SSL 2

Review after 2 years

I brought it to record ideas and play with amp simps. Very satisfied with the sound and build like a brick. Even the knobs feel great.i have it for two years now zero problems and I use it everyday

Astonishing sound quality for such price!

It sounds perfect! I use the item as DA converter for monitor my mixes and it is highly recommended. It looks like AK chip in the unit has been super well utilized to convert every possible detail from digital form to analogue audio. Only thing is that the unit doesn´t onboard EQ for room correction. You can use for EQ-ing external stereo EQ or DAW in your computer. The item is highly recommended! It is serious upgrade from sound interfaces in similar price range from other companies.

Good overall , wish usb cable worked

Everything was great with the interface itself, but at first my computer wouldn’t recognize that the SSL 2 was plugged in, even though power was getting to it. Finally tried a different cable and everything was fine. Would’ve really sucked if I didn’t happen to have that cable though.

Best bang for your buck

It has a nice pre amp built in, so it sounds very nice. Next time i would have gone directly for the upgrade for the extra channels.

Very clean SSL sound

I switched to SSL 2 from VOLT 2, and I must say there is a big difference. I love the SSL sound and the design way better than on the VOLT 2. The big Monitor Level I the best, and the playback quality is great.

I recorded U87ai with it and the sound was clear and noiseless.

Very nice housing, big product, well designed.

Great, but...

SSL 2 is just fine. I was expecting connectivity LED which is missing (you can't tell if it's connected to the system just by looking at it). My previous interface was T.C. Electronic which had this LED and much more LEDs for volume. 4K feature is kinda useless.

Knobs are great and sturdy, but the little buttons on top are hard to tell if they are pressed or not. Ports on the back are also a feature and not a bug :)

Best audio interface I've ever had

It's class compliant so it does not require any drivers.

nice soundcard

is a nice sound card that gives what you payed for

good simple interface

great for recording, but the monitoring functionality doesn't work for me, but that may be because I'm not using the provided SSL usb-c cable because its too short.

The box itself is solid, I feel comfortable just throwing it in a backpack and using it on location to just record the master of a live performance.

the 4k legacy button isn't super noticeable, I just have it permanently on.

Simple but capable interface

I was looking for an audio interface that has the following features:

1) 2 input channels (with separate phantom power)

2) 2 output channels

3) a separate headphone output (with separate volume)

The SSL 2 was one of the cheapest options on the market that provided all of these options.

I use it daily for my workstation (background music, video calls), and to record an occasional demo (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars). It serves my purposes completely.

Some nice additional features:

* The 4K button - a little high end boost. Does it sound better? Sure. Maybe a placebo, but who doesn't like a little "bright mode"?

* Adjustable input options for each channel - line and hi-z buttons

* Full input VU meters instead of just peak indicators

Slight drawbacks:

* The "big blue knob" feels a bit cheap and flimsy, so do all the small plastic buttons (input channel options and the 4K buttons). This does not affect performance, but they don't feel amazing to operate with. This is a very minor thing, but gear snobs might take an issue with this. The smaller knobs are nice and sturdy

* I've experienced some occasional driver stability issues that were fixed by either disconnecting and reconnecting the device or restarting the system. Nothing permanent.

Overall, the SSL 2 feels great to have on my desk, and I would buy another one in a heartbeat if I had to.