Pros/cons of using an Audio Interface

[JimmyRambo]

Hi,

I purchased a Saffire Pro 24 AI recently to add to my studio setup. To be honest, Ive literally used it twice and its not just collecting dust. Can someone remind me the benefits of using one of these things? I usually just use the headphone jack on my mac and go straight to the monitors. Yeah its not professional but when you compare that to using the AI its a lot more practical. For instance, the AI requires me to completely restart ableton and my mac everytime I want to use it. This isn't ideal for me as I usually just put the mac to sleep between sessions. If I try to use the AI after putting the mac to sleep it doesn't respond.

What are your thoughts on this?

[Tarekith]

If you don't notice a difference in sound quality and the headphone jack is easier, go for it

[BobSubgenius]

Guess it depends on your audio-interface, your speakers and your needs. I can hear a difference in quality between my MOTU and the on-board sound card of my mac.

[tylenol]

Hi,

I purchased a Saffire Pro 24 AI recently to add to my studio setup. To be honest, Ive literally used it twice and its not just collecting dust. Can someone remind me the benefits of using one of these things? I usually just use the headphone jack on my mac and go straight to the monitors. Yeah its not professional but when you compare that to using the AI its a lot more practical. For instance, the AI requires me to completely restart ableton and my mac everytime I want to use it. This isn't ideal for me as I usually just put the mac to sleep between sessions. If I try to use the AI after putting the mac to sleep it doesn't respond.

What are your thoughts on this?

Well that interface has multiple inputs/outputs and mic inputs, so one point would be if you were actually using any of those, even just to do something like easily swap back and forth between headphones and monitors. If you aren't ever, a simpler interface that didn't require rebooting might make more sense. Also, maybe consider USB. I've only owned USB interfaces, which don't usually require rebooting/restarting -- I now have a saffire focusrite scarlett 6i6 which Just Works without any hassles of this sort (I don't think I even needed to install drivers).

Also, my mac mini's output is fairly noisy compared to an audio interface, especially noticeable on monitor headphones (and all the laptops I've owned have been even worse).

[jlgrimes]

Hi,

I purchased a Saffire Pro 24 AI recently to add to my studio setup. To be honest, Ive literally used it twice and its not just collecting dust. Can someone remind me the benefits of using one of these things? I usually just use the headphone jack on my mac and go straight to the monitors. Yeah its not professional but when you compare that to using the AI its a lot more practical. For instance, the AI requires me to completely restart ableton and my mac everytime I want to use it. This isn't ideal for me as I usually just put the mac to sleep between sessions. If I try to use the AI after putting the mac to sleep it doesn't respond.

What are your thoughts on this?

Alot depends on what your goals and needs are. Audio Interfaces range from small/cheap to fairly large and pricy.


There are a few things:

1. Latency. Since you are on a Mac though, this shouldn't be an issue since Core Audio is used even for Mac's onboard audio. On a PC though you would need to use ASIO4ALL on a built-in Sound card to get acceptable latency suitable for softsynth playing or monitoring live audio with effects. Generally though an audio interface would have lower latency than the built-in sound but this isn't always the case it depends on the manufacterer and other things. I've seen a few cases where some interfaces are higher than built-in sound but this isn't generally the case.

2. I/O for recording live-audio. IMO this is the main advantage. An interface gives you dedicated inputs for recording your audio. This can be tailored to your needs. A big interface would usually have multiple Line I/O, Hi Z (for guitars), Digital I/O, and even built-in Mic Preamps. The Mic Pres can definitely make a big difference in your sound quality of things you are miking. The quality of the pres usually varies with price of the module. Some interfaces even have phono inputs for Vinyl record players. With a good Audio Interface depending on the situation can eliminate the need for an analog mixer.

3. Midi I/O. Many interfaces also gives you extra Midi I/O (eliminating the need for an external midi interface in small midi setups), this is becoming less of a big deal since more people are now using softsynths and USB midi controllers.

4. Extra Bells and Whistles. Many newer Audio Interfaces are doing more than just getting Audio in and out of the PC. Alot now have dedicated DSP for running plug-ins, some are control surfaces, midi Keyboards, can be controled from the ipad, Clipping Protection, analog processing and such. Some Bells and whistles are just small things like a volume knob, metering, mute buttons, multiple headphone jacks, while others have some pretty good digital mixing options that could even be used without a Computer in some scenarios.

5. Sound Quality. Probably not a night and day improvement but especially higher end interfaces will put more emphasis on accurate A/D to D/A conversion.

6. Expansion. Many interfaces have digital I/O with wordclock for adding more inputs in the future, which allows you to expand your studio, getting it up to usually a 24-30 input interface.



The main con for an Audio Interface is that it adds an extra piece of gear to your setup, which is probably more of a problem for the laptop producer but really if you needed to mic something properly into a laptop, you would need an external Mic Pre anyways (unless you are just using the built-in mic) which would also cause you to carry around extra gear.


Also as you said having to manage another piece of gear can slow you down some where you have to make sure your interface is powered or talking to your PC, it might make better sense to just rely on built-in audio if you never plan on recording anything via mics or using multiple line inputs simultaneously.

[Ernest Meyer]

Well thats a very thorough answer )

In the past it was said an external interface on USB actually increases latency. Could someone please update me on the current technical thoughts on that?

[BobSubgenius]

Well thats a very thorough answer )

In the past it was said an external interface on USB actually increases latency. Could someone please update me on the current technical thoughts on that?

In most cases external interfaces are way faster than the onboard one.

[ImNotDedYet]

This isn't a pros/cons of using an audio interface so much vs. pros/cons of using the audio interface you're using.

I have no issues having to restart Ableton or my computer with my Babyface. My guess is the drivers for your interface aren't all that great. Do you have the latest drivers?

Others have listed pros/cons of using an interface in general.

[JimmyRambo]

Thanks for the responses. The only other piece of equipment I use is the midi keyboard which just goes straight into USB. The only downfall of me not using the soundcard is it the noise from changing between headphones and monitors. Im considering selling the AI as I don't think it suites my needs at this moment in time.

[Airyck]

I guess if you don't notice it then it doesn't make a difference; but the quality of a dedicated interface and it's converters in most cases would be better than a standard built in one. I remember when I used to do that too and then I bought a MOTU Ultralite and immediately noticed the difference but I also had pretty good monitors. To hear the difference. It wont make a difference in the quality of your end result, it's just what you hear coming out of it and going into it.

[doghouse]

I have aSaffire Pro 40 connected to my Mac and have zero issues.

You wrote:

the AI requires me to completely restart ableton and my mac everytime I want to use it

This is your problem. Turn the interface on first, then launch Live. Turn the interface on before you wake up the Mac and disable sleep while you are working in Live.

Of course, if you are not using any of the inputs of the interface then you really don't need it.

[H20nly]

^ that...


and maybe some of this...

This isn't a pros/cons of using an audio interface so much vs. pros/cons of using the audio interface you're using.

I have no issues having to restart Ableton or my computer with my Babyface. My guess is the drivers for your interface aren't all that great. Do you have the latest drivers?

Others have listed pros/cons of using an interface in general.

i have an Apogee Duet 2. when i start my Mac it starts up with it. it's always ready when i am.