For years we’ve been hearing that with the power of modern computers the need for DSP systems has gone. Running a DAW on a reasonably powerful computer allows the user to run their processing natively with latency low enough to allow tracking through plugins. Case closed.

There is certainly merit in this argument and whereas years ago to record and monitor through a DAW, and particularly to do so while tracking through plugins, simply wasn’t viable without using a DSP based system such as Pro Tools HD, the situation is less clear cut than it once was. Many get by entirely in the native domain, many studios monitor in the analog domain using hardware mixers and hybrid approaches are common where interfaces feature low latency monitoring paths but an inescapable fact is that recording systems featuring DSP continue to thrive in 2022. And we’re not talking about Pro Tools HDX, UA Apollo x8’s and the like. There are a plethora of small interfaces, many of which are new, not old products which are still in production, which feature on board DSP.

Here is our selection of some of the small DSP interfaces available today with a focus on the most accessibly priced options from each category:

Lewitt CONNECT 6 - $299

Brand new, affordable, flexible and looking like something off the flight deck of the Nostromo, this angular offering from Lewitt, better known for their original take on microphones, is their desktop audio interface. It offers some features which really make sense too, Connectivity is broad, in the sense that rather than adding lots of analogue IO it offers options for connecting devices like phones, for routing applications via loopback and with 72dB of gain on the mic preamps you’ll even have enough juice for that SM7B. Add to that DSP processing in the form of expansion, compression and EQ and this little unit looks like it could be the answer to lots of everyday issues.

Apogee Boom - $299

Another new product which covers much of the same ground is the new Boom from Apogee. Apogee of course have a long history of top quality interface and converter design and larger products such as the rackmount Ensemble and the desktop Symphony feature built in DSP giving access to Apogee’s small but excellent collection of DSP plugins. The newest addition to this line replaces the Duet 3 with Boom, a more conventional extruded aluminium case with knobs on the front and connections on the back design. A single mic preamp and a single Hi Z input, combined with a pair of monitor outs and a headphone are complemented by a USB-C connector for computer or iOS device and with loopback and 62dB of gain it looks like Apogee are also aware that the old days 55dB of gain on an entry level interface is no longer enough for streamers and podcasters with insensitive dynamic mics.

Circling back to the DSP capabilities, Boom runs the excellent Symphony ECS channel Strip in DSP a plugin which surprised me when I tried the native version with just how great it sounds. Simple to use and sounding wonderful, if you only have one DSP processor in your interface it might as well be this.

This category of product, the accessibly priced, entry level USB interface which, rather than offering a mix control to route your dry signal back to you along with DAW output, which to be honest was always potentially confusing to the novices at whom these interfaces were largely targeted, instead use a simplified version of the DSP mixer approach usually found on larger, more professional products. With this use of DSP comes the possibility to add some ‘workhorse’ processing - utilitarian EQ, dynamics and time based effects.

PreSonus Revelator io24 - $149

Another example of this approach of using DSP in an entry level product comes from PreSonus in the form of their Revelator io24. A very compact 2x2 USB interface which features EQ, Compression, Gate, and Limiter plus Voice Effects and Reverb. With the increasingly mandatory loopback function this little device is another great example of what is an increasingly busy category, and rather than the utility processing found in interfaces like those from RME and MOTU we see something more reminiscent of DAW plugins with their skeuomorphic user interfaces. A selection of State Space modelled processors from the PreSonus live mixers gives access to the virtual Pultecs and LA2As we might be thinking of when we think of ‘plugins’.

Compact Interfaces With DSP Plugins Running In the DAW

So when talking about audio interfaces with DSP you might well be thinking of something which gives closer to a Pro Tools HDX experience, with plugins you can instantiate in your DAW like a native plugin. To get this functionality requires leaving the entry level space but while the budget might grow, the interfaces don’t have to.

Universal Audio Apollo Solo - $499

The name which comes to mind straight away when thinking of a DAW agnostic DSP ecosystem where processing can be offloaded from the host computer is Universal Audio. Their Apollo range of interfaces are premium products but the Apollo Solo is the smallest and most accessibly priced of the current lineup. With its two Unison enabled mic preamps and the ability to run plugins not only in the UAD Console application but within the DAW itself allowing automation control and full recall it offers the full DSP plugin experience. Particularly when combined with UA’s DAW LUNA.

Antelope Zen Go Synergy Core - $549

A similar proposition is offered by the Antelope Zen Go Synergy Core. The smallest of the Antelope interfaces this represents a further setup up in terms of features and budget. The Antelope ecosystem features a wealth of DSP plugins which with the addition of the AFX2 Bridge option can be run in the DAW like a regular plugin.

Professional ‘Utility’ DSP Interfaces

There is a last category of DSP interface, interfaces which use DSP to extend functionality. No photorealistic UIs, just tools with which real work can be done more easily.

RME UCX II - $1599

The best example of this is probably the RME Fireface UCX II. This half rack interface can use the combination of RME’s legendary driver performance and powerful DSP to form the centrepiece of larger systems. Using RME’s TotalMix software a fully featured DSP mixer can control, process and route complex setups with total reliability. EQ, dynamics, reverb and delay are all available in the mixer but it is the flexibility of routing where the power really lies. UCX II can capture all its inputs and outputs internally via its direct USB recording for fail safe or even stand alone operation.

When we think of DSP processing, many of us think of effects but it is the reliability and low latency of DSP mixers, whether large or small which really sets these interfaces apart. With the entry level DSP area becoming increasingly busy it looks like DSP interfaces aren’t going anywhere.

All prices are dealer prices inclusive of any offers/bundles and are correct at the time of writing.