Is Behringer Xenyx 302USB Mixer Interface better than the Focusrite 2i2?

  • Thread starter Thread starter atifkt
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atifkt

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Just found about this. And it is very cheap as compared to the Focusrite 2i2. Just wanted to ask if I should get the focusrite or will it do the work fine?

I'll recording raps over isntrumentals.
 
Cheap? Yes. Better? Definitely not. You get what you pay for--and you're paying for some gimmicks like a useless EQ section, some un-necessary knobs and very cheap pre amps and A to D converters.
 
So my recordings will still have background noise and not be loud enough?
 
The Behringer will be better than a built in sound card--but no where near as good as the Focusrite. Particularly if you're having problems with a low output mic, I'd avoid the Behringer--their pre amps tend to become very noisy if you turn them up past three quarter level or so.
 
There is some truth to the saying "You get what you pay for"

This has been a frequently reoccuring topic I've discussed with people lately.

Yes, there are USB mixers that can be had for very little money (comparitively speaking). One of the things that you need to consider is that an audio interface was designed specifically to be an audio interface. A USB mixer is usually designed to be a mixer, and "Oh by the way, I guess we'll add a USB jack." This is mainly done so that companies that don't have anything to do with the home studio market, can get their toe through the door. Not a bad idea, and you can't argue with the affordable prices, but the audio quality probably isn't going to be there for you.

If you'd rather use a mixing console as an interface, then you will need to look at things like Presonus' StudioLive series, or something similar from Yamaha, etc... The StudioLive series of mixers comes with the same preamps as thier interfaces, and ships with Presonus' DAW, Studio One. If you decide to go this route, be prepared to spend $1,000 and up to get yourself a nice board that can work as a high quality interface.

I'm not saying don't get a little Mackie board or the Xenyx or whatever, but don't be too surprised if your buddy's $200 2 channel interface sounds better than your $200 USB mixer.
 
Some of the newer small mixer-interfaces are better thought out than earlier ones, with features to facilitate tracking. Earlier ones were really just made to capture a live mix. The problem is that an entry level buyer won't know the difference.

But the quality level of some of those tiny mixer-interfaces it pretty poor as they have to get all the features in and hit a price point.
 
+1 to all of the above...

...but with one more negative to add.

The main reason that a mixer can be useful in a home studio should be the routing options. In an ideal world you'd seen individual tracks into your DAW for recording, bring pre-recorded tracks back into the DAW, be able to create several different mixes between the live mics and the recorded stuff for headphone and control room monitoring, etc. etc.

The trouble is that many/most of the cheap mixers don't give you these routing options. For example, on a lot of them the return feed from the DAW can only go to the main outs--pretty damn useless if the only way to feed into the DAW is the main outs.

If anyone is thinking of a mixer, it's really necessary to think how you want to use it then check that you can send the right signals in the right direction. After that you have to think about the sound quality. Unless you're will to spend some proper money, chances are an interface will be the better deal for you.
 
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