Fluid Audio SRI-2

I took a long time before I decided to buy the Fluid SRI-2 interface as it was at the top end of what I wanted to spend and there are many choices out there. I am very pleased that this was my final choice.

I am using it to feed a pair of Yamaha HS7's and a pair of PreSonus Eris E3.5's. It was the fact that the SRI-2 had dual outputs that ultimately swung my decision to buy this product as a lot of its rivals only have single outputs.

The SRI-2 has a very solid feel, It looks great and oozes quality. It has very firmly planted itself on my studio desk and doesn't move unless I lift it up and change its position. The control knobs are all super smooth and have a surface that is easy to grip and operate, especially the large volume control knob. The output is very smooth and clear.

One slight criticism is that although the main USB cable is supplied, there is no USB 2.0 Type A/Micro cable included, which you will need to get the Mic and Line inputs to operate on the Phantom +48v.

The only glitch I had was on the initial setup, but it might be unique to me and my system (Windows 10). I connected as advised and then went to the Fluidaudio website and downloaded the updated driver. Somehow in the installation my computer lost an Audio.dll file, and my computer wouldn't recognize the SRI-2 on my system.

In the end the only way out was to carry out a system restore and then download and install the updated driver before re-connecting the SRI-2 back into the system. After that it all worked fine, but it was a bit frustrating to have to do that.
There is also a hardware update available on the Fluidaudio website but Windows Defender warned that it might be an unsafe download so I didn't risk it. I will message Fluid Audio to see why this might be.

Overall I would say that you get a great product for the price and would certainly recommend it.

This is an honest feel towards this interface.
I feel there is not much said on this interface, all reviews say ja good big volume nob and good built and 2 separate monitor output, I mean hey this thing looks amazing sitting on your desk.

Pros

Built like a tank
Nobs feel legit and great quality
Visible and easy to read and access
Separate monitor output really great.
No extra features, just plug and Play
And the rest you know it

Cons
It’s just an interface with no extra special features, compressor, plugins or so so
Just normaly advertised and kind of boring
No Hiz for guitar
Inputs in front are really what’s also annoyed me, makes wonder what they where trying to save the space in the back for?
Most people complained about the volume nob, but personally it’s soll great, I found myself just turning it even if I didn’t have to cause it’s cool, shinny and uhlala.


End

What I would have expected on this interface is the mic inputs to be in the back. But overall this is a good interface for beginners

Ich nutze dieses Interface seit knapp 1,5 Jahren und bisher ausschließlich dazu, um meine Yamaha HS 8-Monitore anzusteuern. Dies funktioniert tadellos, die Soundqualität ist sehr gut und auf einem ähnlichen Niveau wie beim Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd gen). Besonders gut gefällt mir die Möglichkeit, neben der Stromversorgung per USB-Kabel ein externes Netzteil (nicht im Lieferumfang enthalten, ein simples Handy-Ladegerät mit MicroUSB-Kabel funktioniert) anzuschließen, was neben der Verwendung am Computer auch per "USB on the go" die Verbindung mit einem Smartphone ermöglicht, dessen USB-Anschluss nicht genug Strom zur Versorgung des Interface liefert. Ebenfalls gut (hinsichtlich Haptik und präziser Einstellungsmöglichkeit) gefällt mir der große Lautstärkeregler, der allerdings anscheinend nicht staubdicht ist: Nach einigen Wochen war bei Verdrehen des Reglers ein Rauschen / leichtes Knacken über die Lautsprecher vernehmbar, welches sich durch hin- und herdrehen des Reglers deutlich verringern lässt. Ist die passende Lautstärke einmal gewählt und der Regler wird nicht betätigt, ist auch dieses Störgeräusch nicht mehr wahrnehmbar. Ansonsten ist das Interface sauber verarbeitet, die Anschlüsse wirken stabil und wackeln nicht.

Zusammenfassung:
+ sehr gute Ausgangs-Soundqualität
+ flexibel durch zwei verschiedene Stromversorgungsoptionen
+ großer Lautstärkeregler Haptik habe ansprechend und präzise einstellbar
+ sauber verarbeitet, aber...
- Lautstärkeregler anscheinend nicht staubdicht, Störgeräusch beim Verdrehen hörbar