Best USB Digital Audio Interfaces

Focusrite Scarlett 4i4

Don Makoviney
Last Updated: September 16, 2020

There are a ton of digital audio interfaces out there, and a lot of "top ten" lists around the web of pretty great models from various manufacturers. But there is one interface on every single list - the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4. There's a reason for that. It's extremely durable, works on PC and Mac, zero latency, and two onboard preamps. For almost any home recording situation, the 4i4 is the one to get.

Our pick

Focusrite Scarlett 4i4

There are a ton of digital audio interfaces out there, and a lot of "top ten" lists around the web of pretty great models from various manufacturers. But there is one interface on every single list - the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4. There's a reason for that. It's extremely durable, works on PC and Mac, zero latency, and onboard preamps. For almost any home recording situation, the 4i4 is the one to get.

Buy from Guitar Center: $229.99

Best USB Digital Audio Interfaces

Focusrite Scarlett 4i4

Important Specs

Inputs	XLR/TRS (Two)
Digital Conversion	24-bit, 192kHz
Power	Bus powered
Dimensions	(WxHxD): 7.28 x 1.87 x 4.71"
Weight	1.3 lbs
Sample Rates	44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz and 96 kHz
Frequency Response	20 Hz - 20 kHz +/-0.1 dB
Bit Depth	24
	more specs

Synopsis:

There are a ton of digital audio interfaces out there, and a lot of "top ten" lists around the web of pretty great models from various manufacturers. But there is one interface on every single list - the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4. There's a reason for that. It's extremely durable, works on PC and Mac, zero latency, and onboard preamps. For almost any home recording situation, the 4i4 is the one to get.

Where To Buy:

Buy from Guitar Center $229.99

Buy from Amazon $229.99

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Recommending audio interfaces can be a tricky proposition. There’s a plethora of options, and depending on your needs our picks might not be right for you.

However, for the majority of people these interfaces will handle about any situation you throw at it.

Do You Need A Digital Audio Interface?

Yes, you do.

If you are recording onto your computer, the audio interface is not an optional accessory. Most of us, when learning to record, probably tried to get a good recording for a hot minute by using the audio jack on our computer. It doesn’t take long to realize (a) that doesn’t work well, and (b) the importance of a good reliable audio interface.

On the Guitar Center website, they explain the basics of an interface:

When you come right down to it, an audio interface is anything that lets you get audio signals in and out of your computer. The challenge in picking one is that there are so many ways of getting it done, and it will all depend on how you like to work and what you’re trying to do. A very basic interface would be simply a box that converted analog audio to digital audio that the recording software in your computer can understand, and convert it back to analog audio when you want to hear it. Such converters are referred to as AD/DA (analog to digital/digital to analog) converters. Better quality converters have what’s called “jitter correction” to compensate for small timing variations.

It used to be audio interfaces were quite expensive. For many years you couldn’t really get a decent two-in, two out, interface for under $500 that didn’t lag or have some other known issues.

Not anymore. These days you can get a reliable interface for under $50, and a superb one for under $250. In fact, our main pick, the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4, which will work for most people, is only $230.

Don’t believe me? Read on:

How To Choose An Audio Interface
Our non-negotiable criteria for a great interface.

Here’s a little secret; with few exceptions, most of the generally available audio interfaces from major manufacturers and retailers are all pretty darn good. What matters most is what you are going to do with your recording setup.

With that in mind, here’s a few non-negotiable features we’ll be looking for:

Phantom power: We’ll need 48V phantom power, which allows us to use condenser mics and such, which are often essential for vocal and some instrument mics.
Low to no latency: Latency is when you, for instance, strum a chord and it takes a few (noticeable) milliseconds to hear it through your headphones or studio monitors. We generally don’t want that. It can make it hard to track instruments, and you’ll have to do a lot of nudging of audio in your DAW to get it to line up with the rest of your tracks. More on latency here.
Low line noise: Obviously we don’t want any noticeable buzzing, nor do we want any of the knobs on our device to be scratchy when we turn them.
Microphone (XLR) and instrument (1/4″ mono) connectors: We want the flexibility of plugging in an electric guitar (instrument cable) or a microphone (XLR cable) without having to resort to silly adapters.
Good reviews and firsthand experience: For the interfaces which made the cut, we’ve linked out to some great in-depth reviews if you need more convincing. 🙂
Minimum 44.1kHz Sampling Rate: What is sampling rate? According to DiscMakers: “A sample rate is a measurement of samples taken from an audio signal over time. Humans can hear up to 20 kHz. To properly represent an analog signal in a digital domain, the sample rate must be at a minimum of double the range of the human hearing. This is why 44.1 kHz is the standard sample rate for any hardware interface. Some audio interfaces support sample rates up to 96 kHz or even 192 kHz. These sample rates produce higher resolution audio.”

As you can see the main criteria is mainly reliability and usability, so you can not worry about tweaking and fiddling with things. We just want to get you recording!

If you are unfamiliar with how an audio interface fits in with your computer and recording setup, don’t worry!

There are plenty of resources online and on this site to help you get your recording rig up and running in no time at all.

And the biggest criteria, of course, is how you intend to use it.

What Is YOUR Recording Setup?

