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Maybe frowned upon, but what about good old Behringer umc404 hd? The behringers allow for an external power input so you don’t drain the iPad, and you don’t drain the bank account either
This thing is so tempting
I need more inputs so the 476 causes even more drooling
But all in all I would love a super lightweight 2 input interface with good mic-pre for dynamic mics for the iPad only.
Still temped by the EVO4 as a portable 'throw in backpack' interface...
FWIW I got an Other World Computing Thunderbolt dock (TB4DOCK) for my M1 iPad. That gives me 3 TB4/USB C ports, 4 USB-A ports (3x USB 3, 1x USB 2), Ethernet, a headphone jack, and and SD card reader. Plenty of power delivery, it can power my MacBook Pro as well. Super fast, and it's been super solid for me. It wasn't cheap, but I have no regrets on the purchase.
Edit: I should note there are several other TB4 docks on the market that look like they're probably this same device in a different housing (Sonnet Echo 11, Anker 777, Satechi, and several others). Maybe one of them can be had for cheaper than the OWC unit.
I’d be a bit worried about throwing my Evo 4 in a bag, it’s plastic and does not feel like it’s “built like a tank”.
Using es-8 for the studio, it’s is very happy to send and receive ADAT from my main apollox6 interface. For stage I would love to see arrow uad being compatible one day with the newer iPad M1 featuring thunderbolt
Audient iD4 mk2 gets my vote here. Been using it since July. Only complaint is that I need more inputs so I’m gonna have to get rid of it soon but overall it sounds great and the preamps are clean.
RME Babyface Pro FS.
Rocksolid.
TotalMix App.
Yes, rock solid for a grand. 🥸
it`s fantastic
got the UAD 476 too
first impression with a few vocal lines in comparison with the SSL 2+ - the mode with "vintage and 276 compressor" sounds as expected rounder, fatter, slightly more tube-like - nuances indeed, but still recognizable-there is a slight tendency, "coloring" in this direction - and with the iPad Pro M1 is sufficient, as with the SSL2+ , as the only connection the USB-C cable to use all functions (48 volts etc. . .)and does not need an extra power supply, which makes it very portable.
You in the US? Everywhere I’ve looked it’s been in pre order. Only the 276
Europe
https://www.thomann.de/at/universal_audio_volt_476.htm
Ok, thanks so much everyone, so many useful comments and putting me right about a few things offering advice.
I now feel the following are my options
This is the warmer option, which suits me. I’m a bit concerned about whether you can turn off the compressor. I don’t want to be forced into using it as i already have many compressors on iOS - not sure how it compares. I do like the way everyone describes the sound though, i make warm experimental pop among other things and i dislike any super transparent clean thin sounds, in general. I am the opposite of EDM modern electronic stuff. Don’t like the cold sound at all - i do use and like a lot of soft synths though
audient seen a few mentioned online Id14 id22. This seems the other end of the tonal, spectrum offering better separation clarity Etc more high tech i guess sound. This appeals to me on another level. Perhaps less the character of my music, and I also don’t know if it’s a better blank canvas to warm things up with on iOS or if there’s just some volt magic.
then the motu m4. I only need one or two inputs so not sure if there’s a sound or tech difference except in outs between this and the m2. Seems to sit in between the abive two, being a great all rounder but not as special in either department as the abive, not as clear as audient or warm as volt, these are my impressions
I saw someone mention the volt can be entirely powered by usb c iPad, even with phantom power. I wonder if anyone knows of this is the case with the others. I saw power problems mentioned with audient. I’m leaning voltward.
I have a Samsung multiport equivalent of the apple multiport dongle - a usb-c dongle that allows hdmi and usb 3 connections out plus a usb c power port so I think this would replace a powered usb hub anyway? Plug into iPad. Plus audio interface into usbc3. Plug iPad charger into the multiport. I think thats hwo the apple one works… I went for Samsung as seemed better chance at working with iPads than the apple with Samsung phone according to people
I am happy with Steinberg UR-C22, inexpensive, nice DSP effects for zero latency monitoring, and can work directly or powered.
