Recording - August 2013 - 28

B Y M I K E M E T L AY

Steinberg UR22 USB Audio/MIDI Interface
Maybe you’re a solo singer/songwriter
working with a guitar or keyboard, trying
to capture your ideas; maybe you work
with a larger DAW rig but occasionally
must allow for a visiting artist’s laptop as
an audio source; maybe you sometimes
need an extra way to get audio into and
out of a spare computer at a gig.
Whatever your reasons might be, a
portable stereo I/O interface—preferably
with MIDI so you can easily connect a control surface or controller keyboard—is a
wonderfully handy item to have.
Many manufacturers offer such devices
these days; some are loaded with special
features, others are specifically designed
for tight integration with one particular
DAW, and still others command high price
tags for uncompromising audio circuitry. It
can be hard to make a clear choice, especially if you’re new to the computer audio
world. The Steinberg UR22 aims to make
the choice simpler for a big chunk of the
recording community, by offering a simple
bus-powered interface with all the basics,
plus some nice extras in the realm of feature set and audio quality, all at a very
manageable price.
On the outside
The UR22 certainly isn’t the first audio
interface Steinberg has offered. Ever since
the firm began its close association with
Yamaha, it has leveraged Yamaha’s design
expertise to create impressive interface
products that combine flexible feature sets
with excellent audio. Check out our August
and December 2010 issues for reviews of
the rackmount MR 816 CSX and of the
tabletop CI Series interfaces, which combine audio interfacing with built-in controls
for Steinberg’s Cubase DAW.
The UR22 does offer some integration
with Cubase—the latest versions can
remotely detect that it’s installed and allow
you to set it up from within the DAW—but
by and large it is intended as a generalpurpose USB 2.0 audio/MIDI interface
for Windows and Mac OS X. A quick tour
hints at what you can expect when you
get to work with it, but as we’ll see, there
are a couple of surprises under the hood.
Encased in a sturdy, reassuringly heavy
metal case, the UR22 is a bus-powered
interface with no option for external
28

RECORDING August 2013

A rugged, simple, great-sounding tool for computer audio

power. In what we hope is becoming a trend in interface design, the front and rear
panels are slightly recessed within the wraparound metal shell so as to protect the jacks
and panels from hits and drops. The pots still protrude a bit, though, so it’s not a perfect protection, but some’s better than none! All of the jacks and controls feel solid and
well-anchored... there’s nothing flimsy or cheap in evidence.
The front panel has two Neutrik Combo jacks for the two inputs, one with a switch to
convert it to a Hi-Z instrument input. There’s also a 1/4" TRS headphone jack and five pots:
Input Gains 1 and 2, Phones level, Output level, and Input/DAW Mix (i.e. zero-latency
monitoring control). The rear panel sports two 1/4" TRS balanced outputs, MIDI In and Out,
and a small recessed Phantom Power switch, plus a USB Standard-B jack. Visual feedback
comes from two Input Peak LEDs, a 48V LED, and a white USB activity LED.
The UR22 comes with an owner’s manual and a driver disc (both also available as
downloads), plus a registration/redemption card that gets you a free download of
Cubase AI 6, with a free upgrade to Cubase AI 7 when it ships. Why is the upgrade
important? Because of what you can’t see when you look at the box...
On the inside
One of the main differences between Cubase AI 6 and AI 7 is that version 7 supports up to 24-bit/192 kHz audio, whereas version 6 tops out at 24/96. This becomes
relevant when we realize that not only does the UR22 have converters that can handle 24/192, but its front-end electronics are good enough to actually make 24/192
recording feasible!
Yamaha has made much of its D-PRE mic preamps, featured in the newest generation
of MGP analog mixers and its more expensive recording interfaces. The D-PRE is a ClassA discrete mic preamp intended to hold its own against standalone devices of moderate
cost; it offers up to 60 dB of gain and has a 4000 ohm input impedance. In practice,
this means that it should be able to work well with most if not all dynamic and condenser
mics, although the maximum gain might not be enough for older ribbon mics with weak
signals. Having a pair of D-PRE preamps in the UR22 means that the interface’s 24/192
capabilities, should you elect to take advantage of them, won’t be compromised by a
noisy or unpleasant-sounding preamp.
The UR22 does require drivers for all computers; it is not plug-and-play compatible
with either Windows or Mac OS X. WDM and ASIO drivers are provided for
Windows, with a small control panel to set sample rate and buffer size. The Core Audio
driver for Mac OS X defers control of sample rate to the Audio MIDI Setup utility and



