Solid State Logic SSL 2 USB Audio Interface - 24 bit/192 kHz, 2-in 2-out, with SSL Legacy 4K Analogue Enhancement and included SSL Software Production Pack

As an audio enthusiast and content creator, I recently upgraded my home studio setup with the Solid State Logic SSL 2 USB Audio Interface, and I couldn't be more impressed. Firstly, the build quality of this interface is exceptional. It feels solid and well-built, with a sleek design that exudes professionalism. The metal casing not only looks great but also provides durability for long-term use. The interface's compact size makes it portable and easy to integrate into any workspace. The SSL 2's audio quality is outstanding. The preamps deliver clean, transparent sound with plenty of headroom, capturing every nuance of my recordings. Whether I'm recording vocals, instruments, or podcasts, the SSL 2 consistently produces professional-grade audio with minimal noise and distortion. Setting up the SSL 2 was a breeze. The plug-and-play functionality made installation effortless, and the included software bundle (featuring SSL Native Vocalstrip 2 and Drumstrip plugins) added value to the package. The interface also integrates seamlessly with my preferred digital audio workstation (DAW), providing low-latency monitoring and intuitive control over my recordings. One of the standout features of the SSL 2 is its "Legacy 4K" analog enhancement, inspired by the classic SSL 4000 series console. This feature adds a subtle yet noticeable analog warmth and presence to my recordings, enhancing the overall sonic character and depth. The SSL 2's connectivity options are comprehensive, with two pristine mic/line inputs, two additional line inputs, and dedicated headphone monitoring. The inclusion of MIDI I/O expands its versatility, allowing me to connect external MIDI devices with ease. Overall, the Solid State Logic SSL 2 USB Audio Interface is a stellar addition to any home or professional studio setup. With its exceptional build quality, pristine audio performance, user-friendly interface, and versatile features, it's a standout product in its class. Whether you're a musician, podcaster, or content creator, the SSL 2 elevates your audio production to the next level. Highly recommended.

Bought as a replacement for my Focusrite 2i2 Works great. Driver from the website is easy to install and configure as you would expect for windows. Also works on Linux out the box which is really useful, therefore I expect the same for macOS. Gain staging is very solid, noticeable upgrade in audio quality from my microphone compared to the Focusrite 2I2 If you're buying this make sure to buy either two (if using speakers), or three (if using speakers and the headphone jack) 1/4 inch adapters as they do not come include.

I bought this to replace a 5 years old Audient ID22 interface that had issues for a while then power regulator packed up and too costly to fix. The Audient had a great sound but I always thought the gain/recording level wasn't right. Audient say you may need to put the gain up near max and that's normal but I'd have liked headroom and not to have to push things so hard to record quiet picked guitar etc. at decent input levels. This SSL2 arrived and having used for a couple of weeks I'm really pleased with it. Usb connection rather than powered which saves leads/sockets so just plug in and go. More gain/headroom when recording quiet parts and clear professional quality sound into Logic through both mic input (with Rode NT1, AKG414) used for vocals and acoustic and line/Hi Z input for electric guitar. It does have a different overall sound from the Audient ID22- not better or worse - slightly less 'warm', but not lacking anything, really clean and there's a considerable price difference between the two. The 'Legacy' 4K feature is nice and adds a bit of life/air so will probably use on some things. I really recommend this interface - incredible quality sound for the price.

