That routing diagram is *insane*. I'm a pro sound engineer and I'm def getting of these! I can now use my older, bigger interfaces as stand-alone pres with the optical connections, like the 2626 profire and it's infamous 69dBs of gain that been sitting on the shelf since the drivers have been left in the dust. Also this is the only interface in that format with world clocking that I know of, which you haven't mentioned in your review. This means you can go in any broadcast studio in the world and automatically sync this interface to perfection with whatever gear they use! No other company accept MOTU offer this in the same size and not the same price point! I also wonder about a review for the US HR version. It seems like it's gone way under the radar. At much less money, if you don't need the optical I/Os or world-clock, it's a no brainer for most people since it comes with the same software and same pre-amps. It doesn't have the individual 48 volts channels unfortunately, nor the power switch - but for most beginner it's a better choice at around 250$ less on the canadian price.
Every Tascam product I have ever owned has been solid. From reel to reel to mixers just solid products. Thanks for this review, great video. I think this is just what I need.
You sir have a NEW SUBSC. as of now!!!! LOL.. I got this EXACT unit awhile back & have been abit confused ever since... Being BRAND NEW to all this Home Studio stuff has been a lil overwhelming to say da least (Info OVERLOAD lol).. I didn't know what Q's meant...how to EQ my voice,etc... UNTIL NOW..!! Tascam doesnt offer up much on the Info dept. IMO... but i got the 208i not wanting to EVER need anything else..Tons of features(some of which i dont even understand lol) and $ GREAT preamps built in w/ DSP and ability to add EVEN MORE Inputs later w/ a dyna if needed) were the kicker for me. An AWESOME UNIT to say the least. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do MORE of these type videos for us "newbies" to all this....Hell i didnt even know that the Monitors in upper right corner of Routing screen correspond to the BACK OF THE UNIT ..LMAO...see what I mean man??? Lol..anyways,THANKS soooo very very much for this video and your future ones on this matter(fingers crossed)...and you playing guitar as well...A BONUS ...I,m in an App called Bandlab and trying to record and post music into it with CAKEWALK (DAW) as well. BOTH of which are TOTALLY FREE too BTW...and Killer in theirown unique way....Impressive knowledge & Insite ya have w/ this thing ..Lookin 4ward 2 it...Stay Safe & THANKS A TON for da video again!!!!! LIFESAVER....
additional info : inhouse coded ASIO drivers give you sample buffer sizes as low as 4 samples and super-low latency. and there is a less pricey Tascam 102i with the same specs but just less ins and outs.
I just received a 102i this week and I am very happy with it. Now I am finally free from the crummy sound card audio in my Dell notebook! Now I'm listening to some proper studio monitors and headphones for EVERYTHING and I won't be using the headphone jack on the computer or docking station again. Plus it is an excellent interface for my Rode NT1 for voice over and narration.
Brian, how would you compare the Tascam 208i to the Rodecaster Pro as a podcasting or content creator audio platform? In your opinion is the Tascam 208i a substitute or a sweet compromise? It has clean pre-amps, live mixing, lots of software. But unlike the Rode, no recording. Does the 208i allow for multitrack out to a DAW and/or a recorder? Can you see a scenario where the Tascam 208i and the Rodecaster Pro are used together? Thanks for all you do!
Phantom power won't damage to dynamic mics or guitars BUT it will destroy ribbon mics so be careful. Also it can create hum in your recording according to your interface.
It's the same software that exists in the Tascam US 20x20 interface (USB3 btw), that I own for 5 years now. Funny that this possibilities now are such a big thing. :-)
preamp noise is -129.7dBu, so it has less noise than the Scarlett. the gain is 56dB. it was weird to see that he had to set his gain to 100% with the SM58, mine is at 65%.
Thanks for such nice demo on series 208i. i just got 102i but i am confused , it doesn't has audio loopback function. i tried several routing settings but not able to get DAW sound on OBS . kindly help me to do settings on routing. thanks in advance !
So with the software, you can make a monitor mix for yourself, and a stream mix for the stream where you can adjust volumes between the mixes individually?
Everything I own as far as audio production goes is tascam. I have the 102i version of this, but I wish someone would do a how to video on it. There's plenty reviews, but almost no tutorials. Would be great if you could do something like that.
You forgot to mention that this interface has work clock built-in, which is really, really convenient for plugging this to studio rigs with racks of external gear and to synch your external pres to the interface. At this price point, this is rare, and in this format, I've never seen any other company featuring it accept MOTU in much more expensive interfaces.
this looks great, but I wonder if this interface is too old to buy now. Cause longevity is always a concern. is this a smart investment in the middle/end of 2024?
Woowww..after further reading of these comments, i see im not the only one out there with some questions whose abit baffeled with all this...shew...lol... again THANKS man.... Stay Safe
I am having the worst time with mine. its even been replaced. It does not see my microphone. im so frustrated. Sweetwater is stumped. i am not gettting a signal light on in any of my ports. all my equipment is new and well protected. i can hear very well. help help!
Eq and compression can be applied per individual channel. But reverb can only be applied to Aux1Bus and nothing else (according to the reference manual). Have you tried the reverb to confirm this? Thanks for a great review!
Does the eq/compression “stay” on the interface when you power down? For example, say I set it up on my main tower pc with the software installed... but then I take the interface to my friends and they don’t want to install the software on their computer.... do the settings I had at home stay on the tas am interface?
