The Best Professional Sound Cards for Every Use Case
For recording vocals and guitar, podcasting, music production, and live streaming.
Find the ideal sound card for your actual needs — from live streaming on your phone to music production with synths and MIDI.
For recording vocals and guitar in your home studio
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen has one XLR input for a microphone and one 6.3 mm input for a guitar or bass. With phantom power, you can also connect a condenser microphone, the type commonly used for vocals.
Auto Gain automatically adjusts the input level as you sing or play, while Clip Safe lowers it when the sound is about to distort. The headphone output and two speaker outputs let you hear clearly what you’re recording.
For recording vocals and guitar in a home studio
- Microphone connection: 1 XLR input with phantom power
- Guitar or bass connection: 6.3 mm input
- Automatic gain adjustment: Auto Gain
- Distortion protection: Clip Safe
- Listen through headphones or speakers: headphone output and 2 × 6.3 mm outputs
Review we selected:
Very good for a home studio and for connecting one microphone and one instrument.
For podcasting and recording with two microphones
The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen has two XLR inputs, so you can record two speakers for a podcast or interview, or vocals and an acoustic guitar with two microphones. The same inputs also accept a guitar or keyboard via a 6.3 mm cable.
With loopback, you can route your computer’s audio into your recording or stream—for example, a jingle or a guest on a video call. Auto Gain adjusts the levels on both channels.
For podcasting and recording with two microphones
- Two microphones at once: 2 XLR inputs with phantom power
- Computer audio in your recording or stream: loopback
- Automatic volume adjustment: Auto Gain
- Protection against distortion: Clip Safe
- Listen through headphones or speakers: headphone output and 2 × 6.3 mm outputs
Review we selected:
Very good quality and worth the money. The software is simple and easy to use, and the features offered by the sound card are useful for recording instruments and vocals. It also comes with free software and tutorial videos to help anyone get started making music from scratch.
For music production with synths and MIDI
The Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen has MIDI input and output, so you can connect a synth or drum machine and control it from your production software. With 4 inputs, you can record two microphones and a stereo synth at the same time.
The 4 outputs let you send audio to your speakers and, at the same time, to an external effects unit or a second pair of speakers. It records at resolutions up to 24-bit/192kHz.
For music production with synths and MIDI
- Connect synths and drum machines: MIDI in/out
- More sources at once: 4 inputs, 2 of them XLR
- Speakers and external effects: 4 outputs
- High-resolution recording: up to 24-bit/192kHz
- Record computer audio: loopback
A review we selected:
Very good sound from both the monitor and headphone outputs, and the microphone inputs.
For live streaming from a mobile phone or computer
The Andowl Q-SK7 connects to a mobile phone, tablet or computer via a 3.5 mm cable and works with Android, iOS and Windows. Take it with you wherever you livestream or make video calls.
It records at 16-bit/44.1kHz, CD-quality resolution, which is sufficient for voice during livestreams and video calls.
For live streaming from mobile or computer
- Connects to mobile phone or tablet: 3.5 mm cable
- Works with most devices: Android, iOS, Windows
- CD-quality sound: 16-bit/44.1 kHz
- Easy to carry: external device
Review we highlighted:
Without a doubt, the best Type-C connection for a PC
Before choosing, count how many microphones and instruments you want to record at the same time, and whether you’ll connect a synth via MIDI. These two factors determine how many inputs and which connections your audio interface needs.
This article was created with the help of AI and reviewed and edited by the Skroutz team.
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