At the time of writing the interfaces have not been announced and the direct links were not live, so I wasn’t able to experience the process. When you plug in the interface a little folder pops up with a ‘Getting Started.html’ file that you are encouraged to click which will take you straight to the registration page where you’ll be able to access the included software and download the drivers. InstallationĪrturia tell me that they have a really cool ‘on‑boarding’ process to make for a flawless installation experience. The specs are similar to the those of other interfaces in this class, with a dynamic range of 110dB and gain range of 56dB, and are capable of 24‑bit recording up to 192kHz. ![]() ![]() It makes more sense to me but be aware that the extra input, the monitoring, plus the MIDI I/O costs you an extra 5cm in width. The MiniFuse 2 with the second input always feels like a safer bet giving you the ability to record two things at once, or just to monitor the playback of your synth while you’re singing. However, if you just want to record a synth then it’s great, or you just play guitar then no problem, or if you like to sing, rap, talk or capture sound with a single microphone then this will do the job. There’s no singing and playing at the same time in any context. ![]() One killer feature borrowed from the AudioFuse is that on the back there’s an extra USB hub socket into which you could plug such things as your MIDI controller, thumb drive or dongle.Ī single input, as we find on the MiniFuse 1, never seems quite enough to me. The USB connection on the back is USB‑C and they come with a USB‑C to regular USB cable for which I’m grateful. On the MiniFuse 2 the +48V switch turns on power for both inputs rather than individually. Both interfaces get a six‑segment LED output level meter, +48V phantom power, single headphone output and a Hi‑Z switch for each input. On the MiniFuse 1 you get a Direct Monitoring button for switching between software or direct monitoring whereas on the MiniFuse 2 you have a knob that mixes between software and direct sound plus a Direct Mono switch to let you listen to inputs 1 and 2 in mono rather than in stereo with one either side. The 2 also has the very welcome old‑school MIDI In and Out ports on the back. In terms of physical differences between the MiniFuse 1 and 2, the MiniFuse 2 has two combi inputs for mic, line or guitar, whereas the MiniFuse 1 has a single combi input. As soon as you plug cables in the back to your speakers, or if you place the interfaces further back so the desk takes some of the cable weight, then it’s all good. This is where I plug in some headphones and an XLR cable into each mic socket to see if the box tilts forward when on the edge of a desk - they both fail, but this is not uncommon and I should note that the MiniFuse 2 was able to stay still with a single mic plugged in. So, they are not lightweight but they are also not heavy enough to pass my cable hang test. They would survive a drop, being bounced around in a rucksack and being trodden on. The metal case makes them very solid and there was no give no matter how much I squeezed or poked the boxes. The main large Monitor knob is a nine‑sided nonagon that feels nice beneath the fingers and those edges give you a little bit of positional feedback. The knobs are tapered, shaped and rubberised and have a solid, meaningful feel. They have a nice metal surround and decent rubber feet to resist cable‑drag. However, once the MiniFuse is out of the box and into your hands things start to brighten up. I often wonder if the 1U form factor, favoured by audio interface manufactures, is prevalent because it’s popular or only popular because most of them are like that. They appear on first glance to be the same as so many other entry‑level audio interfaces I’ve reviewed in these pages. So, it is with a little bit of disappointment that I pull the cookie cutter forms of the MiniFuse 1 and 2 from their boxes. ![]() It was oozing with features and projected conscious style and functionality choices that raised eyebrows and nailed the desktop audio interface form factor. When Arturia revealed the AudioFuse back in 2015, it made a statement. Do Arturia’s MiniFuses go off with a bang or fizzle out with a whimper?
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