Wondering about what low cost audio interface to get?
The top uses for it would be for ADR / voice overs / podcasts.
If I can get a hackintosh to work, I'd probably play around with Boom Recorder Lite as well with it (with perhaps looking to in the future, upgrade to a full on cart system based on this):
http://www.vosgames.nl/products/BoomRecorder/Important points for me, in order of priority (but I could potentially be flexible on these):
1) At least 2x XLR inputs
2) 96kHz & 24bits
3) good pre amps
4) good limiters (which doesn't seem to be that common? Though a few like the Roland Rubix24 has them)
These are the few that I've started out considering (all prices in USD, pricing sourced from B&H Photo, seems $150 is a very common price point here):
Zoom U-24 ($150)
Steinberg UR22mkII ($150)
PreSonus AudioBox 96 ($100)
Tascam US-2x2 ($150)
Behringer U-PHORIA UMC404HD (has **four** inputs, and only $100!)
Roland Rubix24 ($200, a new release! Not shipping just yet, so can't find out much info about it. Roland Rubix44 at $300 is becoming just too pricey for my tastes however!)
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2nd Gen ($150. What is the difference between 1st and 2nd generation? Seems like lower latency and ability to handle hotter inputs is two of the key points, but would buying a sharply priced 1st Gen one be a good idea?)
And one more, just because it is just so crazy cheap:
Behringer U-PHORIA UM2 2x2 (only one XLR input, and the other is 1/4", plus is just 48KHz, but is an insanely low price of $29.99!! And is there a big difference between this and the Behringer U-PHORIA UMC22 2x2 for ten bucks more?? Seems like "MIDAS designed" pre amps is the biggest extra selling feature here)
From my research, it appears Focusrite is in general the popular "default" recommendation.
But I often like to go against the grain ;-)
Steinberg UR22MKII seemed to then be my preferred choice, because I get the feeling from reading reviews it might have a small edge in having better pre amps, but also it has the nifty feature of being able to run from a USB power pack which gives it some extreme portability! (you can hook it up then with a iPad)
Tempted to wait for the reviews of the new Roland Rubix24 to come out, plus tempted still by the Behringer U-PHORIA UMC404HD (because it has four inputs, and is only $100).
Or maybe I should just save over a hundred bucks, and get myself the Behringer U-PHORIA UM2 2x2 or Behringer U-PHORIA UMC22 2x2, to get it immediately and not bother putting so much time/research/thought into all this? :-P ha!