No love for MOTU here?

RME Babyface. Love it!!

@ millzy     Do you use it alone or have something to use the ADAT port? I've thought about that one but want more simultaneous ins. Can you compare it to _____?? some others?
 
Michael

Anybody shopping for an interface should wade their way through this 22 page thread on the topic of latency. There's a lot of gibberish you can skip over. The reason I said the Roland drivers are under scrutiny was taken from the bench test post below, this is just part, go to the link to read it all. He's not saying anything real bad, it's just at this point Roland does not compare to brands like RME. Double Buffers are used to give false readings is the bottom line. 
 
http://www.gearslutz.com/...ance-data-base-20.html
 
Benchmark results on the surface look very good at the respective latencies in comparison to the reference and most other interfaces, what is not evident unless highlighted is that the results are achieved in some cases at double the actual playback latency per respective buffer setting. The leveller is the RTL value , but the unit still achieves a higher rating due to the faux 032 setting , IMO.

The double buffering on playback forces you to work at a lower buffer setting when requiring comfortable real time playing of VI's , and those requiring tight RTL for Guitar Amp Sims and monitoring with FX will need to be mindful that anything above the 064 buffer setting ramps the RTL quite substantially.

If they got rid of the double buffering on playback this unit would be right up there, but in its current state, I would place it in the tread carefully basket.
 

I've tested a bazillion interfaces going back decades. Operating systems for both Windows and Mac have settled down over the years, and it's not as difficult to interface with those systems as it once was. Most drivers are at least decent and work fine, but much depends on your specific configuration. I'm not seeing particularly big variations in latency depending on different drivers. If my system works with one driver/interface at 96 samples, it pretty much works with any driver/interface at 96 samples.
 
Specs also have more similarities than differences. Even an inexpensive interface like the Mackie Blackjack has very low noise and distortion. A few interfaces will be outstanding in some respects, but the overall level of quality is quite good.
 
The main differences among interfaces are the tradeoffs made in the feature set. For example TASCAM just came out with a new interface, the UH-7000. They put all the design work into the fidelity and not the number of inputs. So it's basically a 2 x 2, but the mic pres are excellent (e.g., isolated power supplies for each channel, great converters on the component level) and they market it as a dual mic pre as well as an interface. 
 
Or consider PreSonus. If you have a StudioLive mixer, their software is designed for seamless integration so it would make sense to "keep it in the family." Focusrite really has the FireWire thing down. MOTU makes some industrial-strength interfaces with enough inputs to record an orchestra. 
 
What I suggest is you "design" your ideal interface. How many inputs do you need? Will you need to add lots of mics sometimes (e.g., to record a drum set), and therefore an ADAT interface would be helpful? How many hi-Z inputs will you need to use at one time? Firewire or USB? Do you need onboard DSP so you can add processing when doing zero-latency monitoring (e.g., reverb in the headphones for the singer?) Does it handle the sample rates you need to use? Do you need 5-pin MIDI connectors or does all your MIDI gear communicate over USB?And so on...
 
Compare that list of features to what's out there and look for the closest match. Then, search for "'name of interface' problems issues" and see if it acts up with some software or hardware more than others. The only other recommendation I'd make is that if you get something with more inputs than you think you need, you can leave everything patched in and ready to go...just select whichever input has the source you want to record.
 
 

I'm using a Steinberg UR22 together with 64 bit Sonar and I'm happy with it. No problems so far. However, I don't record in 192kHz because that would probably be kind of overkill in hobbyist setting ...

@ millzy Do you use it alone or have something to use the ADAT port? I've thought about that one but want more simultaneous ins. Can you compare it to _____?? some others?
 
Michael

Hi Michael, no I just use the 2 inputs. I've heard the ADAT expansion works well though. I'd like to be able to offer you some comparisons but I've only ever owned 2 interfaces - my Echo Layla3G was my workhorse for many many years. My Babyface is the second. Although they're totally different beasts, I can say the RME is in a different league re drivers and latency IMHO.

I borrowed/enjoyed an Echo Layla(my first interface) until the Aardvark Q10 came out and I got that. Both worked well. I really appreciated the Q10 and was bummed when Aardvark went out of business and more so, when the Q10's drivers weren't working well, as XP progressed through the various service packs. I didn't know about the ASIO4ALL site/drivers, until after I sold it. I still wonder whether it would have continued to work well with those free and regularly updated drivers. It was a really good sounding unit and the 10X10 that could easily expand with a 2nd or more unit(s). Oh well, I wonder if anyone is still using them. They had great clocks.
 
Because of my interest in the FireFace 800, a pal got a used one on eBAY and loves it, so I've been interested in RME since then. Even Cakewalk used them for their NAMM type shows....
Michael

pentimentosound
I borrowed/enjoyed an Echo Layla(my first interface) until the Aardvark Q10 came out and I got that. Both worked well. I really appreciated the Q10 and was bummed when Aardvark went out of business and more so, when the Q10's drivers weren't working well, as XP progressed through the various service packs.

Hi Michael,
Just a slightly OT FYI, the guy who was the audio brains behind Aardvark went and started Antelope Audio. I use an Orion32 (along with a Lynx Aurora 16 and an RME HDSPe MADI fx) as my main converter and I like it quite a bit. If you liked the Q10 you may want to have a look at the Zen Studio they just released.
 
Dean

Yeah, a friend of mine knows him and told me about his troubles with Aardvark and that he started Antelope Audio. I read about the Orion32 when it came out. It's been a matter of budget!   -LOL
The Q10 was $700?  and the Orion32 is like $3k, I think. At that point I was operating a studio business and had 32 tracks of DA38's when I got my first DAW with ProAudio 9 and jumped on Sonar within 3 weeks.
   Now I am retired and only tracking my self and my wife, so I am looking at less inputs than I was. So, the SPL Crimson seems "closer"(at $700), but the Orion or the Zen Studio would get likely if my budget increases.
Michael