People are going to be mad this isn't under $300 because of SSL, Audient and UA, but I am glad Neve is giving bedroom producers something truly top shelf.
$1245 on sweetwater. Was expecting similar to that SSL 2+ level.. But hey, good for them! If I didn't have the RME babyface pro fs, I would probably buy this!
It’s not really going to help buddy. U can make beats sound great with only your laptop. If you want great sounding vocals this will help, but then again, if you know what you’re doing, u can make vocals from any shitty interface sound great.
Everything sounds incredible. Really wish you included a rough mix of all those sources together. Please do the world a favor and do an A/B comparison of it with a 2i2. Would be very interesting to hear the difference
AMS Neve responds -- June 13, 2022: Regarding USB power related questions and the numerous accusations of using DSP preamps, using Chinese parts off of AliExpress, etc, ETC! Here is the email response I received from AMS Neve, in its entirety: --->> “Thank you for your email. The 88M uses the same preamp topology as the 88RS console and is built to the exacting high standards we apply to all of our products. We don't outsource 88M manufacturing to China or anywhere else, the 88M is designed, manufactured and assembled here in the UK by our skilled engineers. The 88RS preamp design differs from the vintage Neve preamp designs and is less power-hungry than classic class-A preamps such as the 1073 this allows us to take advantage of USB 3.0 bus power. The 88M uses boost converters to convert the USB 3 DC power supply to produce adequate voltages for the +/- power rails and +48v phantom power. The 88M input is transformer balanced using the exact same 88RS Marinair specification transformer which gives the preamp 6dB of 'free' gain, the signal is then amplified through a premium AD797 op amp which makes up the bulk of the gain staging. The preamp output is also servo-balanced, a premium feature you won't find in many audio interface preamps. This topology is identical to the 88RS console preamp. The only real difference between the 88RS console preamp and 88M preamp is a slight reduction in headroom, from +26dBu to +18dBu, which is still more than enough for professional recording, other than that, the design and performance is identical.”
@@Co-Op_Mode Headroom is how much more you can push the signal after analogue clipping before the output is distorted. Basically the transformer start heating up and give you that beautiful "warmth" that everyone love, and you can only push it THIS much (whatever number of dBus the headroom is) before the whole thing breaks apart.
We’ll that’s the usual question that always seems to come up when something costs a lot more than the average product. The fact is, and it is only my opinion of course, that the difference in quality is only noticeable once you compare a fair amount of tracks recorded with studio grade gear, vs. cheaper equipment. If you compare only two tracks back to back, the gap is almost always ignorable. But once you hear a full mix where track after track, the subtle enhancements and clarity pile up, you immediately notice a greater depth, 3 dimension-like space and luscious high frequencies that make everything sound a step higher than the mix recorded with the 200 bucks gear. High grade preamps, compressors, eq’s and converter always get targeted with this apparently killer question, but the truth comes to the surface in the end result. Not saying that you can’t do a great job with cheaper gear, and even sell millions of copies. A good song with a poor sound is a gazillion times more enjoyable than a bad song or arrangement recorded at Abbey Road by Andy Wallace
@@Wirekite Thats probably a good way to put it. I guess if you are making content that people consume on their phones no one would tell a difference vs making content for audiophiles.
its possible, depending on the type of music, type of production, and type of playback...you could get a cheap product to perform comparably to this. but then again, you aren't asking a lot if it when you set the bar low. I can say for SURE the mic preamps in a scarlet 2i2 are garbage by comparison. So, if you're into recording beautiful vocals , the Neve transformer coupled press are in a completely different class, and that's something even a casual listener can hear right away. Ditto for using a transformer coupled input for instruments, too. I cannot get my guitars to sound this "professional" and rich any other way. Neve has a magic. But if your art is making music with a lot of distortion or other artifacts that obscure the purity of tone, then I think you can use about any tool you want so long as it gets the job done.
Haha yeah, when they use the words “based on” it tells me almost, but not quite. I’ll stick to Audient or UAD util I see how the unit stacks up for the price. At least with UAD, you get dsp and Audient is clean.
