Ultimate Guide to Audio Recording Specifications (Tech Specs of Audio Interfaces / Recorders)

Technical specifications of audio interfaces or recorders can be confusing sometimes. Which specs do really matter and what should you watch out for when buying an audio recording device?
In this video I will go through the common technical specifications you can find for recording gear and answer all your questions.
Support the channel on Patreon: / juliankrause **
Intro 00:00
Sample Rate 00:28
Frequency Response 02:04
Bit Depth 04:25
Dynamic Range 05:12
Equivalent Input Noise 06:54
THD / THD+N 09:30
Gain / Gain Range 11:45
Impedance 13:35
Maximum Input / Output Level 15:44
Phantom Power 16:57
important specs 17:39
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[@du39104]

The most underrated audio channel ever!!! I don't understand why so many bullshxting non-sense audio reviewing channels got over millions viewers, while this golden one has so few......

[@Podcastage]

Great overview.

[@evolvingevrday]

If you two collaborated on top 10 best setups for every budget, I'm willing to bet that would be a very popular video.

[@HomemadePyroQuebec]

I love these videos because they are not application specific. Well suited for digital audio recording in general.

[@GuidoGautsch]

I've been binge watching your theory vids for the last couple of weeks - so much useful stuff! One thing I think would make them even better: screenshots of real life examples posted on product webpages. This can help bridge the raw concept and how it is displayed to consumers by marketing departments. You do this to a degree already, but personally I just think it'd be really helpful, especially for beginners:)

[@chamindasenadheera4491]

I have seen only few guys with this level of clarity of explaining any stuff. Thanks Julian again…..❤

[@jonsiuece]

Another very informative video. Keep it up Julian.

[@monsour1900]

You're such a great educator Julian. Thanks for making the technical understandable. By the way, your presentation is consistently flawless, I'm starting to think there's a rendered version of you facing the camera ( because you never blink? LoL ) --- I'm not complaining though. Thanks for the great content. :)

[@JulianKrause]

Yeah, not blinking still seems to be a bug with the rendering. Working on a fix for future versions :) Glad you enjoy my videos!!!

[@DavidHarry]

Hi Julian. Another excellent explanation. Before I bought my first DAT machine, my first digital audio recorder for recording my two track masters was actually a domestic Sony Betamax video recorder. I didn't use this as a video deck, just as an audio recorder. It used to record a PCM track, I can't remember now if it used a linear space on the tape or if it was interleaved into the video signal, at 32KHz and I think it was only 12 bit as well. I also used to use another Sony system based on using the transport section of a Beta deck although I never owned one of these. I think it was called the F1 or the PCM F1. This was basically an external interface for all the A/D-D/A system etc. and it connected to a regular Beta deck via the composite/video connections and used the deck's tape to store the PCM stream, it was basically bit streaming unit. The bit stream was essentially modulated into the video signal and therefore used the bandwidth of the helical scanning mechanism. Also, my first CD player was only 12 or 14 Bit on the D/A, despite the media being 16. How things have changed :) Cheers, Dave.

[@mattmorris2867]

Can’t beat this guy. Brilliant.

[@paolodeitrich]

If Mr. Julian Krause decides to teach at a University or even a series of masterclass classes online. I will not hesitate to go broke haha. Thank you so much for providing nuanced and digestable information. I feel like I have teacher who "teaches" not "shows and let's you figure out the rest".

[@adamroycroft4455]

For those who don’t know, a higher bit rate(higher dynamic range) is important because it increases the distance between the sound captured and the noise floor(as explained in the video) and that is important for when you start using compression and gain based saturation on tracks. Because compression brings up the quiet noises while limiting the loud ones, it means the noise floor sounds increase on average.

[@michaelmistaken2863]

Thanks so much for your videos! They've educated me about a lot of the technical terms I need to get started!

[@AlOne-xg6dv]

Excellent as usual. Nicely explained and concrete.

