Arturia doesn’t fix what isn’t broken. The AudioFuse Studio Rev2 keeps the exact desktop form factor that made the range popular, but the French maker has used the update to sharpen the things that matter day to day: the preamps, the Bluetooth and the computer connection. The result is still an 18-in/20-out interface built to sit at the centre of a small studio, now priced at 999 euros (around 1,199 dollars).
What actually changed
The four DiscretePRO mic preamps have been reworked for more headroom and a wider gain range. Arturia quotes up to 72 dB of gain, an EIN in the region of -129 dBu and 119 dB of dynamic range: pro-grade figures that put the Rev2 alongside the best desktop interfaces for tracking vocals or acoustic instruments. If input stages are your thing, we broke them down in our guide to the mic preamp.
The second job was the Bluetooth. The receiver has been upgraded and now supports AAC, aptX, aptX HD and aptX Low Latency. In practice you can send a reference track from a phone at decent quality without a cable, and the low latency makes it usable for A/B-ing a mix against a commercial playlist.
The third change is quieter but welcome: the computer connection moves to USB-C, which means a more stable, simpler cable run. At the heart of the unit sit 24-bit converters running up to 192 kHz; if resolution and clocking are fuzzy topics for you, our explainer on sample rate and conversion sets things straight.
A studio hub, not just an interface
The AudioFuse Studio’s real selling point was never the preamp count alone, but the depth of its front and rear connectivity. The Rev2 keeps that full-workstation philosophy:
- four extra line inputs, two of them fitted with RIAA phono preamps to plug a turntable straight in;
- four line outputs, four analogue insert points and two re-amping outputs to push a track back into an amp or a pedal;
- a complete digital section: eight channels of ADAT in and out, S/PDIF, a Word Clock input and MIDI;
- two independent headphone outputs, a talkback mic and careful monitor control.
That set of I/O turns the unit into a single hub for a home studio that is growing: mics, synths, turntable, analogue outboard and clock all land in one place, with no stack of extra boxes. The Word Clock input, for instance, lets you cleanly slave to an external master clock the day you add converters.
Positioning and availability
The Rev2 ships with Arturia’s in-house software suite derived from its FX Collection, which adds immediate value for anyone starting out. At 999 euros (around 1,199 dollars) it sits at the premium end of desktop interfaces, up against established monitoring and tracking names. Arturia’s bet is clear: don’t reinvent a mature object, just fix its few weak points to extend its life.
My take
Reworking preamps and a Bluetooth module rather than redrawing a box is the right call: the AudioFuse Studio was already one of the best-thought-out desktop interfaces, and its genuine annoyances lived in exactly those details. Moving to USB-C and keeping the deep connectivity — phono, inserts, re-amp, ADAT, Word Clock — keep it a hub, not a mere converter. At 999 euros the question isn’t the very solid spec sheet, it’s the real gap with the first generation: if you already own one, there’s no rush; if you want the centre of a studio built to last, the Rev2 lands on target.
