audio/recording interfaces

[Ash Holmz]

hey wassgood i been doing some research on audio interfaces and i would just like a secong opionion (format where u at man pleez) heres what i need:

1)i need it to be firewire or usb because im going to swithc it between two macs and one is a emac where u cant replace the soundcard directly .. i heard firewire is much better and more realiable than usb though

2) i need phantom power and a good mic preamp

3) i need a good crisp sound (im usin the built in soundcard right now so im assuming the interface will have a better sound quality right?)

i dont neeed mad in and outs since i dont really do alot of instrument recording or anything like that .. i just need something basically where i can record some good soundin vocals.. my pick so far based on price and features is the

m audio firewire 410

help me out if you know a better card for my purposes .. remember it must be firewire or usb!

 

[Cold Truth]

do not rule out the Emu 1820. that looks like the best overall product on the market for this; 2 mic pres, 6 phono inputs, 8 outs, and firewire and usb 2.0, i believe. has the same A/D converters as the pro tools HD systems. a few magazines haqve plaed them over the expensive MOTU units in terms of sound quality as well, so....

 

[Ash Holmz]

thnx truth imma check dat out


edit: jus ckecked it .. it looks dope but i dont see any mac compatablity

 

[Shonsteez]

Yeah. Truth bit my idea!...Cop that shit Holmz and then use it for a month and sell to me for 1/2 price!!

 

[Ash Holmz]

ive heard some complaints about the 410 but most of them were due to the fact that people had not had the latest driver installed.. the 828mk2 id dope but that shit is like 800-900 dollars so im still very undecided .. i would def cop that emu 1820 but i dont think it will work on a macintosh

 

[classic]

I have the m-audio firewire 410 and ive had no complaints

classs

 

[Formant024]

MOTU does offer more I/O, hence the difference in pricetag but the 1820 in a smaller studio ( where you wouldn't record a complete band, thus would need lesser I/O ) would still be sufficient with its 120dB snr. if money would be problem. But, we're in purchase of a G5 which will get a MOTU kit along a SSL, if it was to be a pc I'd be using for DAW I'd definitly install a 1820 but for a studio as ours we'd need 3 breakout boxes which is not really practical considering it's a pc/windows you're using, besides how you'd hook them up to the corecard hehe.

 

[Ash Holmz]

thnx .. at this point i believe the firewire 410 is the best choice ... classic have u ever recorded vocals on there? how does it sound?

 

[Shonsteez]

Also heres a solution:

Im lookin to do tha same if i dont cop tha 1820 cuz this saves me about 60 bucks if i play my cards right....

Cop tha lower model sound card by EMU, tha 1212, it goes for about 199.99 and is tha same card w/out tha breakout box....

Then cop this baby: http://www.soundcraft.com/product_sheet.asp?product_id=121
If u get tha 4 track, and then hook this up to yer line in you save a descent amount and still have a good preamp setup/interface for recording yer vocals or a line in with RIAA filtering for record decks...
Ive heard tha performance of these preamps before and i can vouch that they dont suck and are quite clean in sound....

I guess it comes down to preference or compatabilty, but its another thought to ponder?

 

[Formant024]

Also check out

ESI QuataFire 610
Hercules 16/12 FW
Edirol FA-101
Presonus Firepad
Maudio Firewre 1814

 

[classic]

ive recorded some wack freestyles and they sound great.

 

[Equality 7-2521]

^^^lol wel said.

yo fellas i just got my laptop and am looking for a interface soundcard thingy but im all confused. i dont have firewire but i have usb 2.0

all i need to do is be able to plug speakers or stereo or dj mixer into it so i can record from turntables/mic and play it through monitor speakers or my hifi.

so i just need line in and line out sorta thing but i need the recording and output quality to be really phat.

what should i get?

 

[Formant024]

check out the

Echo Indigo DJ or I/O in pcmcia format

 

[Ash Holmz]

great looks format ill check deez out

 

[Formant024]

RME also has a very nice product line based on their pci & card bus interfaces ( which are based on the HDSP series ). For a laptop you need the cardbus pcmcia which enables you to hook up the multiface breakout box which is a basic studio module, or the RPM for phono, mic, line and midi. The last one is aimed @ virtual dj's. Top notch but expensive...

 

[Equality 7-2521]

cheers formant. i have ordered the indigo dj off ebay for 157 USD.

word

 

[HaZwaiOh]

i run the m-audio mobile pre on my laptop. it works fine and i´m very pleased with it.

 

[Formant024]

Oke, going up a notch FIY...

I'd been looking into 2 MOTU's HD192 to replace our current I/O, fairly more expensive than the ones I previously mentioned. So far I had to think the MOTU we're the ones with the best specs.

Guess again, RME comes with the Fireface 800 and it sure looks nice

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/firewire/ff800.htm

 

[Equality 7-2521]

Formant: how does the echo indigo dj compare to a good usb interface?

will the echo indigo give me proffessional quality recording and output audio?

...cos i dont know what all the specs mean ans whethr a higher or lower number is better.

let me know if you think im making the right choice.

thanks

 

[Formant024]

They dont compare, the indigo is a cheap but good n small solution for laptops via PCMCIA, there are more products available for USB for a higher pricetag. The purpose of these cards are also very clear, simple I/O, medium resolution but good enough for a portable daw ( or live ). Production wise good too but still limited due to lack of needed functions and features found on most other USB or Firewire solutions.