LinuxMusicians

Hello forum,

I am planning to buy the Presonus Studio 1810c audio interface. I am working with Linux and Ardour and would like to have an interface with more inputs/outputs than my previous one (e.g. I need at least 4 output channels for live playing).

I was comparing this interface to similar ones, such as the Focusrite Scarlett 18i8. When I was reading the specification of this one, I noticed that it needs a specific software, called Focusrite Control to toggle input channel options, such as INST and AIR. I very much dislike this, since some hardware features of my interface would be hidden behind / dependent on a software (which can get deprecated / not work with Linux / etc). I want my hardware to just be hardware and have all settings exposed as buttons/knobs.

I was also reading the datasheet of Studio 1810c as well and I saw brief mentioning of a similar software (maybe called Universal Control) that might allow software control of the interface in a similar way.

My questions are:

• Is the Studio 1810c compatible with Linux?

• Are any hardware controls for the Studio 1810c hidden behind a software, on which I will be reliant?

• Are there any other similar (i.e. number of in/out) interfaces that are compatible with Linux, don't rely on software and you would recommend?

Thank you all for the help!

Hi,

I've googled a bit and found that the Presonus 1810c is class compliant, so it should work with linux. But I can't answer your questions first hand.

I have the Behringer UMC 1820, which has even more outputs and works perfectly with linux. It's bigger than the Presonus, but it can be mounted in a rack, so while it is less portable it still might be better for live usage. It's also cheaper.

Also I found a review that the USB C port uses USB 2.0 internally, so you can go with the 1810 without c if you don't need that feature, it won't perform any better.

Hey Musicteacher,

thanks for your quick response. This interface looks very versatile, so I might actually consider it!

Even if the interface is class compliant, that only applies to the actual "sound channels" as I understand it. These more advanced interfaces also have control channels for routing, volume, mixer, and other channel-specific settings, and they are not standardised. So you may get limited functionality or no functionaly at all, even if the device is class compliant.

That said, the Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 seems to have full Linux support since kernel 5.14! There are several threads here on this forum where the Scarlett family of devices is discussed if you want to learn more. (Note I don't have one of these myself so I have no personal experience.)