SSL 2+

Some notes from my point of view after full-time using it for about 5-6 weeks. Other interfaces I use or have used are Roland Quad-Capture, Focusrite Scarlett, Focurite Clarett and some RME stuff.

Positive:
- Very nice sounding pre-amps with mics. Instruments also sound fine. Really nothing bad to say about the pre-amps.
- Knobs turn well, feel nice. A bit too small for my taste, since turning them only a little bit (like 0,2 mm or something) is a bit easier with bigger knobs (for me atleast). I like it that all the buttons are on the top panel and that all the cables are on the back panel. Some other interfaces have buttons on the back and I dislike that greatly.
- Two headphone mixes are a welcome addition!
- When pressing the phantom power button all inputs are briefly muted, which is a nice feature that I haven't seen before on units in this price range.

Neutral:
- Latency is comparable with a lot of other of these bus powered interfaces. Nothing to write home about, but also not bad.
- The 4K mode adds high end, boosts overall volume and seems to add a bit of additional gain. It's not bad in any way, but the same effect can be achieved with software. I like the mode for darker sounding acoustic guitars. It's more of a (marketing) gimmick though.
- Build quality-wise it's fine, but nothing special.

Negative:
- The db meter is practically useless. It ranges from -40 to 0 db in 5 steps and well... It sucks big time.
- About once every ~18 hours of using this device, audio stops and the interface need to be turned off and on again (by pulling and reinserting USB cable) in order to be able to use it again. I have not found logging data or the cause.
- It misses features that I would expect on a brand new € 300 audio interfaces. Most - if not all - price competitors offer additional features such as auto sensing, loopback, second monitor out or USB 3.0. Loopback would have been a welcome addition for example.
- Hyperlinks in the box for 'free' software were not working for days and the website didn't function correctly. Maybe they fixed it now, but since this is about my experiences with this purchage I also mention this. Also the 'free' software seemed to requires personal data and seems to require rootkits on your operating system. So this was (because of multiple reasons) a big no-no for me.

All in all a nice and usable audio interface with good quality pre-amps. You don't see small interfaces with top controls that much, so in that regard it's a nice addition. I feel the unit is overpriced/doesn't offer enough features for the amount of money paid, but it still delivers excellent sound so that compensates the high cost a bit.

I bought this interface, after a recommendation from my friend and testing his unit in action. After two weeks I decided to give it a shot.
I've been using it for 6 months since and it is a very solid product, but it has some flaws, which may or may not affects the overall experience - depending on the user.

1. Sound quality - preamps have very clean, pristine sound, and enough gain to drive an SM7B. They work well on line, instrumental, and mic input - DI guitar and bass sound really good.

Headphone outputs have enough power to feed both AKG K271 and Audio-Technica MX40, and they can be really loud - halfway through is more than enough for me but I have not checked them on any high-impedance headphones (AKG have 55 Ohms, AT - 35 Ohms).

The 4K buttons boost signal a few dB and add some noise - sometimes it can be used creatively (e.g. on DI bass or even microphone ) but if you want a really clean sound, they will indeed distort the signal.

Monitor outputs are loud - I have never reached past 12 o'clock during usual work and my room is about 20 square meters big.
I use Yamaha HS5 with SSL2.

2. Build quality - the knobs are really good. Especially the main monitor knob is very pleasant to touch and turn - just like in the real SSL console.

The buttons for phantom power, line, and HI-Z feel like they are of worse quality than the rest of the interface. Up until this point I have not had any problems with them but my friend told me that some of them fell off. There is space for improvement.

Overall the interface's chassis feel sturdy and solid, as well as the in/out sockets on the rear.
One last thing: it is made in China and for some of you it can be a deal-breaker, so bear that in mind. But on the other hand, what isn't built in China these days?


3. Usage experience - it is a very nice, little interface with good preamps quality and good drivers.
I work on PC, in 48KHz and 128spls and the latency in both Reaper and Ableton are around 5,1/4,5 which is very usable, at least for me.
But it would probably be nice to have a TB3 version of SSL2 because I can see no real difference between USB A and C connectors in this case.

The monitor mix knob, which is more and more common on modern interfaces is a nice feature to have while recording. MIDI I/O is also very nice to have.

The fact that all of the I/O are on the back could be problematic for some of the users. I think that having the DI-ins and headphone outs on the front panel would be useful. But it would definitely affect the neat look of the interface ;)

To sum up - I truly recommend SSL2+ for mixing in-home studio and some small recording sessions it can be an ideal piece of gear .
What I would really like to see in the future is a version with 4 preamps and an ADAT I/O as well as a Thunderbolt3 version.
Maybe someday SSL

After 6 months of use the 4K switch on channel 1 started having issues to turn off. Now the red light on it just does not shut down anymore, it being pressed or not. Then I started having driver issues where it started connecting and disconnecting all day before I found any type of solution. Now the phantom power of channel 2 is having bad contact... And I barely use channel 2... Contacting SSL to see what they can do.

I got this as an upgrade over my old Gen2 2i2.

This is indeed an upgrade, it's a new level for "budget" USB interfaces.
The pre-amps are top quality, this thing deserves the SSL credentials, instantly better than the focusrite, even at low volume.

The best thing about this interface for everyday use outside of instruments and music is the fact that it's actually registers as an input device in Windows 10, meaning that you can plug in a microphone, turn on phantom power and use it in any communication app like Discord or Zoom, while with the 2i2 I had to run Reaper and route the signal using AsioLink Pro.

The USB type C is also an upgrade with noticeable improvements in latency and elimination of bottlenecks when running some applications.
For example: Since the Gen2 2i2 is running a USB type A gen 2 bus, it can get overwhelmed when using CPU intensive applications like running a heavy session of reaper or just everyday PC use when playing some games, causing static.
The SSL2 and 2+ use a USB type C bus that has higher bandwidth that illuminates the bottleneck and gets rid of any problems.

Another great feature is the MIDI interface in this model, though I didn't get to use it yet.

The actual control layout of the interface is logical and simple to use, the knobs and buttons feel very solid and sturdy.
The back panel input method allows for a clean setup with all the cables being tucked away behind the interface.

Overall this is a great interface that I would recommend to anyone in the price range.

The only thing that left me wanting for more is the lack of a line in input that would allow for an expression pedal integration which could be nice at this price point, but besides that I couldn't find anything wrong with this.

10/11 (really, if this had a line in for expression, this thing would go up to 11)