Zoom UAC-232

I got this USB audio interface for one reason and one reason only: so I could record audio with sufficient gain without risking clipping if I suddenly yelled at the mic or there was a loud noise nearby.

And it does what it says it does! You get two XLR inputs, both with +48V phantom power (so it can power, respectively, the Fethead for my SM7B, and the NTG4+ if it has no battery).

There's two USB-C inputs at the back, one with the USB symbol and one with "DC 5V": I have yet to run into a situation where separate power was required, I'm sure the user manual could tell me why.

I've come to expect direct monitoring from USB audio interfaces and it has it, the Mix Control app works well to adjust the volume & pan of the two inputs.

Recording in 32 bit float at this price point is fantastic and the quality and sound are more than reasonable. There's just one issue. The infinite headroom at this bitrate made them skip the gain knobs and use some kind of auto gain instead. That is super useful if you wanna record SFX, speech or even vocals (btw you can run it on your phone or tablet for mobile recording) the disadvantage is that you have no control and can't disable this function so for recording electric guitars and basses I can't recommend it. Especially if you run Amp Sims. I'm still keeping it for other purposes.