Please recommend audio interface

Behringer is a company with cheap products, check them out

It's going to be hard to go balanced for $200
 

This would seem to fit the bill.

http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio_interfaces/scarlett_2i2/specifications/

Well within your budget.

Although in your position I'd probably go ~$50 over and get the 8i6.

If you search the pro audio formuns, you will find that he ESI Juli is rated highest fo the 3 you listed. The 1212M is next, but has more driver issues. The 192 is still very good, but the others are a bit better.

You might not at the moment but once you discover the benefits of multi program audio you will never want to go back. That was my own experience anyway and if you buy now it will save you money in the long run.

Here are a couple of examples of apps you may find useful.

Prioritise your music listening by, for example, assigning foobar2000 output to 1 stereo pair using exclusive access via ASIO/WASAPI/KS drivers. Miss out the windows mixer completely and get bit perfect playback without risk of clipping.

Default any other or all audio applications to another output pair. So you can be listening to music on speakers and talking to your mates, play games, access youtube, cue up the next tune etc etc on headphones or mixed into your main output on your interface.

If you have more than one set of speakers you can listen to different programs in different rooms simultaneously. I pipe internet radio into the kitchen for example.

The inputs are also very useful. You can permanently hook up a TT, tape player, receiver or even CD player and listen when the PC is disconnected. Instant access to record anything instantly with the push of a button. Even when listening to something else at the same time.

Plug in a quality microphone for quality podcasting or Skype.

The list is endless and limited only by your own imagination. At the moment you are using your PC and interface to simply duplicate an old style domestic hi-fi. For what is in reality a very little extra cash you can enter a whole new world of audio flexibility. It's the future - today.

If you already own prosumer monitors (the KKRs) it's best to get an interface from the same stable of manufacturers. they have been in the market far longer than the hi-fi guys now desperately playing catch up. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonaldDumsfeld 

 

You might not at the moment but once you discover the benefits of multi program audio you will never want to go back. That was my own experience anyway and if you buy now it will save you money in the long run.

 

Here are a couple of examples of apps you may find useful.

 

Prioritise your music listening by, for example, assigning foobar2000 output to 1 stereo pair using exclusive access via ASIO/WASAPI/KS drivers. Miss out the windows mixer completely and get bit perfect playback without risk of clipping.

 

Default any other or all audio applications to another output pair. So you can be listening to music on speakers and talking to your mates, play games, access youtube, cue up the next tune etc etc on headphones or mixed into your main output on your interface.

 

If you have more than one set of speakers you can listen to different programs in different rooms simultaneously. I pipe internet radio into the kitchen for example.

 

The inputs are also very useful. You can permanently hook up a TT, tape player, receiver or even CD player and listen when the PC is disconnected. Instant access to record anything instantly with the push of a button. Even when listening to something else at the same time.

 

Plug in a quality microphone for quality podcasting or Skype.

 

The list is endless and limited only by your own imagination. At the moment you are using your PC and interface to simply duplicate an old style domestic hi-fi. For what is in reality a very little extra cash you can enter a whole new world of audio flexibility. It's the future - today.

 

If you already own prosumer monitors (the KKRs) it's best to get an interface from the same stable of manufacturers. they have been in the market far longer than the hi-fi guys now desperately playing catch up. 

Are you sure the Monitor potentiometer isn't only for direct monitoring, as in the EMU 0202 usb-card? That would mean volume control to the signal from your computer, by Asio or Windows' audio scheme, through usb would not be possible. You would have to control the volume of your monitors through software.  

Also, I never got an Emu soundcard to work in strictly Windows environment. In other words, I wished to utilize its mic preamp with Skype. Did not succeed or did not try everything... So in other words, while your rationale is commendable, all the pieces might not fit after all with the hardware in question (Focusrite interfaces) unless there is someone who's done it all. 

Interested, since I'm looking for a similar interface myself. 

I'm sorry.  I don't think I understand your question.

With respect, apologies if I'm wrong, I also suspect you might not have grasped what I'm trying to explain.

Normally when you buy a PC it comes with on board sound. This sound card only ever outputs one program at a time. It might be 2 channels in stereo, 8 channels in Dolby 7.1, it can be duplicated on S/PDIF coax or optical, it might even be two or more programs pre mixed in the windows mixer but it always only one output program.

What is hidden is the fact that windows has native support for an infinite number of different channels. So if you buy an after market multi-channel audio interface you can assign different programs (i.e. audio sources) to different channels and feed them out (or in) to different devices.

The classic simple example of the usefullness of this feature is someone wanting to DJ. You assign channels 1 &2 to the stereo output of the track playing and send that to the amplifier/powered monitors. Then you assign channels 3 & 4 to a different, incoming track known as the cue. You can assign this stereo output to your headphones. So you can hear both at the same time and use the 'direct monitoring' knob to mix both programs.

That is a simple example but you should get the picture now. 

I know exactly what you mean but what doesn't go without saying is whether this audio device will understand the digital signals. The drivers might be more stable today though and not only suitable to run with specific programs. Also, I believe this capability to support different output channels came with Vista. I didn't notice it in XP, or it didn't work properly, but W7 seems to run quite stable and feed whatever I want into my two integrated sound devices and an external USB one. 

With a soundcard that I had, the direct monitoring was only for analogue inputs, meaning latence free instrument monitoring. I was interested whether the sound card in question's volume knob would simply be able to adjust the monitors when the signal comes through usb from a windows environment. I believe I have answered my own question: it might be that it's a norm today, but with my Emu 0202, the knob adjusted only incoming analogue signal's volume. Given the requirement of the original poster, I consider this a necessity however. 

What I'm saying is that studio and recording interfaces aren't as simple as you put. I wish they were and maybe today they are :)