ReasonTalk.com

What audio interfaces do you all prefer to use with Reason?

I'm still very satisfied with my Focusrite Saffire Pro 24. Haven't had any issues with it and it sounds good. I've heard some mention that latency can be a problem with these but I've not noticed it to be. Unfortunately the Saffire interfaces have been discontinued due to the downfall of Firewire. Nonetheless, I would still buy another one considering the prices on the used market. I used to have an M-Audio interface back in the day that was reliable also but the Focusrite preamps sound better to me.

Not sure if you are just polling people, or if you are in the market for an interface.

If you are in the market for an interface and looking for suggestions, it would be good if you posted your budget, how many simultaneous inputs you need (or want), the connectivity type(s) you would consider, and maybe the platform you are on.

FWIW, my friend works at one of the major music stores in the USA and when asked, they always recommend Focusrite, and generally the Scarlett series (which is USB), because that is the line where they have the lowest number of returns and lowest numbers of complaints.

SteveDiverse wrote: ↑

06 Oct 2017

Not sure if you are just polling people, or if you are in the market for an interface.

If you are in the market for an interface and looking for suggestions, it would be good if you posted your budget, how many simultaneous inputs you need (or want), the connectivity type(s) you would consider, and maybe the platform you are on.

FWIW, my friend works at one of the major music stores in the USA and when asked, they always recommend Focusrite, and generally the Scarlett series (which is USB), because that is the line where they have the lowest number of returns and lowest numbers of complaints.

Neither a poll nor looking for a recommendation. I'm just curious what other Reason users use for audio interface is all. I have a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 now, and its been good. The one issue is problems arising when switching sample rates between sessions. But I'm not looking for advice on that here. I was just curious. I've heard good things about MOTU as well.

SteveDiverse wrote: ↑

06 Oct 2017

FWIW, my friend works at one of the major music stores in the USA and when asked, they always recommend Focusrite, and generally the Scarlett series (which is USB), because that is the line where they have the lowest number of returns and lowest numbers of complaints.

I bought a Scarlet 18i20 2nd gen and promptly returned it. The thing just couldn't handle multiple apps running at 96k with low latency (Reason and Arturia instrments). Even slightly lowering the rate and upping the samples didn't help because I had to take it so far that the latency became unacceptable. Running reason or Arturia by themselves at 96k and 128-256 samples was not very stable either, I still heard random clicks and pops*. I actually bought and returned two of these thinking maybe the used one I got first was problematic. New one with updated firmware was equally buggy.

I tried out several others including the Mackie blackbird but ended up settling on the M-Track Eight. I can run Reason and Arturia side by side at 96k and very low latency without issues all day long. Reliable unit and it sounds good. Only complaint is no MIDI and it uses a wall wart.

*My computer is a freshly built studio monster which I built and optimized for audio.

YMMV

Prefer?

I chose a PreSonus Firestudio Mobile in 2013 because I read on Gearslutz that the latency is amazingly low. I didn't have the budget for RME or Prism or Metric Halo. I like the FSM, yet there are better units out there for sure for more money. I don't find any other interface on the market for £200 as versatile as the FSM.

I have posted on this board before about my FSM. A tested by PreSonus Texas Instruments firewire chipset is required for trustworthy performance. I didn't know that until I bought it. PreSonus expects the users to go to their website and look up compatible chipsets for mobo and fw card. When I first got the FSM I bought a firewire 2 times 1394 A port expresscard 34 with a TI chipset which was similar to PreSonus' suggested chipsets, and thst card gave me problems for a few years and eventually stopped working with my laptop/FSM combination. At first I thought it was the FSM. I then purchased a specifically tested Startech card and the FSM is working flawlessly.

I run it at 256 typically. I don't bus power; use the wall wart. FSM has a lot of connections for its form factor: 2 mic pres, 8 analog in, spdif i/o, midi i/o, main stereo out, headphone out. The only way to improve it would be to 2 x stereo out. I haven't ever met anyone else who has an FSM. Most of the people I know have Scarletts or PT stuff. A guy I have been working with recently has a little 2x2 scarlett and it isn't very flexible; there is a lot of plug and pray going on

Steinberg or focusrite exclusively.

I mash with an Apollo Twin. Before that I was using a Scarlet 2i4 and loving it, but I gave that to my Buddy because I lost one of his mics. I still use the Focusrite plugins that came in the bundle.

https://scontent.flhr2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/ ... e=5A39A85C

3physical soundcards and 3 virtual drivers take 2 (5track,6track)mixing desks for instant backup

DonnieAlan wrote: ↑

05 Oct 2017

What audio interfaces do you all prefer to use with Reason?