Another good option is Yamaha AG06 if you need loopback…
yes, phantom power works fine
and the SM7b too btw
/
Sure, I tested using several templates I have for music making and monitored in AUM and a dedicated performance monitoring app (sorry, the name escapes me) and with my ears. My templates involve a variety of apps both new and old (some IAA) and various and complex FX chains. I ran them side by side on 3 devices and just didn’t see the amazing improvement I was expecting. It wasn’t a scientific test but it was adequate for me. I got a bit more headroom from the M1 but as I said, maybe 10% in general. I was still easily able to produce audio artifacts. I know the benchmarks for the M1 are better, I did my research and that’s why I shelled out the money for it, but I wasn’t going to alter my process to accommodate the limitations. I decided on a more modest upgrade for now. I’m sure a lot of it came down to the apps involved (e.g. AUM, Atom 2, Animoog Z, Model 15, GeoShred, Steel Guitar, ThumbJam, SynthMaster One, Blocs Wave, BeatHawk, various others, too many FX to list) and all that but that’s why I said YMMV. It was not an indictment of the M1, just a single real-world report that it wasn’t the silver bullet for all use cases and it didn’t blow my mind on iPad the way I’d hoped. I have an M1 Mac Mini that sometimes struggles with Ableton and a M1 MacBook that I can also overload occasionally so maybe it’s the user… 😉
I vote Volt. I trust UA Audio. Own 2 of their guitar pedals and the sound quality is A+++. God their Golden Reverberator is so good.
Ok. I watched some YouTube vids that have made me indecisive, i was leaning toward the volt but…
There is a definite leaning on YouTube toward the volt being overpriced and gimmicky, this isn’t my feeling just repeating before I get jumped on 😅
I saw a couple of vids where the hosts just say that they didn’t release specs and when they did they’re underwhelming and more like focusrite. And the part that got me a bit was a disassembling of the marketing regarding the compressor and vintage ‘emulations’.
I was a bit concerned about this as it feels gimmicky to me. I don’t know.. I want an audio interface and slapping a compressor on it seems odd, LIEK a kind of ‘hey this is vintage thing’ which is what the guys were saying
Now… on the other hand… I feel that some of these YouTube reviewer guys are basically ‘specs’ obsessed rainmen who spend a lot of time scoffing at 13 year olds on Reddit for owning consoles while bragging at their 600gig ram PCs that no games run on because they spend all their time adjusting settings in menus and obsessing over what fps they can achieve on a 2D rts game TAHT looks like arse anyway
Soooo…
Ive possibly not been kind to either side in this but what do people reckon?
I’m so confused now
@samu ? I’m also confused about if the motu m2 is any worse than the m4 aside from number of inputs. And if the audient id14 or 22 runs well on iPad after previous comments re the power being iffy. And if all three nkt just the volt can provide phantom power just plugged into iPad
And if my multiport adaptor is fine anyway to provide power
F———-k
Also
@pynchon yiu have a cool name
@wingwizard Got no clue on the Motu's never tried them.
My current audio/midi-interface is the Steinberg UR-242(2 mic/line, 2 line, 2 out,5-pin Midi In/Out). It relies on external power.
A lot of 'reviews' on YouTube are mostly 'reading the specs-sheet and sales literature' and long-term reviews are non-existent.
On USB-C devices power should not be an issues, on Lightning devices using a powered a USB-Hub is recommended...
One interesting observation is that both the Arturia MiniFuses and Volts seem to use the same converter chip (as do many other interfaces).
For me the Arturia MiniFuse 2 is also a good candidate but I've yet not had the opportunity to check it out...
...what I'm interested in is if the USB-Hub will provide enough juice to the LaunchpadPro Mk3 without a powered USB-Hub.
Thanks I just heard that steinberg i think and seemed noisy -I’m sure it’s great though
I’m now leaning toward motu m2. @pynchon I think the m4 was your choice. I think that the two are identical except inputs number and the blend knob, don’t know if you know this?
