Best affordable audio interface for playing with plugins and headphones?

[Josetxu]

Hi!

I want a small interface for playing guitar using plugins (s-gear and Neural Tone King) and headphones. I have headphones from 36ohm to 300ohm, so I want a good headphone output, as my Scarlett 6i6 (2nd gen) hardly drives the high impedance ones. These are the 4 options I'm considering:

- Audient id4 / id14 mkII: maybe not good for the lower impedance headphones? its impedance output seems to be a bit high, and there are people who says that that's bad with low impedance headphones.
- Motu M2: juice enough for the high impedance ones?
- Arturia minifuse: the same as the Motu M2.
- IK multimedia Axe I/O one: I have not reference about its headphone output, and not so many reviews. Is it a good option?

Any first hand experience for my user-case scenario? Any other good options? I don't want a headphone amplifier for my 6i6 because I want to improve portability, and doesn't want to have another device/cables, etc... I'm using a 2018 MacBook Pro with USB-C ports.

 

[eggpl@nt]

I’d vote Motu. I have an M4 and it’s solid.

 

[Jarick]

I also have a Mac (although mine's Macbook Air with Thunderbolt aka USB-C), and I also use high impedance headphones (Beyer DT880 Pro at 250 ohms and Sennheiser HD600 at 300 ohms).

I can vouch for the Audient Evo 4 and the Motu M4 (by extension the M2). Both are USB-C compatible and bus powered, both have clean ins and outs, both can drive high impedance headphones (although you have to turn them up a fair amount). I think the Audient may be a little more powerful for headphone output and it's cheaper, but the Motu is easier to use with more knobs and the LCD screen.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I’ve got a UA Volt that is awesome. They’ve got a number of versions, depending on the IO you want.

 

[Josetxu]

Thanks!

@paisleywookiee is the UA volt powerful enough with high impedance headphones?

 

[paisleywookiee]

Thanks!

@paisleywookiee is the UA volt powerful enough with high impedance headphones?

I honestly don't know; I'm running either ATH-M50's or HD380's through it, but those aren't high impedance.

 

[yeky83]

Thanks!

@paisleywookiee is the UA volt powerful enough with high impedance headphones?

Looks like:

Maximum Output Power into 32 Ohms Maximum Output Power into 300 Ohms Maximum Output Power into 600 Ohms

84 mW per channel 22 mW per channel 12 mW per channel

Put each of your headphones' sensitivity and impedance figures into this linked calculator along with ~110 dB for loudness, take a look at the required power it spits out to see if it's smaller than the numbers above.

Headphones power calculator

Find the best headphones, speakers and home audio. 365-day returns, free shipping over $100 and legendary customer service!

headphones.com

 

[Josetxu]

Thanks @yeky83, that's really helpful!

Seems that audient interfaces, at least MKI, are only 500Kohm input impedance, and audient doesn't state the actual value for the MKII ones in their spec sheet, so discarded...

 

[Jarick]

Thanks @yeky83, that's really helpful!

Seems that audient interfaces, at least MKI, are only 500Kohm input impedance, and audient doesn't state the actual value for the MKII ones in their spec sheet, so discarded...

If it helps I've never heard any major sonic differences in any half decent interface, mostly just volume levels. I don't ever listen at high volumes so I may not be a help there. I'd be surprised if you need to max the volume on any interface.

One thing you may want to check is to make sure you have good levels at your source. Are you using something like Logic or Mainstage to run the plugins? If so you likely want to run the levels somewhere between -10 and -6. That way you are not clipping digitally but are giving your interface a good signal to work with.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Hi!

I want a small interface for playing guitar using plugins (s-gear and Neural Tone King) and headphones. I have headphones from 36ohm to 300ohm, so I want a good headphone output, as my Scarlett 6i6 (2nd gen) hardly drives the high impedance ones. These are the 4 options I'm considering:

- Audient id4 / id14 mkII: maybe not good for the lower impedance headphones? its impedance output seems to be a bit high, and there are people who says that that's bad with low impedance headphones.
- Motu M2: juice enough for the high impedance ones?
- Arturia minifuse: the same as the Motu M2.
- IK multimedia Axe I/O one: I have not reference about its headphone output, and not so many reviews. Is it a good option?

