Experts Name Their Audio Interface Choice
In this article we find out what interfaces the production expert team use in their studios and what drove those particular choices.
Julian Rodgers
Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo
My principal interface for day to day work is my Focusrite Red 4 Pre. I bought this largely for its Dante capabilities but I’ve not really followed through on that, particularly as I’ve now got a Carbon for tracking sessions. I love its quality, ease of use both via the rednet control app and from the front panel and the ease with which I can route audio via its loopback facility.
The Avid Carbon appealed to me immediately on its release as I am exactly that person who wants the latency free tracking experience from within Pro Tools that Carbon offers without the complexity and expense of HDX. It’s not an expandable solution but for the tracking I do Carbon with some additional mic preamps connected via ADAT is all I need. The provision of 4 discrete headphone mixes, driven from the Pro Tools mixer is a major win for me too. If it had Loopback I’d probably use it as my daily driver but my reliance on loopback is more about being a blogger than it is about being an engineer.
My Apollo is rarely used as an interface these days, though it’s a great way to access portable low latency tracking for a Townsend Labs Sphere, having the required two digitally controlled preamps and a UAD DSP version of the Sphere plugin. I do use it as a DSP accelerator for UAD plugins though.
The little Scarlett Solo is a handy tool which is mostly used as reliable interface for use with my laptop and Mainstage driving keyboard sounds when playing in my band. I learned a long time ago not avoid connecting to PA equipment via mini jack and this gives the connection I need. It gets occasional use as a very portable, good quality interface I can pop in a bag and unlike the Apollo Twin it is bus powered.
James Richmond
Avid MTRX (16 in, 8 out), expanded by various Dante expanders (2 x Focusrite A16R, Ferrofish Pulse 16 DX CV, Focusrite AM2, X2P.)
Focusrite Rednet PCIE-R
Apogee Rosetta 800 (connected to MTRX via AES)
The heart of the studio is the Avid MTRX, it is such a brilliant device and expandable beyond what I could ever possibly need. It has 16 channels of AD, 8 channels of DA which I can (and likely will) expand to a maximum of 48 channels of conversion onboard . I have 192 channels of Dante available to me, 64 channels of MADI and 16 channels of AES.
All of my inputs are simultaneously routed to both Digilink and to the Rednet PCIE-R card. The great thing about Dante is that transmitters can be sent to multiple receivers (destinations). This means I have parity with inputs, what shows up as input x in Pro Tools is the same in Logic/Ableton/Nuendo etc.
I also use a UA Apollo X8 which is sent digitally to the MTRX via an AES/EBU input on one of the Focusrite A16R’s. The reason I do it this way is the A16R has SRC on its AES inputs, so the Apollo X8 can be in any sample rate but there is no chance of a mismatch with the MTRX. yes this means that I connect the Apollo to the MTRX and monitor off the MTRX. I choose to do this because it means I can manage the monitoring of signals more easily. The Apollo is also connected to the Ferrofish Pulse 16 DX CV via ADAT. It means I can track through UA plugins too, with negligible latency, up to 8 channels at once.
The Focusrite Red 16Line is attached to a PC in another room. I serve up 16 channels of the 32 Dante available channels for this device to the network.
My set up might sound complicated but it is all based on need. To do what I do with any other interface would be a cabling nightmare. Dante allows me to access the network infrastructure already present in the studio/house.
Luke Goddard
SPL Crimson 2
I bought my SPL Crimson for one reason: hardware monitor control with loads of inputs, plus a 6X6 USB interfacing in one box. It’s the only one I know of that has true analogue zero latency monitoring with an analogue mix control which I love, but even better is the standalone operation which can be reconfigured without needing to hook an app for input switching, etc. This is invaluable for those times when I just want to sit down and play keys or guitar without the computer. This setup also lets me pipe an XLR input out to my (XLR-less) camera over TRS for boomed pieces to camera. The sound quality is absolutely fine apart from a bit of image shift at low levels- good job it’s got a dim button I guess!