Excellent quality for its market place. It'll do all that you need regardless of whether you've got a large recording studio or home recording studio...no hums and/or crackles from the SSL + 2. I had no latency issues either.. but latency issues are mostly down to having a reasonable pc and processor. You know what your SSL + 2 does so no need for me to waffle about this. IMPORTANT! PLEASE NOTE. Before you plug you SSL + 2 I highly recommend checking what onboard sound and if you do it worth disabling whatever onboard sound application/s you have so as to avoid any possible driver conflict and frustrations that might occur...after all it's your SSL+ 2 you want to use so we need to Disable all sound that you currently have on your pc or laptop ( this will stop any possible and confusing driver-conflict when you plug in your SSL + 2 audio interface) you may have more than one source of sound on your pc / laptop. For example: on my windows pc system I had three Onboard sounds/ I had the standard windows sound plus envida / and a creative Soundblaster card. HOW DO I DISABLE MY ONBOARD SOUND/S? .......this way please. : ( trust me it'll only take 5 minutes and save you a lot of possible cursing!!) 1 Look for the "speaker icon" in your taskbar bottom right ....double click the icon...a panel appears named 'Sound' now click on 'System Sounds icon' this will bring up another panel named 'Sound' you will now see a panel with has four tabs named 'Playback/Recording/Sounds/Communication' we're interested in 'Playback and Recording' (you can play around with the other two tabs 'sounds and communications if you want to (but it's not necessary) after we've got your SSL+2 up and running) Let's move on... 2 Click on the ' Playback ' tab and you will see ( depending on what sound is on your PC ) a list of applications... ( you may only have windows sound ) right-click over each application with your mouse and a dialogue box will appear showing a list of preferences...you need to select 'Disable' from the dialogue box '... if you have more than one application ( remember I had three) repeat the same 'Disable' operation on all the applications that you see, if you've only see one, then that's all you need to do. whilst on the same panel take note that you may need to save what you have just done ...stay as you are and look at the bottom of the panel you are on and you'll see .. three buttons 'OK / CANCEL/ APPLY ( unless you want to cancel click on the button that is/should be illuminated...next 3 Now click on the 'Recording' tab and follow the same procedure as you, ve just performed on the previous tab 'Playback' . You'll notice the same type of list but with a different name ( on mine there is Microphone/Line-in/Auxilliary/S/PDIF). Do exactly the same as you did on 'Playback' ..that is to right-click over each application...select diable from the dialogue-box...when you've gone down the list ( or whatever is there) when you've done that....remember that you may need to save what you have just done ...stay as you are and look at the bottom of the panel you are on and you'll see .. three buttons 'OK / CANCEL/ APPLY ( unless you want to cancel click on the button that is/should be illuminated... now you're done!! 4 Now that you've disabled all the onboard sound of your PC/Laptop ....Plug in your SSL+2 Audio Interface using one of the cables that came with your SSL+2. On mine, I connected the USB C connector in into my SSL+2 Audio box ( the USB connector looks slightly different than a regular USB terminal) and then connect the other end into the USB terminal on your PC/laptop. ( There is also a Red cable that came with your SSL+2 box that has USB C at one end of the cable and an HDMI connector at the other end) You may want to use this if your PC/Laptop has the hardware capability but if not don't worry you can use the one I mentioned above without diminishing the audio fidelity of your SSL+2. Now that you've plugged in the cable from your SSL+2 to your PC/Laptop...It's time to reboot your PC/Laptop. When you've rebooted (restart your PC/Laptop) your PC/Laptop will recognise your SSL+2 Audio Interface. If for any reason your PC/Laptop doesn't recognise your SSL+2 Audio Interface ...dont panic! Go to the "speaker icon" in your taskbar bottom right ....double click the icon...a panel appears named 'Sound' now click on 'System Sounds icon' this will bring up another panel named 'Sound' you will now see a panel with has four tabs named 'Playback/Recording/ ...Click on the 'Playback tab ' and you'll see your new SSL+2 Audio Interface ..right click with your mouse on the SSL+2 Audio Interface ...a dialogue box will appear with a selection of options ...select 'set as default device' or it's equivalent. You may have to reboot again...but try if first. You can either hear audio via headphones or monitor speakers depending on your preference...if it's headphones remember you need to plug them into your SSL+2 Audio Interface. Worth noting that if your headphone jack is 3.5 ( small jack) you'll need to get an extension 3.5 jack into a standard Jack... they're cheap and make sure it's a stereo jack ( the regular jack will have two usually black bands around the outside of the jack so it very easy to see) PS if you do encounter a driver problem with your SSL + 2 ( you shouldn't really have them but if you do ) go to SSL main site and register your product ( very straight forward) then you'll see a selection of their products ...find the name of yours ( SSL + 2 ) click your product this will take to a dedicated page for your product...This is where you can get the SSL+2 driver and PDF of your product. as I've said previously you already have a driver inside your SSL+2 that self-installs. Have Fun!!

