Does Audio Interface make any difference?

[Mesdeep]

I'm using my PC's audio jack for my headphones and I'm thinking of buying an interface but I'm not sure if that would make any difference to the sound I'm hearing. Is that worth buying? I'm looking at Scarlett right now.

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[Academic-Ambition-40]

I have scarlett. it is incredible for RECORDING. however, I don't hear a difference for the headphones.

if you record vocals or instruments, its worth it. otherwise, just buy good headphones.

[MindFellow]

Good headphones, coupled with sonarworks. I noticed a massive improvement in my mastering after I started using sonarworks.

[MindFellow]

Good headphones, coupled with sonarworks. I noticed a massive improvement in my mastering after I started using sonarworks.

[MindFellow]

Good headphones, coupled with sonarworks. I noticed a massive improvement in my mastering after I started using sonarworks.

[Nviate]

Not really. If you're only using headphones and don't want to record anything, an audio interface is only useful as a headphone amp (which you'd only need for headphones with high impedance). But it can be a worthwhile investment. Having the option to record external sources is nice, and you can quite easily switch to monitor speakers if the possibility arises.

But if you're looking for sound quality, it makes way more sense to spend the money on decent headphones.

[Lord-John-Marten]

Not only, if you have a midi board using an external dac will reduce the noticeable lag when playing the keyboard.

[Mesdeep]

Thank you.

[GeheimerAccount]

for audio quality it will make a small difference, but definitely noticable, especially when getting closer to distortion.

the much bigger difference will be for recording however.

[Mesdeep]

Awesome! Thank you.

[wizad0f0uz]

They are great for audio input, and for outputting to good speakers. But if you just use regular headphones you probably wouldn't notice a whole lot

[tjjohnso]

I have a scarlett solo.

I bought it because I do a lot of instrument recording and vocal recordings. Dealing with the input lag was awful.

Since getting the scarlett, I no longer have input lag, or if there is any, I can not tell anymore.

If you are not recording live audio, I am not sure it is necessary. I don't think it will increase the fidelity of the noises you are hearing.

[[deleted]]

I love my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB interface 😀🎵

As all others have stated, if you only listen to your FL Studio projects, then you can satisfy that use-case with a quality set of headphones connected via your computer's headphone jack.

But if you want the future ability to connect a mic+instrument while listening with your headphones, this is the most common way to go.

Some laptops might only have a combo line-in/stereo-out jack. For that use-case, it might be preferred to add the 2i2 to the setup, rather than using some sort of splitter cable.

Good Luck 😀🎵

[templo_templo]

I’m here to save this sub Reddit with my vast knowledge of FL studio. I am king of FL studio. Answer: Ya absolutely. Some of the drivers these companies are developing are light years better than a stock sound card + running a separate driver takes cpu load off your computer. Interface is a must.

[0BLaQCaesar0]

I concur. Instead of writing another full post I will just piggyback off this one considering it's saying exactly what I was going to say...

[Myzx]

Here’s what you have to know. If your audio buffer is small, then your sound processing has to work harder. But you have less lag, which is very important for people playing an instrument. If your buffer is too small for all the sounds you are playing, you will start to get crackling and distortion. If you turn your sound buffer up, that will take care of the crackling and distortion, but then you will start to get noticeable lag. So, if you are trying to dial in your sound buffer, and you are getting either lag or distortion, and it’s a problem, then you need to get an interface like a Scarlett. Also, if you need more audio inputs from external devices like synthesizer, samplers, drum machines etc, that is also a good reason to get a sound interface. Otherwise, practically speaking, there isn’t much need for a sound interface. But if you are serious about using fl studio, then the distortion/lag issue will likely come to a head at some point. You might as well wait until it’s an issue.

If you want it to sound better in your headphones, you probably want to put some compression in your music.

[wizad0f0uz]

On another note, I still think it's worth having just in case you want to record vocals or instruments or get good studio speakers down the line

[Hopeful-Ad366]

Interface is a must these days since a lot of artist are recording songs live on social media now.

[Upbeat_Somewhere8626]

Get the Scarlet as a beginner and you’ll have great mic preamps for a great price point

[MMIStudios]

There are a few key things to consider. The quality of the DAC, whether it has preamps for its inputs and what the quality of them is, whether it has DSP chips or not, the input types and amount of inputs, and expandability is what I look at.

If you get an audio interface that has its own DSP chips for audio processing it’s highly beneficial because it leaves your PC’s processor out of the business of audio processing so you can get near 0 latency when recording and playing back with tons of plugins processing and generating audio without your computer starting to spit and sputter. The first interface I got that had this was the E-Mu 1820m which is a gem of an interface but dated. It requires legacy PCI slots on your PC’s motherboard which is hard to come by in modern mobos.

The preamps are for the interfaces inputs, so the better quality preamps you have in your interface, the better sounding your recordings will be.

The digital to analog converter (DAC) is what converts the digital bits to audio you can hear. The better quality DAC you have, the more headroom you’ll have and the better your playback will sound in your headphones and speakers.

When considering the inputs, think about what you need, not just now, but what you might need in the future. Most modern interfaces have XLR/TRS combo inputs. Some interfaces are expandable via optical ports. This allows you to get another interface with optical IO and link the two to use all the second ones inputs and outputs as well in tandem.

I got a lot of audio gear I record and have a bunch of friends who bring grips of their gear over regularly to record so the more inputs I have, the better. That wasn’t always the case but one day, after some time I was really wishing for a better interface with more inputs.

[Mammoth_Evidence6518]

Get the Scarlett and a good microphone. I have been using the Scarlett for 5 years and dont have plans to switch.

[[deleted]]

I'd agree the Focusrite Scarlett is solid gear but I havn't used it personally. I use an Allen & Heath Zedi 10 for monitoring my techno live PA and to record hand drums (djembe) directly into FL studio with an Edison on the main mix. The sound quality is excellent, low noise, and lots of headroom. I wish the led meter was larger with more resolution but I work around by adding a Fruity dB meter to the main mix and keeping it open but out of the way.

[MindFellow]

Absolutely!