SSL 2+ Reviews

Great usb audio card with high quality sound

I would have loved to have 4 inputs, so that I could plugin and input 2 mic channels and one stereo pair of my synthesizers, but actually, but for the same money I prefer higher quality of sound rather than multiple inputs or features. So this is 2 channels only, but the features are abundant. The visual meters showing the level of signal are godsent and I wouldnt want a card without it. The two independent headphones out are also godsent and there is an extra monitor too. Great card!I already made some recordings with it, using the mic preamps, and using a dynamic and also a condenser microphone, very happy with the quality! As soon as SSL will come up with a 4+, I will buy it immediately too... :) Skvělá audio karta!

Expensive but usable audio interface with good quality pre-amps

Some notes from my point of view after full-time using it for about 5-6 weeks. Other interfaces I use or have used are Roland Quad-Capture, Focusrite Scarlett, Focurite Clarett and some RME stuff.

Positive:

- Very nice sounding pre-amps with mics. Instruments also sound fine. Really nothing bad to say about the pre-amps.

- Knobs turn well, feel nice. A bit too small for my taste, since turning them only a little bit (like 0,2 mm or something) is a bit easier with bigger knobs (for me atleast). I like it that all the buttons are on the top panel and that all the cables are on the back panel. Some other interfaces have buttons on the back and I dislike that greatly.

- Two headphone mixes are a welcome addition!

- When pressing the phantom power button all inputs are briefly muted, which is a nice feature that I haven't seen before on units in this price range.

Neutral:

- Latency is comparable with a lot of other of these bus powered interfaces. Nothing to write home about, but also not bad.

- The 4K mode adds high end, boosts overall volume and seems to add a bit of additional gain. It's not bad in any way, but the same effect can be achieved with software. I like the mode for darker sounding acoustic guitars. It's more of a (marketing) gimmick though.

- Build quality-wise it's fine, but nothing special.

Negative:

- The db meter is practically useless. It ranges from -40 to 0 db in 5 steps and well... It sucks big time.

- About once every ~18 hours of using this device, audio stops and the interface need to be turned off and on again (by pulling and reinserting USB cable) in order to be able to use it again. I have not found logging data or the cause.

- It misses features that I would expect on a brand new € 300 audio interfaces. Most - if not all - price competitors offer additional features such as auto sensing, loopback, second monitor out or USB 3.0. Loopback would have been a welcome addition for example.

- Hyperlinks in the box for 'free' software were not working for days and the website didn't function correctly. Maybe they fixed it now, but since this is about my experiences with this purchage I also mention this. Also the 'free' software seemed to requires personal data and seems to require rootkits on your operating system. So this was (because of multiple reasons) a big no-no for me.

All in all a nice and usable audio interface with good quality pre-amps. You don't see small interfaces with top controls that much, so in that regard it's a nice addition. I feel the unit is overpriced/doesn't offer enough features for the amount of money paid, but it still delivers excellent sound so that compensates the high cost a bit.

Sounds great, especially at this price point!

The SSL 2+ is a fantastic sounding, well performing audio interface with high quality components.

Incredible sounding preamps.

Easy to use plug and play design.

Low latency.

Competitive price.

I highly recommend this piece of gear!

The perfect upgrade

I purchased my first audio interface, the Yamaha AG06 five years ago. After accumulating various outboard analog equipment, and developing a deeper understanding of sound engineering, I decided to finally upgrade to a newer interface which would give me more possibilities than what I was used to.

I was about to buy the MOTU M4 because of it's amazing specs, but then the SSL 2+ was introduced. On paper - the MOTU M4 has better specs, but when considering the software that comes with the SSL 2+, I couldn't pass up on it.

I recently bought the SSL SIX and so thought that this was the logical decision to compliment it.

Having two headphone outs, two clean preamps, real analog circuit when the 4k switch is engaged, two phantom power switches, multiple outputs, zero latency monitoring and the big nob that goes to 11 makes this a nice feature packed product.

I like the design, it feels sturdy, and it comforts me to know that the analog to digital converters are of top quality.

At this price point, I do not think you can go wrong. It will be another 5 years before I get my next interface.