I'm trying to figure out which of these interfaces to buy: Steinberg UR-44 or Focusrite Scarlett 6i6.
 
I've read all I can find about them, including numerous posts on this forum, and still undecided, so thought I would put the question point blank to you smart people: Which one is better? Here are some details and some questions:

1. I record by myself mainly, although there's always the chance of a visiting singer or player joining in.
2. I play guitar through various amp sims, and all other instruments are virtual: soft synths for piano, bass, drums, strings and so on.
3. I do want the option of recording the analog outs of a hardware synth.
4. I want to be able to use whatever I buy on my desktop and also on an i5 laptop (Windows 8) which has only USB ports (2 & 3), so I have to go with USB.
5. I think both of these devices will let me monitor live inputs directly. The UR-44 has FX you can add to the direct monitor, which always comes in handy with singers, but direct monitoring probably is useless for soft synths or amp sims, right? For that I must go through Sonar and back out to monitor.
6. The 6i6 has S/PDIF in and out. Do I want this? Why? I don't have any other equipment with this feature except the existing PCI card.
7. Will either of these (or any USB interface) coexist with the onboard basic audio drivers on my two machines, so I can play stuff on YouTube or Soundcloud without firing up the new interface?
8. What is the "loopback" feature? Do I need this? Apparently the UR-44 has it built in and switchable, while the 6i6 allows it but you have to patch it with cables.
9. Each unit comes with some freebie software, and I'm all for trying some new FX, but all I really need is a stable driver, so which one has that?
10. Which one is likely to give me lower latency? (One-man studio-only band using mostly virtual instruments.)

I know that's a lot of questions, and a few pretty dumb ones, too. I hope I'm not wearing out my welcome here. In my research mostly what I've seen is folks recommending the interface they happen to own, which is great -- it means they are happy with what they bought. What I'm hoping is that someone out there has tried both of them or done a better technical comparison than I'm capable of, and can point me toward the right purchase. Or if not that, maybe just tell me the most important points to compare.
 
Thanks for reading!
PS: For those on smartphones, my sig looks like this: Sonar Platinum "E"/64 • Win7/64 • i7/2600 • 16GB RAM • M-Audio Audiophile 2496 (PCI) • NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS 

I'm pretty loyal to Focusrite.  No fuss, no muss with drivers, and I even have the latest beta driver. They sent it to me when I asked them how to convert their numbers to buffer size(Melodyne asked for a bigger one). The new driver is a beta and has 3 new settings for USB performance. RECORDING-BALANCED-MIXING. 
 
I try to stay away from Roland and Steinberg lately, mostly on general principles.  Although I will admit to owning a THR-10C.
 
PS- I am the bass, drum and technical guy of our 2 piece(5 piece virtual).Other guy takes care of most writing, singing, guitars. I just got EZKeys so we can add a B3 or Rhodes now!

Thanks Charly.
 
Yeah, it looks like you're doing something similar to me, and I'm sure the Focusrite gear is good. It's just that I'm on a tight budget (who isn't?) and I want to get the most bang I can for the buck. I'm still hoping there's somebody with experience with both of these units who can shed a little light on my shopping dilemma.

It looks like the UR-44 costs roughly $100 bucks more? I do like the big output knob on mine, but the mic and guitar input levels rarely need adjusting. Once I set them up for John and his guitar, they never change. The light, she is always green.... Not sure if the UR has visuals like that. You can tell from across the room with those glowing rings around the control. They both have midi so that's a draw... Hopefully a UR guy will stop by and fill in that side of the equation.
 

I have never used either of these, but a quick review of them makes the UR44 look like the superior unit.

1. The onboard DSP for the UR44 has more options/settings than Focusrite's MixControl. It also says the UR44 has amp models built-in, but did not find something quick to look at. If a signal is passing into the DAW, you are correct that the speed of this feature will go away.
2. S/PDIF is a means to pass stereo audio between gear, so if you have nothing that requires this, it isn't really necessary.
3. You can run multiple sound cards in a computer (but will need two sets of speakers unless you are okay swapping cables). Just be mindful of what is set as "default" to Windows (with things all powered on).
4. Loopback is essentially "what you hear" going into the DAW as an input channel. If you do this regardless of method... it is best to MUTE the loopback track as you record it so that it doesn't generate a positive feedback loop on you. Where this is very handy is something playing through Windows with the audio interface online can be sent to/recorded in your DAW - anything your computer can play, can also be recorded.
5. Reviews of the UR44 say the drivers are stable, and I ran across a post on gearslutz of a guy using X3 that has great latency, but then further down says it is less with Live Lite (in the same thread).