RME Babyface Pro. In fact, anything RME is freak'n awesome. MOTU didn't play nice with a lot of Firewire chipsets, and despite the fact that everything has moved to USB or Lightening at this point, that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It took a lot of time and a lot of denial on MOTU's part to get their shit straight, so I don't trust them.

Focusrite isn't bad, but RME has legendary drivers - LEGENDARY. They were doing low latency drivers that were rock solid over USB for years, and they have not disappointed. Seriously - give RME a look if you're ever in the market in the future. Between their legendary drivers and Total Mix FX that comes with all of their interfaces, they're simply fantastic IMHO.

Steingberg ur22 mkii, apogee duet2, and rme babyface pro have all worked great for me. Right now currently using the babyface pro by rme and it’s just dandy.

RME Babyface. Had it for about 5-6 years and works a treat. When I was studying at SAE they used a lot of RME UFX interfaces in the smaller studios because RME are very reliably with quality A/D converters. RME IMO are very good.

I'm happy with Cakewalk UA-25 EX.

Currently looking for a new one myself. Will it make much of a difference on DSP?

Still rocking an Mbox 2 mini

Was looking to get a Mackie Big Knob Studio / Studio+ for some time now but can't find info on latency or if it has any underlining problems. Read it had a ground loop problem might have been the old version though.

AttenuationHz wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2017

Still rocking an Mbox 2 mini

That's what I started with back when it was the Digidesign MBox2 Mini.

DonnieAlan wrote: ↑

16 Oct 2017

AttenuationHz wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2017

Still rocking an Mbox 2 mini

That's what I started with back when it was the Digidesign MBox2 Mini.

Ordered a 2i4 today along with other goodies. Will probably get the big knob passive if needs be!

EnochLight wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2017

DonnieAlan wrote: ↑

05 Oct 2017

What audio interfaces do you all prefer to use with Reason?

RME Babyface Pro. In fact, anything RME is freak'n awesome. MOTU didn't play nice with a lot of Firewire chipsets, and despite the fact that everything has moved to USB or Lightening at this point, that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It took a lot of time and a lot of denial on MOTU's part to get their shit straight, so I don't trust them.

Focusrite isn't bad, but RME has legendary drivers - LEGENDARY. They were doing low latency drivers that were rock solid over USB for years, and they have not disappointed. Seriously - give RME a look if you're ever in the market in the future. Between their legendary drivers and Total Mix FX that comes with all of their interfaces, they're simply fantastic IMHO.

Might buy one too. Core Audio of Apple as a driver seems to suck big time on my Focusrite 2i4. Would love to use the RME with low latency on guitar and bass.

Marco Raaphorst wrote: ↑

16 Oct 2017

EnochLight wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2017

Focusrite isn't bad, but RME has legendary drivers - LEGENDARY. They were doing low latency drivers that were rock solid over USB for years, and they have not disappointed. Seriously - give RME a look if you're ever in the market in the future. Between their legendary drivers and Total Mix FX that comes with all of their interfaces, they're simply fantastic IMHO.

Might buy one too. Core Audio of Apple as a driver seems to suck big time on my Focusrite 2i4. Would love to use the RME with low latency on guitar and bass.

I think I have the same question as many here, tho they may have well been covered in another thread:


At what point does going to a quality external sound card give help with latency over Core Audio?
On another thread it was said that a USB will take up more CPU, my question is will anything take on some of the processing giving a boost to performance? viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7499716&p=316062&h ... al#p316062

Enoch's RME Babyface review was very helpful, but it's still USB and I keep wondering how it might compare to firewire, thunderbolt or other inherently faster connections?


I'm currently on Scarlett Solo second (USB) gen btw.

teddymcw wrote: ↑

19 Oct 2017

At what point does going to a quality external sound card give help with latency over Core Audio?

Enoch's RME Babyface review was very helpful, but it's still USB and I keep wondering how it might compare to firewire or other inherently faster connections?

I'm currently on Scarlett Solo second gen btw.

Not sure about Core Audio but USB is plenty fast for my M-Track Eight. I've got very low latency, playing while I record, etc. Stable as hell. Previously had a Delta 1010LT PCI card and it was equally solid. M-Audio, as far as I'm concerned, is quality stuff.

I'm confused about your question now that I read your last comment. You're using USB already.

sublunar wrote: ↑

19 Oct 2017

Not sure about Core Audio but USB is plenty fast for my M-Track Eight. I've got very low latency, playing while I record, etc. Stable as hell. Previously had a Delta 1010LT PCI card and it was equally solid. M-Audio, as far as I'm concerned, is quality stuff.

I'm confused about your question now that I read your last comment. You're using USB already.

I've revised my questions to be a bit more clear. However, all this stuff will remain fairly difficult to sort out and find a meaningful comparison for one's individual setup. There's a ton of marketing noise out there helping to obscure clean benchmarks as well of course.


