Bundled software includes Presonus Studio One Artist and Studio Magic Software Suite, Ableton Live Lite, so you'll have plenty to get you up and running no matter what your audio interface needs. The appeal of larger and more comprehensive audio interfaces can be alluring, but for many, being able to record a single vocal, or a vocal and guitar, is all that is ever needed. While digital interfacing, such as S/PDIF and ADAT are commonly added to increase the I/O numbers on devices, but rarely ever used. As well as being a volume control the iD knob has some other useful functions. If you push it down you engage 15dB of dimming. If you hold the Mute and iD buttons together the knob pans the inputs. If you hit the iD button the knob becomes a mouse scroll wheel and means you can take control of knobs and faders just by placing your mouse pointer over them. The bumpy lumpiness that feels good when using it as a volume control feels less so when controlling knobs. Each bump is also a jump in value, which makes it far from precise. It could do with a smooth mode like mouse wheels often have. Getting Technical SSL 12 is a 12-in/8-out interface, with four XLR combo mic/line inputs with high gain ‘SSL-designed’ mic preamps (including a +48v option for using condenser mics). Two inputs at the front can be poached for recording hi-Z instruments like guitars, bass, or vintage instruments. You get four balanced outputs and two sets of headphone outs. The extra eight inputs come by way of an ADAT connection.

On the front of the interface you get the ¼” D.I. Input as well as the ¼” and 3.5mm headphone outputs which offer free latency monitoring. The ADAT ports let you expand the total number of inputs and outputs by 16 (20 x in, 24 x out, hence 44) but part of us wishes there was more onboard analogue I/O. Still, at least there’s the provision for sizable expansion. The original iD44’s primary strength was always the superb quality of its mic pres and converters. This version ramps up the performance even further and adds a handful of nifty new features. Computers like to do work with large amounts of data at a time every once in a while rather than small amounts of data in an almost constant stream as this means no other processing (such as graphics) can be done at the same time.

Recording is a lot easier when you've a USB audio interface that's full of bright iDeas

But it can be expanded through the optical input which allows for an extra 8 channelsof ADAT at 44.1kHZ or 48kHz, 4 channelsof ADAT at 88.2kHz or 96kHZ, or 2 channelsof S/PDIF between 44.1kHz and 96kHz. These are robust interfaces. They sit solidly on your desk and exude a sort of professional calm. They are weighty, serious and look far cooler than their predecessors. While they don’t bring anything particularly new or innovative to the table, the sound quality is exemplary, and the feature set brings them in line with our modern needs for streaming and podcasting. Only the iD14 MkII has had any physical upgrades with the dual headphone output, an extra pair of outputs and the ability to be fully bus‑powered. Otherwise, the performance improvements are internal, although you shouldn’t underestimate the positive impact of the cool new look. The older iD44 and iD22 do now look rather drab and dated in comparison. This is the big brother to the standard SSL2, the main difference being that the 2+ adds two outputs to the 2-in, 2-out configuration of the 2, MIDI In/Out plus an additional independent headphone out (with both being able to monitor different mixes). There's also the 4k button which adds some extra presence and high-end zing (and, more importantly, makes you feel that little bit more 'pro'). The other adjustable causes of latency would all be found within the processing of the audio either in the converters or the plugins.Continuing with our postal service theme each processor would be a post distribution centre where the post is processed and sent on to its next stop at either another centre or the recipients house.

Clarett+ has improved independent A-D and D-A converters, slightly better noise figures throughout, and improved dynamic range. The mic inputs are silky smooth and have plenty of headroom, and the outputs are crystal clear and suitably noise-free. If you want to add some life to your input, the Air option does just that. Also excellent are the two JFET instrument inputs, substantially better than a regular instrument input. This is when the input is sent straight to the headphones greatly reducing the latency. On the iD range, for example, this can be done through either the monitor mix control or using the iD mixer. We captured an acoustic guitar through the DI input while simultaneously recording the vocal with an sE Electronics RNR1 through the mic preamp. The mic requires phantom power and a fair amount of gain, but gave us the ability to set the null point to point at the guitar, providing a reasonable amount of separation between the two. While the feature set is decent, competent and similar to every other interface in this price range, when comparing the two you can’t help wondering why the iD4 MkII doesn’t have a headphone level control and the iD14 MkII doesn’t have a Monitor Mix knob or input monitoring. These are robust interfaces. They sit solidly on your desk and exude a sort of professional calm. They are weighty, serious and look far cooler than their predecessors. Software MixingThe technical specifications line up nicely with other interfaces in their range. Comparing them to their own even more budget‑friendly EVO 4 and EVO 8 interfaces there’s not much in it on paper. They both run at 24‑bit and 96kHz; they have similar signal‑to‑noise of 101dBu, slightly improved dynamic range at 120dB, the same 58dB gain range on the mic input, slightly less on the JFET input. The Clarett+ 2Pre is a reasonably simple interface with some very handy features, that offer subtle yet welcome improvements over its predecessor.

Straight out of the box these are smart‑looking devices. The all‑metal construction gives them a decent heft and a luxuriously smooth feel. The grey tone and colour‑matched knobs gives them a subtle and serious presence on the desktop, and it’s remarkable how much cooler the capitalised logo looks than the lower‑case ‘swoosh’ they used previously. These are beautiful little boxes.

I bought this just for online meetings, but I noticed the mic preamp is excellent, and way better than I would expect to find at this price point! Sound quality from the headphone out is also good - definitely good enough for monitoring while recording. The iD14 MkII has an additional combi Mic/Line input with independent phantom power with solid switches on the top panel. It’s gained a second pair of outputs and has a lightpipe input that can accommodate eight channels via ADAT or a stereo S/PDIF signal. However, the Audient iD4 beats the Scarlett 2i2 in every other aspect since it sounds better, has a better construction, even though the Scarlett is still very well built. Note: The direct monitoring feature can be switched from Mono to stereo, in case you’re running a stereo microphone set. Audient has also managed to improve the iD44’s Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC) THD+N figure by an impressive 9dB to a class-leading 112 dB. The Digital to Analogue Converters (DACs) are similarly pristine, with imperceptible noise and 126dB of dynamic range. The four mic pres are exactly the same as you’ll find in Audient’s pro-level consoles.