@@anthonystone3927 It means spend your money elsewhere cause this thing is powered over the usb connection. Which means these are digital preamps running an emulation of a neve, not actual 88r's. It does not have enough power over the usb bus to run real transformer isolated preamps.
Make one with selectable 1066, 1073, 88R pre's sorta like the UA Volt. 8-32 channels of ADAT in/out, dB25 analog ins/outs, DSP chips for EQ and Compression like RME, make it class compliant and standalone capable. Then make standalone 8 channel adat in/out converter with selectable 1066, 1073, 88R pre's on each channel, and allow the line in on each channel to pass thru selectable pres for spice.
The only thing I’m struggling with is the SSL BIG SiX costing double with many more channels, 4 stereo eq’s, 4 mono eq’s with compressors, a bus compressor and inserts also and aux’s etc… then I would still want my own preamps, probably Neve’s and there’s then the dilemma… but they could be any pre’s and blackbox audio’s pre I might be more inclined to buy over a Neve if I was to have to chose one on preamp to add… then again, the portability of this audio interface makes it very attractive also… add a 3 unit 500 series and have great portable analog recording… I guess a big thing would be to know how good the conversation and latency is of the unit
You could do both- just use the sends from the Neve 88m for your preamp. Can't see why it would be software dependent, the input transformers are what you're after. Keep in mind, if the ADC is the same as the ones on my 8801's, you'll definitely want to print your grabs thru those ✌️🎶🎶
@@gmichaelhall 🤔those were my first thoughts also, how can bus power deliver the muscle in these transformers.?? I’m moving more into cameras and lenses these days though so I’m selling a lot of gear and acquiring more video-centric gear like the new Tascam Portacapture and the Rode Go ii, so I probably won’t screw around with this Neve unit, but I hope you get it and do well with it bro.👍
@@bigdap100 awww, you finally got around to liking each other..that's good! That makes my day! If i may chime in for just a second....none of this matters anyway, when you don't have a damn fine musician or band on the other end of the recording chain to begin with. I have seen thousands of new products and this and that and that and this but i have yet to hear some real damn music that is worth being recorded through all this fantastic (for me unaffordable) gear! Have a good day gentlemen! (Assuming G. Michael is a man as well)
The markets are : 1) Big artists working from home (think Billie Eillish, Charlie Puth) who are going to get their music mixed on a Neve or SSL or Harrison, well, elf on the top of shelf brands anyway. Why spend time de-noising stuff that's noisy because of the noise-floor on whatever interface was used during recording?! 2) Sound designers. 3) People who record orchestras in stereo and want to have a USB solution (not easy). This is not for starting bedroom producers, this is for professionals who have been forced and/or transitioned into working from home. Here on RU-vid Ken Lewis have a metric ton or two of golden records and totally mix from his home, and do some extra tracking at all. It *does* make sense at the highest level of the industry.
You can do this with most interface, which their internal preamp sound pretty good, for one third of the price. In fact, let’s see how this compare to the lowest end interfaces these days, and see if it is real component quality or just name and snobbery.
@@iamtorrego There are mariner transformers in this unit, so it's definitely not "snobbery", it's the real deal. Ken uses UAD for the record, which is definitely in the high end. Can you "do this" with most interfaces? Why, yes. Would most people genuinely benefit from this? Why, no. Would top pros benefit from this? Absolutely. Put a Ferrari driver in a Corolla and he'll still be able to do amazing stunts. Will the driver chooses the Corolla...? Of course not. People of the internet have been saying the most absurd thing ever, like that Neve has bad specs on this because it starts at +11dBs of gain (some have measured +6dBs on mic level), but that's actually BETTER because large consoles are MADE for higher input levels, since they have a much better headroom. This is also why we have switches to go from pro level to consumer level line I/Os. I'm just saying the product makes perfect sense for a FOH engineer who have home studio, like myself for example.
