# RME Fireface 802 FS

- Source: https://stierproducts.com/products/rme-fireface-802-fs
- Category board: https://stierproducts.com/categories/audio-interfaces
- Placement: #3 of 15 in Audio Interfaces, A tier
- Brand: RME
- LP on this board: 742
- Last researched: 2026-09-23T22:47:32.949Z
- Method: https://stierproducts.com/methodology
- Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22062813 - every board at once, one dated snapshot per release, same licence, prices and photographs left out
- Reuse: Text, rankings, tier assignments, LP values and verdicts are free to quote and reuse with attribution to stierproducts and a link to the source URL (CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.

## Verdict

Decade-plus driver support, the lowest failure-rate reputation in the category, and rack-grade build. Nothing else here is as safe a ten-year bet.

## For

- Driver support runs for a decade or more per platform
- Lowest failure-rate reputation in the category
- Rack-grade build quality
- Flagship expression of RME's durability track record
- Arguably the best-built unit here

## Against

- Per-channel cost is the highest of any pick
- High price primarily reflects reliability rather than audible advantage
- Requires rack space
- Good largely because it is expensive
- Comparable preamp counts and I/O available for meaningfully less

## Flagged as one to avoid

This product entered 1 of 12 runs as one buyers cross-shop but should not buy, rather than as a pick. It is published here rather than dropped.

## Evidence

Consolidated from 7 independent outlets

| Outlet | Said by | Stance | Link | Link status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tech Cheese | Tech Cheese | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqOWFa1G5dM | fetched and confirmed |
| Dakshina Kali | Dakshina Kali | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8WwEbYWNbc | fetched and confirmed |
| The Tech Space | The Tech Space | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdOzMfxww8M | fetched and confirmed |
| Projet Home Studio | Adrien | B | https://www.projethomestudio.fr/en/best-audio-interfaces-home-studio/ | fetched and confirmed |
| Synthax Audio UK | Synthax Audio UK | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uJ_pOtbnWA | fetched and confirmed |
| Top 5 Reviews | Top 5 Reviews | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60DGpYgeCHA | fetched and confirmed |
| mix reviews | mix reviews | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GxDj-2ZOdk | fetched and confirmed |

## Nearest alternatives on this board

| Rank | Product | Tier | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | MOTU M2 | S | https://stierproducts.com/products/motu-m2 |
| 2 | Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen | S | https://stierproducts.com/products/focusrite-scarlett-2i2-4th-gen |
| 4 | Audient iD4 MkII | A | https://stierproducts.com/products/audient-id4-mkii |
| 5 | MOTU M4 | A | https://stierproducts.com/products/motu-m4 |
| 6 | Audient iD48 | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/audient-id48 |
| 7 | Solid State Logic SSL 18 | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/solid-state-logic-ssl-18 |
| 8 | Behringer UMC404HD | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/behringer-umc404hd |
| 13 | Audient iD14 MkII | D | https://stierproducts.com/products/audient-id14-mkii |
| 14 | Universal Audio Apollo X4 | D | https://stierproducts.com/products/universal-audio-apollo-x4 |
| 15 | Behringer UMC204HD | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/behringer-umc204hd |

The full board is at https://stierproducts.com/categories/audio-interfaces.

## What this tier means

- A: Excellent. Strongly recommended, beaten only by the very best.

## How to read this

- Each category is researched in four independent runs, one per lens (expert consensus, value, reliability, community pulse). Every run ranks a board of candidates that deliberately includes products buyers cross-shop but should avoid. Placements score on a ranked ladder (LP), and tiers are derived from LP, so no tier is ever assigned by hand.
- LP is this product's points on its own category ladder. It is comparable within a category and not across categories.
- Link status reports what our pre-publication link check found when it fetched the cited URL. It says nothing about the quality of the review.
- A citation with no usable link is listed rather than dropped, and is excluded from the counted total above.

## Image

https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/rme-fireface-802-fs.webp

Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.