Greetings. Audio interface questions (Not new I suppose)

[SPiffydiffy]

Information on some questions can be scarse when googeling things and got a few questions to ask

My laptop is an Asus N76VZ i7 core and 8gb ram all USB 3.0 but I think the USB chipset is compatible with most USB 2.0 interfaces except Roland which can be an issue I've read.

I want to use synths and VSTI at the same time, as many, but I don't know which interface to get yet. So I need to be able to record up to 2-3 synth at a time og run them thru midi while I use some VSTI and VST effects. I also need to be able to play VSTI using a midi keyboard

1: Is the latency with Steinberg ur28m good enough for playing VSTI from a midi keyboard while having a project running? A 1.1.1 driver round trip latency test showed quite some high latencies, but the driver is now updated but no info on a new latency?

2: And how is the converters compared to focusrite scarlett 8i6? Which I also have in mind for the same thing. I may go higher with I/0 using a focusrite scarlett but the converters needs to be good enough and so does latency.

3: What can I use loopback for in focusrite scarlett 8i6? What effect can it have on a sound? Does it render a soft synth sound up in quality? (I may open another thread about loopback)

4: Does the DSP mix function in focusrite scarlett 8i6 give reverb to monitoring? (I played guitar and other instruments from I was 10 to about 22 which I want to pick up again, I also did some vocals)

5: Just to clarify. Can I use one of the above to play VSTI usinga midi keyboard without latency issues?

The obvious choice for me would be the USB RME UC/UCX but it's rather expensive and if I had that money to throw at an interface I'd be battleling between Steinberg UR824 due to their converters and 8 pre's toward RME UC/UCX. I might get one of those late ron, but for now I want the cost down, ie, The ur28m or scarlett.

Thanks in advance.

---------- Post added at 10:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ----------

Another question: When a song i done and mastered, does it need to be rendered thru the audiointerface and back to the harddrive to get a better sound or can it stay as is on the harddrive and sound as I hear it thru the monitor/headphones? Or does if that' not an option does it need to be recorded to an externa CD recorder thru the SPDIf?

 

[krushing]

I'll try to answer these a bit...

1: Is the latency with Steinberg ur28m good enough for playing VSTI from a midi keyboard while having a project running? A 1.1.1 driver round trip latency test showed quite some high latencies, but the driver is now updated but no info on a new latency?

Can't really say, but judging from those tests, the UR28m doesn't exactly seem to be the best contender regarding low latencies. Driver updates can help, but I doubt they'll drastically change the situation. That said, ~10ms RTL isn't that bad; in my experience, it's still very much playable. Should be kept in mind that the latency figures are always a combination of the performance of your computer and the audio interface, so the figures will vary between different systems.

2: And how is the converters compared to focusrite scarlett 8i6? Which I also have in mind for the same thing. I may go higher with I/0 using a focusrite scarlett but the converters needs to be good enough and so does latency.

Again, can't offer a direct experience, but I will say that the whole converter thing has been somewhat of a subject of too much internet hype - they're obviously important, but the real differences only really come out in the very high end of things - it would be tricky to try and find an interface these days with actually bad converters. Pretty much everything else will have a bigger impact on your final sound and almost anything on the market will do a decent enough job. Upgrading your converters is the last 5% push when everything else (mics, room acoustics, monitors, mix) is stellar.

3: What can I use loopback for in focusrite scarlett 8i6? What effect can it have on a sound? Does it render a soft synth sound up in quality? (I may open another thread about loopback)

The loopback function simply allows you to route audio from another program to be recorded in your DAW. It shouldn't really have any effect on the sound quality, and certainly nothing to do with softsynth quality as it's purely a digital, in-the-box operation with no conversion involved.

4: Does the DSP mix function in focusrite scarlett 8i6 give reverb to monitoring? (I played guitar and other instruments from I was 10 to about 22 which I want to pick up again, I also did some vocals)

Nope. The "DSP mixer" simply implies that the monitoring mixes and routing you set up in the Mix Control panel are handled by the interface rather than your computer - which enables "zero latency" monitoring (versus monitoring through your DAW which inevitably introduces some latency).

5: Just to clarify. Can I use one of the above to play VSTI usinga midi keyboard without latency issues?

Can't say for sure, but I doubt it'd be an issue, although as said the UR28m doesn't seem to be a super performer in this area. The Scarletts seem to be pretty ok - using a Saffire Pro 40 myself, and don't really have any problems - and the RTL seems to hover around these same numbers.

Another question: When a song i done and mastered, does it need to be rendered thru the audiointerface and back to the harddrive to get a better sound or can it stay as is on the harddrive and sound as I hear it thru the monitor/headphones? Or does if that' not an option does it need to be recorded to an externa CD recorder thru the SPDIf?

Rendering through the interface would just introduce extra layers of conversion, so you'd actually be compromising your sound somewhat (although I highly doubt two rounds of conversion would even result in any audible change). Simply rendering in your DAW without having the interface in the loop should provide the best results (unless you go into external summing, but that's another discussion entirely and again, not automatically something better).