Best USB audio interface <$1000

[ChuggnBlues]

Hello,

I'm looking for the best audio interface for <$1000 (cheaper is better, but my main requirement is good compatibility) on Linux. My requirements are:

- At least 1 S/PDIF input
- At least 1 S/PDIF output
- Ability to set interface to slave clock from within Linux (sounds like most interfaces should support this, but this is especially important for me)
- Low latency with low CPU usage (which probably means USB 2)
- Works with Ardour (don't see why not but thought I'd specify)
- 44.1khz sample rate

Nice to have:

- At least 2 S/PDIF inputs
- At least 2 analog inputs
- At least 2 outputs
- Ability to control most/all of the interface settings from Linux (which probably means a web-based GUI since none seem to support Linux directly)
- 4 input/outputs
- Reliability & durability of the hardware

I feel like that's not asking too much, but we're talking on an OS that HW manufacturers refuse to support directly. Any input would be great. Here is what I've considered:

- Behringer UMC1820: seems like everything is supported natively in linux, although sounds like spotty reliability/QC
- Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 (2nd gen): seems to meet all my requirements. The second gen seems well supported in linux, and there's even a driver for the mixer in the works.
- Edirol UA-25 USB: meets all my requirements *except* S/PDIF and it is USB 1.1, good thing is it's really cheap
- PreSonus Audio Interface: not sure about linux support, supports all my other requirements though

[ChuggnBlues]

I just found this product, looks very interesting: https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-au ... reamer-box

I'm not sure how that works though.. seems I need another device/converter to connect to optical in/out. I really *only* need 1 spdif input/output, though, so that might be the best/cheapest option for me.

[ChuggnBlues]

I just found one that seems almost perfect: Behringer UMC1820

See the following very informative article on the ardour forums: https://discourse.ardour.org/t/behringe ... dour/89949

According to that, it supports *everything* I want in Linux! I'm pretty set on this interface now. The only downside is that I don't think it can monitor the S/PDIF input (mixed with all the other tracks) directly, and it has to go to the computer and back first.

[ChuggnBlues]

I'm still looking into the Focusrite, it seems like there's some driver development underway (thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18862&start=90) for native linux mixer controls. Nice! The one thing that makes me second guess this one is the fact that it doesn't appear to be merged into the kernel - I don't like running custom kernels, as it is much easier to update with an upstream kernel.

The one thing that has me second guessing the Behringer is the mixed reliability responses. So, I guess currently it's between the Focusrite (2nd gen) or Behringer for me.

If anybody has any input on these options (or better options!) please contribute.

[ChuggnBlues]

I ordered the Behringer UMC1820 and it is working perfectly for my needs. The amount of functionality & everything being supported out of the box just seemed better to me. All the functionality seems to work out of the box on Linux, and I have control over inputs/outputs and clock source in alsamixer.

[Bopizow]

Congrats on the purchase! Hopefully like me, you wont regret it. I have the Behringer UMC404HD and UMC1820 and they are both excellent interfaces that work flawlessly on linux. I've had the UMC1820 paired with an ADA8200 in my band rehearsal/studio space for over a year now and haven't encountered any issues, they work and sound great. I've also heard about reliability issues with Behringer products but so far I've yet to encounter any.

[ChuggnBlues]

Congrats on the purchase! Hopefully like me, you wont regret it. I have the Behringer UMC404HD and UMC1820 and they are both excellent interfaces that work flawlessly on linux. I've had the UMC1820 paired with an ADA8200 in my band rehearsal/studio space for over a year now and haven't encountered any issues, they work and sound great. I've also heard about reliability issues with Behringer products but so far I've yet to encounter any.

Nice! Does the ADA8200 pair out of the box with the UMC1820? I've heard of this combination before, but people seem to have mixed results in linux. I'm sure it is one of those things where you have to match the clock sync & rate before it works together, but I wanted to check in case I need more inputs.

[Bopizow]

Hi, yes it works out of the box more or less providing you set it up right. There are switches on the back of the ADA8200 for the clock sync and rate. I believe I just went ADAT out from the ADA to ADAT in on the UMC and set the freq rate switch on the ADA to 48kHz to match the UMC. I don't remember what the sync switch is set at. There is also a button on the front of the UMC for ADAT/spdif that needs to be set to ADAT. Once set up correctly the ADA just popped up as another node block in the Claudia graph along with the UMC.