Steinberg

Verdict
For Great value for money
Excellent preamp
Well thought-out
Against MIDI I/O would have been
very welcome
High quality interface from the purveyor of
pro studio consoles
10/10
audio interfaces roundup / reviews <
November 2022 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 77
The iD4 MkII is, on the face of it, a simple
two-input/two-output ofering a mic
preamp, complete with phantom power
for using condenser mics. There’s also
an instrument level DI for plugging in
your guitar or bass, plus a smart scroll
wheel enabling you to tweak settings in
your software. On top of this, there’s a
main output for your speakers and dual
headphone outputs.
The whole thing is powered via USBC
and, with Apple’s camera connection kit,
it can also work with an iPhone/iPad.
However, for us, the studio devilry is in
the detail: Audient has really thought
about everything with value and
usability in mind, making what is a
budget solution feel anything but
inexpensive in use. The Audient iD4 MkII
is one of the best USB audio interfaces
we’ve tried and also features a very
decent software bundle.
audient.com
Audient
iD4 MkII £127
CONNECTIVITY: USB 2.0 | AUDIO RESOLUTION: 24-bit/96kHz | ANALOGUE INPUTS: 2 | ANALOGUE OUTPUTS:
2 | DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY: None | MIDI I/O: No | SOFTWARE BUNDLE HIGHLIGHTS: Steinberg Cubase,
Cubasis LE and Retrologue, GForce M-tron Select plus a course, Loopcloud subscription, e ects and more
The Presonus Studio 24c won out
in our Budget Audio Interface
buyers guide and is still one of the
best low-priced option here. It
ofers superb sound quality and
comes with a well-stocked bundle
of software audio tools.
However, now we’ve upped the
budget to £$200, we can get some
additional sonic clout and
connectivity from some of the
biggest names in music production.
SSL makes arguably the best
mixing desks used in studios the
world over. Its SSL 2 interface ofers
some of the sonic quality from
these desks for silly money.
Audient too has made some
excellent studio desks and has
similarly delivered some of their
lavour in its interface range. Our
favourite, though, is the EVO 8
which ofers an amazing amount of
connectivity for the price. Universal
Audio has made some great audio
gear over the years too and its Volt
range delivers some of that
expertise at a great price.
Finally, in what is a very crowded
part of the interface market,
Focusrite delivers some of the best
connectivity with its Scarlett 4i4
3rd Gen, right at the top end of our
budget range.
Computer
Music
choice
November 2022
/
COMPUTER MUSIC
/
77
CMU314.rev_interfaces_roundup.indd 77CMU314.rev_interfaces_roundup.indd 77 20/09/2022 16:2720/09/2022 16:27