Buying an Interface

[FidelB]

Hello everyone. I am new to pro tools and have some questions. First, what is the difference between a pro tools hd system compared to a standard system? Two, I wanted an omni hd but the prices in my country are impossible, so I'm thinking of getting a similar Interface and I have a scarlett 18i20 in mind. Is it a good option to replace the hd omni? Do you know of anything else like it? And three, I've thought about focusrite because I read that pro tools mentions focusrite as an approved third party interface. Is there any relationship between these two companies?

[albee1952]

Hmm, lots to consider here, so here is some info to keep in mind:
1-HD hardware(TDM cards) is old technology and no longer supported.
2-HD interfaces(OMNI, HD IO, 192, etc) still work, but REQUIRE either an HDX card, or HD/Native(card or Thunderbolt box). Since these interfaces all connect via DigiLink cables, they don't work without the HDX/HDN cards(or TB box).
3-HDX/HDN only work with Pro Tools Ultimate(Flex) software(so they don't work with Pro Tools Studio or Artist)
4-Using a USB interface(like the Focusrite) is termed "native"(all versions of Pro Tools software can run as "native"). The 1820i is one of many solid options and is probably in the middle level for quality. If budget allows, the RME interfaces are better(and RME seems to lead everyone in quality of the interface, and especially the drivers/software).
5-almost all 3rd party interfaces will include some kind of routing/monitor software. These can be a modest pain to set up, but once done, you shouldn't need to touch it again.
6-The OMNI also had features to act as a monitor controller, so you might miss some of those features and thing about adding a separate monitor controller(some less-expensive options include the Presonus Monitor Station 2 and the Audient Nero).

[Benoni]

There's all kinds of great audio interfaces out there today.

The Focusrite 18i20 Gen 3 is a good choice. Lots of IO, plenty of options.

I have a full walkthrough video for the Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 here

The 18i20 has a few more features, like actual buttons and more IO, but the way it works with the mixer will be very similar.

There's also the new Audient EVO 16 which is jam packed with features

Full Evo 16 walkthrough video here.

I've also used and reviewed the PreSonus 1824c, another great audio interface in $500 range. Though I wouldn't suggest it if you are on Mac since the Loopback feature is Windows only.

Another NEW audio interface is the Audient iD44 MKII. It's a great interface, amazing preamp! Lots of features like Speaker Switching, Mute, Talkback, DIM, Mono Mode, ScrollControl etc...

I'll have a video for that out in the next couple weeks. Bookmark this Audio Interface Review playlist if you are interested in seeing everything the iD44 MKII can do.

It really comes down to how much IO do you need, and how much you want to spend. Do you need Optical IO for external Preamps? What features do you want?

Any interface that is ASIO compliant will work on Windows. And for Mac, you are looking for interfaces that are Core Audio compliant.

You can go super high-end with something like the RME Fireface UFX+ or go for something cheaper like the Evo 4 or iD14 MKII, and plenty of others.

If you tell us what exact features you require and your budget we can make better suggestions.

[Darryl Ramm]

So the quick answer is the Focusrite 18i20 is a bargain for what it does. Focusrite has decent support and the interface can be used as an outboard ADAT "preamp"/IO box to drive 8 inputs and 8 outputs from another interface that has ADAT.. if you want to upgrade in future. It's got basic monitor control and hardware monitoring via Focusrite Control (e.g. if you want to use that for low-latency tracking). It's audio/quality is probably not going to stand up to much higher end and much more $$$ interfaces, depends on what you are doing, many people might not notice.

And as Benoni says there is no end of products to choose from from great vendors including in no special order: Motu, Apogee Digital (Mac mostly), RME (my favorite, just wonderful quality all around), Focusrite, Presonus, Universal Audio, Audient. etc. (I've left off some others vendors I'd not buy from either at the low quality end or the very expensive end). Avid finally did the right thing and left the consumer/prosumer interface market and there should be no thought amongst users getting started that they should be looking for an "Avid" made/branded interface.

