RME is a company who specialize in making incredibly reliable professional audio products such as interfaces, AD/DA converters and preamps. They have a long history in making some of the best audio interfaces in the world when it comes to reliability, stability, low latency and their ability to capture sources without coloration.
We use many RME products including their flagship audio interface the Fireface UFX which we use on location and in the studio as our main audio interface to capture different sources. We haven’t had a single issue in the years we have used the UFX and some of the features of the UFX have saved us time and money in the past when other equipment has let us down.
The RME Babyface is no different when it comes to the legendary stability, reliability and pristine capture of audio. The Babyface is a 10 input and 22 output audio interface and connects via USB2.0, shipped with a cable with a USB B port to connect to the unit and a double ended standard USB plug on the other end to connect to your computer, and with a recent update, it can be plugged into a USB power source to work in standalone mode or even plugged into an iPad with the Camera Connection Kit.
The Babyface was a little larger than I expected, but still a perfect size to sit on my desk within easy reach. It has a large jogwheel for main volume adjustment of the analogue outputs, headphone outputs and the analogue input gains. Below the jogwheel are two buttons, one which recalls the main output volume to a prefinied level and another button which can be programmed. Pushing the main jog wheel down will also dim the main output by a user defined level.
On the rear of the unit is a serial cable port that a supplied breakout cable is attached, providing two analogue inputs, two analogue outputs, a headphone output and MIDI in and out. Next to that is an ADAT in port and ADAT out port. Then the USB port and a DC power port, of which the adapter is an optional extra as the unit is bus powered.
On the side of the unit is a second headphone output jack and an instrument Hi-Z input jack. The Babyface is made of aluminum and finished with a blue finish on the top and silver on the sides and bottom. Above the jogwheel is a pair of LED metres and LED status lights that light as to the selected input or output level and shows where the master input and output level controls are as you turn the jogwheel.
All this together results in an attractive little desktop piece, perfect in size to easily reach over and adjust the volume of the speakers or your headphones or change the input gain for a microphone you are recording. RME provide similar devices designed as remote controls for the Babyface’s bigger brothers, the UCX and UFX, and you can tell why when using the Babyface. It provides a nice tactile interface to control your levels and the quality of the feel and finish speak volume of the quality of the unit.
The quality of the AD/DA converters are possibly the best you can get for under a thousand dollars. They are aimed at capturing and reproducing audio signals as cleanly as possible and accurately as possible, imparting no coloration to the signal, for better or worse. This is perfect for applications such as rehearsal recordings, pre-production demos, live two track stereo recordings, classical recordings, broadcast recordings, radio recordings and many more. Getting accurate and true representations of music has been a challenge many engineers have faced over many years.
The Babyface will allow me to listen accurately at home and on the move, on location with clients doing pre-production and the many situations where needing to monitor accurately is needed. I can unplug the unit with two cables, place it inside my backpack with a second breakout cable and go meet clients and do a variety of tasks, knowing that I won’t have issues with equipment failure, clicks, pops, distortion, crashes or poor quality.
RME make true professional grade products, designed to last. And every time I use one of their products, I am reminded of the fact. I won’t rely on any other manufacturer when it comes to audio interfaces and neither will my clients be exposed to any issues arising out of using other inferior products.