High End Professional Recording Interfaces - Why Buy One and What to Look For?

With a high-end interface, I expect 32bit, not 24bit like l the $6,500 Lynx. Zoom has a $200 32bit interface out now.

Cranborne Audio 500 R8 is one of THE BEST interfaces I've ever heard and used. Highly recommend!

Burl is not only for mastering. The B80 Mothership is expandable to 80 channels in the same unit. Burl is also modular and the entry price is much more modest with an 8 in 8 out system. Burl was designed to be high end that is not "impossible forever," as you say. Burl is certainly not cheap, even for an 8 in 8 out. But the expandability offets entry price in a substantial way. Burl's audio quality is just in another league. I have to thank you for at least mentioned Burl. It's well known in high-end circles but not so much in the mid-range.

"The others are using that as a master and their slaving off of that...(we really gotta change some of these terminolgies...)" - Barry Johns

Bro, toset terms when dealing with audio have never, once, bothered me. Most "real ones" are intelligent enough and our mind automatically interprets a phrase based on context, but REGARDLESS, this pulled Love out of my chest on your belhalf. 💯

"gear that never gets in your way" is such a great mantra. Love the channel.

Very good video and more importantly very informative!

Better to put words on screen and summaries rather than constant talking

44.1 vs 48.1 i just switched to 48.1.. dont know why?

Prysm Lyra 2? Thoughts?

Thank you for your video. For your amount of knowledge, it would be helpful to me when you do videos like this they have a Barry
top five audio interface list!
With links!

Thank again

Great video Barry! I opted for the Tascam Mixcast 4 and haven't looked back. It's the best bang for the buck IMHO. The onboard recording paid for itself as my wireless company continued to bill me after I cancelled service. This was recorded and played back to the recovery company and it totally shut 'em down. The preamps are nutty good too! The only issues I've had is that it won't turn off every 50 or so uses so I have to remove the PS to get it to do so.

Can you do a review of the presonus quantum 2? There’s not alot of reviews for that interface. I’m curious about its rtl and the pre amp quality alongside its stability.

Definitely need to record at 88.2 at least. Because of the filtering from the niquist theorem.

Good stuff

Hey Barry I have a question, what do you make of spending that money on a mixer like a tascam24 which can easily be routed to your daw and gives you that analog feeling with the faders and built in processors

This video is supposed to be about high end interfaces

While I probably won’t be able to hear the difference from - say - a MOTU 8M to a RME UFX III without spending a lot of time with the latter, I got to say this: After upgrading from a rather low end interface to MOTU, I certainly DID hear a quite noticeable jump in that certain directness in tone. Something that I didn’t expect for sure. But it wasn’t just me imagining things. That’s what I know now.

I've had many interfaces and some converter with 500 series but now I have a steinberg axr4t and it's amazing it sounds amazing and it's capable of recording at full 32 bits with 384khz it sounds...... crazy how good it sounds

I've really been considering getting the babyface pro fs, but I've also pined for a lyra 2 for a long time.

I love my Lynx Aurora(n). Solid as the day is long, and you can talk to a real person if there are any questions.

I am a big fan of you , i really appreciate your way of explaining the products in detail. I would love to meet you personally. Let us know how to contact you . Please reply to me.

This video doesn't quite address quality. You make some good points, but you don't clarify the actual quality differences between high end and low end.

What are your thoughts on AVID's MBox interface?

I had tons of problems with my Focus rite 2i2

Yesterday I listened to Burl and I am smitten. I’d like to hear more from you on the Motherboard 16 as a replacement for my Apollo Mk2 Quad (or maybe in conjunction with to be able to use some of the UAD features). I started out looking for better mic preamps, and I’d rather not have to go through the same exercise in 5 years. The Burl approach seems like a good match for the Royer R121 matched pair that I have on order, to keep that “live” feeling throughout the tracking process.

I am starting out kind of old school (where mixing consoles are concerned). I have the Mackie 32.8 analog console with the meter bridge. My interface is just a UAD Volt 276. Would it be advisable to pick up an Antelope Audio Orion 32 and gamble with support, or is there a 32 channel equivalent (Madie or Dante) RME that is at least around the same price?

