What is an Audio Interface and why do I need one?

What is an Audio Interface and why do I need one?

First of all, WHAT is an audio interface?

 An audio interface is a device that transfers analog audio information 

(voltage from a microphone, or a guitar, or a sound desk) 

into digital audio information that can be then utilised by your computer. 

And visa versa.

To put it simply, an audio interface enables you to get sound INTO and OUT OF your laptop.

SO, why do YOU need an audio interface?

For live sound use cases - 

An audio interface allows you to play background music from a laptop. 

It allows you to record from a mixing desk or send sound from the console to video call platforms like Zoom or Teams, 

An audio interface will allow you to use reference microphones with software like Smaart or Open Sound Meter for acoustic measurements and PA alignment and tuning.

Which audio interface is right for the live sound crew? 

I need an interface that is well built, rugged, and reliable. 

I need an easy to use interface with headphone monitoring ability.

I need an interface that is small enough to pack in my pelican.

I need an interface that can supply phantom power per input.

I would love to find a small interface with XLR audio outputs - have not found one yet.

I would need at the very least two inputs and two outputs for stereo input and output - this can cover all use cases from stereo playback, stereo recording, stereo inputs for Streaming, and system tuning with one - or more than one RTA microphone. 

But wait - My console has an onboard interface!

Now here comes a kicker - most live consoles now have full featured multichannel audio interfaces built in - do I still need my external interface? I would say yes. 

Sometimes you need a dedicated playback laptop that is connected to your sound desk for background music, recording, etc. 

Or you might need to be independent of the sound desk when you are system tuning.

Or you might even come across a console that doesn't have a USB interface, like the Midas Pro2.

What are my options?

So, what options do we have? Let's have a look at a few and compare them.

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