Buying a USB Audio Interface? Hear This First

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Julian Krause channel youtube.com/@JulianKrause
M-Audio Air 192 - 6 amzn.to/3Y5im5k or USED amzn.to/44ZtIKl
Tascam US 2x2 HR amzn.to/3Q7ZgK1 or USED amzn.to/3Osre1B
SSL 2+ amzn.to/3Q5AOsG
Motu M2 amzn.to/44FhRBw
Audient ID14 mkii amzn.to/3rJlKH2

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Liked the 3D-pop of the 4K option on the SSL! Totally agree with your conclusion: Usability is a big part of choosing an interface 😊Huge thanks for the shoutout! Cheers, James

Dude, I am always having a fun time watching you and your lil monologues. Like your sense of humour haha. Cheers!

5:33 Your dynamic mic doesn't require phantom power but it doesn't get hurt by it either. The only mics which get broken by phantom power are ribbon mics. - Well, technically ribbon mics are dynamic mics as well. But yours is a moving coil mic. Just to be specific.

FWIW: a stage dynamic microphone like you have will typically have a step up transformer inside that will also serve as protection against the capsule receiving phantom power.

I went through a similarly frustrating journey. My first interface was basically perfect. M-Audio C400.

The preamps were good enough to amplify pretty much any dynamic mic without hiss, including an SM7b. It had a nice big level meter right up on top. It had the big knob on top that the current M-Audio interface has. The headphone amp was good enough for my planar magnetics.

They haven't updated the drivers since 2014 and it now gives my computer the blue screen of death.

The Focusrite Scarlett was never on the same level, so I never considered that as a possible replacement.

The Steinberg UR12 has a funny sounding name (you are 12?) and has horribly hissy preamps that completely devalue its good driver support, and it only has a single LED for clipping instead of a level meter.

The Motu M2 made weird noises until I updated my motherboard's firmware, and now it's a pretty suitable replacement for my old C400... if anything else has better preamps, the difference is going to be inaudible. It is SLIGHTLY disappointing to see that the SSL2 is cheaper though, because I like that layout a little more than all the knobs being on the front.

Omg I love this guy! I’m glad you’re still making content 🫶🏿

I‘ve had an Audient ID 44 for over 6 years, and never had a problem with it. Solid metal construction. No plastic!!! Great preamps!!! Great sound!!! 😊

The pre-amp chart is just for low noise level, not "quality". Between the first ones there's a minimal difference in quality.

As an audio engineer it is quite enjoyable to watch a video guy's approach on choosing an audio interface. :-) Thanks for this video. Anyways, although mic preamps are important, the microphone itself is way more important. Also the quality isn't just determined by noise floor. SSL is known as one of the two to four greatest mixing console manufacturers from the 80ies till now; they build some great audio stuff but decided to move production to the Far East; still good products though. With lots of interfaces available (even just in that 2 mic inputs range) I think you picked the right one. Desktop interfaces should have their controls on the top and I am surprised that there's lots of interfaces with controls on the side (front). In a podcast/content creation/etc. environment, volume and mic gain are controls you need all the time even though you wouldn't notice it. You WILL notice, when those knobs are hard to reach.

Thanks for sharing, you kept cracking me up!

"i said descroy and i stick it, with it" made my belly hurt, take my sub

In the audio world, SSL is world-renown for mixers and preamps. You chose wisely.

The graph you are looking at is noise floor (how much noise do you want in your recording), but that doesn't equate to a better pre-amp; It depends on your purpose. You want low noise floor when recording Foley or very detailed recordings. Noise is subjective as well, I believe it is psychoacoustics for defining a "warm" signal = a more analog sound. I have owned multiple devices over the years. A little noise floor is okay, and often welcome.

Truly perfected this format, loved this

Love your content! You always bring a smile to my face!

Good purchase, the preamps are indeed decent, although you probably won't hear a significant difference between the top 20 in Julian's list. More importantly, the SSL has great playback quality, loopback, excellent headphone amps and the software is super stable. I have the bigger SSL12 and it's a winner so far.

The 4K button is in reference to the SSL 4000 series recording consoles from the 80’s. They have a character (distortion) we all have heard and love in our music. For podcasting duties I doubt you’ll use it. But, if your mic (or the source) sounds a little boring, then switch it in for some digitally emulated old school analogue character.

Yep you’re gettin a sub. This was hilarious, and informative.

Your videos are ART!!! lol. Thank you!!! Because your reviews are on point!

sat here with my "budget" Focusrite 2I4 2nd gen, still works after 7 years, and I love it.
I know its a low cost option, but it works and I get good results and it allows me to do what I need to do.