Do the line inputs bypass the preamps? Can I use the Logic IO plugin to send audio (from a bus) out of say line out 3 & 4 and then come back in to line in 3 & 4?
I'm considering buying one of these, but I'm on a windows 10 laptop and I've read in some product reviews that it generates conflicts with this model. Does you have more info on that? Thanks and great review.
i cant understand for the life of me why any interface in 2021 has only ONE headphone jack???? usually you need one for the artist and one for the engineer...i dont get it... my mostt talented artist like to be in the room with the engineer. so i wear headphones and i dont blast out the speakers whilehe is recording. i dont understand
Any guidance on good closed-back headphones for tracking on this? I see 45 mw output to the phone jacks, but I can't find source impedance specs in Tascam literature (unless headphone amp impedance is 230 ohm, like the monitor output). Trying to pick a reasonable headset with "flat-enough" response, and decent volume, using the "rule of eights" (or higher) load-to-source impedance ratio. Prospects include the DT 770 (32, 80, or 250 ohm?), as well as ATH-M50x, HD 280 Pro, et. al. I will not be recording in a "loud room" environment, but don't want to introduce excessive distortion into my monitor 'phones at reasonable volume levels. Meanwhile -- Great review, Brian! ;-)
Honestly, I'm the wrong person to ask about things like headphone impedance, rule of eights, etc. It's beyond my technical expertise! I bet Allen from Sound Speeds YT channel would know. Personally, I use the industry standard Sony MDR-7506. They aren't flat, with a slightly hyped low and high end, but they are immaculately clear. They will reveal EVERYTHING wrong with your track. Great for tracking and critical listening, for that reason. No issues with this interface.
@@AudioforContentCreators Thanks for the quick response - I have the Sony 7506's on my list, as well as KRK sets. Glad to hear you like the Sonys. I will go look for Allen - and I also posted an inquiry on Julian Krause's channel, as he has done a boat-load of reviews on small/home-studio audio interface offerings. Stay safe & healthy!
Great review! I am having trouble with my 208i. I want to send the output of channels 3&4 of my tascam into my eurorack clock so I can sync it with my daw. I don't want to hear output 3&4 through my master monitors. I only want outputs 1&2 (monitor out) to route to my monitors. How can I set this up so that outputs 3&4 on the back of the 208i do not route to the monitors (plugged into output 1&2 (monitor out)? I can't work out how to use the routing!
I'm more concerned about delay. USB 2.0 is notoriously bad for latency especially with ASIO being involved. The preamps are great but it will not suffice as a central hub of a studio. Go ahead and sing and play an instrument at the same time - I dare you to plug all four jacks and do just one loop back monitor live. Boom done no go. Because this is not a true DSP is it?. Does It is still heavily lean on your PC and the USB buss? Anyway this is a couple of years ago and they just came out with the EVO 8 in 2022. It has new inputs and handles a great deal of the load internally like a true DSP system.
The EVO 8 from Audient is also USB 2.0 and does not have any internal DSP. Most manufacturers having been ditching USB 3.0 and even Thunderbolt unfortunately.
Was you mix knob turned all the way to one side or the other? Set your mix knob to 50%. Then check your settings in the mixer software and make sure things aren't muted.
@@AudioforContentCreators AND try making sure your INPUT for whatever channel your on is selected...AND make sure your faders are pushed up in that channel as well....where im gettin confused is OUTPUTS in the ROUTING SCREEN lol...& Importing and Exporting files to and from my DAW into an App called Bandlab...THANKS lol
Hey, so is there no way to add eq/compression to the outputs? I'm baffled at the fact that I'm searching for an interface that offers dsp effects on output and none seems to have it
@@AudioforContentCreators Either at the master output leading to speakers/headphones or maybe as inserts to wave/asio strips or something like that. My old E-mu has this, so you can eq whatever sound reaches your speakers but it is a pci card with 10-year-old drivers now. I see that steinberg lets you add reverb at output but no eq.
Unfortunately I can't help here. I've never had an interface that did that, or needed one. I use Audio Hijack for global real-time effects processing and Loopback for routing.
Playing with a backing track from RU-vid via zoom. I was demonstrating a improvisational concept with my students. I was playing along with Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island. In my part I was at synch with the backing track but a student said to me that there is a lag on their part.
That's not an issue with the 208i in particular. It's a problem of video and audio sync during a live stream in general. You almost always need at least a 100-200ms audio offset when pairing with external video.
Phantom power argument makes no sense. It’s safe to send phantom to any microphone using XLR as it is balanced. Unbalanced cables can’t receive phantom full stop. Also why would you want an interface that doesn’t work with a SM7B?
It is not safe to send phantom power to a ribbon microphone, XLR or not. And you would want an interface that doesn't work with an SM7B if you A) Don't have an SM7B or intend to use one, or B) Have an SM7B and a cloud-lifter or similar device. Thanks for watching!
Get a cloudlifter or something similar. Most interfaces in this price range don't have enough clean gain for an SM7B, but that's hardly an issue when things like cloudlifters are cheap and easily available
Hello Sir, I have the 102i and I try to connect a turntable and some times a Ipad but sound very bad, maybe I need to adjust some settings, can you help me please ? Thanks
