VO Studio Setup: Audio Interfaces – A Few Final Thoughts

On the topic of Audio Interfaces, I may have created a bit of a cognitive dissonance issue.

I’ve highlighted a range of audio interface models with a variety of interesting features, some of which are not particularly cheap. My hope is that has been helpful to understand what models work consistently in my voiceover studio and those of my VO audio clients.

On the other hand, there’s a consistent undercurrent of “it doesn’t really matter…” threading through those earlier articles. That gets at the crux of the issue. Unless you are working with a significant budget, it’s helpful to prioritize any investment you make in your voiceover business.

It gets back to priorities. By the time you are ready to upgrade your interface, it would have been helpful to invest first in quality training and then the space in which you record. Those two things remain more significant than even which microphone model you end up using.

In terms of importance, Audio Interfaces sit slightly below all of those things. And these days, you get a lot of usable quality for a fairly modest investment. Even the basic models I’ve mentioned work well – certainly enough to cover voiceover recording tasks. The main reason I wanted to retire my Scarlett was that it travelled with me to in-person classes, and I was just worried about it banging about in my bag. I couldn’t afford to come back to the studio, plug it in and have it not work. Just to be clear, it is still working just fine after countless hours over many years.

How you use the gear matters as well. Whether more sophisticated routing features, or audio processing tools, matter remains a question that each of us must answer. My bias tends to be toward robust and simple solutions. I’ve found over the years, those types of things tend to fail less and be more easily repaired. With Audio Interfaces, keeping things as simple as possible pays benefits.

Mini Mixers As VO Audio Interfaces? I vote “No”…

There is one type of Audio Interface I would avoid for voiceover work – the “Mini Mixer” (many companies make a product like this). Often new voice actors try to use inexpensive USB mixers as their audio interface. For the most part, those hardware units are designed to take audio from a larger number of inputs (certainly more than the 1 or 2 we might need in the VO studio), adjust those audio input levels, process the audio and provide some limited routing options.

These Mini Mixers are equipped to be an inexpensive solution for capturing full bands or live performances. By providing a wide variety of functions at a relatively low price, they must use less expensive components throughout. The typical result is a noisy input channel for your microphone, which negatively impacts the quality required for voiceover applications. 

A Few More Audio Interface Options for Voiceover Studios

Yamaha AG Series with Loopback – AG03 / AG06

This unit is an exception to the above statements about Mini Mixers in the home VO studio. Though laid out like a small mixer, it contains a higher quality preamp and converter circuitry. These models became quite popular as they contain a simple hardware Loopback circuit, allowing you to play audio back to a remote director.
Manufacturer’s site
Yamaha AG03 – 1 Mic Input – Purchase
Yamaha AG06 – 2 Mic Inputs – Purchase

CEntrance MicPort Pro

The MicPort Pro has long been a favorite of voice actors looking for a compact interface. With the earlier “2L” model, CEntrance added an analog Limiter which could provide a discrete track on the input in addition to the raw feed. I have a number of video game and animation clients who chose the 2L model for that feature.

CEntrance appears to have replaced that with a “Version 3” which I’ve not yet had the opportunity to use. One thing to be mindful of: since this unit is designed initially for mobile use, it runs from an onboard battery. Charging the battery can be a little tricky if using it as a computer interface as it needs a second USB cord connected. The MicPort Pro 3 is currently available for preorder on the CEntrance site.

Presonus 24C / 26C Audio Interface

Even though I got a bit focused on the Revelator io24 with its flexible software routing, the basic 24C and 26C interface should not be dismissed. I do prefer these to the Audiobox Series – another simple two input interface that has been in the Presonus lineup for years.

The 24C and 26C both have two microphone inputs, use clean preamps with more gain, work with USB-C connections and have both input and output metering. The 26C model provides more output options, which may not matter for most VO setups.

Presonus 24C – Manufacturer’s site – Purchase
Presonus 26C – Manufacturer’s site – Purchase

Audio Interfaces for the Home Voiceover Studio – List of Resources

This resource is part of a six article series.

Audio Interfaces for Voiceover – Part 1 – Audio Interfaces in the VO Studio

Audio Interfaces for Voiceover – Part 2 – Audio Interfaces: Can Distortion Sound Good?

Audio Interfaces for Voiceover – Part 3 – Audio Interface Features and Options

Audio Interfaces for Voiceover – Part 4 – Recommended Audio Interfaces (specific model recommendations)

Audio Interfaces for Voiceover – Part 5 – Audio Interfaces With More Features (more model listings)

Audio Interfaces for Voiceover – Part 6 – Audio Interfaces: A Few Final Thoughts (this article)

I demonstrate features of the Presonus revelator io24 on my YouTube Channel

If you are looking for my 6 part series on Microphones for Voiceover, that starts here.

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