The Zoom F4 is my 6X2 mobile interface and recorder which I bought for choral and classical work which I absolutely cannot fault. I also use it for audio capture during screen caps which affords monitor mixing with knobs on. I have it in a bag with a vinyl window to keep the “weather” out on mobile rock’n’roll jobs and I find the form factor perfect for any field work. Audio-wise the inputs are clean, loud and proud (75dB in hand), and the headphone amp is more than loud enough for those brief moments where you have to run it above the ambient level. I heard great things about the MixPre series when shopping around, and initially the F4 was a compromise due to budget, but it has turned out to be anything but- almost ridiculously so for very little outlay.
Steve DeMott
Metric Halo ULN-8 3d (x2)
I was an early adopter of the Metric Halo interfaces. I bought my 2882 sometime around 2003. Since then I have upgraded the internals twice to update that interface to the latest digital innards. The first update was the 2d update, and just about 2 years ago I updated it again with the 3d upgrade. And this single point is what I love about these interfaces. The Metric Halo philosophy: everything is field upgradeable to the latest technology. They do this using daughter cards that can be swapped out for newer versions, basically replacing all the digital processing.
Since that time I have added 2 ULN-8 3d units to my setup to allow for 24 analogue I/O (plus another 18 AES, 5 ADAT I/O ports for another 40 streams at 1x rates or 20 at 2x rates, and MADI).
The Metric Halos all connect over their proprietary Audio over IP (AoIP) protocol called MHLink. MHlink allows for ultra low latency connections with up to 128 channels of audio by daisy chaining additional interfaces. And, if all that wasn’t enough, they have onboard DSP hosted in their 80-bit MIOConsole control software that allows for anywhere to anywhere routing of all signals, with functions for cue controls, headphones, monitors, talkback & listenback that are only limited by your available I/O.
The DSP functions are vast because, in addition to standard plugins (including the plugins from Metric Halo’s Production Bundle), you have access to DSP “building blocks”, which are the individual processes used to make up bigger processing chains. This includes summing algorithms, delay & offset math, matrices, et al. The possibilities are practically endless. You can build any processing you might need from these building blocks, basically creating your own plugins. I should also mention that many of the plugins have analysis features taken from the incredible SpectraFoo app.
MIOConsole also has a “Session” feature, which is a full featured DAW. This has progressed over the years from a simple way to capture all feeds (and any bus summing or master 2-bus out) direct to disk without the need for a DAW. This was my location recording workflow for years, It’s robust & resource friendly. It even allows for recording to multiple locations for safeties. The current version of this feature has added many DAW features (like overdubs, auto punch in/out, click tracks, align/grid features, plus many others). I admit that I don;t use it for detailed recording, but it is quite impressive.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention just how outstanding the converters in these 3d units are. The clarity & realism is stunning. And the preamps on the ULN-8s could be the only preamps I use, and I’d never be disappointed. 91dB of super clean gain that are detailed, fast & open. In fact, when doing audiophile or classical recording, they are the only preamps I will use. They’re that good.
Russ Hughes
Universal Audio Apollo Twin
The centre of my main studio system is the Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt. A unit I purchased soon after reviewing it in December 2014. Given that it was nearly 7 years ago, the unit has served me well. There’s a reason for the unit offering such longevity in what is often a fast moving industry. Apogee has worked hard to offer updates including DSP powered plugins and more since releasing the unit. You can read my full review here.
I recently purchased an Audient iD14 desktop interface because I needed a smaller interface with the option to route audio via Loopback. This is to make screen capture videos as well as route audio during Zoom and other types of calls. The Audient doesn’t replace my Apogee, it offers a simple augmentation to my workflow when necessary. With that said, the Audient iD14 is a fully featured and great sounding interface, well suited for those needing less capacity than a large interface like the Ensemble.
I also own an Apollo Twin which I purchased some years ago to allow me to track via UAD powered plugins. It’s a powerful desktop interface which is again more suited to those who don’t need huge amounts of inputs. The Apollo Twin is also able to offer users of larger Apollos the ability to use it as a monitor control centre.
