best audio interface for Windows laptop?

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LostPoet

New member
Greetings.

Haven't been on this site in awhile, but I have a dilemma. Looking for a decent quality audio interface for my laptop. Im running windows 7 home (64 bit) with 8 fb of ram on the i7. It's an Alienware.
Previously I was mainly a desktop guy recording via pci card, but now this transition has me stumped.i do mainly vocal recordings, and last year I bought a scarlett 2i2 usb interface to run with my cubase 5. This products drivers) have failed me numerous times, either cutting off mid recording or just offering sub standard quality and a hollow tin like recording. Was considering the universal audio interface, but Idk. Any suggestions?

Thx
 
Hey,
It might be best to get to the bottom of the issues you were having in case the end up carrying over to any new interface.
The 2i2 gets pretty good rep.

What's up with this hollow tin like recording? Was that something that'd come and go, or what? Can you tell us any more?

Do you have firewire on your laptop?
 
I am surprised that you are having trouble with the 2i2, I've not read about problems with this interface. I am sure you have checked their website and updated to the latest drivers?

I would think the sound you are getting is less to do with the interface and more to do with (pick your choice), mics, room, distance from mics, mixing abilities.

Not trying to talk you out of a new interface, just most of these starter interface are pretty decent. Not the best, but getting reasonable results.
 
LostPoet said:
hollow tin like recording.
Click to expand...

This is an important piece of information. As Steenamaroo says, the scarlett is a respectable piece of equipment.

If you are getting that kind of sound, it indicates to me that you have a feedback loop of some sort. For example, if you are recording a vocal, you are recording the vocal that you are singing, and over the top of that you are recording the vocal as it is being fed back through your monitoring system. This is usually a set-up issue, so it is worth looking into that. You can get that type of effect if, say, you simultaneously use hardware and software monitoring.
 
Perhaps it is a compatibility issue? Yes I have upgraded to the newest drivers, however it only permits me to record in 16 bit. Does this sound normal? Previously I was accustomed to recording at 24/96. I'm wondering if a setting is off. The problem I have had is mainly it cuts off mid recording and the quality was substantially (in my estimation) less quality.
 
LostPoet said:
Perhaps it is a compatibility issue? Yes I have upgraded to the newest drivers, however it only permits me to record in 16 bit. Does this sound normal? Previously I was accustomed to recording at 24/96. I'm wondering if a setting is off. The problem I have had is mainly it cuts off mid recording and the quality was substantially (in my estimation) less quality.
Click to expand...

16 bit limitation doesn't sound normal, but I don't own that interface. I'd be shocked if it didn't do 24bit, at least.
Still, that wouldn't lead to any audible difference.

The cutting out issue - does that come with any error message or warning?
Your machine is obviously powerful but could your buffer settings be hurting your setup? Take a look.
If they're down low (32/64) I'd check that first.
Are you recording to an external drive? That can help.

If you have another computer to hand it might be good to test the scarlett there. At least you could prove the issue to the interface or the computer.


Like the others, I'm not trying to talk you out of an upgrade, but it's always good to chase these things down properly if possible.
 
From the Focusright site I note this (see the bit in bold):

2 in / 2 out USB audio interface
96 KHz, 24-bit conversion
2 Focusrite microphone preamplifiers
Red anodised aluminium unibody chassis

Specifications | Focusrite

If you can only get 16 bit, then there is something amiss with the set up.
 
Make sure you are using the ASIO drivers in the DAW. An obvious and easy oversight.
 
Yeah 24/96 was one of the essentials when i purchased it. Unfortunately I've encountered these challenges. I'll try to fiddle with the buffer and I'll test it on my desktop unit. Thanks for the input everyone.
 
If you're only getting 16 bit, the first thing I'd guess would be the drivers aren't installed properly. That's what's making the hardware speak with the software properly, and if it's not installed with the latest up to date version, then you'll have issues.

I know you said you installed the newest ones, but the only other thing I could guess would be that you aren't using the ASIO drivers as someone else recommended.

Please do come back and tell us what changes, because most of the issues you're having don't seem to sound like they're an issue with the interface. I own Focusrite products and use them in a pro studio environment and haven't had any issues, even when I was using their Scarlett series.
 
+1 on the driver setting. The 2i2's ASIO driver is actually locked to ONLY 24-bit, so even if you wanted to record in 16-bit, you wouldn't be able to. You might have WDM or ASIO4ALL selected.
 
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