The 21st century brought that Bedroom maker. And in 2020 the music industry finally recognized that songs recorded in someone’s bedroom were just as useful as those recorded in a studio with millions of dollars in equipment. This, of course, has led many of them to do so Manufacturer of high-end studio equipment to try to get into the home studio game.
The latest to make the leap is Universal Audio. They are a brand with over 60 years of experience whose gear was used to record some of the most iconic albums of all time. But until recently, the most affordable interface the company made was the $ 699 Apollo Solo – hardly the kind of money a novice or casual hobbyist will drop. the volt However, Serie eschews the company’s expensive DSP chips and focuses on delivering the basics with a few unique twists. The result is a collection of affordable audio interfaces that should be on the shortlist for any home studio setup.
benefits
- Vintage mode adds character
- Little noise
- Better latency than the competition on Windows
disadvantage
- Slightly more expensive than similar devices
- Software package is mediocre
- Not a mix for direct surveillance
benefits
- Vintage mode add character
- 76 compressor is excellent
- The controls are large and spaced for easy operation
- Attractive design
disadvantage
- Software package is mediocre
- Not a mix for direct surveillance
The Volt range includes five models from $ 139 volt 1 with a single input to $ 369 volt 476 with four inputs. Some of the functions are different and the number of inputs and outputs varies from model to model, but they share the same core, including 24 bit / 192 kHz audio converters and preamps with a “vintage” mode that tries to to recreate the sound of a classic UA 610 tube preamplifier.
I tested two mid-range models: the 189 volts 2 and 299 volts 276. These are both two-input interfaces. What sets the “76” versions apart from the basic models are some ergonomic and design optimizations, as well as the inclusion of a built-in compressor modeled after the company’s legendary 1176 governor.
hardware
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
Before you even think about the compressor, however, the difference between the Volt 2 and the 276 is immediately apparent. The 2 is simple and functional. It looks like most of the other interfaces in the under $ 200 range. On the front there are a pair of combined TRS / XLR inputs, along with rotary controls to control the gain of each channel. Finally, there is a monitor volume control, a headphone jack and a button to toggle direct monitoring on and off.
On the back there are MIDI inputs and outputs (something is missing from the company’s higher-end Apollo interfaces), symmetrical outputs for connecting studio monitors, a USB-C port, a 5 V power socket (required when using with an iPad or other mobile phone device) and, somewhat strange, an on / off switch.
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
The rest of the Volt 2 is a simple box. On the flip side, if you have limited desk space and still have access to all of the controls, you can mount the Volt 2 in tight spaces or put things on it. On the downside, it can feel tight, especially when you’re trying to monitor your input levels. There are two small LEDs next to each input that light up to warn you when you start clipping.
The 276, on the other hand, is beautiful and spacious. However, you will need additional desk space as most of the controls are on top. At the top right you will find large five-segment LEDs to control your levels. The gain knob and monitor level knob at the top are also much larger, which makes it easier to adjust.
Plus, the whole thing just has a lot more style. The measurement LEDs are angled slightly to make them easier to see, and the sides are made of a nice piece of wood. Are those aesthetic flourishes and conveniences alone worth the extra $ 60? In all honesty, it could be.
The competition
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
With the compressor in mind, the choice between the two here is obvious in my opinion, as long as your budget can handle it. The Volt 2 (and as an extension the Volt 1) are inexpensive, perfectly serviceable audio interfaces. But they don’t necessarily stand out from the crowd. Focusrite’s Scarlett series is well established, affordable, and shares many of the same features. The third generation Scarlett 2i2 costs $ 170 ($ 20 less than the Volt 2), has the same connectivity options, and has “Air” mode, which is comparable to UA’s Vintage.
Most importantly, if you want to capture the clean audio, you’ll have a hard time telling the difference between the two. When Air and Vintage are turned off and the preamp gain is set to lower levels, both interfaces deliver crisp and clear results. Are there any differences? For sure. But they are very subtle. I would not be able to separate a volt, a Scarlett, an Arturia Minifuse in the blind test. And I doubt that the target audience of hobbyists and beginners would be able to do that.
(If you want to get really nerdy about the signal to noise ratio, noise floor, and frequency response, I highly recommend it Julian Krause’s YouTube channel.)
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
The latency on all of these is pretty similar too. I gathered up the interfaces I had lying around – Volt 2, Volt 276, Focusrite and Scarlett 2i4 second generation Arturia mini fuse 2 – and put them in my MacBook Pro (2019, Quad-Core-Core-i7-CPU, 16 GB RAM) and Dell XPS 15 (2019, Quad-Core-Core-i7-Processor, 32 GB RAM), set the sampling rate to 44,100 Hz and buffer size to 128 samples and measured total latency in Ableton Live 11. All four interfaces delivered exactly the same latency of 12.2 ms on the Mac. Both volts arrived at the Dell with just 8.89 ms, the MiniFuse with 9.89 ms and the Scarlett brought up the rear with 12.9 ms. While lower latency is obviously better, none of these numbers are particularly alarming.
This difference becomes even more apparent when you turn up the gain and press the preamps on these interfaces. I connected my Fender Toronado directly to Volt 2, Volt 276, 2i4 and MiniFuse using Atomic humbuckers. I turned the preamp gain all the way up on each one and fed it into a simple clean amp simulator in Ableton. Here the differences are a little more obvious, but not as dramatic – at least until you turn on the 276’s compressor.
The MiniFuse is a bit brittle at full gain and sounds like a fully turned up fuzz pedal. The Scarlett has a slightly more lower end and slightly hollowed out mids, but is still pretty aggressive. While the Volt 2 is a bit thinner at the lower end and puts more focus on the mids and highs. The 276’s compressor makes a big difference here, however. It softens the edges a little and tames the harder frequencies a little. It’s worth noting that all of these sound pretty harsh at the higher frequencies when the gain is turned all the way up. On the other hand, it is unlikely that someone would turn these preamps to maximum on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have an SSL2 + on hand for testing, which would have been a better comparison to the Volt 276.
