henryoakley wrote:Mainly interested in output, rather than inputs and pre-amp quality.
(...)
For perspective, my last interface was an Apogee One which was pretty cheap, but sounded really detailed and balanced into my Focals.
Thanks
As the saying goes: "Pay nice or pay twice".
Another one: "You get what you pay for".
This is always true. Considering the gap between the Studio (360€ as of now @Thomann, Germany) to the Renaissance's (899€) I'd say, it's okay. It can't keep up with the converter I use at the moment in my mobile setup (Focusrite Forte), but it's quite capable and nicely colouring. It uses the same Aliasing filter as the MPC 3000 and other S3000 series use and those converters are still among the most sought for for (at least my) applications.
I've caught myself tracking my Songs out of the Renaissance (iMac) via Neve 8816 to my mobile setup with Studio and the Forte A LOT. It's a setup I completely dig. But for 350€ approx then my Forte just does the job it's supposed to, but I am really hooked on the preamps there, so output relevance is minor. Nevertheless: I've experienced low cost interfaces perform greatly and seen highly priced interfaces fail, so there's no general rule to apply here. I totally dig it, but you might be disgusted by the conversion the Ren produces, so please do yourself a favour and check it out for yourself.
Get a distributor who can handle returns, try it (and TAKE THE TIME FOR THAT) and send the unit back if not suited to your style. But I can tell, you'll like it. It is rock solid, nothing really special like the top-notch converters in Apogee or RME interfaces, but it's not the tools, it always is the user. If it suits, use it. If it doesn't work the way you use it, make the best of it. You STILL can use other interfaces with the Ren, so no harm done.
Just keep in mind that the Ren is not as easily transportable as the Studio is. But it comes with an interface that's highly usable and doesn't muck around. Period. Try it and check for yourself.
Hope that helped (a bit).
