Needing a new interface

Support and feedback for Acoustica's Mixcraft audio mixing software.

Moderators: Acoustica Greg, Acoustica Eric, Acoustica Dan, rsaintjohn

Stubby03
Posts: 183
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:13 am

Needing a new interface

Post by Stubby03 »

For a few years I have dealt with a blue screen on opening certain songs. Now I switch back and forth between asio, and wave rt. Just on a few songs. This works, but a pain. Today when opening a song, I had bad static and a long reverb, its happened before, when I opened a song. I turned my Tascam 1800 off, then back on. Worked just fine then. I have looked for updated drivers for the 1800, emailed them, got no response. I have little to no latency with it. At least none that I notice. I switched to my old forcusrite 2i2. Bad latency. Always has been with it. Im getting a new interface. Don't need more then a couple of inputs. What are some good interfaces, not looking to spend more than 200 dollars. I want one with the latency of my 1800. Which is great. Thanks.
User avatar
dpaterson
Posts: 560
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 1:33 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by dpaterson »

Hello.

Your 2i2: is it a first generation or a second generation??? Not sure how much of a difference there is so just wondering really.

When you say "bad latency" exactly what do you mean???

Reason I ask is because I've got a 2i4 and a 18i8 (both second generation though) and I'm always working between 1.5ms and 5.8ms (depends on sample rate and one or two other factors like number of plugins and that type of thing). What I'm trying to get at is how come you're having issues with your 2i2 is all.

The above being said: I know there are some around here that are real happy with that Behringer UMC404HD (Thomas did a veritable study on the thing here: https://forums.acoustica.com/bbs/viewto ... =4&t=23529).

Regards,

Dale.
geobee
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:27 am
Location: Australia

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by geobee »

The 1st gen Focusrite is bad for latency, had one myself. The 2nd gen is better, I am told. I ended up going for the Steinberg two input, came highly recommended on these forums. It does a great job.....when I get the chance to record that is. lol Think the model is 242.
Stubby03
Posts: 183
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:13 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by Stubby03 »

By bad, I mean, its very noticable. Don't know the exact ms. It worked on my laptop, but was horrible when I switched to a desktop. Not sure if its first gen or not. Bought it 3, 4 years ago. Bought my tascam 1800 to also record live drums. Have since got EZ Drummer.
geobee
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:27 am
Location: Australia

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by geobee »

Serial prefix on a first gen is either S or T, second gen is either V or W, according to my information.
JonInc
Posts: 535
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 2:30 pm
Location: East of Santa Monica

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by JonInc »

geobee wrote:.... I ended up going for the Steinberg two input, came highly recommended on these forums. It does a great job.....when I get the chance to record that is. lol Think the model is 242.
+1

Steinberg has a line starting around $100 USD all the way up to around $700. I've owned two -- a lower end USB model and an upper end Firewire one and they have been rock-solid, with reasonably low latency, on every DAW I've used them with.

On a forum a couple years back, a prominent DAW builder here in the U.S. who has built/supported hundreds of systems over the years listed RME and Steinberg as the two interface drivers they had the fewest problems with. I wasn't the least bit surprised.
mixyguy2
Posts: 574
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2016 4:54 pm

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by mixyguy2 »

Stubby03 wrote:By bad, I mean, its very noticable. Don't know the exact ms. It worked on my laptop, but was horrible when I switched to a desktop.
Then it's probably an issue with the desktop, not the AI. But yeah 1st gen 2i2's should be avoided like the plague.

Agree that Steinburgs are solid, as are Behringers.
Stubby03
Posts: 183
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:13 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by Stubby03 »

The serial number starts with an S. First gen. I will look into Steinberg. I just didn't want to purchase a usb interface, and find out the latency is just like my 2i2. Thanks for all your help.
User avatar
dpaterson
Posts: 560
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 1:33 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by dpaterson »

Hello.

This just came across my desk (email) this morning i.e. a new M-Audio interface:

https://m-audio.com/mtrack-8x4m

Given the difference in price (RRP anyway) between it and the equivalent Focusrite product I don't think I personally would look at it but that's just me. Sure does look nice though. And it seems to be the "big brother" now to the M-Track 2x2M which, I can tell you, is "built like tank".

Regards,

Dale.
shayneoneill
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:35 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by shayneoneill »

I'm fairly happy with my trusty old Saffire 56, even though sometimes the Firewire card on this machine is moody.

When eventually I move on, ( its gonna a be a while yet before I let go, the 56 has great pres), the Audient stuff is getting rave reviews from everywhere. its not cheap, but its not expensive either, and from what I gather its batting in the UAD league in terms of converters and pres, but priced in the Focusrite league. Oh the behringers/etc are cheaper, but you really do get what you pay for, and behringer etc have a rotten reputation in the industry, for a good reason, they don't build that stuff to last. I've lost count of how much behringer stuff I've had to throw out over the years for it just dying. Scratchy pots, random malfunctions, etc. Even their midi keyboards, which ought have no inherent quality issues have let me down, dying in the middle of a damn gig. Their flying fader midi controller things a bargain though, although after 6-7 years mine finally gave up the ghost.
Last edited by shayneoneill on Tue Oct 09, 2018 5:28 am, edited 3 times in total.
shayneoneill
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:35 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by shayneoneill »

dpaterson wrote:Hello.

