The 5 Best Professional Level Interfaces
Audio interfaces are one of the most important pieces of any modern recording studio setup. They often serve as the centerpiece to a home or professional studio.
Because of their significance, it can be hard to choose the right one for your needs. Read on to discover our favorite interfaces that happen to be some of the best on the market.
Focusrite Clarett 8 pre USB ($899)
The Focusrite Clarett 8pre is one of the more unique interfaces on this list due to its price to quality ratio. Despite being the cheapest on this list, the Focusrite Clarett 8 pre is surprisingly professional and full of high-grade parts.
It has a clean and clear conversion, similar to that of the Apollo x8P, and the preamps are the well-known and well-liked Clarett series of focusrite preamps. Overall, the Clarett 8pre is a well constructed and high-grade interface that finds its way into many professional studios around the globe.
RME Fireface UFX+ USB 3.0 ($2,899)
The RME Fireface UFX+ is highly regarded as one of the best professional level interfaces. With specifications and internal components that surpass some of the more well-known professional units, the RME Fireface UFX+ easily stands out among the rest.
With high quality monitoring outputs and a crystal clear A/D conversion, the RME Fireface UFX+ is an amazing choice and highly capable of running any session at the highest level.
Universal Audio Apollo x8p ($3,699)
The UAD Apollo series interfaces are easily the most sold line of professional interfaces. Jam packed with a multitude of features and high-quality components, they are a hard choice to pass up.
The Apollo interfaces come with in-unit DSP which you can use to offload some of the computer processing into the interface itself making your sessions run faster and smoother regardless of size.
It’s hard to beat the legendary UAD plugins that you get access to after purchasing an Apollo interface. Couple that with the ease of connectivity between multiple Apollo units and you have a powerful system that can turn any old set-up into a state of the art studio.
Apogee Symphony I/O MKII 16×16 ($4,995)
The Apogee Symphony is unmistakable. With a robust screen and large center knob, it’s hard not to love the simplicity it presents at first glance. But for those who know what the Symphony MKII is capable of, we know that “simplistic” is far from an accurate description.
Known for being used on the most high-level of sessions, the Apogee Symphony I/O MKII is a ridiculously powerful piece of gear that has definitely earned its reputation. Used in everything from film scoring to A-List artist studios, the Apogee Symphony I/O MKII is a fantastic choice for any musician looking to make awesome records.
The Prism Sound Atlas interface is one of the most renowned interfaces on the market known for its high profile uses with movie orchestras, professional studios, and more.
One of the more important aspects of this interface is its extremely high-quality A/D conversion. Overall, the Prism Sound Atlas interface is often praised as one of the clearest and cleanest sounding interfaces on the market.
Whichever interface you choose to go with, remember that at this level of quality, it’s hard to go wrong. At the end of the day, any professional level interface will be more than powerful enough to take your music to the next level.
If you ever want to see the difference between a beginner interface and a professional one, feel free to contact us and we can show you the difference it makes to digitally recorded music.
