5 Best Audio Interface for Audacity in 2020

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Audacity is an open audio recording and editing app that comes with a user-friendly interface.

It is one of the most popular free music production software available in the market.

Contrary to what you’ll obtain in other Digital Audio Workstations, like ProTools and Sound Forge, Audacity comes light featured.

The software comes with toolbars for tracking, editing, and mixing of musical sounds.

The tracks loaded on the software travel like wave-forms, and you can edit particular parts of the track by selecting the suitable part of that waveform.

The easy-of-use and open-source nature make audacity very popular.  

On top of that, it consumes a small amount of CPU power which makes it compatible with any type of PC.

The simple interface makes it more suited for beginners, unlike the more complicated DAWs that are more suitable for professional music artists.

In this article, we have provided our top selection of the best audio interface for audacity and equally provided some tips to select a suitable interface for your recording needs.

Our Winner After Careful Research

Best Audio Interface For Audacity – Comparison Table

5 Best Audio Interface for Audacity

1. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

The Scarlet 2i2 is a popular audio interface that comes with high-quality mic pre-amp, a solid build to ensure durability and makes it stable on your table.

It is equally portable and comes with good collections of inputs and outputs.

The amp quality easily compares with costlier interfaces.

Besides, it comes with integrated popular DAW-Ableton Live Lite which makes it a great option if you want the software that will help you to start recording as a beginner.

While it is USB powered, it lacks MIDI inputs and outputs which a shame.

You can use the interface with a Mac, PC or any type of hardware.

Audacity is not presently compatible with ASIO and this means you can only run it with the windows integrate audio driver.

With Windows built-in audio driver, you can only use a maximum of two inputs and outputs, irrespective of the I/O count on the Focusrite studio interface.

So, while you can use the interface for Audacity, you can only access two inputs and two outputs. 

2. BEHRINGER Audio Interface, 4-Channel (UMC404HD)

The UMC404HD studio interface comes with four potent input, four output USB interface with authentic MIDAS-structured mic preamps.

You equally get up to 24-Bit and 192 kilo Hertz resolution conversion with the device.

It is suitable for those who what to get the best result from their music recording and mixing. 

With the interface, you can easily make a lot of fans out of your creativity.

It records utilizing a USB 2.0 studio interface in real-time and comes with all the connecting ports you require for your mics, guitars, keyboards, and MIDI instruments.

It can equally be used by vocalists for recording sounds into PC and is compatible with Digital Audio Workstation.

This utilizes the amazingly clean and top-quality MIDAS-structured microphone preamps to record with condenser mics on +48 Volt phantom power.

The studio-quality 24-Bit/192 kHz conversion feature ensures you get amazing sound quality.

It is suitable for both mobile songwriters and singers and producers and those who need a good quality interface for their backing tracks.

3. Zoom H4n Pro Digital Multitrack Recorder 

The H4n Pro audio interface comes with 2 microphone preamps and this means it is an

excellent choice for podcasters who just need only mic connectivity to record their hits.

Besides being versatile, it comes in a compact size and is very portable while also providing up to 24bit/96kHz audio conversion.

You equally get +24 or +48 phantom power with this little unit, which is amazing. 

Consider getting one of these if you need to record outside your home studio like in your friend’s house.

It is very portable which makes it easy for you to carry when out and about.

You can either carry it in your backpack or stick into one of your larger pockets.

With 2 inputs provision, you can connect your instrument cables or your mic XLR cables.

The integrated smart locking feature prevents any accidental pulling of the cables during recording sessions.

You can use it to record a music inspiration when in a place without your PC.

Besides, it equally serves as a USB audio interface.

4. Tascam US-1×2 USB Audio/MIDI Interface

TASCAM’s US-1×2 makes high-quality desktop recording possible at an affordable rate.

Featuring world-class Ultra-HDDA mic preamp and one ¼ inch line input which you can easily switch to instrument level if you’re recording guitar or bass.

For easy connectivity with your musical instrument, the stereo line inputs and outputs are located at the back.  

It is a great audio interface to lay your hands on if you aren’t particularly looking for fanciful processing or recording multiple instruments at a time. 

It is a well-built interface with metal casing.

It makes it easy for you to save your creations in your PC with minimal hiccups.

The unit features only one XLR input for a mic with a +48V phantom power connection.

You equally get only one input for a musical instrument.

It equally has conversion ability of a maximum of 24-bit and 96 kiloHertz of sound and links up to your PC through the USB 2.0.

It equally comes with a supplementary adapter which you can utilize with your iPad.

While it isn’t fanciful, it is a great studio interface with a lot of options for newbies

5. ART USBMix – 3 Channel USB Mixer

The ART USBMix is powered by USB.

However, it doesn’t require an exterior power supply if utilized with your PC.

It is a three-channel mic, line or music gear mixer which equally works as a PC interface.

With the bus-powered USB Mixing feature, you get great sound output with your Mac or Windows PC.

 It is a multi-purpose audio interface as a result of its XLR and TRS combined input together with two mono ¼ inch line inputs.

The best of it all is that you get all the features packed into a very compact unit.

It is a great option if you’re just starting out to do computer music recording.

With the 3-channel mic, instrument and line mixer feature together with the PC interface, you can count on its versatility.

Besides, it is all tidied up is smart little steel case which you can easily stick into your backpack for when you’re out and about.

When utilizing it for home studio recording, it occupies less space on your work desk.

With the USB Mix bus-powered feature, you can enjoy its plug-and-play functionality.

Conclusion

The best studio interface for audacity would be determined by the hardware you’re using.

However, bear the following in mind while you search for the most suitable option. 

 If you need to work with your desktop or tower PC instead of your laptop, the PCI sound cards won’t constitute as much problem as when you utilize a USB or firewire.

Audacity presently is not compatible with ASIO drivers because of restrictions on its license.

Therefore, if you want to use ASIO sound cards, ensure that they come with supplementary drivers that are compatible with Windows.

These drivers are normally known as WDM drivers.

The majority of Windows soundcards are compatible with WDM drivers.

Try to verify this before you make your purchase. 

A few multiple channel sound cards equally utilize many WDM drivers as opposed to just one multiple channel WDM driver.

These normally surface on Audacity as many stereo devices instead of just one multiple channel device.

However, as Audacity can only support a single recording instrument each time, you can only record two channels.

If you need to record multiple channels, you can use multiple channel WDM drivers.