Ok... so this review will be a bit subjective and based on my own experience, so take it with a pinch of salt.
The only other interface I've owned is the well known Audient id14, and I've used it for about a year and a half. The reason I even looked for a new interface is because since the day I bought the Audient I've had reoccuring issues with it on my computer. I've come to find it was because of my Ryzen cpu which it sometimes has problems with (so if you know you have a ryzen cpu, be wary/attentive of audient products). So I got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore, and said screw it let's just buy a new one.
So this presonus does not have that many reviews in comparison to audient, ssl and other in this price range. I was sold on it by a review on a different site and it just gave me a good feeling. And also I opted out of buying the SSL2 because it was only powered through usb bus and a few reviewers said it made the output through high impedance headphones not the best, so I kept searching until I found the 68c!
First off, absolutely no issues on my computer. I had to download an older version of the drivers but other than that it was fabulous.
The output through speakers/headphones - I immediately felt an improvement from the Audient, there was more clarity in the sound. Audient is still really good, but this one edges it out for me. Really really good soundcard, which to me is equally as important as the preamps and the recording.
The recording is really good too. Don't really hear much difference between it and the audient but then again I don't have much experience with that side of things. Both do a great job.
It's appearance is gorgeous. Do not underestimate the importance of how these interfaces look on your desk and the feeling they give you. After all you will be fiddling and interacting with it on a daily basis. I love its colours and the way it's built. I thought that the headphone jack being on the back would be bit of an annoyance, but lo and behold I actually prefer it like this! It's a minor thing anyway, but it makes my desk look cleaner having the cable coming from behind the device. And keeps the beautiful front clean too :P
Big + for the on/off button at the back too.
The buttons work fine, very practical. Since I've only been showering praise on it I will say this just to kind of balance things out - the knobs don't have a lot of space between them so the ones on the bottom row aren't fully comfortable to deal with. But this really is not an issue at all, I'm only mentioning it for the sake of objectivity.
The fact that it came with all those plugins and the presonus daw was very convenient for me and I actually got good use of them on my macbook, really nice extra stuff.
ONE MORE THING - this thing came with a usb-c cable, so I tried it out with my phone and it worked brilliantly to play music from my phone, even record on my phone through the interface. Maybe this works with the audient too if you get the correct usb-c cable for it, but let's just say I never got "invited" to do it. This has genuinely brought some new dynamics to my daily life, the ability to plug my phone in and play music through the speakers is a lovely luxury for me.
So I'll end with this; just because something got less attention and reviews does not mean it's not potentially better. I won't be using all four mic preamps in the near future, but what a nice thing to have inputs both on the back and front so you can choose for yourself where you would like to put it. Also the midi input can come handy. These small things make a difference, and you get them for an extra 20-30 bucks compared to others in this range.
TLDR; great sound, looks great, feels great. It's GREAT!