[@heyheyhey7757]

Julian you are one of the only fully objective channels on youtube Superb work, keep it up, but two suggestions; 01. A frequency response graph of the interfaces 02. An phase canceled, original input audio vs preamps input, to see if the system does change the audio in other ways other than frequamcy and resonance.

[@teashea1]

Let there be light ------- so well done as usual. Very excellent.

[@HaroldEscalona]

A Master Class, thanks Julian

[@arthurgarcia7538]

This is amazing, I'm learning so much.

[@kyled1570]

Julian is truely the best!

[@PhoticSneezeOne]

Thank you Julian for your insights and sharing them with us. Dankeschön.

[@JulianKrause]

You're welcome!

[@matdemaz]

Helpful video, man. Good work, well-explained. Cheers. 🍺

[@gibson2623]

Very concise as always.....Very nice ;)

[@dxmat]

Excellent work.

[@powersliding]

on julian's final words, thats why we need julian to test these devices...maybe more than just audio interface broaden the scope for this channel..would be incredible

[@sergioval2217]

jizzz finally I could find someone who cleared all this info! many many thanks!!!

[@GiancarloBiondi]

Super great info here! Thanks Julian

[@KozakBlade]

Man I appreciate these videos

[@Olyxes]

Very useful, thanks!

[@paulcusi568]

Nice 🙂 👍... Very informative...thanks Julian...

[@korayem]

Man, I can't thank you enough! This video should be standard for anyone learning about recording

[@AntonShields]

Ok man... I had to subscribe after this video... I have learned so much from your videos. It's how you present the material. I actually understand... LOL. Thanks again

[@lynncayenmusic]

Man keep making great videos 🙌and stay safe 😊

[@shimmoon8061]

Thank you for this, Julian. Your channel is very helpful. It would be amazing if you made a sheet with all these specs for the audio interfaces you tested and expand it as you go on. I think it would quickly become THE PLACE on the internet to send people to who are not sure which interface to buy. It would also be great if you also tested some mid-level interfaces like Audient id44, RME Babyface pro, Arturia Audiofuse, etc...

[@DJNeiloSF]

Excellent video !!

[@erichelsinkimusic]

Very nice content!

[@rdennisdom]

Great video! But I never found the easy explanation about CMRR and crosstalk. Glad if you could help. Thanks.

[@gotopcpanik]

Very good work. Well made and explained. At least you missed Plug-In Power. 😃

[@gugoshow]

Very good! You are the best!! Please do a test with Apogee Symphony Desktop.

[@echoems]

Did you just not blink until 5:58? 😂 Great video btw! I was really looking for videos that discuss these specs, very informative. I'm planning to buy the Behringer umc202hd, thanks to your review!

[@evolvingevrday]

May I just tell you, I wish you had every interface/mixer in the world to review. How are these manufacturers not throwing you demo units everyday? There is so much misinformation out there. Had someone tell me once, "I'm going to be laying down a lot of layer tracks so please record at negative 25." I asked why? When you combine all of them you're going to get a ton of noise, we can always turn the backups in mastering. And yes, this was a professional artist. I have a video idea for you. A lot of professional units come with compressors and limiters. Maybe you can discuss how compression can help with noise when used correctly or hurt when used incorrectly.

[@TroyLeonardO]

Watched this twice in 2 days ✔✔📝💯

[@jasonscoggins01]

Thank you

[@zezesilver]

Saved to favourites!

[@AlejandroGarcete]

Science Beach 😎 thank you, Julian!

[@TheKalofer]

Good job

[@jbaranowski1990]

Great video! So which audio interface is the best for the best money today on market in Dec 2020?

[@333ger]

Hi, in regards to the converters, are there other relevant qualities, properties or specs asides bit depth and sample rate? Very informative. Thanks!

