99.00 at Guitar Center. They couldn't keep it in stock at one point. I use it til this day. It's amazing.

The Steinberg unit has more features than mentioned. It’s not my choice, but I felt like that was a little harsh. Surprised to see the high noise levels. Appreciate the reviews.

Great Review! What would you suggest for HQ music stereo playback for an entry level radio station? Would really like XLR output however not a deal breaker.

Hey Chris. Thanks for a great video: concise, clear and informative. Loved it! Where in this line-up would the Apogee Pro Tools Quartet and the Motu M4 sit, in your opinion?

Pretty good video. Though I'm really surprised the Motu m2 and m4 weren't tested. I'd say they are hands down the best entry level audio interface, and much of the industry seems to echo that. I own an M4 and a UMC404hd. The Behringer is great for the prrice, but for a bit more money you get quite a few more features with an M2 or M4, plus loopback, digital vu metres, way, way better drivers, overall much more stable interface with virtually no input lag. Driver stability should absolutely be a criteria for a comparison video. Also the video title is very misleading and will probably confuse beginners. It implies that this is a comprehensive list, and might steer them away from great products like the M2 or M4.

The metric halo stuff is amazing. I used it at a studio I used to work at. It was amazing! I use 2 uad x8p with a twin but i do alot of real time processing so it works for me. Especially since I use the dsusbs to bypass the preamp on the x8p when I use external gear or my adat preamps. But man metic halos was amazing. Zero problems with my uad stuff tho. It's been making me money for years

Great review! Any converter comparisons considered in similar fashion?

Great informative video. However I think it's a bit unfair to call the URC22C the worst because it has onboard DSP which is one of its unique features.

I recently acquired an Audient EVO 16. In all my years working in and around studios, for the money, this is ridiculously good. Surprised it's not on here . Would have been great to see how it compared? I'd never go back to anything else. My main point would be the quality to cost ratio. There are units sonically as good but they cost 3 / 4 times as much and that's the killer for me

Good quality info thanks buddy.

I've been using the Steinberg UR22 for many years (not even the UR22C, which is deemed the worst here) and got decent results. Great to know that I must be a l33t audio engineer, and that any shortcomings are due to my crap audio interface. Thanks!

I'm late to this conversation, so this may already have been mentioned among the current 560 comments, but in regards to the UAD Apollo Twin offloading the processing of plug-ins, it will only do so with DSP-based UAD plugins. Whatever native plugins you're running in your DAW, the Apollo does nothing to offload the processing. That said, I'd agree that the Apollo line of interfaces are really only valuable to those who reeeeally want to take advantage of the zero latency Unison technology (and using Unison-enabled UAD plugins), and/or are already invested in the UAD ecosystem.

A+! All equipment reviews should be a concise and to the point as this one.

Which Audio Interface would you recommend for just 1 or 2 mic preamp inputs, but also with a couple of instrument inputs that I can use to record with a DAW? I have a Hearush MX 5 for my guitar, which acts as an audio interface for the guitar tracks, but I am getting a synthesizer and MIDI Controller Keyboard and want to have everything Interface simultaneously.

Respectfully, while I generally don't recommend the Apollo Twin (I use a couple of rack Apollos), you left out that the DSP on the Twin can be used just like that of your Metric Halo while recording. You can process signals and record (print) or just monitor thru plugins/processors without lowering the buffer within your computer. In this way you can emulate an analog style recording workflow.

Thanks for including the worst 😂. I have the Behringer and it’s the only one I’ve ever used, so I had nothing to compare it with. I’ve been happy with it, and this video helps me know I made a good purchase

Awesome video. I always thought the Apollo was a little bit overrated. Also reading into the technical specifications of audio related content sends me into analysis paralysis!

Exceptional report!

Would have loved to see RME included

Finally, someone talking about the Metric Halo! An interface that truly deserves attention!

NICE ! Thank you very much for the great video. You earned a subscriber. Greetings from Brasil. The best Regards Cheers :)

Well done and straight forward!

If you have thunderbolt capability best value for your money to me is the Presonus Quantum 2626. It’s a very underrated product. Wasn’t on the list but thought it was worth mentioning.

I think theres a bit more to an audio interface than just the preamps and features. The AD/DA conversion, quality of the monitor out and headphone out, the overall user experience and the connectivity to other outboard gear/ computers and DAWs. Would be good if u could include that in your comparison as well. That being said, well presented video with a great point for beginners looking to start

I have Motu M4...and love it, please review it soon...and your channel rocks!

Fantastic. Very clearly presented.

Thank you for the informative comparison. But why don't you take the latency into account? In my opinion, this is a super important feature. I have several interfaces from Steinberg, Focusrite, Behringer and I found that the SSL2 has the absolute lowest usable latency of just 3ms. All other interfaces have significantly more and this is crucial for live playing of VST synthesizers, for example. My recommendation is therefore only the SSL2.