Your personal configuration may differ slightly, but here’s a few common scenarios where you will need to think about the kind of audio recording you will be doing with a computer and digital audio interface.

Podcasting: If you are a solo or duo podcast, your needs are often much more simple than live recording musical instruments. You can get a really great setup for around $50.

Scroll down a little further for our budget picks which would all function really well in a podcast setting.

Your Home Studio: In this scenario you will most likely be recording by yourself, maybe with a friend or two in certain situations. For small recording sessions like this, the Scarlett 2i2 might meet your needs. Still a great interface with two inputs and is 100 bucks cheaper than the Scarlett 4i4.

Full Band/Rehearsal Recording: Let’s say you have a few band members, maybe 3-5 people and you want to be able to run everyone through the monitors simultaneously. I recently bought the Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 and love that beast. It’s great for small jam sessions when miking up a handful of things at once. It comes in at around $400 and to be completely honest it should probably cost way more. This thing is super fast and effective and is a serious bang for your buck!

Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 on Amazon

Full-fledged Home or Professional Studio: We addressed our favorite interface for recording a whole band; the Universal Audio Apollo 8p. It’s by far the best choice for a full-fledged home studio and definitely meets professional sound standards.

In these situations you will probably be looking for a customized or very specific solution. You’ll likely be moving away from clicking and typing with a keyboard and mouse – instead using something like a control surface in tandem with your (probably much beefier than our recommendations) interface. Sound on Sound magazine has a really great page to help you get started in that regard, and Guitar Center has a wide selection of control surface options.

We’ll address these non-home studio needs in a future guide.

Don’t see your scenario listed here? Just ask us.

With those scenarios in mind let’s look at some possibilities:

Best Budget Audio Interfaces

For recording one microphone or instrument at a time, an interface with one mic preamp is all you need.

If price is your ultimate concern, there’s some options:

M Audio AIR 192

The AIR192 has 2 in/2 out and does not lack points in the visual department. I have a few friends who swear by this interface because it is so simple and straight forward, anyone could figure it out. It really is a solid interface for only $110.

M-Audio AIR192 Prices on Sweetwater

Behringer U-Phoria UM2

Over the years, Behringer has been getting better at making super affordable and solid equipment. The whole U-phoria line of interfaces has seriously impressed me and I have yet to run into any issues with them.

The UM2 comes in at a whopping $50. It has two inputs, one XLR and one quarter-inch jack. Its great for solo jam sessions where you might have a mic and guitar plugged in. This is a cheap and solid interface to get anyone started in home audio.

U-Phoria UM2 Prices at Guitar Center

Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen

Surprise! Yet another Scarlett! The Solo model contains one XLR input and one quarter inch for only $110. Still the same quality sound in an interface that seriously holds up.

Focusrite Scarlett Solo Prices on Amazon

Audio Interfaces with 2 Mic Preamps
The Best Digital Audio Interface For Most People

Over at Zzounds they explain it well:

Interfaces with 2 mic preamps give you the flexibility to record two mic channels simultaneously — like a mic on guitar and vocal, or a stereo pair of mics in front of a group. Many 2-channel interfaces are designed as “desktop” interfaces, and feature a large ergonomic knob for controlling volume and other settings.

Our Pick

Audio Interfaces with 4 Mic Preamps

If you’re planning on recording multiple musicians, it’s nice to have 4 mic preamp channels at your disposal. These larger interfaces typically also give you more output channels — useful for incorporating outboard gear into your setup, or for setting up multiple headphone sends. However, unlike smaller interfaces, they are typically not able to be bus-powered via USB or FireWire.

If you have a MacBook or other Apple computer with a Thunderbolt connection (faster than USB3), you can take advantage of low latency tracking by upgrading to one of our picks for best Thunderbolt digital audio interfaces.

iPad and iPhone Audio Interface Options

Want to record to your iPad? The Apogee One comes with a 30-pin Apple dock cable, and the IK Multimedia iRig Pro includes both Lightning and 30-pin connectors. It has a built-in mic that also works surprisingly well, according to Sound on Sound magazine:

I was very impressed with the built‑in mic. I’m used to the built‑in microphones in laptops, which are dubious at best, so I guess I set my expectations pretty low for the One’s internal mic. I was assuming that it would be good enough for recording voice‑overs (for podcasts and the like) and for perhaps capturing a quick acoustic guitar recording when inspiration strikes, but it is actually far more capable than that.

If this sort of simplicity appeals to you for mobile and/or impromptu recording, you may be interested in another solution:

USB Microphones

With the Apogee Mic 96k, you can plug directly into your Apple device and start recording.

The Mix 96k is powered by your iPad/iPhone, and has 96k sampling rate (FYI 96k is good, as the standard sampling rate is 44.1k).

Several other USB microphones work well with Apple devices. For more, check out our guide for the best usb mics.

Conclusion

Our main pick will give you years of great recording. Move up or down our list of picks based on what you need to get your music recorded. Maybe you need more inputs. Maybe you are completely solo and only need one input. Maybe price is a bigger factor than you’d like; if so, grab one of our budget options and you’ll be able to get recording for well under $50.

Did we miss anything? If so, let us know in the comments below.

While you’re at it, ensure you get the most out of your new interface and grab our picks for best instrument cables and best microphone cables. Go with our recommendations and you’ll never have a bad connector.

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