Audio Interfaces for Mac Studio

[norwaypianoman]

1. Which Audio Interface are you using or buying for the Mac Studio ?
2. Why do you recommend it ?
3. How would you describe its sound qualities or other qualities ?

See the poll of manufacturers at the beginning of the thread.

Honorable mentions to the audio interfaces producers that nearly made it to the poll:
Sound Devices https://www.sounddevices.com and
Tascam https://www.tascam.eu/en/

 

[F-Train]

Have you ever heard of a little company called Sound Devices?

 

[aurora_sect]

1. UAD Apollo Rack x6
2. I recommend it if you want a reasonably priced high end interface for audio production and need expanded I/O for multi mic recording or analog outboard processing AND you use UAD plugins. It has UAD accelerators built in--if you don't need those this is not the droid you are looking for; check out RME or Apogee, etc. instead.
3. I don't think it has a particular 'sonic signature.' The unit is pretty robust and feature rich.

 

[Horselover Fat]

I will continue to use my RME Babyface, because RME excels at low latency performance and delivers practically everlasting support for their devices. "Sorry, we don't support this device beyond OS version X" is something you'll probably never hear from them. I will not dive into details of describing this interface's sound quality. To me it sounds great and I cannot judge when someone says "This sounds warm, that sounds clean." RME is supposed to sound clean, some say even sterile. Maybe these things can be shown in an oscilloscope. I say this is 0,2 % of your sound.

Having said that, the choice of you audio interface should also depend upon what you want to do with it (record a podcast or a drum kit?). Low latency performance might not even be important to you.

 

[hugodrax]

1. UAD Apollo Rack x6
2. I recommend it if you want a reasonably priced high end interface for audio production and need expanded I/O for multi mic recording or analog outboard processing AND you use UAD plugins. It has UAD accelerators built in--if you don't need those this is not the droid you are looking for; check out RME or Apogee, etc. instead.
3. I don't think it has a particular 'sonic signature.' The unit is pretty robust and feature rich.

Why I use the UAD line. being able to replace outboard processing equipment with virtual is nice. Plus its just reliable.

 

[enricoclaudio]

Currently using a RME FireFace UCX II with my 2017 iMac 5K and will keep using it with the Mac Studio as soon it gets delivered hopefully next week

 

[sn1p3r845]

I liked my focusrite scarlett 2i2 but it started to have noise and cut the left & right channels randomly when you turn the knob, i cleaned the contacts or whatever awhile ago and it fixed it for a few weeks and then it started to do it again... looking for something else in the same range. I basically just need something for my monitors (stereo out) and XLR input for my mic

 

[aurora_sect]

Currently using a RME FireFace UCX II with my 2017 iMac 5K and will keep using it with the Mac Studio as soon it gets delivered hopefully next week

View attachment 1979311

This is probably what I'd use if I didn't run UAD plugins.👍

 

[AlphaCentauri]

Prism Sound Lyra.

Mastering quality conversion, class compliant, works like a dream.

 

[deuce sluice]

I'm using an Apogee Symphony Desktop with my iMac and will continue to use it once I move to the Studio.

 

[jtkiley]

I'm using an Apogee Symphony Desktop with my iMac and will continue to use it once I move to the Studio.

How do you like it? I was looking at one when I bought my UAD Apollo Twin X, but the Apogee was still a few months from actual availability.

If you have a minute for some specific questions:

1. Does it work with the system volume control (e.g., the buttons on the Mac keyboard) for outputs?
2. Any strange issues in (if you use them) Zoom or Discord (like the UAD has)?
3. Have you used optical out to feed a digital signal to monitors (e.g., Genelecs)?
4. How useful is the touch screen in practice?

 

[edanuff]

I've used various MOTU Ultralite models over the years. Apart from MOTU being horrifically unprepared for Monterey compatibility back when Monterey was released, the hardware has been great. I'm using the Mk-5 model with a Studio now.

 

[Chancha]

Prism Sound Lyra.

Mastering quality conversion, class compliant, works like a dream.

I have always been eyeing on a Lyra 2 specifically for vinyl digitalization. I also have Genelec monitors that the AES will go well with it (currently using a Musical Fidelity DDC to reclock USB to AES SPDIF and it isn't that clean).

