Pros/Cons of Pod HD vs dedicated interfaces

[petregeus]

This is a question for anyone who is using or has used their Pod as a USB interface for recording with software amp sims.

 

It may seem counterintuitive when there are so many dedicated USB interfaces out there in the same price range, but the fact is I've already got a Pod HD desktop, and I can get some decent sounds running it dry (amps/effects turned off) into my DAW+VST amps via USB.  With a 256k ASIO buffer on my C2D machine, I don't have any noticeable latency either.

 

What I'm wondering is if I'd get a noticeable improvement in recording quality if I used something like a Focusrite or Presonus USB interface instead of the Pod for DAW-based plugins?

 

If the difference is minimal to nothing, I don't see any reason to buy another piece of hardware for recording with amp sims (lepou, amplitube, etc.).

 

Am I missing something?  Can anyone who's used both weigh in?

[TheRealZap]

there wouldn't be any real benefit unless your other interface also has a SPDIF input so you could record wet and dry at the same time. IMO

[petregeus]

Thanks for the quick reply!  I had read another thread about the wet/dry possibility, but I'm only really interested in dry (for now, at least).

 

I was more wondering whether the difference in quality of the dry signal would be enough to affect the final tone in any significant way.  But it sounds like maybe I should save my money.

[TheRealZap]

I think you should save your money. :)

there are plenty of other reasons to get an interface though... more inputs for example.

I use another interface (UAD Apollo)... but for simple dry tracking i think you're setup should be satisfactory as is.

[pfsmith0]

Agreed. I consider a guitar a "lo-fi" type of signal with all the hum, pick noises, buzzing, etc going on. The data converters in the HD500 are plenty good enough for guitar. I wouldn't upgrade just for this.