I plan to use zynthian as my live soundbox. However, I need to connect condenser mic to it, and zynthian doesn’t have xlr inputs, let alone phantom powered ones. So, I wanted to buy xlr to usb interface, like shure x2u or irig hd pro (or something else similarly compact - I would prefer to bring one box, not two). Will they work, in a sence that is it possible to use both mic inputs from them and line inputs from usual zynthian port (I was able to do it in pipewire on my pc, but i’m not sure if zynthian 5 is on pipewire)? And are there any other suggestions for this usecase?
Hi @monroth! Welcome to the community.
If you enable “Audio Hotplug” in the admin menu then you can use multiple audio interfaces but this comes at a cost. There is samplerate conversion which adds to the CPU load, hence reducing the available processing for core functions and increasing the risk of xruns (which manifest as clicks on the audio output). The impact is variable, depending on the implementation of the USB audio interface. I don’t have detail of which are better or worse but the cheap USB audio stick I have is terrible and the better USB audio interfaces seem to have less impact. I also experienced very poor performance recently when I tried this with two USB audio interfaces, Tascam US-1608 as main device and Behringer UCA200. This did not get better until I restarted jack without the UCA200 connected. (A reboot would have also worked).
Zynthain uses jack, not pipewire. Pipewire has native support for multiple audio devices whilst jack does not so we use an extra module to implement it but, they essentially work in the same way, samplerate converting the non-core audio interfaces.
The best option is to have a single audio device that provides all of your audio inputs and outputs, e.g. I use the Tascam US-1608 to give me 8 line inputs, 8 mic inputs (with phantom) and 8 line outputs. If you need fewer inputs/outputs there are smaller devices available. If you just need phantom on the existing zynthian ports then you could use an inline device to inject phantom to the mic. This could cost about €20.
My experience with Behringer is that they have better quality control than they did a few years ago and you get fair value for money but they may not last as long as some other devices and I have a personal dislike for some of their business practices… but that hasn’t stopped my buying several of their devices. You can certainly get fair quality audio devices from them and others for a fair price, e.g. Behringer UM2 gives two channel input and output including a mic preamp with switchable phantom. The Focusrite Scarlett Solo gives similar functionality at about twice the price but is a better device. Behringer UMC1820 gives 8 mic/line inputs and 10 line outputs whilst the Tascam US-1608 gives 8 mic inputs, 8 line inputs and 8 line outputs at about twice the price (atm - prices fluctuate). I have both the Behringer and Tascam and prefer the Tascam. Both are supported by zynthian. The Tascam has DSP providing compressor and 4-band EQ on every input that is supported by zynthian without loading CPU which is great if you want to use it like a mixer (which I do).
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If you decide to take that approach, This device both adds phantom power and has a flexible preamp to boost the signal to line level for Zynthian:
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