Quote:
The Scarlett 4i4
If considering that, get the current Gen 3. The DAC/Mic Pre/Headphone amp chip is a vast improvement over the earlier versions.

All of the new "Fast USB 2" interfaces are using the same chip family and for that reason are all very good. So compare the features and buy the one that does what you need. You'll see terms like Fast USB 2, 192/24 and Near Zero Latency with RTL (round trip latency) below 280ms without drivers (Mac only) and even lower numbers for Windows where drivers are required. BTW, the marketing departments make a big deal about RTL without telling you that the difference between say 280 and 216 is the same as moving your ears a little closer to or further away from your speakers.

If an interface is advertising 96/24, avoid. It is using older chipsets with much greater RTL.

One feature I like that most is a knob that balances Out/In for monitoring, normally called a Mix or Blend control. True Near Zero in the hardware makes this possible and means you don't have to set up an app to handle this chore. This is really convenient and is missing from the Scarletts—none of them have it. Plenty of others do such as M-Audio, Behringer, NI, SSL, PreSonus, Mackie (no MIDI, though) and others.


BIAB 2023 Audiophile, 24/60 Core M2 Mac Studio Ultra/8TB/192GB Sonoma, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer 11, LogicPro
Finale27.4, Dorico5, Encore5, SmartScorePro64, Notion6, Overture5