This just came across my desk (email) this morning i.e. a new M-Audio interface:

https://m-audio.com/mtrack-8x4m

Given the difference in price (RRP anyway) between it and the equivalent Focusrite product I don't think I personally would look at it but that's just me. Sure does look nice though. And it seems to be the "big brother" now to the M-Track 2x2M which, I can tell you, is "built like tank".

Regards,

Dale.
Avid used to make amazing stuff, and M-Audio where cheap but respectable (Particularly the old 1010 cards, imho). But after Avid parted way with Focusrite (Focusrite used to make all of Avids high end gear), the whole shop seems to have gone downhill.

Stick with Focusrite and pay attention to Audients stuff, imho
User avatar
dpaterson
Posts: 560
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 1:33 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by dpaterson »

Stick with Focusrite
I would second this.

But to be fair: I am only able to compare to M-Audio i.e. no experience with any of the others.

Regards,

Dale.
User avatar
Thomas
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu May 24, 2018 2:54 pm

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by Thomas »

I for one am not a believer that you always get what you pay for. (who started that saying anyway, a salesman? :) ) For comparisons sake I do think it can be important to know what you are getting (i.e.,full schematics and parts list, etc.). However, the necessary information and the expertise to interpret it are often lacking in the majority of cases. IMO, the info is lacking so that the companies can operate in a less than transparent way, which only benefits them. I understand that and don't fault them for it.

Regarding the Behringer products, I have no trouble recommending their interfaces. They come with a standard 2 year warranty (upgradeable to 3 years for free). They have gotten good reviews also. FWIW, the word on the street is that Behringer has "upped their game" in recent years.

I'd like to throw this out there for consideration and sorry if this is boring or seems obvious to some, but I don't think some have taken the following into account when considering the potential meaning of negative reviews and even pricing structures (in this case negative Behringer reviews, but the forgoing also applies to all): Every manufacturer of goods has a manufacturing defect rate. This rate can go up or down based on the manufacturing and quality control processes or it can remain fairly constant (stable). A little history: After world war 2, America and some European countries were confident in their ability to deliver high quality products to market (as the Chinese would say, their cup was already full). OTOH Japan, recently crippled from the war, were open to new ideas and this was not entirely up to them but also imposed by the likes of MacArthur. Another important figure in turning Japan into an economic powerhouse was W. Edwards Deming. The Japanese rigorously applied themselves to Deming's teachings and came to revere the man. The Japanese went on to become the best at QC and this has trickled down to other oriental countries. Sidebar: If it wasn't for the Japanese recession of 1989-1990, who knows where they would be today. IMO, they have never fully recovered from it and recent events such as the 2011 earthquake have only hurt them more.

A hypothetical scenario: Lets say a company like Behringer, who BTW is fully vertically integrated and owns and controls the means of production, produces 1,000,000 widgets with a 1% defect rate. Company B (Could be Focusrite or anybody for that matter) produces 200,000 widgets within the same time frame with a similar 1% defect rate. Total defects per manufacturer: Behringer (10,000) Company B (2000). What I'm suggesting is that a company like Behringer, is arguably able to sell more product than much of the competition because of their pricing structure (based on being vertically integrated) They make their profit based on higher number of units sold, not higher profit per unit. So, because they arguably have more product out there, they are naturally going to have more defective units out there and this can be true even if their quality control processes were better, due to sheer volume. Now I don't have the actual manufacturing defect numbers for Behringer or anyone else, but it follows that even if Behringer's defect rate was lower than company B, they would still potentially have more defective units to market. And if you think about it, it's understandable why companies would naturally want to keep this information internal only. I submit that it's the sheer volume of product to market that may be causing the impression that (in this case) Behringer is inferior (at least as far as product defect rate goes). I will close this post by saying that I only own one Behringer product and that I am neither a Behringer lover or hater. Not that there's anything wrong with that. :)
-Tom
Mixcraft 10 Pro Studio 64-Bit
Windows 10 64-Bit
AMD Athlon II X4 645 3.1 GHz 10GB Ram
2TB SSD
Behringer UMC404HD v5.57.0 interface
User avatar
dpaterson
Posts: 560
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 1:33 am

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by dpaterson »

... I am neither a Behringer lover or hater.
Yeh yeh. In spite of what you say: I am gonna call you "Mr. Behringer" from now on!!! LOL!!!

Regards,

Dale.
User avatar
Acoustica Greg
Posts: 24560
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:30 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Re: Needing a new interface

Post by Acoustica Greg »

Hi,

I've got a Behringer UMC204HD here in the office, and it works great.

But 2nd. gen. Focusrites seem to be solid, too.

There are a lot of interfaces I don't hear much about, which might mean that they don't have many problems, or that hardly anyone uses them.

Zoom seems to have lots of problems.

Sometimes the problematic interfaces are the old ones (like 1st. gen. Focusrite).

Greg
Mixcraft - The Musician's DAW
Check out our tutorial videos on YouTube: Mixcraft 10 University 101
Post Reply