There is a thread at Gearspace on the Neve 88M. A rep from AMS Neve is answering questions. Under New Product Alert, titled: "NEVE brings legendary sound to your desktop with NEVE 88M Audio Interface" EDIT / UPDATE July 6, '22: Gene Hall has provided an initial review, page 13, at the Gearspace post mentioned above. Gene owns Neve 1081...and he is VERY happy with the 88M. Snippet from Gene's review: "A good lesson to me to not be so cynical about a product based on heresay and naysayer speculations on things they know nothing about. The 88M preamps are undeniably 88 series microphone preamps and in my opinion they sound beautiful".
I guess the question is does the preamps on this sound like the actual 88rs preamps? Or is it just some cheap interface put together to get sales from the name like all the other big names have done?
Don’t think that highly doubt it they use chips when making the pre amps which is what gives it that sound and what it’s known for if you look into cp5 by DIY Recording you’ll understand more
Thanks for the thorough review. Which would you go with if you had to choose between the 88m or Babyface Pro for home recording? Predominantly using 1-2 microphones on acoustic instruments, vocals, amps, and some live drums. No synths, samples, midi, etc. Looking for vintage studio sounds (50s-70s). Or is there another good option to consider?
I agree with other posters here that it is nice to see Neve forgo the "cheap" end of the interface market and instead, focus on bringing something high quality and portable to the table. With that said, it would have been nice to see them include some kind of metering and an insert button.
Can you put the whole mix through it (front - analog in's) and still use transformers without lifting the gain on preamp's and with preamps or this is just too much for this device? :))
Well, it depends. If what Neve is saying is true....that the 88M has (2) 88R preamps with adequately powered transformers inside it...then it's a big deal if you like the Neve sound. If Neve is lying as many here claim, then it's no better than an entry level interface. Eventually someone will do an in depth review and the truth will be revealed :)
I've been waiting for something like this, but I'm not sold on that acoustic guitar sound. I've been testing mics/preamps for acoustic guitar for years and I'm hoping it's the guitar/mic and how is he playing it but it sounds harsh and "ice-pick" to my ears.
Instead of testing mics and preamps, start testing different guitars and players. The mics, the pres, the whatevers don't matter. It took me buying and returning a dozen acoustics to finally land on a vintage Guild d25 so my strumming would actually not sound harsh. Had nothing to do with anything but the actual instrument. Your convertors, your mics, your whatevers, are fine.
@@musiccreation1198 Yes, everyone knows who he is. What did he say? That he relied on microphones and that's how he got so good? Just put up an 87 kids, done! You're tripping out.
Sounds great, but price is way overkill and not inline with other 2+2 such as Audient, SSL, and even Apollo is cheaper. If this had been £500-600 could have been interesting. But will wait for more reviews before I make further judgement.
Thanks for the Great Demo always 👍🙏, curious about the low AD DA dynamic range (110db) of 88M matters the real world quality?? Is it better than Prism lyra or universal audio apollo twin x or Burl converter etc ? Just Quality is a relative thing..... So we can imagine the quality of it... Plz reply... Thanks in advance... 👍
So are there transformers here? Because I'm thinking with the outboard I have, would this be the ticket for a 2bus back into daw? It's got inserts for bus comp/eq. If it colors through transformers before conversion, this could be the ticket for a nice finished sounding product.
@@patrickdonegan9559 most interfaces use cirrus logic chips maybe some few use a few others . It’s really Down to the topology outside of the conversion like the preamp section or psu that will really effect a sound I. The interface. If they use bad parts there then the sound suffers as well. Audient ID44 and others like it would be in the pro camp and stuff like prism and lynx would be mastering tier.
In most interfaces, using the Return port goes straight to the converter. However, that does not mean you can suddenly have four channels instead of two. You get two channels of conversion. Why would anyone buy this to go straight to conversion, though? You're paying for the Neve name, ergo the pres.
