HOW TO choose an Audio Interface – The Ultimate Guide

In this video I go over the most important specification and features of audio interfaces and explain how you chose the best interface for you.

00:00 Intro
01:13 Input/output
03:34 Formfactor
04:04 Controls
05:06 Direct Monitoring
05:54 Phantom Power
06:24 USB and Wall Power
07:08 Build Quality
07:20 Software Features
07:31 Real-time Audio Processing
08:15 Mixing Controls
08:35 Loopback
08:55 Tech Specs
10:04 Sample Rate
10:37 Bit Depth
11:18 Preamp Noise
12:13 Dynamic Range
12:44 Provided Gain
13:32 HP Output Impedance
13:57 HP Output Power
14:33 ASIO Driver
14:49 Round-Trip Latency (RTL)
15:26 Tech Specs Verdict
15:48 RTFM
15:58 Product Reviews
16:39 Bundled Software
16:50 Design
17:11 Steps to choose an interface
19:27 Create Awesome Content!

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[arinin]

Professional "Technical Review" instead of "paid ones" as always. A true German sound engineering. Thanks.

[bennysuts]

Longevity of driver support is underrated too

[deeliciousplum]

Oh? This new upload's thumbnail reveals an overwhelming number of choices. Even with being overwhelmed, I am forever grateful to Julian for sharing very helpful tips and insights into not only sound gear, but of a diversity of other topics which are essential for somone who wishes to record or to learn about sound/music.

[dezolatestation]

Julian, am glad to found ur channel, comparing audio interface with built in motherboard system was insanely impactfull to me, thanks!

[MichaelNatrin]

Fantastic video! You covered such a broad range of considerations. Can't imagine testing that many interfaces.

[steve_one]

An absolute brilliant one stop shop video for me. Thanks for making this and taking the time to explain things in detail. Much appreciated.

[LuisAlexanderAlarcon]

Hi, greetings from Venezuela, i find your videos really useful and practical, i think you are a really honest Youtuber. I hope you continues doing videos. Hugs and cheers from South America.

[trekstortablet]

Thanks for giving a sane and intelligent talk, I am 63 and have all the outboard, just want to get it into my daw and use my midi keyboard to play virtual instruments. Have asked Santa for m audio air 192 / 6 as it had midi in/ out. Wish me luck and Happy Christmas Julien

[onthewaycyam]

I was not expecting to receive this much information all at once. Thanks for this!

[psycofdo]

Great summary. Love your reviews, very clear and in-depth. You're my top review source for audio interfaces and measurements, and also my top recommendation for people that may be looking for detailed information. Thanks for your work man!.

[Bwalston]

Great video! I chose the MOTU Ultralight MK5 as my interface, thank you for these incredibly useful videos!

[MrDatomi]

thanks for your work on this video helped me much. keep up your way you doing this type of videos they are really understandable and well done and explains everything i wanted to know 👍

[jotainmuuta]

This was an excellent video. Comprehensive, well structured and efficient. Thank you.

[matthewmatiki]

I was looking for a video like this, that is up to date . All the others I found were for a years ago or a few months. Thanks so much.

[MarceloLaraM]

Thank you Julian!! We all appreciate your time and knowledge.

[davidsinclair]

Superb video with excellent advice. Thanks Julian.

[thomaswidter]

Thank you for another year of excellent videos on a niche topic. I really value your work.

[_B.C_]

Great video. Lots of great information for anyone at any level. I noticed two types of interfaces that I use that aren’t on your list. I use a Roland MX1 performance mixer to tie all my synths and drum machines together. The second is my Sound Blaster AE-9 pcie audio interface.

[rockatanescu]

Excellent content, Julian!

I own a UA Volt 276 (based on Julian's review) and I use it mostly for Zoom calls and listening to music. It's a great interface which can easily drive my 600s and pairs nicely with my Lewitt 440 Pure microphone. However, I kind of hope that manufacturers would think a bit more about people working from home and create products that not only work well, but also look nice on a desk. For example, my UA 276 would be perfect if they would have placed the microphone inputs, have an extra headphone jack at the back (same output, just a duplicated jack) and use a more wedge-like form factor so they could put the knobs and LEDs in the front, not on top.

Otherwise, it's so easy to buy an amazing audio interface nowadays, as long as there are passionate people like Julian reviewing them.

[jonastaedr]

Hello! Thanks for your video! 
My recommendation for your Part 2 of this video is to evaluate each important specs category by giving score to each audio interface for said category,  
score for standing in its range (size, price, etc.)
highlited extra points for extra features, e.g. AIR mode would be bonus points for Mic/Hi-Z category..

score for user reviews, software usefulness/driver stability, longevity etc... you could even poll as extra category
and to compare this to the price of the product, services of the company and so on.... Because some interfaces are clearly worth more than the others, this could help decide for alot of ppl even better..

I think it's a logical step since you've done all these complex measurements and are already halfway there. This could bring much more attention to your channel or even get more relevant in the industry, as companies are already watching your content. Good luck! !!