Solid State Logic SSL2+ USB Audio Interface Review / Explained (Differences between SSL 2 & SSL 2+)

greetings earthlings today I'm back with a review  of a brand new audio interface from freakin solid   state logic how cool is that so today we're  reviewing the SSL 2 plus not to be confused with   the SSL 2 however I will discuss the differences  between those two interfaces a little bit later   in the video if you are interested in this audio  interface it will set you back around 280 dollars   like always I'll throw some links down below and  for the majority of this review I have the rode   nt1 connected directly to the interface 48 volts  turned on and my gain set at around 11:45 without   the analog 4 case which enabled I won't do any  kind of post-processing but I might boost it in   post so check the doobly-doo to see what I did he  did now let's talk about what comes in the box of   course you are going to get the interface a USB  c2 USBC cable a USB C to USB a cable and some   compliance information with a URL to download all  the manuals and software then as far as the build   quality of the interface it feels good for the  most part it does have a plastic housing around   the side with a metal faceplate the dials are  all well attached with minimal wobble to them   and all of the buttons have a really nice tactile  feedback but the XLR port has a tiny bit of give   to it on the top of the interface you'll find two  identical channels each which have independent 48   volt phantom power switches which is always  amazing to see you'll also find a line and   Heisey button you'll need to press the line button  to change from the XLR to quarter-inch line level   input and you'll need to press the line and Heisey  button to change from XLR to the quarter inch   instrument level input then you have somewhat  of a lackluster meter which goes in 10 decibel   increments you'll find the gain dial for each of  the channels and lastly you'll find this really   cool legacy 4k switch which adds a high frequency  EQ boost and as ssl describes it finely-tuned   harmonic distortion then when you move a little  bit farther to the right you will find an LED   indicator to let you know if the interface is  plugged in and getting power from the USB port   you'll find this giant blue monitor level control  which goes to 11 how cool is that you'll also find   two headphone volume controls for headphones a  and B as well as a three and four button which   is next to the phone's B volume control and this  allows you to change what is being output to the   second set of headphones if you don't press this  down phones B will just get the exact same mix as   phone's a but if you do press this down and you  set up a separate mix in your DAW it will allow   the second headphones wearer to get a separate mix  next you'll find a monitor mix dial to mix between   zero latency monitoring as well as computer  playback and next to that you'll find a stereo   button which allows you to monitor your inputs as  a stereo pair or down mix to a mono signal then   on the back of the interface you'll find a USB  C port to connect it to your computer a pair of   midi in and out ports to connect any kind of MIDI  devices two sets of headphone outputs two sets of   RCA outputs a set of balanced quarter-inch monitor  outputs and a set of nitric XLR combination jacks   four XLR or quarter-inch inputs and to wrap up the  walkthrough on the front of the device where you   typically find headphone ports there is nothing  there is nothing on the front of this thing next   up as far as the specs of this interface it has  a bit depth of up to 24 bit and a sampling rate   up to 192 kilohertz it has a gain range of 62  decibels an EIN of negative 130 point 5 DBA a   dynamic range of 110 point 5 DB an input impedance  of 1 point 2 kilo ohms plus 48 volts phantom power   and here is some headphone output specs if you're  interested in that information now I want to do a   very quick test to demonstrate what the legacy  4 case which does for spoken-word so right now   I'm speaking into the rode nt1 and I do not have  that switch enabled and here is how the audio is   sounding and to now have engaged the legacy 4k  switch and you can hear in the upper frequencies   that it is much more pronounced and you can  also start to hear a little bit of distortion   or grittiness or graininess if you're looking  for that kind of character for your spoken word   recordings and now just to see what a classic  microphone plugged into the ssl 2 plus sounds   like i have connected the noi minh u87 in cardioid  mode with no filters on directly to the device and   here is how the audio sounds with my gains set  at around 11:45 on the gain dial without the   for case which enabled and now I have engaged the  4k switch on the SSL 2 plus for the Noi minh u-87   and here is how the audio sounds with that analog  circuit engaged now to really test out the preamps   of the ssl 2 plus i've connected the sm7b directly  to it without any cloud lifter or fat head i had   to increase my gain to about 9 on the dial and  here is how it sounds without the 4 case which   enabled but when I engage that 4 case which you  can really start to hear the sm7b open up and I   actually really think that this 4 case circuit  complements a darker microphone like the 7 be   quite nicely but now I've switched that back off  and I will go ahead and be quiet so you can hear   what kind of background noise is generated  by the preamps with the gain set this high now let's go ahead and measure the noise floor   of the preamp with and without  the four case of which enabled you you you now let's go ahead and see what this interface  does in terms of latency so first up with a sample   rate of 48 kilohertz and an i/o buffer size of  64 samples we have a round-trip latency of nine   milliseconds and an output latency of four point  four milliseconds when we jump up to 128 samples   we have an 11 and 1/2 millisecond trip latency and  5.7 milliseconds output and then when we jump to   256 samples we have a 17 millisecond road trip or  8 and 1/2 milliseconds output then when we jump to   a sample rate of 192 kilohertz and an i/o buffer  size of 64 samples we get a round-trip latency of   6.9 milliseconds LeMay as well as a round-trip  latency of 3.3 milliseconds when we jump up to   128 samples we have 7.6 milliseconds round-trip  or three point seven milliseconds output and at   256 samples we get nine milliseconds round-trip  or 4.3 milliseconds output now I want to go ahead   and