A digital interface is absolutely necessary for recording voice over on a computer.
In the world of audio recording, choosing the right interface is crucial.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, understanding the basics can make or break your setup. From the necessity of pre-amps to the nuances of sample rates, navigating the options can be daunting.
Let’s explore the essentials you need to know about audio interfaces and pre-amps, and how they impact your recording quality and workflow.
Input
Unless you’re using a reel-to-reel tape recorder from the olden times of the 1980s, you will need an interface with an XLR input (not just phono or jack, like interfaces for computers to turntables).
A word that is often used interchangeably with the word interface is pre-amp. There is much debate around whether pre-amps make a substantial difference to the sound of a recording. Some audiophiles, and gear nerds, will argue that expensive, fancy-pants pre-amps, like the classic analogue pre-amps made by Neve, are essential to getting the best sound quality.
Others will argue that after a certain point it barely makes any difference, it’s only really signal-to-noise ratio on analogue pre-amps you have to worry about. Everyone who says otherwise is just pretending, mainly to show off how expensive their stuff is.
Even Neumann can’t agree how much difference pre-amp quality makes to the overall sound, and they sell pre-amps.
However, the one thing everyone agrees on is that you do need a pre-amp to record with a microphone. You can’t just buy a jack cable and plug it into your computer’s tiny microphone input on the built-in soundcard.
We’ll go through the various options available to you, at various price points, for interfaces with built-in pre-amps, and at the more expensive end, interfaces without pre-amps.
Low budget (< $100)
Behringer U-Phoria UM2 USB Audio Interface
The Behringer U-Phoria (£30/$39.99/€37) is about the cheapest audio interface with an XLR input you can get. Behringer has a reputation for cheap and cheerful though, so this won’t necessarily last you very long.
The components tend to deteriorate fairly rapidly, and if you move around a lot and don’t have a fixed studio set up, these things can’t take much of a battering. However, if you are just starting out, it does the job perfectly well.
The noise floor of Behringer hardware is normally not great, and the pre-amp you will get built into this is unlikely to be able to boost any weak signals without significantly boosting the electrical noise present as well, but it will certainly do the job for most enunciated and projected voice over jobs.
Alesis MultiMix 4 USB FX
The Alesis tends to come in at about £60 ($80/€70), which is more expensive than the Behringer interface. However, it’s much more robust and is specifically designed for travel.
Alesis are a similarly ‘budget’ brand to Behringer, so the sound quality will likely be similar, but if you record on a laptop or have a recording setup that you are frequently having to set up and take back down, this would be a good choice.
PreSonus AudioBox iOne
The PreSonus is a bit more expensive again (£69/$95/€80), but it does have the added benefit of allowing you to record using your phone or laptop with a USB input as well as the usual output.
It also, helpfully, comes with some audio recording software (DAW), Studio One, which is made by PreSonus. It’s definitely an affordable and fairly complete package to get started.
M-Audio M-Track Duo
The M-Audio M-Track Duo (£50/$70/€60) is very reasonably priced for two inputs. Alesis and Behringer also make similar level interfaces, for similar prices, with two inputs instead of one.
Mid budget ($100 – $500)
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface
The Focusrite is a little more expensive, near the £100 ($140/€115) mark.
Focusrite pre-amps are professional quality and will be used in major music and audio recording studios. The pre-amp you get in this single-track model is a slightly more budget version of the classic Focusrite ISA model pre-amps. These do not have the famously extraordinarily low noise floor of the original, but they’re pretty close.
Tascam US-2X2HR
The Tascam US-2x2HR interface is a higher-priced option, near £150 ($200/€170), that comes with two inputs as standard.
Tascam products tend to be used more on film sets and locations. If you’ll be working on ADR or voice over for TV, then having a piece of equipment that aligns with the equipment used in the earlier stages of sound recording could be a benefit.
Clarett 2Pre
The Clarett 2Pre is the most appropriate for voice actors since you are only ever going to need two XLR inputs at most. However, it is considerably more expensive, coming in around £400 ($400/€450).
One important thing to remember, with the Clarett interfaces, is to ensure you get the correct type of interface for your computer. Ensure you get a USB interface if your computer only has USB ports. The Clarett interfaces, as standard, come as Thunderbolt interfaces, which are exclusive to Apple Macs.
The Clarret 2Pre USB is a specific, distinct bit of hardware. It contains the same pre-amps but has a different connection port to the computer. Firewire interfaces are still around to a certain extent too, although these are becoming rarer.
Roland UA-1010
The Roland UA-1010 sells for around £400 ($600/€500), so it’s starting to border on the higher price point.
The main advantage you get from the Roland is the extra DSP and the bundled-in Universal Audio Plug-Ins (which are things that go inside your audio recording/editing software and act as ‘effects – like compressors and EQs).
The DSP advantage is primarily if you have a slightly lower capability laptop or computer and you need an extra boost of processing power.
High budget ($500 +)
UMC1820 Audiophile
The Audiophile is around $200, and it’s based on the U-Phoria interface mentioned at the start of this article.
However, if you are looking to spend more on a pre-amp, and if you need multiple inputs, then you should look for a slightly higher quality than you tend to get with Behringer.
Focusrite Scarlett OctoPre Dynamic Eight-Channel
The Focusrite Scarlett OctoPre Dynamic Eight-channel is another good choice, coming in at around $800.
This is totally unnecessary and overkill for voice over recording but we felt the need to give you the option just in case.
Conclusion
- Most affordable: Behringer U-Phoria UM2 (£30 / $40 / €35)
- Best value for money: M-Audio M-Track Duo (£50 /$70 / €60)
- Our personal favourite: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (£130 / $180 / €150)
- Money is no object: Pro-Tools HDX (£ / $ / €1,000 – ∞)
All prices are approximations as they change daily.
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