Difference between "home" and "pro" audio interface

L

laup

New member
Hi

I want to buy a new audio interface, i currently use the nio 2/4 which has now become defunct by the fact that Yosemite does not support it (i have tried everything to roll back to Mavericks-no joy-nio are not planning any driver updates for Yosemite).

I am therefore planning on buying a new audio interface. I record individual tracks, however i would like to broaden my recording to record drums and maybe bands.

What card should I be looking at (i need midi support)?

I constantly see cheap end cards referred to as "home" and more expensive as "Pro" where is the dividing line and why?

Thanks in advance

Paul
 
Not really a difference anymore. It used to be a difference because you needed serious PCie cards that had to do heavy processing and needed crazy I/O expansion capabilities for midi and large bands.

Apogee, Universal Audio, RME, Native Instruments and Focusrite all have good interfaces for producers, musicians and vocalists. Hell, I'm using an MBox 3 and it sounds perfect for what I need it to do. Unless you are recording a lot of live instruments, you can get something good for under $300. If you're going the route of recording huge bands, you'll probably spend around $500-$1000 depending on interface.

The cards are in the external interfaces now. Most Pro producers don't use the PCie Cards because they aren't portable enough and today's new computers can handle more processing, so the companies started making external interfaces that sound just as good. They all have midi now and 90% of them connect via USB.

Cheers!

Biggest Secret to Music Industry Success in 2016 and Beyond
 
laup said:
Hi

I want to buy a new audio interface, i currently use the nio 2/4 which has now become defunct by the fact that Yosemite does not support it (i have tried everything to roll back to Mavericks-no joy-nio are not planning any driver updates for Yosemite).

I am therefore planning on buying a new audio interface. I record individual tracks, however i would like to broaden my recording to record drums and maybe bands.

What card should I be looking at (i need midi support)?

I constantly see cheap end cards referred to as "home" and more expensive as "Pro" where is the dividing line and why?

Thanks in advance

Paul
Click to expand...

If - you see it in the specs, most don't show what is not their strong selling points. Most audio interfaces are just toys really. They are nothing you should be doing serious pro work on. I would say the Apogee Symphony PCIe is the entry level to a more pro sound.
 
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Conflicting and interesting views, I am ultimately restricted by budget. In my experience of all things music tech / instruments the difference between a £100 piece of kit and a £350 piece of similar kit can be minimal. The real difference is found between a £100 and a £1000 piece of similar kit. In which case I agree with both of your takes on it.
Thanks for the replies guys.
 
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