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In the age of portability and wireless connectivity, audio interfaces are still desktop-friendly and bulky – or so we thought. Introducing the two, miniature powerhouses offering most of the functionality of your everyday Focusrite Solo in the form-factor of a slightly enlarged matchbox – the TC Helicon Go series and iK Multimedia’s iRig series.
To be brutally honest, the Go series was launched after the iRig series, and we can’t help but wonder whether there was any sort of back-engineering done on the former. Regardless, both products are fully making waves in the market, and deserve recognition for successfully miniaturizing a rather bulky product.
IK Multimedia iRig2 & iRig Pro
Since 1996, this Italian company has long been a pillar of the guitar community for mastering the art of analogue-digital communication between instruments and their interfaces. While they are known for their exceptionally built production tools, they are also synonymous with budget devices. They manage to do so by finding a balance between mass-producing a variety of models and putting the artist first.
As for the iRig, when launched, was immediately adopted by musicians (on the iOS platform) to help practice and create music on the go. Eventually, iRig expanded their products and software to function on Android and since has held a sort of monopoly on the standalone, mobile user market.
Powered by a 9V battery, the iRig has two main variants – one for guitar and other instruments, and the other for vocals. The iRig Pre and Pre HD are vocals-oriented while the iRig Pro I/O and Duo I/O are geared to support instruments. They are also built to provide phantom power so you can connect your large condenser microphones without hassle.
TC Helicon Go Vocals & Guitar
Acquired by the behemoth Music Tribe group (of Behringer, MIDAS…) in 2015, TC Helicon has long been providing tools to musicians, especially vocalists. The Canadian-based pro-audio company has been instrumental behind the launch of the GO series that is in direct rivalry with the iRig.
While many forums on the World Wide Web insinuate that Helicon outright copied the iRig, let’s look at the functions and features offered by the GO series, significantly cheaper than the iRig.
The GO Vocal has one XLR input, phantom power for large condenser mics, and an LED indicator to monitor gain levels when using the device. At less than half the price, the GO Guitar is capable of supporting most instruments and produce quality output. There’s a headphone jack that apparently has zero latency, so you can make and produce music in relative silence. The item is also paired with a TC Helicon mobile app to enable effects, processing, and more.
The Key Differences
- The TC Helicon doesn’t seem to work on PC despite trying various software and Helicon provided applications.
- The iRig has a USB connection that can both charge your mobile device and connect to a laptop if you absolutely need an audio interface at a moment’s notice. Conversely, the Helicon GO is only compatible with a mobile device.
- Finally, the price difference is significant. While we would love for the iRig to be of higher quality than the GO series, there is only a slight difference in external build quality. The internals may be better calibrated on the iRig, we didn’t notice a difference large enough to warrant the price gap.
We find it difficult to recommend one over the other. However, with the facts mentioned above, we hope this article throws light into the choices available to you as a portable audio interface consumer. If you require more assistance, feel free to contact us and we'll get our best music expert to rid you of your concerns.
