6 Things To Consider When Choosing The Right Audio Interface

1. $$$

Of course, price is always a factor, but ultimately that’s going to be determined by two things—the specific feature set you require, and the level of audio quality you demand. The first will be the subject of most of the rest of this article. As to the second, well, that’s more of a judgement call, these days. In the early days of digital audio converters, there were clear and obvious differences in sound quality between lower-cost boxes and the big-ticket items. But now, even relatively budget-priced interfaces can deliver top-notch sound (case in point, some of Apogee’s mini-interface models), skimping only on features rather than audio quality. Now, if you’re in the market for a really high-end audiophile-level design, then you know you'll be spending at least $2,000 and up. But for the majority of musicians, engineers, producers, and small studio owners, something in the $500 to $2000 range will probably get you both excellent sound quality and the feature set you require. 

2. Compatibility 

Naturally, this is key. Most interfaces are cross-platform compatible, and many are even class-compliant—that means they don’t require the installation of third-party drivers to operate, making installation and potential troubleshooting more straightforward. But you still want to make sure that the interface’s firmware/driver version (if applicable) is compatible with the OS you’re currently running (and stay on top of that if /when you update). 

3. Connectivity 

You also need to pay attention to the means of connectivity the interface provides—you need to make certain that it will connect to whatever ports are available on your computer—and on the next computer you expect to buy, if an upgrade is imminent (and let’s face it, it always is, for the likes of us musical types!). Older units usually connect via USB2 or FireWire 400/800, while this year’s models may sport USB3 or Thunderbolt ports.

Fig 2 The typical computer ports used for connecting audio interfaces 

Those new connections are considerably faster, and would be the best choice, but if you do decide to pick up an interface with the older ports (to save $$$?), you can usually connect it via adaptors to one of the more modern ports on your computer. But if your computer has only the older ports, I wouldn’t try adaptors going in the other direction—it might be time to consider that computer upgrade as well, as a hedge against future connectivity obsolescence. 

5. Latency 

Most interfaces nowadays are capable of suitably low-latency operation, making live recording through the computer less of a compromise than in years past (this is especially important if you’ll be depending on internal processing, like guitar amp sims, during tracking). But it’s still a tradeoff—the best results will be had with the most modern ports (particularly Thunderbolt), but it’s as much a function of use and the computer model itself as the interface, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much at this point in time. 

Fig 5 A diagram of “Near-Zero Latency” monitoring

Most interfaces provide the option of “Near-Zero Latency” monitoring, for live recording scenarios. This is where an incoming signal is taken into the interface, but instead of being sent to the performer’s monitor mix after being routed through the computer, where the bulk of the latency is added (thanks to the input/output buffers), it’s split and routed directly back out to the chosen monitor mix.

These interfaces usually include onboard routing, for greater flexibility, and some even include some onboard DSP, to make up for the fact that this kind of direct monitoring by necessity accesses the signal before it can be processed by any plug-ins—the DSP instead provides its own low-latency processing, within the interface itself, and sometimes you can choose to record with or without this (or both). 

6. Extra Features

And that brings us to the wild card in choosing an interface. Many models—especially the $1000+ 8x8 boxes—feature on-board DSP. This may take different forms—it can be simple routing/mixing, as above, and many interfaces even include their own input processing, which utilize the box's DSP, rather than the computer’s DSP. At the high end, some of these interfaces can direct that on-board DSP to be used by plug-ins that run in the DAW itself. These are not just available on input, but can be used in mixing as well, except they use the interface’s DSP chips rather than the computer’s CPU, freeing up more computer power for higher track counts and lower latency (this was how the original DAWs worked, before native audio processing took over). A good example of this is Universal Audio’s Apollo line of interfaces—their onboard DSP runs the company’s proprietary plug-ins, most of which faithfully emulate classic and vintage analog gear. The plug-ins only run if one of the interfaces is connected, so it’s a package deal, but a good one, considering the quality of the effects. 

Fig 6 A couple of Universal Audio’s Apollo DSP-equipped interfaces 

The Wrap 

It’s worth it to spend a little time researching the current state of affairs regarding interface features, i/o, and connectivity options, as well as this year’s and next year’s computer ports, before making a commitment, especially if you’re looking at one of the pricier interfaces. But the good news is, these days you’ll get not only better performance in all respects, but more bang for the buck than ever from this most fundamental piece of studio gear.