Replace home stereo equipment with an audio interface?

[Varmann]

A newbie question in this subforum.
I would like to replace my under-utilised home stereo equipment with an audio interface on my next mac.

Is the setup possible?

Into Audio interface (connected to my mac)
- Turntable
- Sound from cable channel device (video goes to hdmi on my 30" Mac display)
- Possibility for occasional other devices at shorter periods (mic etc)

Output: A pair of active small studio monitors (Edirol MA-15D) and/or headphones that will both be able to output audio from sources as well as sound from the mac.

To me this interface looked decent https://www.residentaudio.com/t4overview
As I understood:
- 4 input make it possible to connect 2 stereo sources.
- Outputs for both monitor speakers and headphones.
- Gives me possibility to record from turntable
- Not too fancy, decently cheap and bus powered to reduce cable clutter

 

[jackerin]

I've only used three different audio interfaces, but from my experience not all of them support direct monitoring of audio input, meaning you need a software solution to playback the audio coming in. The site does say something about smart monitoring, but you might want to check with their customer support before investing... otherwise you could also look into getting a small mixer that you connect everything to, IIRC there are also some USB enabled ones that can double as AIs.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Is your turntable the "old fashioned" kind that plugs (RCA type plugs) into an amplifier jack labeled "phono"?

 

[Dave Y]

You will probably need a phono (riaa) preamp for your turntable. Arturia Audiofuse has that built in and can be bus-powered I believe, though a bit more expnsive.

 

[Varmann]

I've only used three different audio interfaces, but from my experience not all of them support direct monitoring of audio input, meaning you need a software solution to playback the audio coming in. The site does say something about smart monitoring, but you might want to check with their customer support before investing... otherwise you could also look into getting a small mixer that you connect everything to, IIRC there are also some USB enabled ones that can double as AIs.

Yes, that is probably a good idea, I will check with them.

I have to say I am a bit confused at the difference between AIs and mixers, there seem to some overlap.

Is your turntable the "old fashioned" kind that plugs (RCA type plugs) into an amplifier jack labeled "phono"?

Yes, I wil have to get a riaa preamp.

Thanks a lot for the help.