My USB setup seems to increase latency atm. In practice, I'm pretty much directly wondering if investing in a quality USB driver like the RME Babyface is worth a look or should I be looking strait away at a Firewire device like Saffire Pro?

Ya, it'd be great to sort out what is happening in theory but it's not really possible to cover every case.

teddymcw wrote: ↑

19 Oct 2017

My USB setup seems to increase latency atm. In practice, I'm pretty much directly wondering if investing in a quality USB driver like the RME Babyface is worth a look or should I be looking strait away at a Firewire device like Saffire Pro?

Honestly.. It's complicated.

From my point of view, firewire was ruled out as an interface type that was seemingly becoming obsolete, due to the new USB revisions. Not a lot of interfaces out there which use it nowadays.

Even between USB interfaces you have drastically different performance. For example, I bought not one but two Focusrite 18i20 (2nd gen) rack mount interfaces. These are pretty nice (on paper) units with MIDI and everything you could ask for basically. I bought the first one used, suspected it to be faulty, returned it and got a new one and returned that. It was terribly unstable and no matter what I did, it popped and clicked. Unless I only ran one app at a time at 44.1k settings. Then it was great. But if I tried running Arturia synths and Reason side by side, it was a crap shoot. And it couldn't remotely handle 24/96k with the two applications running. Snap crackle and pop.

I ended up trying out the M-Audio M-Track Eight, which is much less impressive on paper and lacks MIDI and uses an external power supply. But performance is far superior to the 18i20. I get low latency and can play while recording and I run multiple audio apps simultaneously without issue.

So as you can see, it's complicated. There's no definite answer I can give you other than buy one from a vendor with a flexible return policy. Sweetwater is really good about that sort of thing.

sublunar wrote: ↑

19 Oct 2017

Honestly.. It's complicated.

From my point of view, firewire was ruled out as an interface type that was seemingly becoming obsolete, due to the new USB revisions. Not a lot of interfaces out there which use it nowadays.

Even between USB interfaces you have drastically different performance. For example, I bought not one but two Focusrite 18i20 (2nd gen) rack mount interfaces. These are pretty nice (on paper) units with MIDI and everything you could ask for basically. I bought the first one used, suspected it to be faulty, returned it and got a new one and returned that. It was terribly unstable and no matter what I did, it popped and clicked. Unless I only ran one app at a time at 44.1k settings. Then it was great. But if I tried running Arturia synths and Reason side by side, it was a crap shoot. And it couldn't remotely handle 24/96k with the two applications running. Snap crackle and pop.

I ended up trying out the M-Audio M-Track Eight, which is much less impressive on paper and lacks MIDI and uses an external power supply. But performance is far superior to the 18i20. I get low latency and can play while recording and I run multiple audio apps simultaneously without issue.

So as you can see, it's complicated. There's no definite answer I can give you other than buy one from a vendor with a flexible return policy. Sweetwater is really good about that sort of thing.

Can you elaborate more on your setup? PC or Mac. CPU/RAM?

I'm comparing and trying to decide between The
Focusrite 18i20
XOOM UAC-8
M-Audio M-Track Eight
TASCAM Celesonic US 20x20

Not really considering Pre Sonus AudioBox 1818VSL since I have a AudioBox entry level unit and I'm not in love with it.

Steinberg UR22 mk1 here. Pretty basic, but It drives my big headphones happily and is dead simple and drama-free.

...but then one day, my laptop's built-in Realtek soundcard updated itself with Realtek ASIO drivers - you can't alter buffer size, or sample rate beyond 48, but it means I can just plug headphones straight into the laptop and latency isn't noticeable (just like a Mac!)
Which means in practice I often don't bother with the UR22 now.

I dearly want RME to make a really good dongle-sized super-low-latency USB DAC/headphone amp. (with optional breakout cable for monitor speakers, obvs) Can you imagine?

Well good thing about PreSonus is drivers, drivers, drivers!
once the hardware is all in harmony, you need good drivers for satisfactory audio performance....lower latency, the better.
I run at 256 or 512 for 90% of my projects. Some VSTs are optimized for certain sample rates. For example, Sonnox Restore is optimized for 1024 minimum; so hands are tied in such a situation.
On my ancient VAIO i3 clicks and pops stop when I disable wifi adapter.

syncanonymous wrote: ↑

21 Nov 2017

Well good thing about PreSonus is drivers, drivers, drivers!
once the hardware is all in harmony, you need good drivers for satisfactory audio performance....lower latency, the better.
I run at 256 or 512 for 90% of my projects. Some VSTs are optimized for certain sample rates. For example, Sonnox Restore is optimized for 1024 minimum; so hands are tied in such a situation.
On my ancient VAIO i3 clicks and pops stop when I disable wifi adapter.

How do you find that info out? Is it in the documentation on most. A list would be great to have.