[Fedora-music-list] Compatible USB Audio Interface

[Brendan Jones]

On 07/25/2013 09:40 PM, Christopher Antila wrote:
> On 07/25/2013 03:43 AM, Brendan Jones wrote:
>> On 07/25/2013 01:26 AM, profiles wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I am a musician and recently joined this mailing list. I use Fedora18
>>> and would like to use it to create music. I am having trouble getting
>>> off the ground as I have not identified a USB Audio Interface that is
>>> compatible with Fedora. I have visited the ALSA soundcard matrix wiki
>>> and a number of forums in hopes of finding a device. Unfortunately many
>>> of the models and makes talked about are a few years old now and,
>>> frequently, are no longer available from distributors. I imagine a few
>>> people on this list use some sort of soundcard to test/use all of the
>>> great software that is being created for linux users.
>>>
>>> I am inviting suggestions from people with experience in the application
>>> of audio hardware in the fedora environment. I am looking for a device
>>> that uses an independent power plug, connects with usb 2.0, and has both
>>> MIDI and analogue inputs and outputs. A device similar to this would be
>>> great:
>>>
>>> http://www.presonus.com/products/AudioBox-44VSL/media
>>
>> As long as it is a class 2 compliant USB audio device you should have no
>> issues (that's USB 1.1)
>>
>> There are reports of a similar device working well here:
>>
>> http://www.linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7543
>>
>> My Roland/Edirol UA25EX works fine here, although in advanced mode it is
>> not strictly a USB 1.1 device. I suggest the best place to look is the
>> ALSA device matrix [1] for compatibility and post an email on
>> linux-audio-user at lists.linuxaudio.org just to make sure - that's your
>> best bet.
>>
>> Please , let us know how you get on
>>
>> [1] http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Main
>
> Hi Occhi:
>
> I've been shopping for a new audio interface for a couple of months now.
> My requirements are similar to yours, but I also want a device with
> S/PDIF support, preferably optical. Here are some general observations.
>
> It seems like buying an audio interface is more similar to buying audio
> equipment than computer equipment. You said most of the recommended
> interfaces are a couple of years old, and that seems true to me too, but
> I don't think that's a problem by itself. Another issue is the USB 2.0
> one... if you want an interface that is going to work easily, you should
> probably avoid interfaces that are "USB 2.0 only," because Linux support
> tends to be weaker. If what you're looking for is something that will
> work easily, I would consider buying something used. The Roland/Edirol
> interface Brendan mentioned seems to be widely used and recommended.

For a while there, even this was not working for me properly in advanced 
mode (advanced mode gives you full 24bit/96 plus MIDI - normal mode is 
just class 2 1.1 compliant). The problem with USB audio devices is they 
are somewhat temperamental when having to share bandwidth with other USB 
devices. This is further complicated in laptops when your internal USB 
root hub is used by the webcam for example. On my desktop I ensure that 
the sound card is the only device on that particular bus - having a 
wireless mouse desktop on the same bus can cause Xruns for example. I 
have not tried a USB 2.0 device on linux as yet.

They are more expensive, and you may need to buy a PCI-firewire card 
these days, but you are less likely to have problems with a firewire 
device. The ffado project has a comprehensive list of devices reported 
to work: http://www.ffado.org/?q=devicesupport/list

Here in Germany for example there seems to be a saffire Pro 26 for only 
275 euro on ebay-kleinanzeigen. It is listed as having full support by 
ffado.

>
> That's not where my search ended. As it turns out, digital in-/out-puts
> are a bit of an issue, and since I'm replacing another device (with
> neither MIDI nor S/PDIF---this is why), I want to be sure the new device
> will have superior audio characteristics. I found a device that may be
> exactly what you want: the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (see link below).
> People say it has excellent sound quality, it works out-of-the-box with
> Linux, and it's a USB 2.0 device with MIDI ports. To get the S/PDIF
> outputs, I think I'm going to get the similar 6i6 model. The 6i6 is
> apparently a bit of a struggle to set up, but somebody has to do the
> testing, and it might as well be me.
>
> http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i4
It seems to have almost the exact same specs as the UA25EX. Does anyone 
have any experience with the 6i6 or 18i18 models? They are still pretty 
affordable here at 248 and 348 euros respectively. Hmmm, very interested.
>
> As always, I'm curious to know about other people's experiences.

Look I'm really interested in peoples experience with there USB devices 
that have more than two ins and outs. I haven't tried one as yet but 
will be on the market for a new interface soon. I am using a cheap 
Behringer UCA 202 when I need an extra out for monitoring (but that's 
not recording, just useful for DJing at parties ;)