I have a question for anyone, sorry - do you know if it’s easy enough to monitor with compression from say fabfilter pro c on iOS? I don’t really like teh built in compressor stuff on the volt but I’d like to record vocals and monitor with compression. I was going to use the headphone port on the motu m2 to monitor as apple are retarded but now I’m not sure if that would give me the compressed signal
Ive been out the game for a while… and just realised—-I mean it must guve me the compressed signal right? The headphone Jack of the audio interface must play teh iPad output or you couldn’t monitor as you’d not here the whole song
I think. Doh Etc.
>
It works pretty well...
With dynamic mics I hear the 'room noise' before the amp-noise becomes intrusive when I crank up the gain.
With condensers it works without issues as you will clip the input before the noise becomes an issue and even then it's most likely the noise of the condenser that is dominating.
I've not asked Julian how much he 'boosts' the noise when doing the audible comparisons but I guess it's well over +40db
(He has plenty of 'Mind Blown' videos regarding using gain, noise levels etc.).
The tech specs of the M2 and M4 are the same except for the I/O count. I personally think that the M4 is a very good interface and I can't see any reason that the M2 wouldn't be too.
One thing about the UA interface is that it looks like the compressor is analog. If that's the case, I wouldn't consider it to be a gimmick. Having a compressor pre DAC would be very useful. Personally, I'd rather have that as a separate unit, but for a mobile solution a good builtin analog compressor could be pretty slick.
So another successful ex> @wingwizard said:
In reality, you probably want an audio interface that offers the option of being powered by the iPad USB/Hub with passthrough charging and one that also allows you to use the audio interface with it’s own power supply.
Even with a powered hub, when the audio interface is powered by it’s own power supply things tend to be less prone to gremlins. And as you identify phantom power is an issue to be considered.
We’re lucky right now that the sub £300 audio interface segment offers a great array of options which all perform well. But you want to zone in one that not only provides the best audio performance, flexibility is an important consideration too. And that brings me back to the UA Volt options as they can offer the portable option of iPad Pro and audio interface alone as the Volt will be powered by the iPad Pro but you still have the flexibility of powering the Volt via it’s own power supply so you don’t drain the iPad Pro power, which is especially noticeable when using phantom powered inputs on any audio interface.
The Launchpad Pro Mk3 is quite thirsty. I’ve found my iPad Pro most stable when the audio interface has it’s own power supply and the hub has PD passthrough charging to the iPad Pro.
The iPad stays fully charged, the audio interface works seamlessly and the Launchpad doesn’t glitch out. I did experiment with a hub without PD passthrough and the Launchpad kept on re-initialising.
Not a recommendation for the OP, but I’ve been using my old K-Mix for the last month or so and it really is great. Class Compliant, 8-in, 10-out, plus MIDI (and DIN MIDI with an adapter).
It’s also tiny, really tough, and has some absurdly flexible routing, once you understand it.
I almost sold it a few times, but the second hand value is too low, and I’m glad I kept it.
The one downside is that the inputs have very little headroom, possibly thanks to the 5v bus power (?). In practice, it’s fine. Just set the input gain low. Internally it’s all 32-bit floating, so once it’s in, you can go nuts.
I have both M2 and M4, and they both punch above their weight. But if you are overdubbing live instruments, trust me, spend the extra coin to have the blend knob on the M4…
The MOTU M series would be a good choice. I’ve had an M4 for two years and I’ve compared it side by side with a Focusrite Clarett, Audient EVO, and Audient iD4 MKII, each of which I owned for awhile. The MOTU, Clarett, and iD4 had excellent sonics and each of them could deliver stellar recordings. What distinguished the M4 was its low latency, metering, headphone amp, and simple, functional ergonomics (no auto gain setting or midi control knob). It’s the only one I still own, along with an Apogee jam+ in a different room.
FWIW, I don’t think the interface is the place to add color (vintage, classic, warm, “mojo”…) or apply compression. We’re so lucky these days. For a modest price we get a clean preamp, high dynamic range, and low latency. If we need some “mojo”, whatever that means, we have unbelievably cool software for that.