[@JZone-uh8ic]

Thumbs up👏👏

[@metal571]

If only this video existed before I bought my first XLR mic, the AKG P220, which has a quite high 16 dB self noise. If only I knew then what is in this video, but glad I finally ended up with the NT1. I am weirdly obsessed with minimizing noise so now I'm also curious about the CAD E100S. Man that 3.7 dB self noise is ridiculous. Hey do you also think you can cover "plug-in power"? This is a strange spec to research and I haven't learned much about it except talking with AntLion's engineers...which may have at least partially led to their releasing their XLR to 3.5mm phantom power adapter that is safe to use with i.e. gaming headset mics that only need 5V of plug-in power. Definitely an odd topic that I'm sure you know a lot about already

[@JulianKrause]

I totally relate to your quest to get the lowest noise recording as possible. Though I doubt that anyone could hear the difference in noise between a Rode NT1 and the CAD E100S. They are both so low noise, that the majority of noise in your recording is probably coming from your ambience. Plug-in power is used to power microphones which are connected via a 3.5 mm jack. Plug-in power is around 3 to 5 volts and many products that feature 3.5mm mic inputs provide plug-in power without specifically stating it because it is needed to power the mic. Even your laptop or PC is typically providing plugin-power at its 3.5mm mic inputs. There are some 3.5mm mic which have an internal batterie and they usually don't need the plug-in power. But most 3.5mm mics need 3 to 5 volts to work properly. You are correct, if you want to use a 3.5mm mic to go into an XLR mic input you need an adapter which not only changes the pinout but also converts the 48V phantom power to plug-in power. Rode also makes such an adapter called the VXLR+.

[@momins-topic4470]

helpfull

[@ALMAR-Music-Ltd.]

Have you ever made a video on selecting appropriate studio mixing monitors for a small room my small room is a 10 x 12 located as a den room in Lakewood Florida

[@elementary8963]

Hi Julian - great video, thank you. Quick question - would you say there is a 'trade off' between Dynamic Range and EIN? For example, the SSL 2+ has an good DR of 110 and a super low EIN of -130 - whilst the Audient iD44 has a low DR of 120 but an average EIN of -126 (the preamp also has 2db less gain than the SSL). In 'real world' use would you expect these two interfaces to give the user a similar experience?

[@JulianKrause]

You don't have to trade off EIN for DR. You can have a device that can have both perfect values for both of them. Btw, the EIN of the iD44 is not directly comparable to the EIN of the SSL because it is unweighted. Weighting turn the -126 dBu of the iD44 in about -129 dBu(A). In the real world I would say that you would have a very hard time discerning the audio quality between the two and I would expect that 99 % of people cannot tell the difference between the two. The mic and mic placement makes a much much bigger difference in sound.

[@Rod-Wheeler]

Julian. Does the ambient noise of a room say 30db(a) cancel out a mic that has a 20db(a) Self noise or is it added to together equaling 50 db(a)?

[@PaxHominibusBonaeVoluntatis]

Hey Julian. I love your work! I'm subscriber of your channel because you are so tech oriented, what I like best compared to advertisement channels on YT and so called "audiophile" talks. If you have possibility, kindly please make review of M-Audio AIR 196/6. I like MIDI IN/OUT, XLR on back of this device, 4 LED input level indicators and big monitors volume controller but I don't have idea if this is better than Behringer UMC202HD in case of self noise of preamps and dynamic range which is very good on UMC and latency as well. Second question: I use Linux (many distros) mostly based on Debian and free open-source DAW like ARDOUR with low-latency kernel. Is Windows better for audio recording ?

[@JulianKrause]

Hey, I just released a review of the M-Audio AIR 196|4. It most likely performs identical to the AIR 196|6. Sorry, no idea about Linux as I currently only use Windows. But I it shouldn't be a problem to use Linux for audio recording.

[@gixxerboy555]

Which is best soundcard please?thanx

[@anchitdev]

Hey I'm looking to upgrade my sound card, I have a budget of around $500 I have antelope zen go and clarette 2 pre in mind, I'm looking for a good mic pre amp and convertors for mixing, which one should I go for?

