£169 / €199, lewitt-audio.com 

If you’re just getting started with your studio setup, the last thing you need is equipment with a load of functions you don’t know how to use. Thankfully, Lewitt says its new Connect 2 audio interface is the “most user-friendly audio interface” ever made — that should make things pretty simple, right?

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Lewitt’s first venture into the world of audio interfaces, the Connect 6, was aimed squarely at content creators and streamers. Its blend of input and internal loopback options makes it a perfect match for small-scale video and broadcast production. It can make a decent fist of working in a music studio too, but doing so will waste some of the unit’s talents.

The Connect 2 retains some of the features that make the 6 so attractive to streamers – chiefly internal loopback and stylish design – but its input configuration is clearly geared towards individuals and solo performers. And, it does feel like it could be the “most user-friendly audio interface”, which is great – let’s hug it up. But we’re not aware of any modern interfaces that are particularly user-unfriendly!

How does the Lewitt Connect 2 look and sound?

Connect 2 is small and compact with a slim, low-profile control panel area and a raised bridge accommodating the rear-facing input and output connectors. The interface is USB-2 class compliant, meaning it’s compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS/iPadOS and many flavours of desktop Linux and Android. It can also operate as a standalone preamp and mixer.

Its recording and playback quality do not disappoint. There is a slight loss of detail at the very lowest and highest frequencies when compared to a high-end interface such as a Universal Audio Apollo, which is to be expected with a small and affordable unit like this, but everything is clean and well-balanced with faultless stereo imaging.

What are the key specifications of the Lewitt Connect 2?

As its name suggests, Connect 2 features just two input channels, the first dedicated to microphones and the second to instrument level inputs such as electric guitar and bass.

Inputs are fed by an XLR and mono jack socket, respectively, and while this is a common enough socket configuration for smaller interfaces, the lack of standard line inputs may be a deal breaker for some. It does, however, speak to the “user-friendly” claim because there’s no ambiguity about what should be connected where!

Outputs are served by a pair of jacks for hooking up to your monitor system, plus a Zero-Ohm headphone amp that can drive an incredibly wide range of headphones from its dual (6.35 mm and 3.5 mm) jack sockets. Although all outputs carry the same master mix signal, both the monitor and headphone buses have independent volume and mute controls.

How do you control the Lewitt Connect 2 interface?

Most configuration tasks can be performed directly from the interface’s slimline control panel. There are no physical buttons or dials here though; rather, there are touch-sensitive spots with raised surrounds and backlit symbols that act as buttons, and a larger circular groove that serves as a data entry dial.

This is all quite intuitive to use: touch the ‘button’ corresponding to the input or output you wish to configure, causing its symbol to light, then manipulate the dial to set a gain/output level value. An LED ring surrounding the dial gives visual feedback on the selected channel’s gain/output level setting and current signal level.

As is common on smaller interfaces, direct monitoring is handled by balancing the direct input signal and the computer playback signal. The Connect 2 lets you choose which inputs are included in the direct signal, which is handy, but we also find that, when monitoring inputs via a DAW, the input signal can be doubled in the monitors (although not the recording).

This issue appears to be related to the loopback bus and the optional macOS Streaming Mode that determines which of the internal “software input” buses carries the loopback signal, and it seems that it will only occur under certain elusive circumstances.

Lewitt’s Connect 2 manual needs to go into a lot more detail about what the macOS Streaming Mode is for, how to use it, and what some of the potential pitfalls are if it’s set incorrectly.

How do you access signal processing on the Lewitt Connect 2?

While the Connect 2 hardware allows access to essential functions, the full suite of features can only be accessed via the Control Center software. Here, you can toggle the low-cut filter and Clipguard system available to each input, the latter preventing overly-hot signals from causing digital clipping that would ruin your recording or stream.

The software also allows the interface’s onboard audio processors (DSP) – unusual in a unit of this size – to be accessed. First is a choice of preamp mode, with a selection of Clean, Warm and Vivid, which is essentially a high-end EQ cut (Warm) or boost (Vivid). This is followed by Denoise, which enables a noise filter, and Comp, which applies a progressive compression to louder signals.

None of these processors can be tweaked or controlled – they are just on or off for each channel – and they can’t rival the basic plugins provided by most DAWs. They can be useful, though, especially for streaming, content creation, video conferencing and such.

Is the Lewitt Connect 2 as user-friendly as the brand claims?

So, what about this “most user-friendly” business? We’ve already mentioned the unambiguous input options, and the simple on/off nature of the onboard processing, but there are a couple of other features aimed at snuggling-up to users, too.

Autogain monitors 10 seconds of incoming signal and then sets an ideal input gain. This can be done on individual inputs or both simultaneously, and we find the resulting gain settings to be just about how we would have set them manually – impressive given that similar tools we’ve seen on other interfaces have tended to leave more headroom than we would have liked.

Taking things a stage further is Autosetup. This presents a series of screens asking about which inputs are being used, what type of mic is connected, and so on, with helpful explanations provided at each stage. Once you’ve worked through the questions the appropriate settings are applied and the Autogain process is triggered.

This really couldn’t be easier, and will be particularly welcome to those who don’t want to get bogged down with audio engineering details that may have nothing to do with what they’re actually doing. In the post-Covid world of working from home and remote meetings, Connect 2 also presents an interesting choice for those who want their audio as clean and clear as possible.

User-friendliness is subjective. If you already know your XLRs from your SPLs and your mind doesn’t turn to exorcising ghosts at the mention of phantom power, then “easy” can be more like “restrictive”. But if you have no interest in the technicalities of audio engineering and just want to get on with creating – whether that be music, videos, YouTube shows, or whatever – then Connect 2 is sure to appeal.

Key features

• USB-2 class-compliant audio interface
• Supports sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz and 96 kHz
• Mic and instrument level inputs
• Phantom power on mic input
• Low-cut filter and Clipguard on both inputs
• Stereo line output
• Zero-Ohm headphone amp with 6.35mm / 3.5mm sockets
• Clean, Warm and Vivid preamp modes
• Onboard audio processing
• Touch-sensitive hardware control panel with no moving parts
• Lewitt Control Centre software for accessing all features
• Includes licences for Steinberg Cubase LE and Cubasis LE

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