FIFINE SC1 USB Interface wi...
USGet notified when this item is back in stock
Press & drag to view
The built-in audio of your computer is just workable, but the quality is not to scratch for streaming, let alone the audio recording or even music production. That’s all because the built-in soundboard is way too noisy and way too weak for both the input and output.
The built-in audio of your computer is just workable, but the quality is not to scratch for streaming, let alone the audio recording or even music production. That’s all because the built-in soundboard is way too noisy and way too weak for both the input and output.
Not to mention the top-end external sound cards, but just the entry-level ones have the day-and-night difference compared to the built-in one from your PC. And if you haven’t prepared yourself to go all in on the professional audio level, there’s no necessity to up the ante yet. The most affordable one could do a perfect job for you when starting out on recording your own music, guitar playing, voice-over, podcasting, streaming or just getting pro at gaming.
You may hear many misleading sayings about the audio interfaces being extremely complicated and rather overwhelming for beginners who don’t process any mic techniques. But that’s not the whole story. Using a budget audio mixer with fewer ports and dials, but just the meat and potato can make home recording as easy as you could do so with a USB mic. Here comes the FIFINE SC1, one of those basic but no skimp on performance models is going to prove it to you!
The very underserved league of $50 mixers has met another powerful contender - the FIFINE SC1. For anyone who is in the market for an ultra-low-cost audio interface, you’re on to the right place. We’re not as long-established as the predominated Behringer or M-audio, but in terms of bang for money, the more up-to-date SC1 could do even better. Or at least the market presents you with more choice of a good interface for $50.
The electric or acoustic guitars, or the XLR microphones, none of them can be hooked up to your PC or laptop directly. Thus, the main purpose of such types of mixers is to let you record both the mic and instrument sound into a computer at the same time. It works right out of the box with Windows and Mac through the USB connection. And even setting it up with mobiles for recording on the road because of the compact form factor and the included Type-C & Type-A combo audio cable. There’s also a power indicator at the front to tell the working status.
With a proper mixer, there are lots of possibilities to play with, giving various styles to your music, like using it with only mics to capture a bit more environment, plugging in guitars directly to give better isolation and immersion, or even getting the signal chain of your pedals from the guitar amp line out. No matter which way may fit the best, you can just get started making your own music at home without renting a studio.
The SC1 could be the heart and brain to connect and control all your audio gear. With the XLR jack that provides 48V phantom power and 50dB gain range, you use either condenser mics or dynamic ones that are not super gain-hungry. The phantom power button, also an on/off indicator is right beside the input 1. The XLR & 1/4” combo jack also give you more connection options, in case you want to feed in the microphone source with different plugs.
Though input 2 doesn’t have the feature of switching between the instrument and line-in signal, you can use it with a 1/4” dynamic mic that doesn’t require much gain by pressing the mic/instrument button to switch for a duet podcast.
The mic/inst button also works out as a stereo and mono switch. For something that doesn't require heavy post-production, such as recording voice-over directly onto video editing software or conferencing, just let the button stay down all the time to get the stereo signal. That's another feature reminding you that you can take this whole setup as a mid-tier USB mic with much more flexibility. But you definitely want the best out of it if it's for getting started with some music project. Then just pop the button back up to let it into its own zone - two mono recording tracks separately for your voice and instrument!
Its ADC maxes out at 16-bit and 48k Hz, which is the main reason why it’s labeled with an entry-level tag. But the redeeming feature is that the 80dB of the dynamic range provided by the 16-bit audio is enough for starting your home recording on a budget, as long as you pay a bit more attention to the gain stage to leave more headroom and create a lower noise floor.
.
And that’s why the signal meters are closely surrounding the gain dials. It’s to give visual feedback on the input level and peak warning and to remind you of setting a proper gain boost for your mics or instruments.
The clipping indicator is to help avoid heavy distortion by triggering the red light at -3dB, the orange light at -6dB, and the green one at around -9dB. Testing out. Run some tests to find the better-suited level for yourself to have the green light on all the time before getting started. Then leave the job of the signal monitoring to these LED indicators, do not get yourself bothered during recording!
The enlarged level control dials themselves at the top with the smooth adjustment are not subject to getting wobbly when you turn it up or down. indicators, do not get yourself bothered during recording!
.
And that’s why the signal meters are closely surrounding the gain dials. It’s to give visual feedback on the input level and peak warning and to remind you of setting a proper gain boost for your mics or instruments.
The clipping indicator is to help avoid heavy distortion by triggering the red light at -3dB, the orange light at -6dB, and the green one at around -9dB. Testing out. Run some tests to find the better-suited level for yourself to have the green light on all the time before getting started. Then leave the job of the signal monitoring to these LED indicators, do not get yourself bothered during recording!
The enlarged level control dials themselves at the top with the smooth adjustment are not subject to getting wobbly when you turn it up or down. indicators, do not get yourself bothered during recording!
If you just started out and don’t have many monitoring devices for audio referencing, then a separate headphone control may mean less to you. But when you get experienced and chase a more perfect vocal and instrument mix, that separate dial is preferable over one single dial for controlling both the headphone and the speaker altogether.
Direct monitoring allows you to hear the input signal along with the music from your computer. You can totally get around the latency issue of what you’re hearing from the computer and what you’re actually recording.
It's not the most colorless headphone amp for the price, but if crank the volume all the way up, but still can't hear all the details, then you would just want a DAC with a more powerful output. That's the case with the SC1 headphone jack. It has one of the highest output power for the price, giving around 30mW power at 32 ohms load impedance, which might not be a bad thing for people who are just getting started. Because of the wide compatibility with headphones in the budget category, you don't have to spend tons of time searching for one and take the risk that it will not work.
Specifications
| Mic Input | Table header 1 |
|---|---|
| Frequency Response | 20-20kHz |
| Dynamic Range | 80dB |
| S/N Ratio | ＞75 dB |
| Gain Range | 50dB |
| Headphone Output | |
| Frequency Response | 20-20kHz |
| Output Power | 30mW @32ohm |
| Output Impedance | 32-600Ω |
| Dynamic Range | 85dB |
| Main Out | |
| Frequency Response | 20-20kHz |
| Dynamic Range | 85dB |
| S/N Ratio | ＞80 dB |
| Maximum Output Level | +1dBV |
| Computer I/O | USB Type-C to USB Type-A 2.0 & Type-C |
| Power Consumption | Voltage: 5±0.25 V
Current: 500mA |
| Bit Depth/Sample Rate | 16-bit/44.1k-48k Hz |
| Shipping Weight | 0.8 kg |