£89
The cheaper end of the audio interface market has improved hugely over the last few years. Not too long ago, picking an entry-level interfaces was like walking a minefield littered with disappointingly flawed units, waiting to catch you out.
Luckily there are now plenty of options that deliver acceptable sound quality, reliability and reasonable feature sets without breaking the bank. Focusrite’s Scarlett range of USB interfaces is a great example. The Scarlett line-up extends all the way up to the 18i20, a feature-packed 18-in, 20-out model with eight preamps, but the more modest end of the range is probably what’s got people most excited, offering beginner-friendly options at excellent value for money.
At the very bottom of the range, the Scarlett Solo is our recommendation for complete beginners to recording. With just two inputs (one mic preamp, one line input), it’s a basic setup, but it sounds good and it’s enough to get you started recording instruments and vocals.
There are cheaper interfaces on the market, but it’s worth saving up for the Solo, which also comes bundled with Focusrite’s Red 2 and Red 3 plugin suite, offering modelled emulations of the company’s iconic Red EQ and compressor units. It’s a very nice addition at this price point, and bear in mind that the Solo’s RRP is £89 but it’s widely available for less than £65 if you shop around. If you can stretch to the next model up in the range, the 2i2 (RRP £119, street price around £90), you’ll gain an additional mic preamp and balanced line outputs.
03.21 AM
SPL’s Crimson is awesome as well…
05.59 AM
Audient ID22 is the best sound quality in the sub $1k price range IMO. and yes, I’ve tried them all including the SPL crimson.
06.54 AM
Another helpful article from the Attack nerds. Thanks for writing this.
Opinions on the soundcraft signature mtk series coming out? (Analogue mixer w/interface, interesting for hardware pimps?)
09.02 AM
Careful on USB 3 Ports/System Hubs and the NI Komplete audio. Might cause problems. I run Abbleton on the Komplete 6 and into an S4 (connected to the same computer) and i have to switch of usb3 support in the BIOS (lucky enough my notebook supports turning off)
11.34 AM
AKAI EIE Pro doesn’t work OK with Windows 8(.1) !!!
11.36 AM
forgot to mention: I bought a TASCAM USB4x4 instead and this one works perfectly!
03.53 PM
Is this an advertorial?
I’ve heard nothing but awful stories about Akai’s support and have read several reports of EIE interfaces with outdated drivers that are literally used as doorstops or paperweights in the studios of suckers who bought them.
Even if these reports are only isolated/anecdotal I still have a hard time believing it belongs in any objective ’10 best’ roundup.
???
04.17 PM
Anyone out there looking to purchase a new audio interface should definitely checkout Arturia’s recently released AudioFuse. Although it’s Arturia’s first foray on the audio interface market, I’ve been reading great reviews and the price point is not bad. I’m currently trying to get my hands on one. Also, no I don’t work for Arturia LOL!
04.45 PM
Great Read, a few years ago I bought the focusrite saffire pro 24 and have been thoroughly impressed by it, great mic preamps and multiple choice inputs! With that said the Apollo line is the way to go, with their UAD processing power and thunderbolt connections, it can’t be beat. I use my friends Apollo satellite unit, in conjunction with my focusrite saffire and they seamlessly work together.
Cheers, Kount Dubyula
06.02 PM
No Roland Quadcapture? Come on! 😉
04.48 PM
Yes disgraceful that there was no mention of the excellent Roland capture interfaces. Best sound quality that I have heard and very, very underrated.
01.05 PM
No Audient ID22? Indeed Maxwelldub!
02.05 PM
Apogee / Burl ?
This list is not complete with out these brands..
Compressor list was good.. but this one was off the mark..
02.49 PM
How about the MOTU range?
04.49 PM
God article. Anyone have any thoughts on RME Babyface Pro?
03.53 PM
I was thinkning about getting the Focusrite 6i6. But upon reading this I’m now swayed by the Komplete 6. I don’t have a huge need for anything terribly more complicated. The major issue with my current 2in 2 out is I want more outputs to rig up an effects chain of guitar pedals which I want to run VST’s though. Pedals and maybe reel to reel tape.
09.37 AM
Some comment on the quality of the headphone amps would have been nice. I find USB bus-powered interfaces often struggle to drive headphones to acceptable levels. I have a Scarlett 2i2 and I’m pleased with it apart from the headphone output (I have 32 ohm ‘phones so not difficult to drive).
08.18 AM
What is this crap…. For cheap stuff you go for focusrite? Where’s Roland’s cheap stuff? By far better then any Scarlett on the market. Also for the higher end ones wheres Audient???? Baby face???? Even the tascam uh7000
11.17 PM
Metric Halo = flawless, endless capabilities no one knows about. Mio Console takes the 80 bit win!
11.31 AM
Still using my Audio 8 after all these years (for dj’ing)
02.13 AM
These “reviews” are nothing of the sort, are they? The are simply short lists of functions, with absolutely no rigorous testing of these units’ compatibility with various gear, no analysis of sound quality, no description of the electronics design or parts listing – which would require your knowledge of how components actually work together to make an audio interface, plus understanding why one circuit design might yield higher sound quality and reliability, and how prices of more expensive models might, or might not, reflect selection of better components.
This is my first visit here, but the dismal level of useful information here does not bode well for my future interest in Attack website.
06.11 PM
I would have loved to see mention of the USB3 Zoom UAC series. Besides those made by RME, Zoom’s UAC sweies are the only USB interfaces worth having IMO. With it’s 1.2 driver update it has become the only non-RME USB interface that can rival PCIe performance. And at a FRACTION of RME’s cost, it’s a dream come true!
Presonus and Focusrite market the heck out of their pretty looking interfaces but it’s universally agreed on all of the audio forums that their USB drivers are slow performing, high-latency, generic garbage rendering their pretty hardware the same. Zoom have invested in their USB driver technology like no other developer besides RME has and they should be rewarded.
If you’re someone like me who’s dreamed of playing software synths without hearing/feeling the annoying delay between when you strike a key and hear the sound, if you’re a guitar player who likes to play through the many awesome virtual amp simulations available today without feeling a delay between when you pluck the string and hear the amp sim, or if you would like to monitor your vocal through some of your cool software reverbr and compressors without hearing that annoying spacey comb-filtered sound caused by high-latency delay, then Zoom’s USB low-latency breakthrough is a big deal. Why isn’t anyone talking about this?
04.42 AM
Whats about steinberg ur22?
03.38 PM
RME’s HDSPe MADI FX card linked to the RME MADI Covertor which is linked to a Harrison 832c filter unit then linked into the Harrison MPC5 console. This setup makes it impossible to beat for any small home studio interface, & you can stash 2000mtrs + of cable in your closet.
If you want the best this is it, END.
04.45 AM
apogee is there pls check that in titan review apogee symphony is noted in that place well …..
01.28 AM
Where is MOTU in all of this…?