Any first hand experience for my user-case scenario? Any other good options? I don't want a headphone amplifier for my 6i6 because I want to improve portability, and doesn't want to have another device/cables, etc... I'm using a 2018 MacBook Pro with USB-C ports.

What don’t you like about the Scarlett?

 

[Josetxu]

I'm not going to get rid of my Scarlett, but want some portability (no power supply) and better headphone output.

 

[Josetxu]

If it helps I've never heard any major sonic differences in any half decent interface, mostly just volume levels. I don't ever listen at high volumes so I may not be a help there. I'd be surprised if you need to max the volume on any interface.

One thing you may want to check is to make sure you have good levels at your source. Are you using something like Logic or Mainstage to run the plugins? If so you likely want to run the levels somewhere between -10 and -6. That way you are not clipping digitally but are giving your interface a good signal to work with.

That's something I have to deal with, I always feel the guitar levels are a bit low compared with the rest of computer sounds.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Axe Fx III.

 

[Josetxu]

Axe Fx III.

At least is affordable

 

[TSJMajesty]

At least is affordable

Especially when you factor in all you get for your money.

 

[the swede]

Motu M2/M4 or Audient iD4 mk2/iD14 mk2. I tried both (M2 and iD4 mk2) at the same time.

Motu because its high end drivers (for both Mac and Pc)

Audient also has excellent drivers. I have the ID4 mk2 and all plugins Ive tried (with my MBA M1) i can use on the their lowest latency setting.

Ive had Motu M2, and while it’s awesome, i like the design of the Audient iD more. It’s just more practical with controls on top for me.

And then theres the guitar input circuit of the Audient that just ”feelt” better than the Motu. It just has something that makes it more “guitar” like.

I use Sennheiser HD600 and it sounds great with both Motu and Audient, no problems there. I didn’t think about if there was a volume difference or anything. Plenty of volume on both HP amps and good sound quality.

Regarding the monitor sound, that’s hard to say. But I would say that to me and the music I listen to, the Motu sounded stiff or cold, while the Audient sound was more alive and rounder. Maybe more depth kinda… But that stuff is really hard to pin point and very subjective.

 

[the swede]

@Josetxu I edited and elaborated my post more.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I've been using the Motu M4 less than a year now and have no complaints. Portable, low latency. I use it with my iMac and Macbook Pro, no issues so far.

 

[Josetxu]

Motu M2/M4 or Audient iD4 mk2/iD14 mk2. I tried both (M2 and iD4 mk2) at the same time.

Motu because its high end drivers (for both Mac and Pc)

Audient also has excellent drivers. I have the ID4 mk2 and all plugins Ive tried (with my MBA M1) i can use on the their lowest latency setting.

Ive had Motu M2, and while it’s awesome, i like the design of the Audient iD more. It’s just more practical with controls on top for me.

And then theres the guitar input circuit of the Audient that just ”feelt” better than the Motu. It just has something that makes it more “guitar” like.

I use Sennheiser HD600 and it sounds great with both Motu and Audient, no problems there. I didn’t think about if there was a volume difference or anything. Plenty of volume on both HP amps and good sound quality.

Regarding the monitor sound, that’s hard to say. But I would say that to me and the music I listen to, the Motu sounded stiff or cold, while the Audient sound was more alive and rounder. Maybe more depth kinda… But that stuff is really hard to pin point and very subjective.

Thanks a lot for the detailed review!

 

[Sascha Franck]

Fwiw, the UA Volts come with no dedicated drivers for macOS and the latency figures are pretty bad from reports I've seen (8.6ms at 32 samples). You want the smallest possible latencies when dealing with amp plugins. I'd rather look for the mentioned MotUs (MotU have really upped their driver game in the last years).