Arturia has introduced the MiniFuse line, a new collection of compact & affordable recording interfaces.
“Following in the footsteps of AudioFuse, we knew we would need to deliver more affordable audio interfaces, a solution that would open up audio creation to everyone,” notes Arturia Founder Frederic Brun. “That solution is MiniFuse – our vision of an affordable audio companion.”
Key Features:
- “Class-leading sound” – The MiniFuses boast a 110db dynamic range and a -129dB equivalent input noise.
- Compact, portable, rugged, and easy to use. From smooth backlit controls to the addition of a USB hub on the back, MiniFuse is designed to fit into any setup.
- MiniFuse comes with Ableton Live Lite, Analog Lab Intro, Splice, Autotune unlimited and more.
- 5-year warranty – Made with robust materials, specially-selected components, and over 200 durability tests, the MiniFuses are built to last, with a 5-year hardware warranty as standard.
Pricing and Availability
- MiniFuse ($99) – a 1 – 1 in / 2 out audio interface
- MiniFuse 2 ($149) – a 2 in / 2 out audio & MIDI interface
- MiniFuse 4 (price TBA) – a 4 in / 4 out audio & MIDI interface
Black MiniFuse 1 & 2 will be available in stores in mid-October. White MiniFuse 1 & 2 will be available in stores in November. MiniFuse 4 will be available in 2022, with pricing TBA. See the Arturia site for details.
This looks like a straight Behringer-level rip of the Scarlett design. Kinda surprised, because Arturia obviously has good hardware designers.
They look like every other interface on the planet looks.
Though I’m especially excited about the MF4, I’ll get the MF2 as soon as I can find it in Canada.
Hours before noticing this announcement, I was asking Peter Kirn about his experience with the MOTU M4. Yet this line is even more appropriate for me.
The USB Hub is precisely what I wanted. Even if it’s only 250 mAh, I’m fine with using a battery pack to give the setup more juice so I can use controllers. (Have yet to find the power draw for some of my controllers, including the Launchpad X.)
The DC-coupling on the MF4 (and the MOTU M2/M4) could be particularly useful with Bitwig, for CV modulation. It’s just hard to wait until “2022”.
You can already get similar small Motu and RME interfaces in the same price range. Better off buying gear from a company who specialises in what they make rather than a synth/software company branching out into audio interfaces
same price range?
Arturia has been making high-end audio interfaces for years: https://www.arturia.com/products/audio/audiofuse-8pre/overview
Please tell me which RME interface starts at 100$ ?
The smallest RME that I found was Babyface Pro FS at 700$ (Arturia has the AudioFuse Studio at this price). And the Motu starts at 200$.
Nobody’s sure if they can deliver in 2022 either. This due to the shortage on semiconductors. I wonder how the situation affects other manufacturers as well.
I work for a manufacturer (not Arturia). We have blanket purchase orders with the major microcontroller manufacturers (NXP, STM) to ensure scheduled deliveries into 2022. A critical shortage is DACs, ADCs and CODECs to get audio in and out of our boxes. There was a fire at AKM in Japan in October 2020 that stopped their production. Anyone using their parts was forced to rework designs to use chips from a different vendor (assuming they could get them) or hold off production until AKM chips are available again.
We’ve also seen shortages in some weird things like diodes, aluminum capacitors and various other components that used to be easy to source. Part of this is that factories in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand are being forced to scale back production because of COVID. It will be a while before the world is out of the woods.
That is interesting info. Thanks!
Yep… same situation at my work… we make wiring looms for industry… 10-20m looms that branch out like trees… we’ve got a bunch we can’t finish because of a shortage in 6 and 8 pin connectors (amongst others) so the ends are just bare wires for the time being… apparently there’s now a shortage in resin so no one is able to cast plastic connectors…. the end of the world as we know it (!!)
Rather like to see a USB-C product that is more aimed at synth enthusiast from a synth company.
In that category we need more offerings. Arturia offers at most 4 stereo inputs in their products at a price of 700 eu. That means most of us need to buy 2 or more to connect our synths. More line inputs at a cheaper price in one unit is more ideal.
Most of the offerings out there are also not focust enough there are to many of these can do it all but have not enough audio inputs audio interfaces out there.
You don’t like the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 for something like this? The 3rd Gen is USB-C
Looks like that one also has only the ability to connect 4 stereo inputs but beter pricing.
I considered the Presonus Quantum-4848 at one time. That could connect 16 stereo instruments but i need to also change all my cabling to that format and it has Thunderbolt i would prefer USB-C now so i do not need to use adapters for connecting it to the computer.
https://www.presonus.com/products/Quantum-4848
i have the 18i20 + octopre. 16 channels, so 8 stereo. they connect together with a digital optical type cable. at the time (about 2 years ago), it was the cheapest option i could find to get a bunch of interface tracks at once. was upgrading from a cheap 2i2 that never malfunctioned for years, so i knew i could trust focusrite. the entire setup has always worked well with minimal latency.
We typically don’t need 16 mic preamps and phantom power for synth stuff, so I’ve often wondered why there’s nothing out there with just line level inputs. I guess economies of scale mean it might end up more expensive with_out_ the mic stuff.
motu 16a, 24ai and also the quantum 4848 mentioned above.
You can also get an adat usb interface like the digiface usb and connect whatever converter you like.
You’re quite right as ever, these are great options. I was careless. I meant that there’s not really anything in that sub <1k price bracket that's line-level-only, to my knowledge, despite lots of nice options with preamps and phantom power.
for this number of channels (16<), there are not many in the sub <1k$ with preamps.
the motu 8a is a little less than 800$ for 8 i/o
the 24ai is little less than 1000$ but no analog outputs
you can also get the rme digiface usb for less than 500$ and get a second hand "line only" converters.
but i don't think line in only inputs will have any advantage with synths, maybe even disadvantage.
“After the complete failure of AudioFuse, we knew we would need to deliver more affordable audio interfaces to grab some from the less professional”
arturia hardware is the epitome of hit and miss
This is great to see. It’s not just for enthusiasts or people starting out. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for as a travel interface. Light, small, minimal cables, yet quality enough to keep the results for use back in the studio.
Oh my. When compare to audiofuse, these interfaces don’t make somebody bankrupt.
I wonder if it’s possible to power Arturia Keylab 49 mkii with this MiniFuse USB hub?
Hi hello. I also am in the market for a interface. I have a semi dj / creator setup with 3 usb products, a mike and a guitar. I would like to know if I plug in my (example) Maschine and Traktor (NI products) in the back of the interface, I can hear the sound come through the speakers. And maybe being able to mute one or the other through the program on my Mac. It would be awesome!! Can someone enlighten me?