test out the instrument performance of this  device so I will play an electric guitar and an   electric bass directly into it with and without  the four case which enabled and without any kind   of amp simulator so you can really hear what the  input sounds like and then I will turn on the amp   Sims and put it into a full mix so you can hear  what it would sound like in that kind of scenario for Davi now let's briefly talk about the  differences between the SS l2 which unfortunately   I don't have and the SS l2 plus first thing I  want to point out is the preamps on both the SSL   2 and SSL 2 plus are the exact same so you're not  really sacrificing anything in that department if   you go with the cheaper unit but where they do  start to differ is the SSL 2 only has a single   headphone output it also only has a single set  of balanced quarter-inch monitor outputs so if   you're looking for a pair of RCA outputs to run  to your DJ deck the ssl 2 plus is the one that   has those and the last difference that I'm able  to spot is that the SSL 2 plus has the MIDI in   and out while the SSL 2 completely lacks that  option alright so I have been waiting ages for   one of these classics studio gear manufacturers  to release an affordable audio interface and I am   beyond thrilled that they finally woke up and did  it and I can honestly say I think it was totally   worth the wait and first up in terms of pros the  preamps on the ssl 2 and 2 plus are insane with   a gain range of 62 DB and an EIN of negative 130  point 5 DB you it is perfectly capable of driving   even at sm7b cleanly without the need for a cloud  lifter or a FET head additionally I love the fact   that they have individual phantom power on/off  buttons for each channel that makes it really   easy to run a condenser microphone mixed with a  ribbon microphone without having to worry about   accidentally sending phantom power to a microphone  that could be damaged by it also the DI inputs on   this thing sound insanely good on the electric  guitar and electric bass it also has a feature   that mutes the channel when you turn on or off 48  volt phantom power to avoid any kind of pops or   clicks going into your ears or coming out of your  studio monitors which is a really neat thing to   add another Pro is the fact that they a mixed dial  to mix between zero latency and computer playback   which is a feature that I think every single  audio interface needs directly next to that it   also gives you the option to monitor your inputs  as a stereo set if your stereo miking something or   as a mono mix down if you have two microphones for  spoken word going into it and another Pro because   this video isn't long enough don't worry I know  it's really long I love the versatility and the   addition of the analog legacy for case which it  gives some really nice character if you want it   and I really liked it on the sm7b because the  boost in the upper frequencies really opened   up the darker sound of that microphone you also  have two sets of RCA outputs which can be really   beneficial if you're a DJ because you can send two  separate mixes to each of those outputs I love the   fact that there are two sets of headphone outputs  which is great if you have two people recording   and if this matters to you at all it is bus  powered meaning you don't need to have any   kind of external power brick to power it it is  just powered over the USB cable and is then in   terms of cons the first thing I don't like is the  meters I would like to see a lot more detail on   there because jumping from negative 10 to zero DBS  is quite a drastic jump I would have liked to have   seen negative 6 and negative 3 and there as well  I also would have liked to have seen the headphone   ports on the front of the device for easier access  and so you don't have to route the cable all the   way around to the rear of the device it also lacks  an on/off switch which is a huge bummer sadface   and this last one really isn't a con it is more  of a suggestion for SSL since you have to push the   line and Heisey buttons to engage the instrument  input it would be nice to be able to push the high   Z button and that changes the impedance of the  XLR microphone input to allow you a little bit   more versatility in the tones you're able to get  out of it and the character you're able to get out   of your microphone like some vintage preamps had  so what I recommended the SSL to and SSL to plus   absolutely I think this is an insanely good  sounding audio interface especially at the   price however I think a lot of the features are  mainly geared towards musicians and they're not   something that you would really use in a day to  day voiceover situation so why would you pick one   of these SSL devices over a more feature-packed  device like the mo - em - mainly because of   the preamps they have 62 DB gain range an EIN of  negative one thirty point five and the coolest and   most unique feature is the analog legacy 4k switch  and since the majority of audio interfaces preamps   and ADA D converters are so clean and distortion  free now it can get a little bit boring or sterile   in the box so that for case switch allows you to  bring back some of that analog distortion that   people seem to like so much and breathe some  life back into that sterile recording alright   so that was the SSL - plus I would love to hear  from you in the comments do you think this is a   cool interface are the features things that you  would use in a recording session or is it just   something that would not benefit you at all and  if you found this video fun interesting or helpful   go ahead and give me a thumbs up if you hate it  give me a big thumbs down if you want more video   subscribe by clicking that logo down beneath me  and if you're still here here's a secret for you   you can head over to podcast edge comm slash  giveaways and I have two giveaways going right   now go win some free stuff and lastly if you want  to support the channel and become one of these   amazing beautiful lovely people over here you can  do so by clicking that join button and joining it   the $5 tier or higher it really does help me  continue to bring you these videos so until   next time thank you so much for watching thank  you so much for listening I'll see you later bye

Channel: Podcastage

Views: 242,576

Keywords: podcastage, podcast, bandrew, scott, microphone, review, audio, sound, test, demo

Id: ygeCS69MM7w

Length: 16min 25sec (985 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 11 2020