[@kumareshhalder4214]

Hi julian which audio interface has the least noise preamp plz let me know

[@thepianokid27]

Do u have a similar video guide for microphones?

[@heidewatzka]

Hallo Julian, habe vielen dank für Deine Videos. Sie haben mir schon sehr weitergeholfen. Wenn ich darf, würde ich Dir gern ein paar kurze Fragen zum Motu M2 stellen, welches Du etestet hast. Mir ist das mit den ganzen Werten nicht wirklich klar. Wenn ich die Spur auf Rec. stelle, kein Mic drin habe, habe ich ein True-Peak von -100,5 dB. Wenn ich von diesem Wert jetzt auf 0 dB gehen würde hätte ich mur eine Range von 100,5 dB. Der herrsteller gibt ja eine Dynamic Range von 115 dB an und auch Du hast diese gemessen. Verstehe ich das mit dem Wert falsch oder hat mein Interface ggf. ein Problem? Auch bei der Verstärkung habe ich eine Abweichung feststellen können. Laut Motu soll eine Verstärkung von 0-60 dB möglich sein, wenn ich kein Mic drin habe (um wirklich nur zu erkennen wie viel das Signal verstärkt wird) erziele ich ca. 47,8 dB Verstärkung. Du hattest glaube ich 50 dB Verstärkung gemessen, wenn cih mich recht erinnere. MAche ich ggf. hier etwas falsch, oder deute es falsch? Und eine kleine Frage noch zum Gehäuse. Bei mir sind die Knöpfe von "In 2" deutlich weiter im Gehäuse als bei "In 1". Der "Mon" Knopf liegt sogar fühlbar nen Hauch unter dem Gehäuse. Hast Du so etwas bei Deinem Interface auch feststellen können? Ich habe das Gefühl, das ich ein Vorführgerät erhalten habe und da ich jetzt so abweichende Werte habe, wollte ich das mal bei einem Fachmann wie Dir ansprechen, um auszuschließen, das ich ggf. nur das Gras wachsen höre :D. Der Verkäufer meinte zu mir, das es neu sei, nie im Gebrauch gewesen ist und Original Verpackt gewesen sei. Das denke ich aber nicht, denn das Kabel war nicht korrekt aufgewickelt, der Karton wies im Inneren auch Abnutzung auf und der Klebesteifen war auch ein anderer. Und der Karton hatte auch nicht mehr die "Verschlussverklebung). Würde mich freuen, wenn Du ggf. ganz kurz auf die Punkte eingehen könntest. ich wünsche Dir ein schönes Wochenende

[@rinalubit]

Out of curiosity, what equipment were you using in this video?

[@Acenis]

What sample rate would be the best for windows 10 using audio interface? Are there any compatibility issues using 48 over 44.1 or maybe even higher? For daily use like gaming, watching movies and discord etc... Would teamspeak or discord benefit from higher buffer size/sample rates/bit depth? By default my focusrite scarlett solo was at 24bit/48kHz and 192 buffer size.

[@itayoron]

Is there a difference in the ability to drive high ohms headphones between AC powered and USB only powered audio interfaces? For example Behringer UMC404HD and UMC202HD?

[@muteralon]

Kalau audio interface yang anda sering pakai, noise floornya rata-rata di berada -dBFS? Biasanya level dB noise floor bakal terlihat ketika kita aktifkan monitor track input audio di DAWnya atau kita coba iseng merekam noise floornya saja an kita play, lalu bakal kebaca di berada dBFS kekerasannya..

[@markolinostyle]

Thanks for your video. How can imeasure the dynamic range and other specs for myself with at least a rough accuracy ? Have a good day!

[@JulianKrause]

Well, it's not that easy because you usually need additional test equipment. I will make some videos in the future explaining how I test audio devices.

