Audient ID44 mkII vs Apoge Duet 3

[Richard Stringer]

I'm buying a new audio interface on Wednesday and can't decided between the Audient ID44 mkII or the Apogee Duet 3, does anyone know which has the best sounding converters? I'll be using it for recording dj mixes I do using Native Instruments Traktor and my SL1210mkII turntables with timecoded vinyl, my dj mixer is an Allen & Heath PX5 that I use and I use that for dj'ing in Traktor. I'll also be recording synths into Cubase and possibly creating my own instrumental hip hop with drum loops from .wav files loaded into Cubase and basslines recorded from my Novation Supernova so I can save the mastered .wav files and then load my tracks into Traktor and use them to scratch over. I make my own scratch samples from movie audio that I cut up in NCH Wavepad and I sometimes record my own voice into NCH Wavepad saying weird little things like YAA or HURR and then edit the audio with VST plugins and then save the files and use those audio files to scratch with them on my turntables in Traktor.

[Drew Stephenson]

I will happily bet a penny to a pound that no audience of discerning listeners will consistently mark one of those units as having better converters than the other.
You may, if that audience is in a brilliantly treated control room, with top notch monitoring and brilliantly recorded material, may just get a result that actually suggests people can tell the difference (I doubt it) but I hugely doubt you'll get any consistency on which is 'better'.
Converter quality at that price point just isn't an issue nowadays.

[ConcertinaChap]

I f was choosing my judgement would be based on the hurried way Apogee dumped support of their Ensemble interfaces back when Apple ended support for firewire. I don't trust the company any more.

Your mileage may vary.

CC

[Kwackman]

Converter quality at that price point just isn't an issue nowadays.

I agree with Drew.
Those 2 units have very different physical layouts and facilities, so your decision probably comes down to which one suits your workflow. I like the iD because of the monitor facilities and the mic pre-amp gain knobs are separate from the main monitoring volume pot. But, maybe the relatively minimalist design on the Apogee (and smaller footprint) might suit you better?
Whatever you choose, as Drew says, the convertor specs won't be an issue!

[sonics]

I'm buying a new audio interface on Wednesday and can't decided between the Audient ID44 mkII or the Apogee Duet 3, does anyone know which has the best sounding converters?

Both, and neither. The converters really aren't an issue. The mic pres will measure slightly differently, but both are very good too. I would think it's about feature differences, and what works best for you.

If it has to be one or the other (why those two?) I'd go for the Audient.