Audio interfaces
Count what you record at the same moment, not how many holes are on the front. One preamp records one microphone, whatever else the panel suggests.
The Scarlett 2i2 is first because it is the only one here that records two microphones at once — a singer who plays, two voices, a stereo pair. Auto Gain and Clip Safe are aimed squarely at beginners, and the software bundle is a working studio rather than a demo.
The Behringer UMC22 does one microphone and one instrument, at 48 kHz, with a Midas-designed preamp and a mix control for direct monitoring. It costs about a third of the Focusrite and nothing about it is a trap.
The M-Audio M-Track Solo has RCA outputs, which suit desktop powered speakers that have no balanced inputs. Its headphone socket is 3.5 mm (0.14 in), so budget for a 6.35 mm (0.25 in) adapter before the first session rather than during it.
We would not choose an interface on sample rate. Forty-eight kilohertz is what most released music is delivered at; the driver and the preamp decide the recording.
One good preamp and phantom power. It is the commonest use and the least demanding on the interface.
A high-impedance input for guitar or bass. Without one, a guitar plugged into a microphone input sounds thin.
Voice and guitar together needs two inputs that record on separate tracks, which is worth confirming.
Headphone output and direct monitoring, which is what lets you hear yourself without delay while recording.
| What you record | What it needs | What is optional |
|---|---|---|
| Voice only | One preamp with phantom power | A second input |
| Voice and guitar together | Two simultaneous inputs | MIDI ports |
| Guitar direct | A high-impedance input | Phantom power |
| Live performance | Stable drivers, low latency | Extra outputs |
An interface is stable hardware whose problems are almost always software or cables. Drivers, USB ports and the leads between them account for the great majority of faults blamed on the interface itself.
The hazards here are to hearing and to connected equipment.
Two preamps · Auto Gain · Clip Safe · 120 dB
Two microphone preamps rather than one, plus Auto Gain to set levels and Clip Safe to stop a take being destroyed by a loud moment. The interface most home studios settle on and stop replacing.
Best for: Anyone who will ever record two things at the same time.
≈ $220
2×2 · Midas preamp · 48 kHz · USB powered
The cheapest honest way into recording: one XLR/TRS combo input with a Midas-designed preamp, a separate instrument input, direct monitoring and USB power. Forty-eight kilohertz, and no pretense beyond it.
Best for: A first interface for one voice or one instrument at a time.
≈ $53
48 kHz · combo XLR/line · RCA outputs · USB powered
A compact 48 kHz interface with a combo XLR input carrying phantom power, a separate line/instrument input, RCA outputs and a USB/Direct switch for latency-free monitoring.
Best for: A desktop setup feeding powered speakers through RCA rather than through balanced jacks.
≈ $49
On Windows, a manufacturer-supplied low-latency driver is what lets you play in time with a recording. A generic driver leaves an audible delay that no setting inside the software removes.
Hearing your input straight from the interface rather than after a round trip through the computer. It is what removes the delay in your headphones, and all three of these have it.
Two if you ever record voice and instrument together; one is enough otherwise. More inputs mostly add cost at this level.
If you use a condenser microphone, yes. It is the specification most often assumed and most often missing on the cheapest units.
Almost always because it is plugged into a microphone input rather than the instrument input. The impedance is wrong and no plugin corrects it.
The delay between playing and hearing. It matters most when playing software instruments; direct monitoring solves it for recording.
At this level, driver stability, preamp quality and your room account for far more of the sound than converter specifications.
Many can, sometimes needing an adapter and enough power. It is worth checking specifically rather than assuming.
For players who: Anyone who will ever record two things at the same time.
Its finest point: Two preamps: a voice and a guitar, or two singers, in the same take
Its weakest point: Roughly ninety dollars more than the Solo for a second preamp you may never use
For players who: A first interface for one voice or one instrument at a time.
Its finest point: Records a microphone and a guitar without any other purchase beyond cables
Its weakest point: 48 kHz is the ceiling here, where the Focusrite units go further
For players who: A desktop setup feeding powered speakers through RCA rather than through balanced jacks.
Its finest point: RCA outputs suit desktop speakers that have no balanced inputs
Its weakest point: The headphone output is 3.5 mm (0.14 in), so 6.35 mm (0.25 in) studio headphones need an adapter
Stands, pedals and cables from the same aisle, at the price we read. Confirm they suit the instrument you choose before ordering: it turns on the fitting and the part number, which the product page gives.
Instrument against instrument, where that page is already written.
What is listed is taken from the catalog of this site. Specifications come from the manufacturer and from the Amazon listing; prices are what Keepa reported on the date shown, and both move. The order follows declared specifications, stated strengths against stated limits, and price. Nothing here has been played or recorded with by us, and no page pretends otherwise.
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Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
Digital pianos and electronic drum kits swing by a hundred dollars or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
