MOTU doesn’t have the same drool factor as some of the competition, but there’s a reason you see it out in the field as much as you do. Like the Apollo Twin, it can accommodate extra inputs, allowing up to 18 in and 22 out simultaneously, and it comes with on-board DSP (digital signal processing): EQ’s, reverbs, compressors. If you want to multitrack an ensemble but still need to make rent, the UltraLite mk5 gives you eight channels of crystal clear audio in, with 10 outputs for outboard processing or multi channel mixing. The company’s no-frills units have been the favorite of countless bedroom producers and small studios, offering up a lot of connectivity and excellent conversion at a competitive price.
If you’ve dreamed about traveling the globe with a world-class console in your backpack, the Apollo Twin is about as close as you can get.ĭespite its whimsical name (an acronym for Mark of the Unicorn), MOTU is the workhorse of digital audio.
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Their Unison software optimizes your signal chain for the two built-in mic/line inputs-but there’s also the much-touted “10-in/6-out” feature: Turns out you’re also free to patch in up to eight extra preamps via the optical input in the back. And you can record through them, printing audio as if through a real Neve console with a Pultec patched in. But the advantage is that the interface will handle the CPU load of those plug-ins instead of your weary laptop. The catch is you can’t just purchase them on their own you need UAD hardware to run them. So why does it cost almost four times as much? Well, the quality of the preamps and converters is quite high, but it’s mostly about the plug-in bundle: UAD plugins are some of the best in the game, bringing a convincing vintage warmth and power to your home recordings. On the face of things, the Apollo Twin doesn’t look so different from the SSL or Focusrite-a pair of mic/line inputs in the back, an extra instrument input in the front, and a small complement of outputs. But at the turn of the millennium, the company returned to the market with software models of classic gear, followed by their famed Apollo interface series. Universal Audio’s pedigree is uncontested in audio: the preamps and compressors they developed in the 1960s are some of the most coveted and emulated today. With that in mind, here are some of the best audio interfaces on the market today. Sometimes the $150 unit is all you need, sometimes only top-of-the-line will do.
No converter can destroy a solid performance of a savvy arrangement of a well-written song, but an interface nonetheless remains the single gate through which all your recorded sounds must pass. Does it have microphone preamps, and are they any good? What about other types of built-in audio processing? And does it send and receive MIDI? Finally, is it “good enough?” Audio specs have a way of inducing vertigo, of highlighting microscopic impurities in the sound that may not even be perceptible.
But there are other features that must be considered: how many inputs and outputs? A singer-songwriter or an electronic producer working mostly in-the-box may need only two of each, while a budding engineer will opt for more.
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“Nothing is more important to digital audio than data conversion,” writes Dennis Bohn of the pro audio company Rane. The quality of conversion, therefore, must be considered when purchasing an interface.
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