If you are a music enthusiast and see yourself wanting to record or produce music but don’t have the means to set up a full-fledged recording studio, naturally, the first thing you’d be looking to spend some dough on would be a good audio interface. To help you make the right choice while looking for an interface, here are Score Magazine’s top picks :

PreSonus AudioBox iOne 2×2 (7, 500)

PreSonus is one of the most renowned brands in the audio industry. This compact device has one mic input and one line level input and 2 line level outputs and extremely reliable. Considered to be a home studio favorite, it is highly recommended by enthusiasts and professionals alike.

M-Audio M-Track II USB Audio Interface (8,000)

This usb interface has 1 XLR, and one XLR/line level combo inputs along with 2 line level outs and an extra line 1/4” output for headphones, which is always advisable especially if you’re going to act as the engineer while recording or mixing someone else.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (12,000)

This beautiful sounding Focusrite interface had to be added to this list as it seems to have found its way into every home studio. It has 2 XLR/ 1/4” combo inputs and 2 line level output along with another 1/4” output for headphone monitoring. Focusrite is a brand known for providing a transparent and clean sounding signal and Scarlett 2i2 does exactly the same. The scarlett solo could also serve as a good choice in case you’re running tight on the budget.

 Art TPSII (14, 200)

If you have a budget of 14, 000 there is no other interface that will deliver the quality that this unit offers you. It’s an investment with that is guaranteed to pay off. It’s a 2 channel tube preamp, has 2 combo inputs and 2 outs, and has phantom power option for each channel. What sets this pre-amp apart from the rest is that it has variable impedance to protect the devices connected to it. It has an inbuilt compressor and an output level protection. In this price range, it’s almost impossible to compete with the Art TPSII.

ART Pro MPA-II (19, 500)

Here is another interface by Art and it has all the options that the TPSII comes with. It has an inbuilt compressor, a variable impedance controller, output level protection, 2 inputs and 2 outputs and of course, it’s a tube pre-amp. What’s new in this is that the quality of sound which passes through it is processed in even a better quality than TPSII. MPA- II has an extremely low THD, low noise at lower gain stage, a large VU meter and selectable plate voltage. The only downside of using this interface is that it is bigger in size (2 unit rack space) and hence isn’t a very portable device.

This article was featured in our November 2017 issue: http://bit.ly/2jzJpqO