New GP user here. What device is everyone using to connect their Windows 10 laptop to an audio mixer or direct box? Hoping for something better than 1/8" laptop audio out. Thank you in advance!
RME Babyface Pro. If you need more inputs and outputs there are a lot of options that get more expensive from there.
If you donât want to spend that much there are a lot of cheaper alternatives that have various pros and cons.
Thereâs some truth to âyou get what you pay forâ but you can get a lot for relatively little money if youâre willing to accept the known downsides of some of the cheaper interfaces.
Whatâs your budget?
You might want to go here and peruse the full list of audio interfaces
My budget is more in the $200 range. This will be used for live performance and into a DI box, but not for recording projects.
Iâve been very satisfied with the Presonus Studio USB lineup: solid driver performance, well built, sounding good, reasonable amount of features for the price. Iâm currently using the 1810 model.
The USB-C versions differ only in the physical connector and case from their traditional USB counterparts. Not worth the extra price IMHO.
Iâm suspecting by how you wrote this that you feel an interface doesnât have to be as good for live performance as it does for recording and host might be true for the DACs but you are going to care a lot more about the need for low latency when youâre performing live than when recording (when latency compensation is available, for example) and one thing that sets manufacturers apart significantly is the quality of their drivers. The cheaper interfaces generally are not as good in that regard.
Thank you for the tip on low latency. Does anyone have a particular favorite for a live performance / low latency USB audio interface that wonât break the bank?
In that price range you have a lot of options (e.g., PreSonus, Focusrite, Behringer, SteinbergâŚ)
Itâs been about three years since Iâve shopped around among these âlower endâ units and I ended up with a Focusrite. No real complaints or regrets, and I couldnât find anything significant to push me toward one over another. Most customers seems happy, but youâre always going to find somebody complaining about something. I donât think thereâs a clear âclass leaderâ in that range.
For me the Focusrite decision came down to the unit having two headphone jacks on the front panel with separate volume controls, plus marginally lower price. (In other words, minor stuff having nothing to do with actual âperformanceâ.)
Regarding latency, between RMEâs âbest in classâ and Focusriteâs âmediocreâ drivers I get 3.9 ms for RME vs. 7.1 ms on Focusrite (64 samples @ 48 kHz). I havenât seen anything about the others suggesting they can touch the RME number, nor that theyâd be any worse than the Focusrite number. I suspect thatâs the kind of range youâre dealing with.
Whether you can run your samples that low depends on your computer and what VSTs you want to run. Some are real hogs, some are pretty light. The more effects you add, the sooner youâll run into crackling and popping. If youâre bumping into crackling and popping, a better interface isnât likely to be the difference maker for practical live performance.
Also, what instrument are you going to be playing? Latency is far more tolerable on keyboard and guitar than on drums. And if youâre going to add wireless (guitar -> receiver + mix -> wireless IEM) you could be adding a couple more ms for each. (Then again, if youâre standing 20 feet from the speakers thatâs going to add more latency than any respectable wireless IEM.)
I guess what Iâm saying is there are a lot of variables to consider. If you have a new and fast laptop youâll probably be fine⌠unless youâre doing a number of things that drive added latency.
[edit: those latency numbers I mentioned are with a W10 desktop with an i7 running 4.8 GHz. My Surface Pro 4 canât do the same. I have to bump that to at least 128 samples, and even then it struggles. Bottom line, it doesnât have the power to run something like Superior Drummer for live play, regardless of interface. But itâs just fine for guitar processing and most keyboard setups, regardless of interface.]
@bpeterson You can find a good interface if itâs just for you in the under $200 category.
Take a look at PreSonus AudioBox 96 - $99 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxUSB96--presonus-audiobox-usb-96
then thereâs their iTwo interface for $159 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxiTwo--presonus-audiobox-itwo-usb-audio-interface
TASCAM 2x2 is also a good one for $179 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US2X2--tascam-us-2x2-usb-audio-interface
They also have a slightly cheaper version 1x2
Lots of choices - including the FocusRite of course.
Thank you to all who responded!!
I reviewed many of the options suggested and ended up going with a used Mackie Onyx Producer 2.2 from Guitar Center for $99. This unit received good reviews, has low latency, sufficient connectivity for my needs, and is obviously very inexpensive.
I will be using GP for live performance primarily, with a MIDI keyboard rig, also running Arturia V-Collection VSTiâs on a relatively recent Dell i7 Windows 10 laptop with 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD. The Mackie will feed a Radial ProD2 stereo direct box to FOH and also feed my in-ear monitor system (Sennheiser IEM G4).
I am excited to begin my GP journey and am appreciative to this community for their active involvement and interest in its members.
2 Likes