I have used both the Behringer UMC204HD and the UMC404HD and they indeed sound fantastic for the money. However they can be a bit fragile so be careful with them and I don't recommend them for traveling. I had channel 1 of my 404 go out and it bled into channel 2 as well. Ended up replacing it with a MOTU M4 which another great choice but much more expensive. If you're a solo podcaster, I would also recommend the Behringer UV1 which is very similar to the DBX286s but less expensive, has a USB output, headphone jack in the front and an on and off switch.

Thank you for that, excellent review.

Great video, but I think you missed a vital point here: the purpose of an audio interface is Digital/Analog and Analog/Digital conversion. Quiet preamps make for a good recording sure, but great a/d d/à conversion is à lot more important, which is actually the reason why the Apollo Twin is so expensive, not just because of it's on board processing, but also because of its stellar converters!

Thanks for the video- but no RME? I get that this is geared towards beginners and newbies, but if we really want to talk about the best of the best, then RME is surely the answer. Even some newbies will want to know what the BEST really is. I think the babyface ProFS is a great beginner interface coming in at 1k, from RME

Thank you for the learning.

awesome video. I currently have 2i2. If I get the SSL2 plus, is it considered a worthy upgrade and the recording sound will be better? thankiu

The reason for Apollo's DSP is NO LATENCY = real time recording = makes a world of difference. But I agree, it's a bit expensive.

If you haven't heard of SSL then you are in the wrong business 😮

Thank you really helped me clear my head

Great video I was wondering how the Roland Octacapture figures against the interfaces that you have tested here what is your opinion of it

How can you not have the great Audient ID24 in this review

Not a single Audient interface, how strange

Great video! Subscribed. What when you mainly record line level only ( electronic music) ? I send my analog gear into an 8 channel vintage mixer ( Fostex 350 ) it’s known for its preamps and kicks on drums and synths ! Do I not use them then if I’m going for one of these audio interfaces ? I would like to record at least 4 channels at a time, 8 would be ideal tho. Any suggestions?

Great video 🎉 Just wondering, I'm looking to buy the volt 476, How is the DSP compared to the Twin? I need an upgrade from my Gen 2 focusrite where the DSP is making me angry 😂

Hey nerds. 💀

Focusrite Scarlett is the worst of all, especially on windows

Vert helpful video! Do you think even the beingher provides enough dynamic range? I see everyone obsessed about that and i'm worried! Many thanks!

Hi, I have an Apollo Twin MKII. I’ve heard you can’t bypass the pre... but even if you use a TRS into the line in? I want to buy a high quality preamp... would I have a sonic problem with the Apollo? Thank you.

Great info, thanks for posting. I'm here because I can't figure out why the direct headphone jack out on my ipad sounds better than the output from my PreSonus AudioBox USB 96.

I am surprised no mention was made of The Apogee Symphony Desktop ….. maybe because of its expensive price point ? I was very happy to see you explain what happens when you use the line inputs on a combo amp …. that they fail to bypass the preamps. Excellent and very useful Review. Thank you.

thank you for the great information and ideas. If I want to drive a power amp do I then need rca outputs from the audio interface?

Top quality advice!

I seriously love the SSL12. My first USB-interface a lot of years ago was the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. I did not have any problems with it. Later I bought the SSL2+ because i needed the midi-connections. Later when I needed more channels I bought the Behringer UMC 1820. That was a big mistake. I just couldn't get a good signal and just had so many noise issues with it. Don't know if it was a faulty unit or if they are all like that. The shop took it in and after looking it at it told me they couldn't repair it and gave me my money back. I then got a Rubix24 which was better than the 1820 for sure, but it still had more noise than I remembered from my SSL2+. So after some hesitation because of the price I returned the Rubix24 and bought the SSL12. And I am so happy with it. I get strong signals and there is pretty much zero noise, even after adding effects like distortion or increasing the gain in my DAW. The SSL12 is just great and I will never again accept anything that doesn't perform as well as it does.

Have you ever reviewed or used the AXE I/O interface? Yes it was basically made for guitar but I have used it for other instruments and vocals, not drums because I don't have any. It has midi in/out which is useful when you need it. I have gotten great sound out with very low latency.

thank you this is a big help

I feel justified in my purchase a few years ago of the Behringer 202HD now. Cheers. Best bang for buck for my original budget limitation.

thank you so much this video was so useful

@Get.Beautiful.Recordings, Hats off to you! 🤠 🤯 This is by far the best video I’ve found on RU-vid covering Audio interfaces in the home studio recording range of units. As someone who’s been researching what my next upgrade ought to be from my Steinberg UR-22, this list contained many of the options I was considering and really helped solidify my top choices. You provided very helpful context (with imagery) for each criteria by showing the comparable data on its closest competitor. Thank you for getting straight to the point! No one else is doing videos quite like this on products. Could have saved me a whole day of research! Subbed! If anyone is wondering about the Steinberg UR-22, (not the UR22C) Served me well for about 10 years. Not sure if it has the same preamps or not, but I recorded multiple albums and singles on it without any trouble whatsoever. But I gotta have 2 headphone jacks and at minimum 4 channel inputs. 😂 probably gonna get the SSL line, but was really eyeing the Volt and the M-Audio 192|14. (Not in the video)

Great content, thanks