Hi Craig 
I read on a post recently that you really rate the new Tascam USB interfaces (US-2x2 and US-4x4) having had a chance to test them a bit.
 
I'm on the verge of buying a new interface and I'd really appreciate your view on how these stand up against similar products in the same price bracket like the Focusrite Scarlett range? Four inputs - as in the US-4x4 - would really suit me. I was looking at the Scarlett 6i6 but you've got me thinking about the Tascam products. Here in the UK the 6i6 and the US-4x4 are similarly priced at around £200. I'd really appreciate your (or anyone elses for that matter) thoughts on how the two products fare up head to head. Of course I realise at this price point there's always going to be some compromise but both ranges seem well specced and of high quality.
 
Cheers 
YC

• License cards included for SONAR X3 LE/Ableton Live Lite 9

So they are finally not including Cubase LE, good news for us. And now when someone asks about starting out and needs both an interface and a DAW we can recommend these units. 
 
I own the 6i6 and the only deal breaker for me with the 4x4 is there is no SPDIF. The only other feature missing is 2 headphone systems. 
But if you don't think you need SPDIF then the bonus would be that the 4x4 has 4 XLR mike inputs where the 6i6 only has 2.
 
SPDIF can be important for direct digital to your studio monitors if so equipped.  And the same for input from a  Pre amp if so equipped. I have a digital mixer so I use mine exclusively, and the reason being I don't like the Focusrite pre amps. As a matter of fact I'm lusting after the Tascam UH 7000 just to get the Tascam pre amps. 
 
I also have a Tascam us1641. It is an excellent piece of hardware, but the drivers caused me grief. So until Craig gives the word on Tascam's updated "in House" drivers I'll wait and see. 
 
So for me
Tascam = great pre amps, not so good drivers,
Scarlett= not so good pre amps = good drivers. 
 

Most people here know me, and realize that I'm going to present the reality of a situation to the best of my abilities. I don't need this job, I love this job...but I'm not going to compromise my reputation over it. However, others who aren't as familiar with my work might think "Dude works for Gibson Brands, they own TASCAM, he's not going to say anything negative." So, I decided to do two blog posts, one of them about latency and one about audio specs, using the TASCAM interfaces as examples.
 
The audio specs are taken from the RightMark analyzer. I endeavored to show real-world specs, and also, shed some light on how specs can be manipulated. For example, I measured the mic pre signal-to-noise and it was -130 dB. Wow! Fantastic! Unbelievable!! Except it was unbelievable, because the gain was only turned up a fifth of the way - not much of a preamp, eh?  
 
So then I turned the gain up to around 2/3, and ran another test. The salient point here is that the noise was still under -110 dB under real-world conditions of recording a quiet vocalist. That's a big deal. The lack of intermodulation distortion is exceptional, as is the lack of THD. 
 
I would never say anything negative about Focusrite, I know a lot of the people there. They are sincere, dedicated, and make fine products. But I will say that they are "the team to beat" and the US-2x2 is in direct competition with the 2i2. TASCAM knew they had to hit a home run, and IMHO, they did. The biggest advantages I see for the US-2x2 are 5-pin MIDI I/O (the 2i2 doesn't have MIDI I/O), maximum gain of +57 dB (suitable for most ribbons and low levels with dynamic mics) compared to only +46 dB for the 2i2, zero-latency monitoring done with a crossfader knob instead of a switch, discrete component mic pres stolen (I mean, borrowed) from TASCAM's UH-7000 interface, and iOS compatibility (with Apple's Camera kit). TASCAM claims the output can handle a maximum +20 dBu, and the instrument input impedance is 1 megohm, which is the value I would choose. I couldn't find equivalent specs for the Focusrite so can't compare them.
 
However if portability is of the essence, the 2i2 weighs 1.3 pounds while the US-2x2 weighs 2.43 pounds. Also, let's face it - those LED rings around the 2i2's Gain knobs do look cool 
 
Check out the article on latency and the article on specs, then circle back if you have any questions. I'm very impressed with the TASCAM units; frankly they're more than I expected. MIDI is important to me, as is sufficient mic pre gain coupled with extremely low noise. (BTW neither unit has digital I/O so that's not a factor here.)

Thanks Craig. An excellent reply. I'm leaning towards the Tascam at the moment. I need MIDI and if I'm honest 4 inputs is just right; 6 is probably overkill. Portability isn't a requirement.

Thanks again
YC

FYI compared to the 2x2 the 4x4 has two headphone outs, which can be very useful.

Question about the units Craig.
Do they have a loopback recording feature?

If you mean record the output from one application into another, there's no mixer applet to do it within the box. The testing I did used loopback to measure the chain from input to output, but that was done with physical patch cords. I think you'd need to move up from the US-2x2/2i2 world to get that kind of control...something like RME's TotalMix or Focusrite's MixControl would do the job.
 
However, it depends on what you want to do. There are Windows equivalents of Soundflower for the Mac that can handle many (most?) loopback situations. 

Note, the 6i6 is not really 6 inputs unless you use the SPDIF.  but all 6 can be used, My M audio swapped 3/4 for the SPDIF so be carefull there. 
Craig, the rings around the knobs is not cool, it doesn't work very well for me. I would have rathered a 4 or 5 segmented led. 

I LOVE the glow rings. I set it to orange on the peaks and back off til always green. It seems to be the perfect level......for me. I am gonna try the 4x4(got one used) and compare. I plan on keeping both, as I am not a big fan of my other portable "tool", the Line 6 Sonic Port......

charlyg
I LOVE the glow rings. I set it to orange on the peaks and back off til always green. It seems to be the perfect level......for me. I am gonna try the 4x4(got one used) and compare. I plan on keeping both, as I am not a big fan of my other portable "tool", the Line 6 Sonic Port......

Could you do me a favor and measure the phantom power voltage on the Focusrite and TASCAM?
 
Also, anyone who wants to understand audio specs as they apply to interfaces may find this article helpful.