Lewitt CONNECT 2 audio interface review: Pro sound without the price tag

Headliner puts CONNECT 2 to the test, Lewitt Audio’s compact USB-C audio interface, which is designed for musicians, podcasters, and streamers alike, with an emphasis on quality sonics at an affordable price point.

CONNECT 2 is an ergonomically pleasant and sturdy interface that presents itself as a large rotary control surrounded by seven option icons. It’s also compatible with any device supporting UAC2. 

This includes your iPad and iPhone, although you may need to hook it up via Apple’s camera connection kit to boost the USB power or allow connection via the older style lightning cables.

When you first plug it in, it backlights up with all the available icons around the outside of the control circle, which simply increases or decreases as you run your finger around in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. 

Software for the unit, ‘LEWITT Control Center’, is available from Lewitt and is a simple install process which takes less than a minute, including a CONNECT 2 firmware update. 

It also comes with a decent 1.5M USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A adaptor, should you need it. The CONNECT 2 also works as a standalone device with Apple’s Core Audio, so if you run a number of interface options, you don’t necessarily need to install the Control Center software.

The CONNECT 2 is every bit a desktop interface: the way it illuminates, the way all the cabling fits neatly into the back panel, the way it’s weighted, while its rubberised base stops it sliding about as you select or adjust parameters.

Starting from the bottom-left on the interface and working clockwise, the custom button, by default, brings Control Center to the front of your screen – although that can be changed to a range of options from within the Control Center’s settings menu.

These options (input section, mute, speaker output, headphones, and input/playback mix) are then controlled in level by the touch-sensitive circle and indicated by the movement of the LEDs, which also double up as a realtime audio level indicator.

Control Center

Like other more expensive interface software, there is more than one way to control and use the CONNECT 2. To get the best out of its extensive features, you need to install the CONNECT 2 software. 

There is a selection of samples that you can download and a number of test projects and stems you can use to practice your art. 

A free Licence for Steinberg’s Cubase LE is also available to get you started if you don’t already have a quality DAW, and there are no hidden ‘pay to unlock’ options, which, of late, is somewhat refreshing. Within the Control Center itself, there are a number of hidden gems.

Autosetup is available on either or both the Mic and Instrument inputs simultaneously: it will automatically select parameters like phantom power, high pass filter, preamp characteristics, de-noise, compressor and clipguard settings once you start singing and playing. 

Auto gain can also be selected from the interface by pressing in the middle of the rotary and then selecting either the Mic or Instrument icon (or both) and starting the Autosetup process that way. 

You can, of course, adjust gain or preamp settings yourself, but what this offers you is a really quick and easy way to get your creative flow into your DAW without the need for a checklist regarding setup procedure. Your knowledge and experience of the recording process doesn’t need to be comprehensive, shifting focus back to the creative, and you will learn as you go.

Both the denoise and compressor are one-button selections and setups if selected in isolation, but are much quicker to use as part of the Autosetup procedure. It’s useful to see just how much gain reduction is being applied, as you might want to reduce or increase the gain accordingly. 

The preamp types are genuinely good and are clearly audible as their descriptions suggest; I particularly like the ‘warm’ setting for bringing a mellower, smoother vibe to more aggressive rock-style vocals, and ‘clean’ for brightening up the mellowest of deep male vocals. Plus, they’re really good at adding a tonal characteristic to instruments as well.

Highlight Features

I must give a quick mention to Clipguard, which is something featured on both the Lewitt RAY microphone and CONNECT 2, but wasn’t on the original CONNECT 6. 

With this feature, I found it almost impossible to digitally clip the signal from either the RAY into another manufacturer’s interface or the CONNECT 2 with another manufacturer’s condenser mic. For me, though, I think it works best in conjunction with the compressor. It’s extremely useful and impressive.

Another great CONNECT 2 feature is Loopback, which allows you to feed your computer output, say, from a Zoom call, to your DAW, and add your voice in real time while monitoring on headphones. 

This could be used to live stream as well, and the introduction of two additional channels (3 and 4) to facilitate this is an added bonus.

Conclusion

Lewitt’s CONNECT 2 is a great-sounding, robust, attractively-priced interface in the mould of its bigger brother, CONNECT 6. If you’re new to music production, podcasting, or even streaming, then at this price, it’s a no-brainer.