Is there an interface that actually sounds bad, ignoring those usb cables with an XLR? Some have better performance when you need a bit more gain, and others have more gizmos, but has anyone bought one and returned it and bought something ‘better’ that would be interesting to hear.
I went through a few over the years to answer if the "sound" was better or worse and I never heard any of much difference.
...of course having a 2 ch vs 8ch etc...etc...or having firewire or usb kind of differences...but the sound of interfaces was something I skipped quickly in the "comparison rabbit hole".
if I can recall for fun...line6 2...w/podfarm, Tascam 122, Tascam 8ch, Focusrite 8ch, EMU w/ joemeek preamps!, MOTU, ...ended up with Line6 UX8 after reading Todd Rundgren made a whole album on it...and it had the free PodFarm etc...and I even tried another MOTU years later and no sound difference...maybe a couple Ive forgot....none of them "sounded" different to me.
then it was the preamp rabbit hole, the some compressors, then the microphone rabbit hole...mainly for my vocal and acoustic guitar.
all the bass and guitar stuff was ok, not much rabbit hole.
Ive read the interface AD/DA stuff and fall into the didnt hear a big difference. I grabbed a Grace Design headphone amp~ hiend, and Beyer 880 250ohm and played with the 24/44 vs 24 96k vs etc..the Headphone amp detects the file bit/sample..so its cool to see it flop an flop to 44 or 96 or 88.... and I couldnt hear much difference either. I know my old ears wouldnt hear the 192 stuff either and the huge files isnt worth it to me.
Im open to some people might possess the Golden Ears and say WOW!! 44 vs 192 is HUGE!!....maybe they do hear it?
add: the headphone amp on the UX8 is the best of any Ive heard and is spec'd for high ohm headphones. compared to the Grace Design Headphone Amp it is very close. I grabbed the Grace 901 designed for Bob Ludwig...cool story in the grace design headphone amp beginings. but some USB interfaces headphone amps suck and really need the 32~ohm headphones, bought a behringer multi headphone amp for $25 used and its really ok too.