Good audio interfaces on Linux?

Planning ahead for a Fedora-based content creation/streaming setup I’ve been looking for different alternatives on capture card and audio interfaces but given the fact that most all of them are designed and built around the Windows/MacOS systems and even some manufacturers don’t have a clue about if they work with Linux, I’m asking about the experiences you might have on this.

My priority is to have a good microphone to start with, and I’m leaning towards the analog route, since it has more options, from the reliable and inexpensive Rode PodMic, through the Rode Procaster to more expensive options like the Shure SM7B. However, I need some way to plug this to my PC, thus the audio interfaces.

  • Focusrite Vocaster One: This is the least expensive option on the list. It covers the basics of what I want, like the XLR input, headphone and monitor plugs (I have a guy that makes custom cables so I can plug my speakers in), mix and volume controls and enough power to feed any microphone. However, and this is a common theme among these things, it need certain software to set some things up, like the EQ and the effects you apply on the Mic. I’m not certain if the settings are stored in hardware or it needs the software to run on the background… or if there’s an alternative to the proprietary software.

  • Rode Streamer X: This is just fantastic as a concept, because It also is a Capture Card that can work with 4K@30FPS video, even 4K@60FPS on the source (it streams at 30). But it is very software dependent (using two different apps for different things: Unity and Rode Central)… of course, only for Windows ans MacOS, an Rode told me (via X) that they don’t know if it works with Linux.

  • Rodecaster Duo: This is way overkill for what I want in the first place, but it might be a good building block for future projects (a Podcast I have on the pre-production hell). Is the most software-independent of all options and the most complete… but it is way too expensive for the moment. Again, overkill.

When it comes to capture cards, I know the ones from ElGato work flawlessly on Linux,then again, my priority for the moment is audio.

Any other alternatives? What works best on your experience? What do you use?

I’m all eyes. Thanks in advance.

Thank you!

Actually, I believe there is A LOT of lobby to make with these kind of hardware manufacturers. I could count BlackMagic Design on this list even if DaVinci Resolve works on Linux as an RPM (though is made for RHEL and any Fedora update might break it).

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Hello, I used some interfaces on linux, but none of the list:
behringer UMC204HD
behringer UMC404HD
audient ID14 mkII
They all work, sometimes not like they should or expected, but work. Behringer UMC204HD works almost like on windows, but behringer UMC404HD and audient ID14 mkII have more chanels and they get mixed up. Also it is strange how depending on software physical buttons do different things than they do on windows or in documentation.
I do not know how to configure that properly, but when for example you watch video 5.1 sound with headphones they play back speaker sounds. On VLC player in audio section you can choose headphones and that mixes sounds to stereo. I hope at some point in a future sound system settings will have more ways to edit audio interfaces: sample rates etc.

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I’ve used both a Motu M4 and a Motu M6 and they work fine. In general any USB compliant audio interface will work, but if there isn’t a config for it already you might have to write one, or the channel configuration will be wonky. These are maintained upstream in GitHub - alsa-project/alsa-ucm-conf: ALSA Use Case Manager configuration, you can see an example where I added support for the M6. In Fedora these are in the alsa-ucm subpackage, which drops the configs under /usr/share/alsa/ucm2. It’s been a while since I’ve messed with this, but iirc you can just edit the configs in place when testing, but you might need to unplug/replug the interface for them to take effect (and possibly logout and log back in sometimes if things get confused).

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I have a Roland Rubix44 that I usually use with Logic on my mac book.

Having plugged into a Fedora KDE Plasma it all shows up for inputs and output.
No aditional config or setup required - just plugged it in.

I like the Rubix devices and use them with XLR and 1/4" inputs.
It has phantom power if you need that for your microphone.

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I’ve been using Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen interface for music production on Windows before switching to Fedora, and here on Linux it works out of the box. The sound is as great as it was on Windows.

Had no issues with their microphone and headphones that came with it in my Studio bundle either. Everything connects and gets instantly recognized. You would only need to make sure to select them in your recording software before getting to work, and that’s all.

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I use a PreSonus Audiobox USB with Fedora 41.
Input works very well with a Rode studio mike, and outputs very well to studio monitors.

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Many good options that were not on my radar. I can also take some advice from sint, I think: Simpler is better for Linux, less sofware-dependant and more focused on one task. Considering this, I might add to my radar a couple of options:

  • Focusrite Scarlett Solo (4th-gen): Is much like the 2i2 @needafixhere mentioned but simpler, also praised for those starting on professional voice-over work.
  • Rode AI-1: One of the few product names that the AI is NOT a marketing hook, since it stands for “Audio Interface”. Is the Australian take on the Scarlett Solo approach. So basic, indeed that it is kind of burried on Rode’s catalog and long overdue for a second generation.

Then again, I’m still thinking we need to lobby a bit more so there’s official software support for Linux, and since now we have Flatpaks, there’s no ‘too many distros’ excuse.

Audio interfaces without programmable function buttons or dials would be a safe choice.

I use a Behringer 202HD that works well with OBS Studio/Ardour on KDE Plasma.

Some musicians on Music/Audio SIG say they are happy with Focusrite Scarlett and RME Babyface Pro.

I would visit a local music store to test it with preferred apps.