It’s organized by the number of XLR mic inputs.Īll of the interfaces should work with both Mac OS and Windows, but I’ll mention if that’s not the case or if there have been any issues. We’ll start with the smaller units and move down the page toward the larger ones. The “best” USB audio interface will really depend on your needs and potential uses, so we’ll highlight brands and models with a range of I/O (input/output). They all have mic preamps built into the XLR inputs, and at least one output for monitoring speakers or headphones.Ĭompared to a built-in sound card, you’ll almost always get higher sound quality when using an external audio interface (essentially an external sound card) as well. If you want to simplify it, you’re converting XLR to USB (in the case of a microphone). They can vary in quality, features, inputs & outputs, and more. your voice) into a digital signal for your computer.
A USB audio interface lets you convert your analog audio signals (i.e.