Dreaming Up Hits? These Are Our Favorite Audio Interfaces

While open-source crusaders and techno-libertarians are applauding Universal Audio’s recent efforts to move away from its “walled garden” approach to plug-ins, the truth is that most of the good ones still require the presence of an interface or a processor core to load up and run in your DAW of choice. As we mentioned in the write-up of the Apollo Twin, above: “good” is a massive understatement when describing UAD’s most popular plug-ins.

Its digital re-creations of optical mix bus compressors, legendary reverbs, and warm, vibey tape machines are unmatched by any other prosumer-level manufacturer, and the fact that its hardware powers the CPU-hungry algorithms that apply the magical high-end sheen to your mix makes the pricey leap into the UA universe well worth it.

Direct monitoring on the four included XLR unison preamps is crystal clear, nearly latency-free, and loaded with clean headroom for anything you plug into it. A wide array of inputs like a pair of ADAT I/Os and eight line-level 1/4″ jacks can handle sessions of all sizes, and the UA Console app makes routing, monitoring, and plug-in management a breeze. If you go to a major studio, this is the most common interface you’ll see, often with multiple stacked together for even more channels, which you can do with a single cable between devices. —Pete Cottell