This means you can plug a guitar or bass directly in the audio interface, play, and listen to it directly from the audio interface, just like a mixer or an amp. This feature allows you to listen to the audio interface’s input signal in real-time through headphones or speakers. Some audio interfaces have a feature called direct monitoring. Speaker level signals are very loud audio signals meant to be played through loudspeakers or PA systems.Īlthough there are unique features that enable you to “color” your sound on some amps, this is primarily what it does. The line-level signal is further amplified by a power amp, which boosts the signal from a line-level into a speaker level signal. This boosts the signal from a weak instrument-level signal to a line-level signal. The audio signal from the instrument is first processed through a preamp. These amps run audio signals through two stages of amplification. Two of the most popular amps are the bass and guitar amp. However, this is the primary function of an audio interface, and every interface out there can do this.Īn audio amplifier (or power amp) is a device that makes weak analog audio signals strong enough for further processing or to drive it through loudspeakers. There are brand-specific features such as direct monitoring and more in some audio interfaces. There are Digital-to-Analog converters (DAC) built-in audio interfaces as well, which receive digital audio signals from computers, convert it into an analog audio signal, and send it out through the audio outputs. After processing, they are converted into digital audio signals, packaged, and sent to a computer.Īudio interfaces also have audio outputs that can send audio from a computer to a pair of speakers or headphones. The received audio signals from the inputs are processed through the audio interface’s built-in analog-to-digital converter (ADC). It has audio inputs that accept audio signals from microphones and music equipment such as guitar, bass, digital pianos, etc. Let me briefly explain the difference.Īn audio interface is a versatile and multipurpose device used primarily to record and playback audio from a computer. An audio interface and an amp are two totally different gears.

For now, let’s look at some key differences between an amp and an audio interface and answer a few questions that might be helpful. I’ll walk you through the step-by-step guide on how to replace your amp with an audio interface and the pros and cons of this setup later in the article. Pros and Cons of Using an Audio Interface as an Amp.How to Replace Amp with Audio Interface.

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