Recording - August 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2013

Recording - August 2013
Fade In.
Contents
Talkback.
Fast Forward.
PreSonus ADL 700 Tube Channel Strip.
Recording The Gig.
Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Microphone.
Recording The Band.
Steinberg UR22 USB Audio/MIDI Interface.
Daking Audio Comp 500.
A Guitar Miking Primer. Part 2: Acoustic Guitars.
Piano Recording—A Private Affair.
Audiofile Engineering Triumph.
Cymatic Audio LR-16 Digital Recorder.
Readers’ Tapes.
RØDE iXY and RØDE Rec.
MIDI—Happy 30th Birthday!
Do It Yourself: Keepin’ My Beats Cool—Repairing an E-MU SP1200.
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 20: Equalization—Part 1.
Advertiser Index.
Special Report: AES Nashville Recording Workshop+Expo 2013.
Recording - August 2013 - Recording - August 2013
Recording - August 2013 - Cover2
Recording - August 2013 - 1
Recording - August 2013 - 2
Recording - August 2013 - 3
Recording - August 2013 - Fade In.
Recording - August 2013 - 5
Recording - August 2013 - Contents
Recording - August 2013 - 7
Recording - August 2013 - Talkback.
Recording - August 2013 - 9
Recording - August 2013 - Fast Forward.
Recording - August 2013 - 11
Recording - August 2013 - 12
Recording - August 2013 - 13
Recording - August 2013 - PreSonus ADL 700 Tube Channel Strip.
Recording - August 2013 - 15
Recording - August 2013 - 16
Recording - August 2013 - 17
Recording - August 2013 - Recording The Gig.
Recording - August 2013 - 19
Recording - August 2013 - Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Microphone.
Recording - August 2013 - 21
Recording - August 2013 - Recording The Band.
Recording - August 2013 - 23
Recording - August 2013 - 24
Recording - August 2013 - 25
Recording - August 2013 - 26
Recording - August 2013 - 27
Recording - August 2013 - Steinberg UR22 USB Audio/MIDI Interface.
Recording - August 2013 - 29
Recording - August 2013 - Daking Audio Comp 500.
Recording - August 2013 - 31
Recording - August 2013 - 32
Recording - August 2013 - 33
Recording - August 2013 - A Guitar Miking Primer. Part 2: Acoustic Guitars.
Recording - August 2013 - 35
Recording - August 2013 - 36
Recording - August 2013 - 37
Recording - August 2013 - 38
Recording - August 2013 - 39
Recording - August 2013 - 40
Recording - August 2013 - 41
Recording - August 2013 - Piano Recording—A Private Affair.
Recording - August 2013 - 43
Recording - August 2013 - Audiofile Engineering Triumph.
Recording - August 2013 - 45
Recording - August 2013 - 46
Recording - August 2013 - 47
Recording - August 2013 - Cymatic Audio LR-16 Digital Recorder.
Recording - August 2013 - 49
Recording - August 2013 - Readers’ Tapes.
Recording - August 2013 - 51
Recording - August 2013 - 52
Recording - August 2013 - 53
Recording - August 2013 - 54
Recording - August 2013 - 55
Recording - August 2013 - RØDE iXY and RØDE Rec.
Recording - August 2013 - 57
Recording - August 2013 - MIDI—Happy 30th Birthday!
Recording - August 2013 - 59
Recording - August 2013 - Do It Yourself: Keepin’ My Beats Cool—Repairing an E-MU SP1200.
Recording - August 2013 - 61
Recording - August 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 20: Equalization—Part 1.
Recording - August 2013 - 63
Recording - August 2013 - 64
Recording - August 2013 - Advertiser Index.
Recording - August 2013 - 66
Recording - August 2013 - 67
Recording - August 2013 - 68
Recording - August 2013 - 69
Recording - August 2013 - 70
Recording - August 2013 - 71
Recording - August 2013 - Special Report: AES Nashville Recording Workshop+Expo 2013.
Recording - August 2013 - Cover3
Recording - August 2013 - Cover4
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