I’m looking for interface recommendations as someone new to the recording game in a small home studio. I realize there are “entry level” and “pro-grade level” units and I’m interested in getting feedback on the list below based on the praise and positive reviews. I think an 8-input interface will be a good place to start and this will be connecting to either a Mac M1 or M2-chipped computer using Ableton. I think I’m going to skip using an external mixer and use Ableton, etc. for that task. I prefer to be budget conscious as possible, but don’t want to go cheap and can validate spending over $500+.

Here is the gear that I’ll be working with: one mic for vocals, six string guitar, bass guitar, Juno 106, Oberheim OB-6, Roland MC 707 Groovebox, Novation 49SL MkIII MIDI Controller, and a Boredbrain Patchulator V2 8-channel Patchbay, Sony MDR7506 and Sennheiser HD 650 headphones. I will likely be adding a few hardware effects pedals, but not more than 3 or 4.

Here is the list of interfaces:
- Audient iD22.
- Audient iD44. (Some owners report build quality issues and headphone noise.)
- Metric Halo LIO-8 mkIV. (A LOT of people say these are the best and that I could find an earlier used one, but make sure it is 3-D card DSP equipped and to add a Mamba UDB - Custom ULN-8 DB25 Patch Bay.
- MOTU MIDI Express XT. (Some people are saying this won’t hold up and doesn’t like the new M1 and M2 Mac chips.)
- PreSonus Studio 1824c USB-C.
- Universal Audio APOLLO TWIN X QUAD HE.
- Universal Audio Volt 476P.

Thanks for the feedback!

My usual recommendations: for 8 inputs without needing expansions (even though they both can be expanded via ADAT and you could add 16 more via a ferrofish box):

RME UCX II or MOTU Ultralite MK5 if you don’t want to go much over $500.

I use the ID44 everyday at work.

I think there was an earlier version that had a few issues but mine is 2nd Gen and has been fine for over a year. It sounds really good and I plumb an ASP880 in for extra Inputs.

None of your choices were bad ones. Pick the features you like or need.

Because..........

Lesson 1: Gear has come a long way in recent years, so buying into the "you get what you pay for" is a fool's errand. Even the cheapest stuff out there is really good now. From what I can tell of what you said, spending more than $200 is likely a waste of money.