And as with DAWs my advice is if you know somebody, play in the same band etc. then buying the same or a similar interface can be a good idea, as long as they are happy with it.. it can be a big help with some of the more advanced capabilities of interfaces like hardware based monitoring/mixing (i.e. the Focusrite Control software that comes with an 18i20, or RMW TotalMix that comes with RME interfaces, or the Apollo Console that comes with Universal Audio interfaces etc.).

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Longer ramble...

Why would you "want" an Omni? It's a beyond end of life product that was/is a nice studio control room box for somebody who already has a HDX or HD Native rig (and you need Pro Tools Ultimate software as well as HD Native or HDX). Basically for a new rig, unless you are reproducing another setup in a studio, and want 1:1 setup it really makes no sense to purchase an Omni.

If you needed HDX DSP processing you would know, and have the ~US$5k-$10k budget to get started there. Not something for any beginner to worry about.

Instead of wanting a particular interface it might be better to describe what features you want , what you are going to record, what the interface has to connect with (including computer details), key other gear you own, and then ask for suggestions.

There is really no such thing as "approved interface" Pro Tools works on Windows with interfaces that support the ASIO standard and on Macs it uses CoreAudio like all other Audio applications. You can buy any interface out there that support those standards. The absolutely most important thing to look for is that the interface vendor has device drivers available that support the operating system and versions you need. And to pick vendors who have good reputation for long term support/availability of drivers to support the latest operating system. (and in some cases that also might mean not buying interfaces that came out a long time ago and might be replaced soon).

If you have the time a good thing to do is look around the web site for any large music/audio reseller and see what they have listed on their website, loot at all the different features offered and then go read up on them. Look at issues raised in reviews etc. Things like monitor control features, hardware monitoring, advanced built in mixing/plugin processing capabilities in some interfaces, digital I/O connectivity like S/PDIF, AES/EBU, ADAT, ADAT/SMUX, etc. That is a great way to learn what is available work out if stuff is important to you or not. Google different terms if needed, and ask questions here about what stuff means if not clear.

[FidelB]

Thank you very much for the contribution. Regarding these points my needs are... I need 8 inputs. I need good, quiet preamps and not to buy a separate preamp at least not yet. It has to be USB "native". Here are the features of my mac: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/i...017-specs.html

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by FidelB

Thank you very much for the contribution. Regarding these points my needs are... I need 8 inputs. I need good, quiet preamps and not to buy a separate preamp at least not yet. It has to be USB "native". Here are the features of my mac: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/i...017-specs.html

You can use USB, you can also potentially use Thunderbolt/Thunderbolt 3 interfaces with that Mac. They might, but not necessarily, offer lower latency, than some USB interfaces. But they'll often be priced higher.

The 8 preamps in the interface is going to narrow the choice (and that may be good not bad). It's fairly common nowadays to have 2 or 4 preamps in an interface and to allow for additional external preamps by also providing analog line in or digital ADAT or similar.

Sweetwater's web site lets you select interfaces by the number of Preamps.. including the stiffest competitor may be Focusrite Clarret+ interfaces. And here is an interesting comparison on them (especially if you are also recording drums) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMQQWUSQ-kY (to me yes Clarret+ sounds better unprocessed, but by the time with EQ etc. there is to me no real differences.. YMMV with different non-drum sources).

I'd suggest spending time working through the links that Benoni gave you already. That covers a lot.

We don't know what what other equipment you have but if you need 8 microphones, getting that choice right (right type/use more than exact brand/model) is likely more important than spending more on an interface and you can expect to spend more than the price of an 18i20 on the microphones... and stands, and cables, and monitors and room treatment, and headphones.... significantly more.

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BTW The Omni is an "8x8" interface but it only has two preamps. You would have to add an ADAT preamp to get 8 preamp inputs if going with an Omni... in addition to all the other reasons not to.