   Again, I have not used either specifically, but the onboard DSP alone is superior on the UR44. It is also more expensive and has more pre-amps (which may be unnecessary).

Did I mention that my 2i2 is my sound card? I shut off the one on the motherboard and shut down all HDMI audio instances. I am using HDMI video on the pc on the left. I watch Netflix, Amazon, streaming baseball. I am probably in front of this computer 10+ hours a day, but never too long on any one activity, and tons of breaks.
 
I did have the mb sound on for a while along with the Scarlett, and they played well together. In my case, it just seemed redundant, and my 2i2 is small enough(&USB powered) to go along if EVER I take a mid tower on a trip! When I had my laptop, I just used A Turtle Beach adapter, and it was better than the stock card.. In that case I only plugged the 2i2 in when "baking"...
 
I hope to get another laptop so as to have a portable studio I can work on when we do our little RV getaways. I can use the THR-10C as my studio monitor..HA!

mettelus
I have never used either of these, but a quick review of them makes the UR44 look like the superior unit.

1. The onboard DSP for the UR44 has more options/settings than Focusrite's MixControl. It also says the UR44 has amp models built-in, but did not find something quick to look at. If a signal is passing into the DAW, you are correct that the speed of this feature will go away.
2. S/PDIF is a means to pass stereo audio between gear, so if you have nothing that requires this, it isn't really necessary.
3. You can run multiple sound cards in a computer (but will need two sets of speakers unless you are okay swapping cables). Just be mindful of what is set as "default" to Windows (with things all powered on).
4. Loopback is essentially "what you hear" going into the DAW as an input channel. If you do this regardless of method... it is best to MUTE the loopback track as you record it so that it doesn't generate a positive feedback loop on you. Where this is very handy is something playing through Windows with the audio interface online can be sent to/recorded in your DAW - anything your computer can play, can also be recorded.
5. Reviews of the UR44 say the drivers are stable, and I ran across a post on gearslutz of a guy using X3 that has great latency, but then further down says it is less with Live Lite (in the same thread).

   Again, I have not used either specifically, but the onboard DSP alone is superior on the UR44. It is also more expensive and has more pre-amps (which may be unnecessary).

I am leaning toward the UR-44. Your post kind of confirms what I've been thinking, and thanks for the great research and technical definitions. My old M-Audio PCI card is nothing special and has very limited I/O, but I have a suspicion that the latency is comparatively good vs. modern USB devices, just because it's internal. I play guitar using amp sims a lot, so monitor latency is a biggie for me, which is why I'm dweebing around about this decision. If I could afford a fancy RME PCIe device I wouldn't be asking these questions. There used to be a few affordable PCI interfaces (Echo, M-Audio...) but they are rare these days. I'd like to think it's because USB devices are just as fast, but it's more likely that they're cheaper to make.
 
The amp sims included with the Steinberg are VST effects, I'm pretty sure, not built into the hardware. At least that's the way I read the literature.
 
Regarding the extra "unneeded" mic pres, I've built and rebuilt PCs for a while, and one of the first things I learned is you can't over-spec. Get more RAM than you expect to need, a bigger, faster drive, etc. Together with my early years of recording clueless rock bands on 16-track tape (and wishing I had more tracks) this has led me to my current philosophy of "get more I/O than you think you'll ever need."
 
Thanks again for your thoughtful and helpful response.

Steinberg has yet to release Windows 10 drivers for the UR44. I asked them and they said to stay on Windows 7/8 until they announce it. 
 
Also, read about the headphone output level seeming low for cans like AKG 240. The UR44 can push ATH M50's no problem. I have those in headphone 1 output and I use a split from my NanoPatch to feed a headphone amp for the AKG 240's.
 
Also, you might read about some are concerned with the UR44 mic pres needing to be cranked up for some kinds of mics like the SM7. For my Shure 57 and 58's, I usually have the gain around 2-3 o'clock so this does not bother me at all. The gain for condensers is fine.
 
Just some technical stuff you should be aware of. 

Just FYI - Focusrite told me they would have Windows 10 drivers available by the time Windows 10 came out.
 
I have no opinion between which interface to get (sorry) although I am interested to hear which one you choose and how well you liked it.

I own the 6i6 which I chose over the Steinberg at the time , but then I must have SPDIF. 
My review on GS 
http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-6i6
 
Also read this document I put together that many have found  useful when shopping for an interface. 
 
http://www.cactusmusic.ca/Articles/Johns%20Audio%20Interface%20blurb.rtf