Arturia AudioFuse Rev2

Connettività: in un formato così piccolo è una delle migliori opzioni sul mercato per chi ha bisogno di molti I/O differenti. Da notare che S/PDIF e ADAT non sono utilizzabili simultaneamente, come anche gli ingressi 3/4 line e phono.
È diventata il centro del mio home studio: fa da monitor controller, preamp per il mio giradischi, e hub per la mia tastiera MIDI e i miei preamp esterni.

Preamp: veramente silenziosi e trasparenti anche se impostati al gain massimo, sono perfettamente in grado di tirare fuori un guadagno alto anche da microfoni come l'SM7B grazie alla funzione di boost.

Funzionalità: comodissima in sede di tracking e mixaggio grazie alle numerose opzioni di output come la possibilità di mandare due mix diversi sulle sue uscite cuffie o di selezionare indipendentemente l'opzione mono/stereo. I pulsanti mono, dim, mute e il selettore di monitor rendono il workflow molto più rapido senza costringere ad aprire il software per le funzioni utilizzate più di frequente.

Software: latenze bassissime se accompagnate da un processore abbastanza veloce. Con un i7 da 2.8GHz riesco ad avere latenze compessive di 5ms senza il minimo artefatto udibile.

Due note dolenti: in un design così compatto e resistente sembra un sacrificio dover utilizzare il connettore usb mibro b, che sicuramente non garantisce una longevità enorme per il cavo di connessione. Inoltre, come dicono moltissime recensioni, la scheda diventa molto calda durante le sessioni di lavoro intense (quando impostata via software sul preset di alimentazione più esigente). In ogni caso la temperatura mi sembra non fastidiosa poer l'utilizzo e non sembra inficiare sulle prestazioni dell'interfaccia.

Aggiornerò se necessario la recensione quando avrò esperienza su come si comporta in contesti di live electronics.

It was meant to be great. It's got all the features I need, especially that easily accessible separate balance knob. Mute, dim, mono, pad, phase buttons, separate knobs for everything, even two separate headphone outs - all that is great. It's even placed in some kind of a promising pricing bracket, where you expect it to be a quality item. BUT: It's very problematic, and there are more and more annoying bugs appearing and different things breaking.

First, I had some troubles even at the initial start. It just kept restarting itself after plugging it into the computer. Somehow managed to fix that with a couple of reconnects.

Second, It can randomly go robo-mode and either your output or input will start crackling horribly. I've found that it tends to happen more often if you turn it off for the night (via long-pressing the "A" button). Also turning on the Safe and Low Power modes helped a bit, but not completely eliminated the issues, and they still appear regularly.

Third, the main knob is digital. It has its advantages, BUT:
a) It has a built-in acceleration that can't be turned off. It means, that if you rotate the knob faster, the volume will change in bigger increments.
b) It has a very low quality encoder.
Combining both of these points, we get a really annoying malfunction when your volume level can start jumping randomly in very big increments when trying to adjust it even very slightly. The first read errors began to appear within the first month, and now, after it's been 4, it has become horrible. I don't want to damage my monitors or ears, so I'm going to RMA it soon.

Fourth, it sometimes makes my monitors go quietly whining in a "take-off" manner (don't really know how else to put it, hope you got that). The only way to fix it is to disconnect it completely from the computer and its power supply.

And fifth, its output amps are not great for this price. I always find myself stuck to 2 o'clock using my fairly easy to drive headphones or IEMs, or sometimes even further, but I've still kind of expected that. Could have been better.


I have no idea why no one mentioned at least some of the first 4 of these issues anywhere on the Internet. Let's hope that it's just one unique case and the replacement item will be fine.

Pro's:
- Wide feature set
- Amazing sounding pre-amps
- Can be used without PSU or as a standalone mixer!
- Special reamping feature!
- Nice buttons that you WANT to touch and click

Cons:
- Some features are hidden in the software
- The unit can get pretty warm
- Micro-USB instead of USB-C

Having used the Audiofuse for some time now, I can assure you that it's pretty much a Swiss Army Tool for the audio world. This little beast is great for both on the road as well as studio use. In the studio, I have 8 extra inputs via ADAT which allows me to expand the useability of this machine even more. On the road or just to go the Audiofuse can be used in a portable mode which allows it to be used without a power supply. Last but not least, if you wanted to, you could use the Audiofuse as a mixer if you wanted to do some DAWless jamming or recording. Gripes are minimal, but I would've liked to see a USB-C input/cable. That would've resolved the thick double USB cable for PSU-less use.

I'm a professional voice over artist, a senior TV commercials editor and a sound editor
I was looking to upgrade my studio equipment,
when digging the internet for specs, comparisons and reviews, I came across the Arturia AudioFuse. The main competition was Universal's Arrow, but for me it was no doubt that I was going to buy the AudioFuse. First, of all it has a button for each thing, which is a bonus for me. Second, the variety of inputs which is rare. But mostly - The pre-amps, these are crystal clear with no coloration and extremely low self noise. Now the setup is a bit vague as simple software installation in windows environment is not enough. There is tweaking around the windows sound controls panel. I have to mention that the AudioFuse gets very hot - but it is normal for it. At the end - this is a much recommended and a great buy!
pros:
-crystal clear, low self noise pre-amps
-variety and flexibility of inputs
-sound quality is superb
-knob and button for every task
-plugins bundle

cons:
A bit tricky at first setup, but after that, everything works great!

to me it is the perfect choice