[Benoni]

Originally Posted by FidelB

Thank you very much for the contribution. Regarding these points my needs are... I need 8 inputs. I need good, quiet preamps and not to buy a separate preamp at least not yet. It has to be USB "native". Here are the features of my mac: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/i...017-specs.html

How much do you want to spend?

Generally, the more you spend, the better the preamps will be.

Are you using any hard to drive dynamic or ribbon mics?

I ask because it may be important to consider the total gain level of the built-in preamps since you don't want to add any external preamps yet. Although you could always add a cloudlifter if you need a boost for a couple mics.

The "sound" of preamps can be a personal thing. I really love the sound of the Audient console preamps in the iD44 MKII, but that unit only has 4 analog mic inputs and you would need to add an external Optical Mic Pre if you wanted 8.

Again, if we knew your price range we could give better suggestions.

An 8 input audio interface can range between $500 and $5000+

[FidelB]

So, I'm thinking of getting one of these from some reputable seller on the reverb page, instead of focusrite 18i20. Although I see that the connection is by firewire. It's a good idea? Rme looks nice!! https://archiv.rme-audio.de/en/produ...reface_800.php

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by FidelB

So, I'm thinking of getting one of these from some reputable seller on the reverb page, instead of focusrite 18i20. Although I see that the connection is by firewire. It's a good idea? Rme looks nice!! https://archiv.rme-audio.de/en/produ...reface_800.php

Do you need 8 inputs or 8 preamps? The Fireface 800 has 4 mic preamps, a DI inputs for guitars etc, and 4 additional line inputs.

Ideally it would have USB for modern compatibility, but it will work with the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter, or most other Firewire adapters (make sure to use a quality Firewire 800 cable if it does not come with the original one... Firewire in general can be a little finicky at times with things like some poorly made cables or adapters).

So here you see some of RME's quality of support: The Fireface 800 was introduced around 2004. They shipped a driver update for it last year to support Apple Silicon Macs. Break a knob or switch or connector on this and you can likely buy new parts online at reasonable cost. Now how long will RME support drivers for this? ... I have no idea.. you might find stuff on their forums discussing that I have no idea. But when eventually this is no longer usable as an interface you will be able to use it "stand alone" and an ADAT I/O box connected to another interface (same as you can with the 18i20).

These were very nice interfaces in their day, modern RME conversion/preamps will be better but I don't have an 800 to compare with. But I did find this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9N_ty3uWDs. The preamps used in their current models are very nice (I have a UFX+).... but very nice means clean/low noise at high gain settings... for "musical" reasons you might not always want a clean mic preamp.

Some RME used asking prices can be silly high. You'll see these in the USA sell for ~$400 or so then people ask over ~$800 for them.

As with all more advanced interfaces these things can do a lot, have a read of the manual. RME has a very nice software controller hardware mixer called TotalMix that is included. In the FireFace 800 it can mix all the I/O and DAW returns however you want and includes a nice "loopback" feature for returning the output of your Computer to the DAW (e.g. if you wanted to include Mac output audio in a recording) but it does not include EQ/Dynamics/Reverb/Echo effects that TotalMix has on more recent RME interfaces. It's important you play with Total Mix (heck start with no DAW running and just use it to set up stand alone hardware mixes) until you understand it or you *will* keep running into confused user problems.

[FidelB]

Totally agree, drivers are always an important issue. It's a nice comment that the preamps are clean, as my biggest fear is that they are noisy, I had a terrible experience with a Steinberg Interface which is of German origin as well. But I am apparently in love with these RME interfaces, they seem very high quality and it's not just about money, but top audio engineering. Should I look at a newer model? The 802? Any RME recommendations with 8 inputs? Preamps for me I only need 4, to work with a band I should see a way to increase the gain of a 4-track drum inside the daw. Thanks for the post!!!