# Audio interface

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Audio_interface.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_interface
> Source revision: 1343136219
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Device used to interface audio signals with a computer}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2022}}
{{broader|Audio and video interfaces and connectors}}
[[File:MOTU Audio Interfaces 7849.jpg|right|thumb|Two early [rackmount](/source/19-inch_rack) audio interfaces]]

An '''audio interface''' is a piece of computer hardware that allows the input and output of audio signals to and from a host computer or recording device.

Audio interfaces are closely related to computer [sound card](/source/sound_card)s, but whereas sound cards are optimized for audio playback an audio interface is primarily intended to provide [low-latency](/source/Latency_(audio)) [analog-to-digital](/source/analog-to-digital) and digital format conversion for [professional audio](/source/professional_audio) applications.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Tre |date=2022-04-15 |title=Audio Interface vs Sound Card: Everything you Need to Know |url=https://prodjunkies.com/audio-interface-vs-sound-card/ |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=ProdJunkies.com |language=en-US}}</ref> 

Audio interfaces may include [microphone preamp](/source/microphone_preamp)s, as well as analog line inputs, [DI input](/source/DI_input)s, and [ADAT](/source/ADAT_Lightpipe) or [S/PDIF](/source/S%2FPDIF) digital inputs.  Outputs are [analog line](/source/line_level), headphones and digital. They're typically available as external units, either as desktop devices or in a [19-inch rackmount](/source/19-inch_rackmount) format. Audio interfaces range from two channels in and out, to over 30.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Audio Interface |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/glossary/audio-interface |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=www.soundonsound.com}}</ref>

[[File:MOTU Audio Interfaces 7851.jpg|thumb|right|Professional audio interfaces often have industry-standard inputs, such as [XLR](/source/XLR_connector) and [1/4" audio jacks](/source/Phone_connector_(audio)), in this case [ADAT](/source/ADAT_Lightpipe), [TDIF](/source/Tascam_Digital_Interface), and [S/PDIF](/source/S%2FPDIF)]]

== History ==
Standalone audio interfaces grew from the proprietary [hard disk recording](/source/hard_disk_recorder) market of the 1980s and 1990s, but advances in processor power and hard drive speed meant that, by the mid-1990s, standard home computers were capable of recording multi-channel audio at 16-bit, 44khz [compact disc](/source/compact_disc) standard.

Early systems such as [Digidesign](/source/Avid_Audio)'s Sound Tools (1989) and Session 8 (1993)<ref>[https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/digidesign-session-8/7647 Music Technology, November 1993: Digidesign Session 8]</ref> and the [Ensoniq PARIS](/source/Ensoniq_PARIS) (1998) consisted of an external unit that connected to the host computer with a [ISA](/source/Industry_Standard_Architecture) or [SCSI](/source/SCSI) card, but from the late 1990s onwards it became practical to use standard computer interfaces such as [FireWire](/source/IEEE_1394), [USB](/source/USB), and eventually [Thunderbolt](/source/Thunderbolt_(interface)) instead.<ref>[https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/motu-828 Sound on Sound, July 2001: MOTU 828]</ref> 

== Versus mixers ==
Although there is a degree of functional overlap, audio interfaces are differentiated from [audio mixers](/source/mixing_console) in that they are intended to pass multi-channel audio directly to a host [digital audio workstation](/source/digital_audio_workstation), whereas mixers generally sum their inputs into a simple two-channel stereo pair. Audio interfaces are therefore often simple rackmount boxes, without [faders](/source/fade_(audio_engineering)), although as of 2020 some digital mixers provide multi-channel audio passthrough.<ref>[https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/audio-interface-vs-mixer-which-is-right-for-my-studio/ Sweetwater.com, June 2020: Audio Interface vs. Mixer: Which Is Right for My Studio?]</ref>

== Notable manufacturers ==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [Apogee Electronics](/source/Apogee_Electronics)
* [Arturia](/source/Arturia)
* [Audient](/source/Audient)
* [Avid](/source/Avid_Audio), optimised for [Pro Tools](/source/Pro_Tools)
* [Behringer](/source/Behringer)
* [Creative](/source/Creative_Technology)
* [Focusrite](/source/Focusrite)
* [M-Audio](/source/M-Audio)
* [MOTU](/source/Mark_of_the_Unicorn)
* [Native Instruments](/source/Native_Instruments)
* [PreSonus](/source/PreSonus)
* [Roland](/source/Roland_Corporation)
* [Solid State Logic](/source/Solid_State_Logic)
* [Steinberg](/source/Steinberg)
* [TASCAM](/source/TASCAM)
* [Universal Audio](/source/Universal_Audio_(company))
{{end div col}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline|Audio I/F}}

Category:Sound production technology
Category:Audio engineering
Category:Audio interfaces

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Audio interface](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_interface) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_interface?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.