Audio Interface / conversion upgrade ideas

Hi folks! I know its a question that’s been asked many times, by many folks, but I’m going to ask again anyway, as I value everyone’s input and – after tons of research and legwork – I’m sort of at a mental, overthinking-way-too-much deadlock about what to do: What suggestions would folks make regarding an audio interface upgrade...?
 
Some background. After a financial reshuffling, I have found myself with some budget to upgrade my studio. I was previously using a V-studio 700, loved it, but grew disenchanted when it was orphaned by Roland, and decided to part with it while it still had some resale value. So last week I sold it, and now I have an opportunity to reboot my studio setup, starting with a nice upgrade to the audio interface.
 
I use Sonar Platinum, in Windows 10 64bit, and my main interest is orchestral / hybrid scoring. I record in stereo, and I work almost exclusively in-the-box, using sample libraries (I have many). So I’m not overly concerned about built-in mic preamps, or multiple ins and outs. I occasionally record vocals, but usually just myself (or a friend), one track at a time. I already have a couple of decent preamps and a modest collection of mics. In a way, the VS-700 was a bit wasted on me – I never really used the preamps much, or the multiple inputs (but I liked the conversion and the wonderful control surface). To replace it, all I want is really nice conversion.
 
My budget: I’ll go as high as $3,000, give or take.
 
I’ve been pondering a few scenarios, and eyeing some major hardware – Prism’s Lyra, Lynx Hilo, even the Lynx E22 or E44. I looked at some of the UA stuff, but without certified Windows 10 drivers, I don’t think I’ll go that way. UA offers good conversion, but I don’t think they are in the same class as Lynx or Prism. I can always get myself a USB satellite, if I want to use UA plugins (which I do).
 
I know folks rave about the Hilo and Lyra. They are under serious consideration. I was rather impressed with Hilo’s design and functionality, including its routing options, and the pretty cool touchscreen interface. I also hear the conversion is uncompromising and utterly first-class. Same for Lyra, and the preamp is apparently excellent (although I really don’t need it).
 
However, I am also very tempted by another approach: Lynx’s PCIe solutions. The E22 and E44 converters are supposed to be as good as the Aurora’s (which are supposed to be pretty damn good), and I have to think that the latency with a PCIe interface should be better than Hilo or Lyra. In particular, the E22 really offers everything I need – great conversion, two channels in and out, solid drivers and good support. And the price is low enough that it leaves budget available for other nice toys and accessories (there is always more to buy – like a UAD Satellite, Omnisphere 2, Albion One, a new control surface, oh the list goes on…). But how does the E22’s conversion compare to Hilo or Lyra? My research suggests that Hilo is still a few tiers above its PCIe brethren, and I wonder how much of a difference that would make to my recordings…
 
Anyway, sorry for rambling on. I’d be curious and grateful for anyone’s input or observations. Am I missing any major players in the mid/high-end conversion sweepstakes? And I’d be very curious to hear what other folks would do if they were dealing with my budget and workflow needs…
 
Thanks!
 
Rob

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ZenStudio

http://www.soundonsound.c...rticles/zen-studio.htm

Thanks for the feedback, folks. Much appreciated.
 
I think the E44 might be the way to go, as per AT's suggestions above. I had heard of Antelope Audio, but hadn't really looked into their products all that much and didn't realize how many different interfaces they actually produce, so I appreciate the links. They do look very nice, although I just don't need that many inputs or mic pres. In the years I owned the VS-700, I can't remember a single time I used more than two of its eight pres -- and I only did that twice (that I can recall). I also didn't get a clear sense of the quality of Antelope's drivers. A scattering of user reviews (which I know should be taken with some grains of salt) spoke of driver issues in Windows. That may or may not be true, but its enough to make me leery. I've had some struggles over the years with great hardware sabotaged by sketchy driver support (EMU 1212m, Mackie Onyx mixer with Firewire card, to name a couple), and I sort of felt burned by Roland (and was never able to get my VS-700 all that stable in Win 10, for whatever reason - it ran, but I rarely had a session without at least one crash). I know Lynx has an awesome reputation for drivers and support. Combine that with their high-end conversion, and its make for a really appealing package.

bitflipper
If you're 100% ITB, there is absolutely no reason to spend more than $500 on an audio interface.
 
You don't need 8+ channels, ADAT, S/PDIF or multiple outputs (unless you do surround), and you don't care about interface latency. All you want is a reliable device from a reputable company, and you don't need to spend $3k to get that.

I guess the counter-argument to this is sometimes we may need to go momentarily OOTB (out of the box).  I like a bit of reverb in the cans when recording vocals.  My Steinberg units have this covered with onboard FX, but many interfaces don't.  Now if the interface has s/pdif, I can connect my M350 FX unit digitally and enjoy quality reverb on the monitoring mix with negligible latency.  The alternative is to use a reverb VST, but depending on the interface, the latency can be too high so that the reverb (with the vocal) sounds off and distracting.
 
Also, as a fan of the VRM box, I "need" s/pdif out on the interface to use it.

That doesn't jive with what I've read and been told, but I don't presume to know first hand, as I've never worked with high end converters. I have been told that upgrading your converters can make quite a difference - depending on lots of other factors, of course. The guy who told me this owns and runs a Toronto-based studio that has done some pretty significant work in recent years, and he swears by Lynx -- says of all the companies producing interfaces, Lynx "really has their $#@% together", to quote directly. This guy's main hardware is a RADAR system, I believe, but he also has an Aurora rig at home, and he says it is fantastic.
 
I do understand that in general, digital/analog conversion has come a long way in the last 10 years, and even mid-range interfaces offer up pretty good specs and performance. Do they really compare to Lynx's converters, or even RME's or MOTUs high-end products? And will the average home-studio dude like me notice the difference?
 

I wouldn't touch a Presonus Studio 192 with a barge pole.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar16/articles/presonus-studio-192.htm
 
 

I was chomping at the bit for the Studio 192 because I run Studio One.. When the early reports about horrible RTL started to surface I got concerned and dug deeper and decided to go with a MOTU Ultralite AVB instead. It has been flawless from day one.
 As always, look at the data and decide for yourself.
 

steveo42
I wouldn't touch a Presonus Studio 192 with a barge pole.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar16/articles/presonus-studio-192.htm
 

Interesting -- and surprising.  USB 3 should translate to lower latencies (than USB2 and firewire) for the unit.  It takes a special kind of design skill to make one that's worse.
 
That said, the review is over a year old.  Anyone know if they've improved on those original drivers?

As I understand it, usb3 offers more bandwidth but won't make a huge difference in latency...

steveo42
 
The review is from March 2016.

Doh!  I sat in a DeLorean last week (seriously).  We didn't do 88 miles per hour (actually it's just sitting), but ever since then my sense of time has been off. 
 
Well, I guess that's a "no" on the updated drivers.

This has been very helpful, and I appreciate everyone's input. Still have no idea what I'm going to do, but I'm thinking in broader terms than I was before, and that's probably a good thing :)
 
Rob

ABSOLUTELY,
a good price if from a trusted source