 

[einmusiker]

I’ll use my apogee hypemic, blue yeti x pro, and zoom q2n 4k. I also have a canon m50 mark ii and zoom h1n to figure out. Looking forward to making better quality videos with Final Cut Pro

 

[cal6n]

No TASCAM?

 

[AlphaCentauri]

Tascam does not maintain compatibility for very long time on Mac, hardware is nice though. If it’s class compliant interface then I would (accordingly to budget).

 

[StoneJack]

Focusrite Solo Gen 3.
USB-A.
Drives guitar, headphones flawlessly.
For speakers, I use USB Edifier G2000, work flawlessly as well.
Catalina.

 

[Ned911]

I plan on continuing to use my old Presonus Firepod. If it doesn't work with the Firewire converters then I'll need to upgrade but would rather not.

 

[norwaypianoman]

Have you ever heard of a little company called Sound Devices?

Hello F-Train. Thanks for your comment, no - I saw they were available at the european/german store, so that is great. How is your Sound Devices working for you ?

Currently using a RME FireFace UCX II with my 2017 iMac 5K and will keep using it with the Mac Studio as soon it gets delivered hopefully next week

View attachment 1979311

Greetings Enricoclaudio: This is the dreamcard I want to buy, and constantly judging if I should buy the Mac Studio Max/32GB Ram/1TB or the 64 GBRam/2TB, so I have money left for the RME UCX II.

No TASCAM?

Greetings cal6n. I apologize for taking out TASCAM from the list, in favor of Yamaha, which has some new things. I think TASCAM makes quality, and hope you are happy with your card. Which model do you have ?

To all: I am overwhelmed by the wonderful response to the poll. It is very valuable when I make a professional choice between RME, UAD, Yamaha, Focusrite - and seeing most of the others! Even RME has 3 lines of products, as their new product line comes out March 30th. UAD Spark ? I hope it is Audio Interfaces !

 

[cal6n]

I have a TASCAM US-1x2.

I only have it for the line in and line out functionality for my Hifi. It allows me to treat my Mac as the digital equivalent of a tape recorder.

 

[Fishrrman]

A general question for those still using Firewire-based hardware...

Does the equipment you have still work properly when using Apple's firewire-to-thunderbolt2 and thunderbolt2-to-thunderbolt3 adapters, "daisy-chained"...?

 

[F-Train]

Hello F-Train. Thanks for your comment, no - I saw they were available at the european/german store, so that is great. How is your Sound Devices working for you ?

Sound Devices was started in 1998 by three guys from Shure. It has become the dominant manufacturer of audio recorders used in film and television production and increasingly in mobile music production. Since 2018, when it bought Audio Ltd. in the U.K., it has become a major player in wireless recording. Last October, it bought Audiotonix, which makes mixing consoles, etc. for live events and live broadcast.

Sound Devices has made a computer audio interface, the USBPre 2, for many years. In 2017, it launched its MixPre line of products. These combine an audio field recorder and audio interface at prices that are far more accessible than the prices of its dedicated field recorders. In addition to video production, the MixPre is being widely used in podcast and music production. If I recall correctly, the MixPre Mark II, launched in late 2019, was the first recorder on the market to incorporate 32-bit recording, which essentially does away with clipping as a recording problem.

I use a Sound Devices dedicated field recorder, a MixPre II field recorder/interface and a USBPre 2 interface. The company makes very good audio equipment.

 

[aurora_sect]

A general question for those still using Firewire-based hardware...

Does the equipment you have still work properly when using Apple's firewire-to-thunderbolt2 and thunderbolt2-to-thunderbolt3 adapters, "daisy-chained"...?

Universal Audio explicitly states that their Firewire devices aren't compatible with Apple Silicon. I was using Firewire Satellites and an Apogee duet, switched to the Apollo because I knew I would be getting an M1 Mac soon and also because I wanted to incorporate a 500 rack in my setup so I needed more I/O on my interface. The x6 consolidated all of those needs into one unit.

