Recommend me a good 16 channel audio interface option, specified goals

[SERGIO NARANJO]

Hello everyone,
I am retiring my Control 24 and 192 1/O, and acquiring a Mac Studio m2, and I would like you to recommend me an audio interface to work with ProTools Studio with the following characteristics:
16 channels xlr and 1/4 jack inputs, with the lowest possible latency and that integrates easily with Pro tools, that does not need to be configured. And that it can work in the future with Dolby Atmos. Could you recommend something that is not very expensive and that meets these requirements. At the moment I do not need to work with Dolby Atmos, so if the price increases, we can leave this option out.

Thank you very much for your help¡

[albee1952]

I would call one of the bigger Avid dealers and ask for some advice, and have a budget in mind. Personally, I went from HD/Native/192 to an Mbox Studio with expansion via a Behringer ADA8200 on lightpipe and it works quite nicely(but you may have different needs). Audient EVO with its matching expander is another option to look at.

[Darryl Ramm]

Lots more to be clear on here…

Are you also looking for a control surface?

Are looking for an interface with 16 preamps or 16 line level inputs? If you are after line level inputs I would not worry about the connector specification there you can use interfaces through DB-25 cable snakes or patch panels.

And what analog outputs do you need?

Any digital IO requirements?

Any monitoring controller capabilities?

Meeting requirements of “lowest possible latency” is going to conflict with low cost. For low latency (and my favorite anyhow) my starting point would be looking at RME interfaces and outboard ADAT or MADI converters or mic preamps. Like a Fireface UFX III and 1610 or 12Mic or third party converters/digital preamps.

Lots of other options out there if you step away from wanting the lowest latency. And that idealistic goal might not be helping you… what RTL latencies do you track with today? Are you on TDM or HD Native today? If native what HW buffer size do you track with?

I am not sure what the no configuration means? Every modern interface is going to have stuff to setup, if only to disable features like hardware monitoring.

If you want Atmos flexibility Avid MTRX II might become appealing but at significant cost and complexity. NTP’s DADman helps there…. that is “config software” you very much might want.

Especially given the conflicts here I also suspect you are better off contacting a sales rep at a good vendor (Vintage King if in the USA would be my first choice) and with their help, and also just looking around start to configure some sample systems yourself. Some vendors to look at include RME, UAD, Motu, Avid, and Focusrite.

[smurfyou]

You will not find that amount of I/O for "not very expensive".

And every interface will require some sort of configuration, even Avid branded units.

[SERGIO NARANJO]

Thank you smurfyou, Darryl Ramm and albee1952 for useful comments.
I´ll follow your advice and will contact some Avid dealers to find the best option for my needs.

Thanks again ¡

[EGS]

Originally Posted by SERGIO NARANJO

...16 channels xlr and 1/4 jack inputs, with the lowest possible latency and that integrates easily with Pro tools...

I'm running a Presonus 2626 Thunderbolt 3 audio interface (plus an 8-channel expander via ADAT, the Focusrite LS56) and all is well! The 2626 boasts low latency due to Thunderbolt.

[SERGIO NARANJO]

Thanks EGS. I will check the Presonus 2626,