Best Performance (Solo Musicians): Audient iD4.Best for Beginners: Behringer UM2 Audio Interface.

The 6 Best USB Audio Interfaces: In-Depth Analysis.

If you're looking specifically for Ableton-friendly USB audio interfaces, read this guide instead.

And I'll follow it up with a detailed buying guide to help you make better decisions. Although the focus is mostly on bedroom producers, I'll also cover mid-range and pro quality picks for the best USB audio interface. So in this guide, I'll show you what are the best USB audio interfaces on the market right now. You can make music without it, but it won't have nearly the same spontaneity and responsiveness.Īnd USB, being a universally supported and easy to use format, is ideal for audio interfaces. A quality interface will give you that instant playback you need to play and produce music. As I've often advised in these pages, the audio interface should be the third item on your to-buy list (after a DAW and studio headphones). This soundcard connects to the computer via a USB port and brings the low-latency and power you need to produce music.Īs far as music production gear goes, an audio interface is an absolute must. An “audio interface” is essentially a fancier name for an external soundcard. This is where USB audio interfaces come in handy. Worse, if you're operating on a laptop or Mac, it's not always possible to pop open the cabinet and install a brand new soundcard in the PCI port. Built-in soundcards have come a long way from the early days of computing, but they still lack the speed and power needed for music production. Your latency is affected by a lot of things, but the biggest culprit is always the same: a poor quality soundcard.

The higher this number, the bigger the lag between pressing a key and hearing it play on your computer. Latency is the time lag between sending and receiving a signal. If you're producing music, your biggest enemy is that three syllable word: latency. This guide will help you buy the best USB audio interface for your home studio. Instead of expensive mixers, this simple piece of equipment made it possible for anyone to hook up microphones, guitars, and gear to their computers. The humble USB audio interface revolutionized music production when it was first introduced in the market. We might get a commission if you buy gear through a link on this page. Midi Nation is supported by our great readers.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 audio imnterfaces