Definitely not a casual requirement…32bit/96kHz…as others have said, 24bit/96kHz makes more sense if you must, but if you’re that discerning, honestly maybe you should go with a babyface or an Apollo Twin or something Apogee after all. Because the conversion will not be high level on a Focusrite or Behringer device.
That said, all those cheap interfaces have totally usable conversion, big strides in that field over the years (in cheap gear), but if you’re looking at recording at those rates, better to get something very good and be done with it.
Thank you the MOTU M2 sounds about right. As for the Linux I’m not sure what this is about. Yeah I stay away far the hell away from Linux when it comes to music shit. I don’t see any advantage in using it right now as 99% of the software is built for Mac/Windows. Sure, if I was building the next Digitakt from scratch I could see some advantage of using Linux as a low end development environment but even that is debate-able. Going outside of the Mac/Windows OS is asking to be sidelined by not production related issues but issues of a deep technical nature. Hell, we can barely program systems we have today correctly for Windows/Mac OS. Genuinely curious :D.
I have a Zoom H6N the reasons I don’t like it are mainly UI in nature. Maybe you can help me solve them?
The dials to set the gain level right on the incoming audio. The dials are separate and can be separate on the L/R channel so you could have one dial have slightly more gain than the other dial. So you have to trust that you don’t accidentally end up with a lopsided mix. It may be possible to use a TR --> TRS to use one channel but I’m not sure if the Zoom inputs are TRS or TR.
You still need to plug in 2 cables to the Zoom H6N vs the one USB cable for the iPhone.
Interface wise the Zoom stores music in these folder directories, it makes it a pain to quickly find a mix or idea i.e. its impossible to search for something or rename something
iPhone - mainly wins for usability see:
$1k device with a UI that has had countless man hours put into it
Once I record into my iPhone it goes directly into cloud storage
I can literally drag and drop the music file onto my laptop for further editing
If I’m on the plane and want to listen to a mix I recorded I don’t have to go searching through my laptop
Just adding I think the Zoom is great for field recording but for in my studio stuff I need to make sure that i’m working efficiently and I’ve found the zoom to get in the way with that.
Keep in mind that the MOTU M2/M4 have a single USB-C input for power and data. The CCK doesn’t provide enough power - even with external power added - to run the M4. So I use the switched powered hub linked below after the CCK to inject sufficient power into the M4.
Worth keeping in mind if minimizing cables is critical. However, I’ve since found it extremely useful to have around as a general purpose power supply for my many USB powered audio devices. Even when I’m not using the MOTU, I’m almost always using the switch.
Not sure if this is the sort of thing you’re looking for but I recommend this whenever I can - The Behringer UCA 222 is a fantastic, small, cheap and efficient USB audio interface.
yup. used this one personally: https://www.esi-audio.com/products/u24xl/
Sound qualitywise its on par with the behringer, maybe a bit better.
(not 100% sure about android…dont have any experience with them)
is this consensus in the proaudio scene? More bitdepth, more headroom / a lot less clipping, right?
Are there any audio interfaces which have 32 bit though? I only know about the Sound Devices mk2 units – which are after all field recorders with interface functionality.
I’d love to see this adapted by the big players though to have one thing less on my
mind when recording gear.
If you download the manual, the ART USB II claims to have 32 bit D/A and A/D converters, and retails for $150.
It is a little cheaper than the portable Zoom F2, so I’d guess that both the ART and Zoom products are using the same underlying chip(s). Hopefully someone will buy one of them and report back.
I’m in the exact same situation as the OP - I have a Boum at the end of the chain and I want to record the final output.
I use a Begringer UCA222 (as mentioned above), simply because it’s the only audio interface I own. At ~20 Euros it’s obviously not the the best audio quality, but it certainly the cheapest option.
I removed by Boum from end of chain and did this yesterday for my production flow.
Synth -> OT -> AH -> BOUM -> Blackbox
This is where the fun begins again. You’d think the BB would be class compliant, but it’s not. I brought out the old Zoom H6N. I was determined to get this shit to work. I was able to put the zoom into soundcard mode and I had to turn off direct monitoring. It works for now but it’s almost impossible to know if you are shaving off a frequency band by accident.
I’m so glad I found this thread. I thought I was going nuts, but this kind of device for iOS seems to be limited to only a couple of options realistically - and even less if you want to be able to sync midi as well. Unless you want to forgo something having power, which means yet another adaptor or device!
there is a difference though, not? Sound devices uses 32 bit throughout the chain - you‘ll get a 32 bit WAV file. A chain is only as strong as its weakest part. Like in Ableton (and probably lots of other DAWs) it‘s 32 bit internally but my signal distorts anyways over 0 dB (why??!)
