Should I upgrade my audio interface?

appetite4gnr

New member
I currently own a Line 6 Toneport GX or what is now called the Pod studio GX )retail $100) to play and record guitar. If I were to purchase a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or a Presonus Audiobox 2x2 , both retail around $150, would I notice any improvements? Or should I just stick with the toneport?

Will I be able to decrease the latency further? On the toneport (running with cubase) my Input latency is 6.122 and output latency is 12.268. I will get cracks and pops occasionally and would like to achieve better results. I am hoping to on the focusright or presonus.
 
I currently own a Line 6 Toneport GX or what is now called the Pod studio GX )retail $100) to play and record guitar. If I were to purchase a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or a Presonus Audiobox 2x2 , both retail around $150, would I notice any improvements? Or should I just stick with the toneport?

Will I be able to decrease the latency further? On the toneport (running with cubase) my Input latency is 6.122 and output latency is 12.268. I will get cracks and pops occasionally and would like to achieve better results. I am hoping to on the focusright or presonus.

Neither of the two interfaces you mention are noted for very low latency. One that is however is the Native Instruments Komplete Audio6. I have one and can get a fairly "cooking grade" HP 2x2.7G W7/64 desktop with 2 G ram to run a keyboard (Pianoteq) glitch free at 64 samples, tho' upping that to 256 samples for safety seems plenty fast enough. The Ka6 also has excellent converters, very quiet and clean mic pres (of adequate but not blinding gain. Another 6-8dB would be handy but, ho-hum) plus an extra 2 line inputs so you could record 4 audio tracks (+S/PDIF and MIDI).

But low latency isn't ALL about the AI and its drivers (tho' most 'sperts put it at 50-80% ). Have you investigated the computer music optimizations and tweaks? Most notable of these are killing Windows sounds, probably the onboard soundcard and, vital this, any and all wireless services and hardware. Also download and run Dpclat latency monitor.

Dave.
 
Are you only planning on plugging a guitar in? As ecc83 mentions, latency isn't just the interface, there are also changes in your DAW and computer settings that will help. If you're getting 'cracks and pops', you may have your buffers set incorrectly. What are your computer specs for process speed and how much RAM do you have?
 
RME don't say their interfaces have "low latency", they say they have "the greatest potential for lowest latency" - meaning what the other guys are saying... it's not just the interface, your PC is involved, so I'd be tweaking that if possible before throwing more money at the problem.
 
I have an Intel Core i3 and 8gb of ram , running windows 7. I can get my latency down below 5m using the toneport and ASIO44ALL. I believe I would be able to get similar results if I got a new interface , but then I have been reading lately about how the instrument inputs are too "hot" on cheap audio interfaces such as focusrite saffire 2i2 and that you can have the gain turned so far down and it will start clipping no matter what, and the subsequent need of a DI box. Not sure if I should go through with it if everything works fine now.

I am mainly just looking for an upgrade in sound quality now.
 
Obviously reducing the hardware buffer size reduces your latency - the question is how low you can set the buffer size before your system becomes unstable and you get errors - clicks and pops

For example - I run an RME UFX rig and can run it with a buffer size of 48 samples and get no errors at all. This is of course dependent on the complete system and its workload.
For the most part I find that running 128 samples is short enough to run monitoring through the DAW and stable enough to run decent sized multitrack projects without errors.

The main thing to look at in interfaces is the quality of the mic amps. Focusrite have made some really nice pre's so at a guess I'd probably go for them, but I imagine that at that price range you won't get anything stunning.
I'd hang on to the interface you have and would prefer to hold out for a higher quality but more expensive one in the future - or buy a new microphone or something else that makes your recording set up more versatile.

What kind of guitar are you recording? Electric or acoustic, and are you recording from the built in pickup?
If so - buy a microphone and mic up the guitar body (if it's acoustic) or through an amp (if it's an electric). That way you will definitely see an improvement in 'sound quality' which you almost certainly won't by buying a new interface that's of comparable quality to what you already have anyway.
 
I have an Intel Core i3 and 8gb of ram , running windows 7. I can get my latency down below 5m using the toneport and ASIO44ALL. I believe I would be able to get similar results if I got a new interface , but then I have been reading lately about how the instrument inputs are too "hot" on cheap audio interfaces such as focusrite saffire 2i2 and that you can have the gain turned so far down and it will start clipping no matter what, and the subsequent need of a DI box. Not sure if I should go through with it if everything works fine now.

I am mainly just looking for an upgrade in sound quality now.

But then people complain that many budget AIs do not have enough gain! (M-Audio solved this one YONKS ago with 20dB pads on the Fast track pro...Doh!) . In any case, all electric guitars and most synths have a volume control. Even if the latter do not, an attenuator or a pot in a tin is hardly rocket science!

Dave.
 
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