@@dirtyharry1881 ever since I reviewed the JoeCo Cello, it is a feature I look out for on every new audio interface. The mic preamp is recorded on a separate channel in the DAW and then there is an additional channel for whatever hardware insert you used. So you get the mic preamp plus an equalizer compressor or whatever else. So in case you over EQ'd or overcompressed you aren't backed into a corner. I think MOTU has an interface like that as well.
The insert point are wired in serial with the input and output stage. The only way to bypass the insert would be to engage bypass (if there is one), on the inserted gear, or to simply unplug the the cables from the back.
@@flipnap2112 thanks for the reply, The AD DA is better than Prism lyra or comparable to which interface?? As good or bad is a relative things.... Neither everything is good everything is bad😂😜
@@ChandTechnical I mean I guess I was just shocked that you buy that solely to use the converters as most are after the preamps.. you can get an RMSbabyface pro fs, or even cheaper the RME ADI2FS silver face. Even audient ID have world class converters for much cheaper and you'd never hear the difference.
I bought a Neve 500 series preamp for less than half the price, I use it with my Scarlet 8i6 and I can't even begin to imagine that this would make any noticeable difference for me.
Sad to say, the Latency @44.1khz with 128 buffer setting is said to be just over 13ms. If the Neve team could make this device perform with half that figure then it would be more suited to compete with much faster devices like RME, Focusrite, Presonus, but as it sits this is nothing special. Maybe this would be fine as a recording capture device, but it looks like it will be disappointing as a live performance one. Serious buyers should always carefully read the User Manual before placing an order for any of these expensive devices.
@@musiccreation1198 Yeah, hope they make some special drivers, otherwise the USB 3.0 spec has no relevance for latency. Your RME is much better, so is my Focusrite. Check out the chart on p.19 in the Neve 88M User Manual online and you'll see what I'm saying.
@@LetWatersSing Wow...even at a buffer of 16/32, it's at 7ms. I'm trying to wrap my head around how these numbers relate to their monitoring options. Thanks for pointing this out.
@@gmichaelhall Only the transformers don't make the sound, I think it can offer more resources, eg DSP processor, Meter In | out , and the control software could support vsts to configure presets according to our tastes, exactly as I think the modest interfaces on the market.
The USB port on the back is type B. Which likely means the other end of that is USB type A. That usually means it does not support USB-C. That is extremely disappointing. No mac user wants to have to use a dongle to connect this beauty. Seems like a pretty serious design error?
@@jonathanfurtado7611 I don’t think it will bus power B to C. Which is why there aren’t a lot of B to C cables out there. Are you saying you own one of these and it has USB-C?
I have had loads of audio interfaces. Some "cheap" and some expensive. I've had Audient, UAD, Focusrite, RME etc and I'm currently mostly using my Arturia Audiofuse 8pre BUT in my mobile rig I'm using the SSL 2+. I love the 8pre and I freakin' HATE the 2+. It's absolute rubbish. ...so when AMS Neve launched this I was like "This is just a 2+, bleh" but the build and preamps seem to be WAY better. Can't wait to try it out!
@@busyboxst7 I got it as an "extra" for "on the go" recordings and it does the trick for recording guitars etc BUT recording microphones it just picks up noise (not the mics, not the cables, the freakin' unit!) and is just...not even worth the money tbh.
I think it’s for tracking only, but there may be software like UA console that lets you route stuff out of the interface and back in for mixing purposes
@@musiccreation1198 I already use ADAT expansion with Apollo and I love it, very easy to enter that world if you need to! As nice as it would be to have 2 Neve pres here, this isn’t “it” for me, I think this thing will shine for pro portable rigs, like artists recording on tour in hotels and other scenarios. I’ll be very interested to hear it tested against dedicated preamps, but Apollo is still king for home production imo, and SSL has a good entry point for a basic name brand interface. There’s a lot of great dedicated Neve style preamps out there for good prices that can be inserted into the setups we already have. This is a cool product, I think it will sell as much as Neve wants it to, just not for me! Not that anyone asked my opinion haha, but maybe someone reading this will save some cash and buy dedicated preamps instead, because I’d guess most of us in this price range already have great interfaces.