Portable interface w/2 headphones

[fret_man]

First, I apologize for this rather long post!

I may be doing some remote collaboration in the near future and my old trustworthy RME UFX doesn't lend itself to portability. I feel a need for a 2nd set of eyes (or more) on what I've decided to get.

I embarked on the search for a portable interface with 2 headphone outputs (for collaborative recording). I could get one with 2 headphone outputs or just 2 stereo line outputs and buy 2 headphone amps but 1) all the headphone amps I found were almost as expensive as an interface and 2) they use a wall wart. Since I'm trying to maximize portability, I want to minimize the number of AC-powered boxes. So no headphone amps. MIDI would be nice, but not necessary. MIDI-USB cables are inexpensive and run off USB power, although they will take up another USB port (which should be OK). I will be using Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO headphones (250 ohms which is high, but according to these measurements they will reach 90dB SPL with only 10mW). This will be used with a new Win11 laptop with two each of USB3.1 and USB-C/Thunderbolt ports. Each port will supply 5C x 3A = 15W.

So, now I reduced the search to interfaces with 2 headphone outputs. I found these that use USB power (along with problems areas I found):

• NI Komplete Audio 6 ($200, both headphones hear the same mix, doubtful headphone output has enough power)
• Arturia Minifuse 4 ($220, no meters on inputs, rubberized knobs might get gooey)
• SSL 2+ ($300, headphone power is just barely OK)
• UAD Volt 476P ($469, both headphones hear same mix)
• Arturia AudioFuse Rev2 ($590, both headphones hear same mix during loopback)
• Antelope Audio Zen Go Synergy Core ($550 + $200 for plugin, measured EIN audibly louder than all of the others)
• Antelope Audio Zen Q USB Synergy Core ($765+$200 for plugin, measured EIN audibly louder than all of the others)

If I don't like those, there are also these that use a wall wart:

• Focusright Scarlett 8i6 ($300, headphone output not enough power)
• Presonus Studio 1810c ($420)
• Audient iD44 MKII ($700, measured EIN audibly louder than most of the others)
• Focusright Clarett+ 4pre ($700, mic max gain is too low for low sens mics)

So, it appears the SSL2+ gives me the best chance of what I want. The Presonus is a good 2nd choice and is much more flexible when controlled by a DAW, but it requires a wall wart. 

So I'm considering the SSL2+. Now the question is:

1. Do I wait for a sale? Does hardware like this ever go on sale? I think this unit was released less than 2 yrs ago. I can wait until BF.
2. Should I get this now before inflation makes the price go up. It's already gone up from $279 to $299 in the past 1.5 yrs.

Thanks for reading this far. Thoughts on any of this?

[jesse g]

Amazon is having a sale for it's Prime members on October 11 and 12th I believe. If you cna hold off, wait and check that out. 

 If you want a deal on the Focusrite stuff, go to Reverb.com click on Shops on the right hand site underneath the shopping cart and type in Focusrite,  (select the Focusrite shop on the left hand side).There are shops on the Reverb site where the major manufactures send returns and B-stock after checking them out and guaranteeing that they work with the full warranty and the included software. 

Edited October 4, 2022 by jesse g