Every year at the start of a new batch, every student finds themselves in this dilemma in which interface / sound card they should buy as a starting point to work on their projects and basic home recordings. This blog post will also be helpful for musicians who are looking to buy some basic home recording equipment, and get the best bang for their buck while buying a Sound card

Step no. 1

SSL2

The all in-one professional studio for musical collaborators and media production teams
Their consoles and production tools have been at the heart of countless hit recordings and award-winning sound tracks for the past 40 years. We know how to make audio sound amazing, and more importantly, we know how creative collaborators want to work together. The SSL 2+ brings together the best of our technology with the right features and expanded I/O capability to get the most out of creating as a team.

Pros:
1. Good Pres
2. Multiple Headphone Mixes
3. Moderately Priced

Cons:
1. Average build
quality
2. Pots wears easily

Step no. 2

Audient iD2

Pros:
1. Good quality preamps
2. Compact Size

Cons:
1. Average Build Quality

Step no. 3

Revolution 2x2

USB 2 Channel Portable Recording Sound Card – Modded Out Of The Box!
Revolution 2×2 is built with the most cutting edge, high-end ICs. High-end Vishay, Nichicon, and Wima capacitors are used throughout the entire circuit. All internal gain-staging has been optimized for the very lowest signal-to-noise ratio. All of the analog I/O has not only been built with the finest components, but are fully decoupled and balanced — right to the very core of the convertor! Most manufacturers do not follow this practice, and that allows extra noise contamination during both capture and playback.

Pros:
1. Well known Brand
2. SPIDIF Option
3. Good Build Quality

Cons: 1. Limited Access in India (Leading to Servicing and other related issues)
Step no. 4

RME Babyface

Four years ago the Babyface Pro again demonstrated RME’s absolute commitment to superior craftsmanship, not only in audio circuits and driver development, but also in mechanics. Created with the highest precision from a block of aluminum, this high-end portable interface incorporated newly designed analog and digital circuits. Its innovative energy saving technologies provided supreme fidelity with no compromises in level, noise or distortion.

In the new Babyface Pro FS even more improvements were implemented:

Pros:
1. Good Build Quality
2. Decent Pres

Cons:
1. Limited Routing Functionality

Step no. 5

Apogee One/Duet

The Swiss Army Knife for Personal Recording and Audio Production.
Apogee ONE is an all-in-one portable, USB audio Sound Card that gives you everything you need to make professional recordings on the go. Connect a microphone, guitar or use ONE’s exceptional built-in omnidirectional microphone to easily capture your music without compromise. ONE even lets you record with a microphone (built-in or external) and guitar simultaneously. Using Apogee’s industry-leading AD/DA conversion and mic preamp technology, ONE produces pristine music, podcast, and voice-over recordings while also delivering studio quality sound to your headphones for precision mixing or hi-fi listening. With an intuitive controller knob and seamless compatibility with macOS and Windows, ONE is easy for anyone to use.

Pros:
1. Best Pres in this price range
2. Best AD/DA Convertors

Cons:
1. Not officially sold by Apogee anymore
2. Limited Routing Functionality
3. Can only be bought in used markets

Get in touch!

If you guys have another other questions you would like to shoot at me, just shoot me a mail at ronak@gray-spark.com.
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