For streaming/content creation and podcasting this is a great unit. I went with the SSL2 (non plus) from Amazon Warehouse and the unit was literally brand new. I will say it was between the SSL2 and Audient id4 but because of Sample Rate issues with the id4 in Windows 10 I went with the SSL. If you are a MAC user then you can't go wrong with either. Just see if the features meet your needs. Cons 1) The buttons could feel better. The 4K button has a scratchy feeling to press and feels cheap. 2) The phantom power, line in buttons also have the same feeling and don't illuminate to give user feedback if activated; either visually or with a satisfying click. However once you have the gain and inputs all set-up you won't need to touch them again. 3) There is no power on/off button. Pros 1) The rotary dials are nice and you'll mainly use those for adjusting the headphone volume. 2) Great pre-amp with low noise 3) 4K button works amazingly well but is maybe microphone and vocal dependant. Definitely not a gimmick. 4) Mic output I find is warm and smooth sounding, not as analytic as other interfaces like Audient. 5) The drivers are amazing. Works flawlessly in Windows 10 and 11. Unlike the Audient id4 which gave nothing but trouble. 6) Good construction and feels solid. Doesn't get hot or warm after several hours of use. Subjective 1) Another thing to consider with the SSL2 is the headphone pre-amp output. If people are using high impendence headphones (80ohm +) then the interface provides enough juice to power them for loud listening levels without producing harmonic distortion. 2) For me I prefer the headphone out being at the back as it means I don't have a protruding connector at the front of the unit which I then route to the back of my desk. 3) However since IEMs have short cables (normally 1m in length) that could be an issue for some. So be weary of this. 4) Both cables are short about 1m in length. I don't know why manufacuters don't provide something longer atleast 1.8m so it can reach the back of PCs from a desk.

Finally ditched my 1st gen Scarlett 2i2 after constant issues, and picked this up. It's great. Perfect sound, and it just works. If you're plugging inputs in and out often, remember the input jacks are at the back (in this version). As with all SSL stuff, you can't go wrong with it.

I needed something small and portable for a specific project. I have a large protools system in my studio that is not really movable and my normal travelling interface was 4000 miles away. I liked the form factor of the SSL and thought it would be worth a punt. I was surprised how good it sounded, especially with the 4K button used. I recorded a bunch of overdubs at an artists house with this and my laptop and found it great. The input/replay pot deals with latency in a simple and reasonably effective manner. I went for the SSL 2 and not the plus as I did not need the midi for this project although the 2nd headphone feed would have been helpful. I did think the taper of the mic amp pot a bit odd. Like some other semi pro interfaces I have used, at some point at about 75% gain the gain takes big leap up. With my ribbon mics that spot seemed to be something I needed to work around. Other than that issue I cannot fault this interface. However it is in a crowded market and there may be other interfaces that deliver just as well with even more features for less outlay. If cost is not a big consideration I would point you to the JoeCo Cello which is superb.

Using Reason in Windows, I've found Focusrite Scarlet gave me all sorts of issues including noise...Behringer was more stable than Focusrite but really noisy (hiss like crazy)... Finally I tried this and it works nicely. The sound quality is far better than the others mentioned, I get no added noise.... it all just sounds very clear. Also, it looks and feels solid... and much easier to see the controls and levels etc than the others. Not sure about the 4K thing, maybe I've not explored it enough. It just works for me, after a lot of searching for the right audio interface. So if you use Windows 10 and Propellerheads Reason... I'd recommend it.