I still have a tower full of rack gear from the Windows XP days (including TC Electronic Finalizer 96k, M one XL, Antares Mic modeler, Roland SRV-3030, Behringer patch bay, Monster 3000 Power conditioner, Blue Max Compressor, Blue Tube mic pre and even an old Digi 001, Delta 1010 LT sound card and some Dolby S tape decks and a Harmon-Kardon CD-R 20.

I may sell some of the outdated stuff to someone who collects older gear to make room. But, is it doable to make what I have create solid mixes? I was even thinking of getting a 16 or 32 channel HUI mixer to run Cubase 12 Pro if the Mackie is a problem.

Would like to hear sample songs from a high end studio vs your average basement recording but nothing on you tube.

I want upgrade from my uad apollo twin USB. What’s a better option?
I don’t find the plugins any useful as I only do the recording and I send the recording for mixing

Would you please mention your camera model by which you have shoot this video.

Great video. I was looking into you videos. do you have any video about Presonus Studio192?
Greetings from Switzerland 🇨🇭

Thanks again.

Slave and chain has to be changed? You have lost me there.

Switched from motu 828 mk3 (drivers where a disaster) to an RME Raydat + a Ferrofish pulse 16 and it's a big difference when it comes down to conversion. It's way cleaner and the stereo image is more defined.

So will you please do a video on what you consider a high end recording interface. I’m building a studio and I’m not concerned about how much it cost.
Thank you so much keep up the good work I watch every single video.

Thank you for the video. I have a neve 5017 preamp. Is a babyface pro fs good enough to record professional vocals. Any other recommendations? Thank you

RME is the best.... but the best Price

My friend.....thanks so much for this video. I am 60 years old and putting together my 3rd home studio. My Focusrite Clarett 8 pre is maxed out of ports and my Sweetwater Rep was suggesting the Apollo 6 or 8 because they have a promotion and you get a free $1200 Townsend L22 mic. My focusrite sounds fine and instead of buying the Apollo 8 I picked up a used Clarett 8 pre for $500 and using ADAT have my extra 8 channels. The $2000 plus I am saving is going towards a pair of Focal or Adams speakers. I have a home project studio so can't justify the UAD prices. I think the upgrade from my cheap low end $300 pair of JBLs will give me way more bang for the buck then the UAD converters. Plus buying a brand new fully loaded Apple Macbook pro or max with 64 Gb memory, 4 TB SSD drive etc. That computer will be so powerful I don't see the need for DSPs in the interface. I sure hope I am making the right choice because I am too old to be making mistakes when buying gear. Thanks for a great channel. You have so much knowledge & wisdom.

He mentioned Lynx Hilo for HI-End mastering. You might want to look at the Lynx E44 PCI-E in which Lynx says it's on par or better than their Aurora! I prefer to have PCI-E since it;s on the board ...no latency and killer sound quality..I have lynx 1, 2 and now 3...just check it out and if you have a HI-end gaming MB (ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME or better) and a super quiet fan ( Noctua NH-U12A) , 64GB Ram you're heading the right way..

What do you think of the Rme baby face pro fs? How’s it compare to those high en interfaces you mentioned ?

You are 8db under 14 LUFS.

Hi there. I really love the breakdown. If I have a budget of $3500 and want the best for that what would be your recommendations? I mostly do hip hop and pop.

Thank you Barry!!

Ciao Berry, I've bought a RME Fireface UFX II (no thunderbolt). Can you suggest me a good extra rack unit for more PreAmp connecting in ADAT ?

Hello
Please help me to buy a pro Interface ,
I now use a pre-amp ( golden age pre 73 )& microphone TLM 102 & and 2i2 for record RAP ; (my line record )
I want to raise my quality one step higher.
In your opinion, between Apollo Twin X ,Apogee duet 3 and RME Babyface Fs ; Which one is suitable for the record?
(They have written for all three at the World Class ,level)
Thank you 🙏🏻

RME for me all day!

RME WRITE their own USB/FIREWIRE drivers as opposed to using the proprietary drivers written by the USB chip manufacturers, I think this is where the difference comes…..

Don’t forget the importance of SRC in interfaces, I’ve ran into trouble with this when using different manufacturers other than my RME machines……

high end means prism sound titan, antelope galaxy, rme fireface ufx, Pro tools hdx/ carbon, Apogee symphony, uad 16, burl audio mothership, lynx, focusrite rednet, presonus thunderbolt 48