Topic by mcoll

  • Avatar
  • mcoll
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 12-12-2017
  • Posts: 41

Topic: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

Hello everyone!
I'm new to the forum and don't have Pianoteq (yet), but that may change pretty soon with the winter holidays.
However, I have played it quite a lot in demo mode, along with other VSTs, and recently I had to look at a new interface.

I'm split between Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen. Does anybody have them? What is the lowest buffer size that can be selected and what's the resulting latency? I can't seem to find specific information on the internet or on this forum (at least not for the UR22 mkII - no numbers out there).

Also, for those interested, I tried getting the Roland Rubix22 which I'm now returning, as the lowest buffer is 80, then 160 etc. From my experience, I cannot recommend it.
The nonstandard buffer size is giving me trouble in Pianoteq (a warning and not using 38% of the CPU) and other applications. Also, with a longer USB cable (3-4m) the interface stops working so I cannot place it close enough to use headphones. The previous interface worked without problems with these cables.

I would not like to go through the same trouble as with the Roland, so please, if anybody has experience with those specific models, help me!

Thank you,
mcoll

Reply by Deyvidpetro

  • Avatar
  • Deyvidpetro
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 26-03-2016
  • Posts: 88

Re: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

I had the Steinberg UR44 and it was a solid interface no problems at all with it, by far the best in its price range at the time. Have you checked out Audient? I have the iD22 and it is a great interface again probably the best in its price range along with the SPL Crimson. They cost a bit more but they have better latency and sound quality.That was what I eventually traded my UR44 in for was the Audient iD22.

Reply by Deyvidpetro

  • Avatar
  • Deyvidpetro
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 26-03-2016
  • Posts: 88

Re: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

My advice with audio interfaces are, do not buy cheap. You are best saving and buying something at least in the middle range as you are likely to get better quality. Scarlett stuff at the low end of the price range are not too great from what I have heard, best to wait and save at least that way you won't keep trading stuff in all the time and it becomes an investment then.

Reply by tfort

  • Avatar
  • tfort
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
  • Registered: 29-01-2016
  • Posts: 94

Re: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

I have the UR22mkII, I consider it to be fine. A bigger factor in buffer size/latency will the quality of the drivers. I am using the UR22 on a Mac, so my experience would be meaningless to you if you're on a PC.

I also needed 5 pin MIDI for older hardware and class compliance for iPad connectivity, with at least two mic preamps, which brought the UR22mkII up to the top of my list.

If I were buying now in the "relatively inexpensive, but not cheap" category, I would get the Zoom UAC-2 USB 3.0 or one of the TAC-2/TAC2-R Thunderbolt interfaces.

Reply by scherbakov.al

  • Avatar
  • scherbakov.al
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Sankt-Petersburg
  • Registered: 25-06-2015
  • Posts: 707

Re: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

On my Steinberg ur12, the delay is limited by the performance of the processor. The delay can be made even less (although it is not noticeable -1.3ms (128 samples, 96khz)), but the processor can not cope anymore. I'm not complaining about quality, the drivers are good.

Reply by mcoll

  • Avatar
  • mcoll
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 12-12-2017
  • Posts: 41

Re: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

Thank you for the recommendations!
While the advice not to buy cheap is always great, I'm not eager to spend too much, this already being a significant sum. But I have found a UR22 mkII with cables, under warranty, for a little under 100 euros, which seems ok after my experience with the Rubix.
Deyvid, your recommendations are great, but cost more than my monitors and headphones put together. I would rather invest in some better monitors first, although I have done just that, that's why I need another interface. My old interface (Alva Nanoface) was quite good for latency and sound quality, but the Eris E8 monitors have a poorly thought unbalanced input so I needed a new interface.
I also have my eye out for a UAC-2 interface, but it's out of budget if I don't find a good used offer.

Lastly, after some thorough digging I managed to find somebody who posted round-trip latency time for the UR22 mkii (9.2ms at 64 samples, stable) and for 2i2 2nd gen (7.9ms at 64 samples, stable). For the output the latency should be roughly half that number in both cases.
Given the very small latency difference and the good reputation the UR22 is getting, I'm thinking of going for the one I found now, which I should be able to resell at roughly the same price (or a small loss), in case something worth upgrading to comes up for a good price.

Does this sound like a reasonably good idea?

Reply by dklein

  • Avatar
  • dklein
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Florida
  • Registered: 29-11-2015
  • Posts: 1,600

Re: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

I have the Steinberg UR-22 Mark 2, and am quite happy with it. I am running it on a Microsoft Windows Surface Pro 4, which has a quad core i5 processor in it. My input is a QRS MIDI strip underneath my upright piano. Currently, with 44.1 kHz sample rate and 128 sample size for the buffer in Pianoteq, the "input latency" via the Steinberg report is 6.7 ms and the "output latency" for the Steinberg report is 7.7 ms. What this is in real life, I am not sure, but, when I have my stop-bar not engaged so that I can hear my acoustic piano, it is essentially simultaneous as I strike both the acoustic piano strings and hear sounds from Pianoteq. (There have been threads on this form before about how much latency there is in a real piano, measured from different points during the key strike itself)

In any case, I have had no problems with the Steinberg, and it makes a very convenient preamplifier to run my powered monitor speakers, as well as giving me real analog volume knobs to twist to control volume and earphone output.

I think it should do quite well for you.

- David

Reply by mcoll

  • Avatar
  • mcoll
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 12-12-2017
  • Posts: 41

Re: Steinberg UR22 mkii vs Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen

Reporting back - I have bought the Steinberg UR22 mkII for a reasonable price (used). It works as expected, 64 samples, reported output latency in Steinberg's control panel 5.3ms (my previous Alva Nanoface reported 6) and in PT, just as with the Nanoface, 1.5ms. I've had no pops and clicks and it also works with the long USB cables on which the Rubix failed. My PC is a i3-4130 desktop with plenty of ram and an SSD.
I will soon do some A/B testing, out of curiosity, because I still have the impression that the Nanoface has a better latency, but I need a direct comparison to be certain.

Last edited by mcoll (18-12-2017 08:09)