 

[slainbabyyc]

Metric Halo make some of the best audio interfaces on the market from a quality standpoint, and they are easily #1 in customer service/support and overall value. No other manufacturer packs as much value into an interface for as low of a price. With the ULN-8 MkIV, you get 8 boutique-quality preamps, 8 line in, 8 line out, 8 sends, 8 digital out, midi i/o, ethernet, usb-c, optical, and the option to configure extra i/o with the edge card. not only that, you get all of their plugins, which are favored by some of the best engineers in the biz, included with the interface and real-time DSP processing. the new MkIV converters are even better than the old ones, and they are extremely low latency. they also have extremely responsive customer service, and they are constantly updating their software per user feedback.

when you buy a metric halo interface, you get a commitment that Metric Halo will update the interface as technology advances. no other company allows you to keep the same product for 20 years and continues to support and update it. Compared to buying from Avid or UAD, who will nickel and dime you as much as possible for every single micro-transaction they can (Avid moreso than UAD), it's a no-brainer for me, especially as a Mac user. For anything better, you have to spend a lot more money, and even then the improvements are incremental and the difference in customer service might not even be worth it. The only other manufacturers you listed that come close to Metric Halo in terms of quality are Apogee and Avid, and both of them have terrible reputations when it comes to support and price-gouging.

Honorable mention to RME and Motu, two solid options for different budgets. I own a UAD Apollo Twin X in addition to my Metric Halo ULN-8 3D, but I definitely feel better about the Metric Halo. If I was gonna get a cheaper two-channel interface, I would get an SSL 2.

 

[deuce sluice]

How do you like it? I was looking at one when I bought my UAD Apollo Twin X, but the Apogee was still a few months from actual availability.

If you have a minute for some specific questions:

1. Does it work with the system volume control (e.g., the buttons on the Mac keyboard) for outputs?
2. Any strange issues in (if you use them) Zoom or Discord (like the UAD has)?
3. Have you used optical out to feed a digital signal to monitors (e.g., Genelecs)?
4. How useful is the touch screen in practice?

1. Yup, sure does! You can choose between having the system volume control affect the main output or a specific headphone output.

2. No strange issues in Zoom or Discord specifically, but see below...

3. Haven't used the optical outs yet. I use a pair of Output Frontiers with a Presonus T10 sub. I'm trying to find a good solution to add another 4 channels over ADAT / SMUX in and out, probably will end up with a Focusrite Clarett OctoPre.

4. I think it's really useful, I rarely open Apogee Control and I use the touchscreen instead most of the time.


Generally, I really like it. It replaced a Presonus Clarett 4Pre (with a 2-day detour trying out an Apogee Duet) and I feel like the sound improvement was drastic. Before the Presonus I had a UAD Apollo X4, and an 8P before that, but I went away from the UAD platform after getting frustrated about how much time it took for them to support new OS' and how slow they were at getting Apple Silicon support, so I wanted to get something that was class complaint. It also has onboard DSP for some mic preamp, compressor and EQ emulations that sound really good (and they work on the optical ins now, too.) The control plugin is good, too, but the direct integration with Logic like the Ensemble has isn't out yet.

All that said, it has one big bug. There's an ApogeeGlue process that seems to have a runaway, and the longer you have it up the more CPU % it consumes, until it craps out - which for me takes about 36hrs. When it does things that try to use audio get very weird and freezy, the system volume control starts to lag, and eventually it stops being able to pass audio altogether. To fix it you need to restart the Symphony, and if you do that while it's crapped out it'll freeze your whole system for about five minutes. There are multiple reports of the same on GearSpace, and it seems like the people with Apple Silicon Macs generally can resolve it by re-arranging how things are plugged in to get the Symphony on a dedicated USB bus. On my Intel iMac the controller puts devices on buses dynamically, and it won't go on a bus by itself. Right now I'm just hoping when I get my Mac Studio the issue doesn't follow me.

Apogee's aware of the CPU runaway issue with ApogeeGlue but haven't connected it to the freezing, and are still in the "we need engineering to look at it" stage. I've sent them a bunch of process dumps, logs, etc. and I'm staying on them as much as I can without feeling like I'm being annoying. I'm sure they'll fix it eventually, but no idea how long it'll be.