Virus as a primary interface questions

    It seems everyone has another interface they use other than the virus.


    does virus do a good job as an interface?


    Should I plan to use a separate interface?


    I'm hoping some people can let me know what they think of it.


    I currently own a apogee symphony and love it,but I plan on down sizing since I work in other studios and could recoup some $ for other gear I need.
    I only need a few great converter to track at home are these professional enough to track other instruments well?


    Thanks so much everyone


    Jonathan





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    The Virus as a soundcard is ok.. but its also USB 1 which is slower than USB 2.. limited on inputs & Outputs and reliant on VC to get the most out of it.. its primary use is as a USB interface for midi/audio to the virus, I never use it, as i need more inputs, and just use the analogue outs of the virus into my Roland UA1000 USB 2 10/10 interface as it overcomes any USB problems that many people encounter...(but i have not yet as i prob dont use it enough to notice) I will always use my virus the way i am now because its simply more reiable, offers more inputs, timing is accurate, etc... A seperate interface is easily affordable these days and there are a vast array of choices...


    Horses for courses..

    ;)

    The biggest problem with the Virus as an audio interface is latency.


    The following numbers were all recorded on my DAW system at 256 samples, 32 bits, 44.1kHz:


    - The audio interface I use, a MOTU PCIe-424 with 24I/O expansion, gets around 13ms round-trip latency, which is pretty good.


    - The Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 gets around 18ms round-trip, which is just fine for a USB 2.0 interface.


    - The MOTU UltraLite-mk3 (FireWire-only model) delivers around 19ms, which is near the low end for a FireWire interface, but still usable.


    - The Virus TI2, on the other hand, comes in at around 37ms, due to its crazy-high output latency. I find it virtually unusable for tracking, for this reason alone. Just try playing a fast bass line on it in time to the click track.


    Then as fb noted, there's no pres. There are also only 2 analog ins, no digital ins... and I think it limits the functionality of the Virus when it's enabled, doesn't it? Don't you have to sacrifice some I/O or something to use it?

    Latency is most annoying when you're tracking live material (playing lines on the keyboard vs. mousing the notes in or using pre-recorded loops, etc).


    I have the TI2 Desktop, and when the Virus is acting as an interface I personally find it unplayable when attempting to track parts from my AKAI MIDI controller.


    Not having a keyboard version of the Virus, I don't know if the performance issues carry to those models.


    Interface latency introduces problems in other situations, too, depending on whether you mix plugins and external instruments, use automation, use plugins that introduce their own latency, and which DAW you're using.


    The Virus's interface feature is something I'd only use in a pinch.

    I use my Virus as an audio interface while playing live with my band and so far I've had little to no issues, I perform using pre recorded audio loops with an APC40 and Ableton Live, I play the lead lines live on my Virus TI2 Polar. I had some delay issues between hitting a key and the note playing from the Virus but this seemed to have been over come by putting the Virus in "Live" mode. I started using he Virus as an interface to cut down on the amount of kit I was taking on stage.