[@markolinostyle]

@@JulianKrause thanks

[@sonysoni5079]

Another great informative video. Thank you. Can you please tell me what is "Fs/2" Specification? This example is from "Audient iD22" Specification page: FREQUENCY RESPONSE: +/-0.5dB 10Hz to Fs/2

[@JulianKrause]

Hey, Fs stands for how many times a second the audio is sampled. In other words it stands for the sample rate. Fs/2 simply means half the sample rate. The specification essentially says that the frequency response goes from 10 Hertz up to half the sample rate. If you had set the sample rate on the iD22 set to to 48kHz the frequency response would be +/- 0.5 dB 10 Hz to 24 kHz. Cheers!

[@sonysoni5079]

@@JulianKrause Thank you vary much Mr. Krause, you've been vary helpful.

[@roggo_x]

Hi, could you tell me the formula to calculate the dynamic range in audio interfaces that do not specify it, but if they give the other data such as THD + N, EIN, etc? Thx

[@JulianKrause]

Hey, there is sadly no formula to calulate it from other measurements. Dynamic range is sometimes also called signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) maybe you can find that spec for your device.

[@armsby]

13:25 you talk about a video explain how to compare preamp gain. Could you post a link?

[@JulianKrause]

There you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHW7dnWXndZ1sJY

[@joelepley]

Just because the human ear can't hear over 20 kHz doesn't mean that sample rates above 44.1/48 kHz aren't useful. In fact, we can sample at a higher rate ("oversampling") in order to lower the quantization noise of our analog to digital conversion. Put simply, taking samples more often can average out the noise that we get from converting a signal from analog to digital. This won't always be necessary, and other sources of noise or distortion (like a nonlinear or excessively noisy preamp) can overwhelm its potential benefits, but I thought it was important to note why it exists as an option in professional audio. And because someone will probably bring it up, oversampling also dramatically reduces the difficulty of producing an antialiasing filter that both blocks ultrasonic noise (preventing it from getting "aliased" back into audible frequencies, creating strange distortion), and doesn't introduce noticeable phase or amplitude effects in the audible range. Audio filtering is dramatically easier in the digital domain than with analog components.

[@inlovewithtm]

this guy

[@allanb.estomo8075]

hi julian may i know what DAW are you using in your laptop

[@JulianKrause]

Hey, I use Adobe Audition.

[@milannagg]

You're a humanised super computer for home producer!

[@RedBearAK]

That reminds me, I'm still dumbfounded that the optional XLR add-on module for the Zoom modular recorders doesn't provide phantom power. I stupidly bought one before realizing that. I had assumed that nearly anything with XLR would provide phantom power. Nope.

[@JulianKrause]

Yeah, even I nearly bought the XLR add-on for my H5 before realizing that it does not provide phantom power...

[@asmr6773]

●J● If i just want to record only synths... no mics.... What specs i will have to look at??????

[@JD..........]

7:00 - preamp

[@sherrillshaffer579]

Why don't audio interfaces / recorders normally state IMD (intermodulation distortion)? That's different from THD or THD+N and can be at least as annoying. I'm not aware of any theory or experience that suggests IMD could be reliably predicted from THD.

[@Turbo_TechnoLogic]

Motu M2 vs Arturia Minifuse 2? someone?

[@sowjanyaj9461]

Can i connect a zoomh1n to an audio interface?

[@JulianKrause]

Not really, but you can connect it to a PC and use it as a USB mic.

[@sowjanyaj9461]

@@JulianKrause oh thanks for the reply.

[@rajkamaljangir3618]

This man is a scientist in NASA😂

[@fatriantobong2097]

omg, mark zuckerberg looks like you

[@suckitlolly]

please use another mike, or d-es audio

[@lv159]

bro siriuslyme says you look like an AI

[@NoName_4]

Sonosax, Merging Tech, Zaxcom can offer 135, 138, 140db respectively of dynamic range.