As if three interfaces is not enough then I have a couple more. A small Focusrite 2i2 which I use when shooting video interviews. It’s used because it’s portable, bus powered and means I can connect 2 microphones via XLR. The Focusrite offers high quality audio with the minimum of fuss. I often do video shoots where I don’t take a car so the more gear I can take in a single bag the better. The Focusrite 2i2 fits the bill.
Finally, I also have an Eleven Rack. This was purchased because of the excellent guitar tones one is able to get from it, even a decade on it still holds its own against many of the modern guitar modellers like the Kemper. The Eleven Rack offers an audio interface that connects via USB, so at times I use that option to get audio in without having to convert to analogue first.
Korey Pereira
Digidesign 192 Digital
MacBook Pro External Headphones Jack
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Sound Devices MixPre6
MOTU Traveler mk1
My primary interface for our Atmos system is a good ol’ blue Digidesign 192 Digital connected to a Mac Mini via an Avid HD Native Thunderbolt and feeding an JBL Intonato 24 via AES. Before moving to Atmos, I was using the MOTU Traveler mk1 and loving it, but needed something that would easily send 16 channels of AES from Pro Tools to the Intonato 24. There weren't a ton of great options without spending a lot more money than I wanted on something that doesn’t quite fit the bill.
Little did I know at the time that the Avid MTRX Studio was about to be released. If my timing would have been a little different, that is probably what I would be using now as it would have done what the 192 Digital and Intonato 12 do in a single rackspace instead of four. It does make me glad I didn’t overspend on the setup and firmly see myself upgrading to the Avid MTRX in the not-too-distant future.
When I am out-and-about and working on my laptop, the MacBook Pro “External Headphones” jack does the heavy lifting. For headphone monitoring I use the Blue Mix-Fis, which has a built-in headphone amp. This lets me set the amp on the mac lower and let the Mix-Fis do their thing.
I also have a Focusrite for the odd time I need to record something, like ADR or Voiceover, directly to Pro Tools out in the field. It sounds great and I appreciate that the latest generation has a USB-C port, which makes it easier to use with either the mac or our iPad Pro 12.9 when we want to record both a boom and a lav into ToddAO’s Mobile ADR app. When I want an actor to self-control an interface, I couldn’t find anything easier to train someone on than the 2i2.
When I am running the kit and recording to my laptop, like the last few times I appeared on the Production Expert Podcast, I use my Sound Devices MixPre6. I like the colored feedback you get for the levels, which makes monitoring out of the corner of your eye a breeze.
Lastly, the MOTU Traveler mk1. This thing is a beast. It was my main rig for years and while I haven’t used it in ages, I will probably keep it around. It has a lot going for it. 4 mic pres with hard toggle switches for phantom, MIDI ports, the ability to power via 4-pin XLR or firewire in the field, and can be configured to run as a standalone mixer away from a computer.
Read more about Korey’s studio here.
Mike Thornton
Universal Audio Apollo Twin
Focusrite 2i2
My main interface, since I have upgraded the studio to be able to work in Dolby Atmos, is an Avid MTRX Studio.
We have seen several of our team go for a Focusrite Red 16Line including Graham Kirkman go for his Dolby Atmos Equipped Garden Studio and Alan Sallabank with his Alternative Workflow Using The Dolby Atmos Audio Bridge. It was a serious contender but for me too, however, the deal breaker for me was the lack of speaker calibration. I chose to push out on the budget and get the MTRX Studio. I felt that the full-fat MTRX was too expensive, but the feature set, IO layout and the integral SPQ card made the Avid MTRX Studio interface the right choice for me ad enabled me to replace the HD Omni and miniDSP units with the Avid Pro Tools MTRX Studio.
