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I'm currently looking to upgrade from the basic $100 PreSonus interface that i bought a while back. I need some guidance. What i use is a MacBook Pro and StudioOne Pro for a DAW. I also have a DBX tube 2 channel pre-amp that sounds great. I would love to be able to have 4 inputs and something faster than usb. I've been told Apollo all the way. Anybody have any suggestions they may be able to share? Looking to spend under $1000-ish. Thanks!

ToddStakem wrote:I'm currently looking to upgrade from the basic $100 PreSonus interface that i bought a while back. I need some guidance. What i use is a MacBook Pro and StudioOne Pro for a DAW. I also have a DBX tube 2 channel pre-amp that sounds great. I would love to be able to have 4 inputs and something faster than usb. I've been told Apollo all the way. Anybody have any suggestions they may be able to share? Looking to spend under $1000-ish. Thanks!

Apollo is a great unit (Twin would be in your price range) but it only has 2 analog ins I think? The rest of the inputs are from ADAT. If you don't already have UAD plugins, they aren't cheap, but they are very very good - so consider that in the price as well.

I'd be leaning towards the RME Babyface Pro I think. I use an RME MADI card in the studio (and years ago I had a Fireface) and their drivers and Totalmix FX interface are absolutely flawlessly stable. It has a break-out cable to allow more ins/outs too.

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

There's nothing wrong with USB as an interface - I've trialled an Antelope Orion here which does 32 in and out over USB 2.0.

Only go USB 3 or Thunderbolt if you want to use heaps of DSP (like the Apollo) or something like that.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iD22

Audient iD22 $599

it's got a couple of sends and returns, maybe you could use the dbx tube preamp into a return to expand your inputs?

A review on the sweetwater page:

I purchased the Audient after reading reviews. I had an Apollo Quad and enjoyed it, I grew tired of the expense plugins which was the purpose for the purchase. I wanted a smaller interface as well for traveling purposes. The Apollo has some top notch converters as well as preamps, so choosing another interface would be a task. I ordered the Audient and waited to compare and the Audient blew the UAD Apollo out of the water.

A great rival to the Apollo and the RME is the Focusrite Clarett series https://us.focusrite.com/clarett-range

Rock solid drivers (and Focusrite are the quickest to update in the business)
Any i/o configuration you may need, with great sound
.. and you can track with the plugins you own/ prefer (due to the low latency with Thunderbolt)

Should you want to go with the Scarlett (USB), they are great too (I've had both ).

But better converters in the Clarett, you can track with plugins, and sounds a little different. Focusrite is a great company.

These boxes can sound (very) different, despite they claim to be transparent, in my experience, so it can be a good thing to try before you buy.
One of the best sounding interfaces I've had was the TC Electronic Impact Twin, but it was unstable and their drivers were shite (and never updated). Driver stability is really important as OS updates often.

Tascam uh 7000 is worth looking into as well.

I think your best shot at future-proofing your rig is to upgrade your preamps, converter and clock all at once. That would have been a difficult and expensive proposition even a few months ago, but imo, the market has moved. The Apollo and Apogee stuff has been around a while, (Apollo a bit less so) and there are some newer options from Audient and Antelope that can put you in the big leagues for a pretty fair price. Check this out: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ZenTour