Which audio interface to use with CbB??

[Steve Moddelmog]

A few years ago for my birthday my wife gave me the Apogee ProTools Duet, which was the first Apogee that ran on Windows (I think). It was bundled with a full version of ProTools, which I fooled around with for a few weeks and then uninstalled. The Windows drivers weren't very good for the Duet and caused a lot of BSODs - one that was released to "fix" the issue seemed to make it even worse. So I stuck it in a closet and started using a 2nd Gen Focusrite 2i4.  I noticed recently that there were new drivers for the Duet, so I installed and after working out a few problems, it seems good. Maybe I've fallen prey to their marketing and general online hype, but it sounds noticeably better to me than the Focusrite. But it is a pain to use - no direct monitoring, no standard MIDI in and out (USB MIDI only), and if you record at anything other than 44.1, you have to reset the sample rate to 44.1 if you just want to listen to MP3s and wav files on WMP or other Windows software.

So, if you had both devices, which would you use with CbB?

Edited February 16, 2020 by Steve Moddelmog

[Alan Tubbs]

Duet.  Best sound available is always a good choice.

[bitflipper]

Apogee makes good stuff, no doubt. At least half the pro studios I've been in use Apogee. But their marketing department has long played fast and loose with facts. I don't trust them. Focusrite, OTOH, has always been helpful and quick with bug fixes and support answers. Their preamps are pretty good, albeit low-gain. The two manufacturers use different technologies for ADC/DAC, with Focusrite having greater internal latency but otherwise more or less comparable audio quality.

I'd suggest choosing between the two interfaces based on features - whichever one suits your needs and is easier to use. I doubt you'd be able to differentiate between the A/D conversions of the two in a blind A/B test. Maybe if you're recording dolphins at 192 KHz, but not for rock 'n roll. If you're hearing an obvious difference, make sure it's actually the interface that's the deciding factor and not one of the dozens of other factors (e.g. input impedance). 

Also bear in mind that ADCs are optimized for a target sampling frequency because no converter can be equally precise across all sample rates. Pro units tend to be optimized for 96 KHz while prosumer products are likely to be optimized for 44100 Hz. For this reason, a less-expensive unit might actually perform better at 44,1 than a higher-end pro unit.