SSL 2 Reviews

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.

SSL DUO

a perfect solution for two channel audio interface, with many extras such as plugins, DAW software , melodyne and other stuff.

Amazing

Just the best Interface around

Lovely sound, built like a tank

I'm using this interface with a Sennheiser e906 microphone.

The sound is very clean, no complaints whatsoever. There is plenty of gain available if micing directly beside the speaker. However for a "room" mic the gain has to be turned almost to max. At max there is slight interference sound, so aim to keep it under 9.

With direct-in using a bass guitar it also handles this very well. You have to use the high impedance button.

The interface is built well, and sits nicely on the desk. It's angled towards you slightly so everything is easier to see and reach. The buttons and knobs feel superb. The speaker knob even goes to 11!

The 4K button adds some air and sparkle. It does add slight distortion to the highs, but this can be more musical. I found it gave acoustic guitars almost a harpsichord flavour.

Overall, a great purchase. My only gripe is it doesn't come with RCA connectors (you get that with the "+" model), but this can be solved with an adapter or re-soldering new connectors. I will be getting another microphone so I can use this for my gaming setup.

Very nicely done by SSL

I've been using archaic audiobox usb by Presonus from 2010 (older than 96 version) till now and the upgrade to SSL2 is unimaginable. This is the interface I can put on my worktable and work with ease of access for a change. The knobs are very precise and quality made, "VU" meters don't disappoint as well. The 4k option sounds simply beautiful when recording guitars or vocals directly. I'm not sure what exactly it does to the signal, is it some sort of compression or just EQ but the result is great, you get very warm and distinct sound. I use Godin 5th Avenue with p90 pickups (a hollow body archtop guitar) and the sound is very warm, rich and fulfilling. Not only SSL2 is rather beautiful sitting on your table, it also delivers very balanced and decent sound. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an upgrade or a new audio interface.

Great specs

Paired my SSL2 with a Shure Beta 58A. Recording vocals is clean. Listening with 32 ohm headphones is good as well (planning on upgrading later). The 4K button adds minor harmonic distortion and a bit more highs. You also won't need a Cloudlifter or in-line preamp for dynamic mics as there's plenty of gain. The plugin bundle this comes with is fantastic as well. Drivers are great too, not much of a hassle to install. I think the only thing I would have a gripe with is the monitoring as the volume isn't loud enough (you would need to turn down the USB source and crank headphones to listen back to monitoring). Other than that, I find the product amazing as my first audio interface.

Quick delivery and high quality!

Buy it

It's really great and you should buy it

Quality for a good price.

This is top quality audio interface and perfect for all basic home recording needs. Great price also.

very good card in its price range and has no equal

Fail

Really wanted this to workout. There are things to like and it could be great, but the 2nd channel 4k button on mine was broken. I had hoped and assumed, this issue would've been fixed by now, but in addition to being beyond temperamental - i.e. simply would not work, it seemed that the button itself was also actually broken.

Totally unacceptable flaw/quality issue making the whole thing pointless.

A real shame, but in my opinion/experience, I'd simply say - don't waste your time.