In planning the changeover, there have been several issues that I have needed to find solutions for…
How To Bring The Mac Mini Audio Into My Monitoring System - With my HD Omni and Mac Pro cheese-grater, I used an optical SPDIF cable from the optical out of my Mac Pro to the optical input of my HD Omni and then configured the HD Omni to route that through to my monitoring, enabling me to be able to monitor Pro Tools or any audio via the macOS like iTunes, Soundly etc without any switching. However, this is not an option with the MTRX Studio as although there are optical inputs they are exclusively ADAT ports and cannot be switched to SPDIF optical. Instead I used an instance of Dante Virtual Sound Card. My second requirement was for an audio interface with balanced audio and that is where the Focusrite 2i2 comes in.
How To Connect My RTW TM3- Primus Hardware Audio Meters - There is an option within the DADman software to set up an output from the MTRX Studio to pick up a pre-fade output of whatever is routed to the monitoring so that is how I fed my RTW TM3-Primus hardware audio meters.
How To Set Up The SPQ Card - The SPQ card built into the MTRX Studio isn’t as powerful as the optional SPQ card for the DAD AX 32 or the Avid MTRX, the only difference is that you have more filters to play with and can have a longer delay for time alignment. That said with 16 channels and even with 16 filters per channel, you won’t run out of filters, which means you can configure up to a 9.1.6 system, with 16 filters on every channel and be OK. The challenge with any version of an SPQ card is that unlike systems such as Sonarworks, Dirac-Live/miniDSP, JBL Intonato, Trinnov, or Genelec’s GLM the process is not automatic. The outcome of my research was to use the free app Room EQ Wizard with a UMIK-1 USB measurement mic. You can read all about this in our article How To Set Up The DAD/Avid SPQ Card Using The Free Room EQ Wizard.
The combination of the Dante and ADAT connectivity suits my needs now as well as giving me room to expand. For example I am going to use the ADAT ports to take the analog outputs from my Pioneer SC-LX59 Dolby Atmos receiver fed from an Apple TV unit via an RME ADI-8 and Alesis AI3 ADAT to analog audio converters to be able to listen to Dolby Atmos streaming services for reference monitoring much more cost effectively.
That just leaves the Universal Audio Apollo Twin. This is my location sound interface which I use with my laptop when I need to record into Pro Tools on location. I use the ADAT input to route my Focusrite OctoPre into the interface for 8 more mic inputs.
Nathaniel Reichman
Apogee Ensemble FireWire
When I upgraded my personal mix room to Dolby Atmos, I looked long and hard at the MTRX Studio vs. the Metric Halo. Ultimately, I went with the Metric Halo because it provided AES digital I/O to my loudspeakers, was easily expandable with additional units, and was half the cost of the MTRX Studio. I edit and mix natively on Pro Tools Ultimate, and when I do need to do low-latency tracking, I usually do it in one of the HD or HDX commercial studios that I work out of in New York City or upstate New York.
Since purchasing the Metric Halo, the MIO Console 3D software that drives the interface has been massively improved with lots of clever features, including much deeper Eucon monitoring support, better standalone operation, dual computer connections, and iOS mobile device connection via USB. And as Steve DeMott has pointed out elsewhere in this article, each Metric Halo interface has onboard DSP which is independent of the computer and highly configurable. You can use it to do custom low-latency monitoring with reverbs, or do bass-management in Atmos (as I have it set up). Lots of clever things that are quite similar to DADman and Q-Sys, but at the price point that suits a home project studio.
I also have an Apple TV 4K and a Marantz 7705 Atmos-capable receiver plugged into the Metric Halo on a set of dedicated inputs, so I can watch movies and listen to Apple Music and TIDAL in Atmos. This is obviously very entertaining, but it’s also a great reality check while working on a mix.
Finally, I listed the old Apogee Ensemble FireWire above. I regularly host clients for 5.1 indie film and television mix reviews at Dubway Studios in New York City. My TV mix template is way too big to fit on the HD or HDX cards in the studio, so I use the Apogee as a native 5.1 audio interface, and the D/As on it still sound great, even after all these years. But the writing has been on the wall for a long time. As soon as I upgrade past Mojave, I won’t be able to use the old Ensemble.