Best entry level Firewire Interface.

new2mix

New member
I know this question has been asked before, but I have a little different situation.

This is what I have. A dell P4 1.8 ghz desktop, 2 gbs ram, built in video, an 80 gb drive and another older slower 40 gb drive. I bought Reaper a couple months back because I really liked it. I only use this computer for this so it doesn't have much istalled on it.

I also have a Studio projects VTB1, and an old Alesis 3630 compressor.

I have an Alesis Multimix8 Firewire mixer that I currently use as my interface.. I like the fact that I have 4 mic inputs, eq, pan, hpf, and can monitor pretty well with it. I don't need all this, but basically its pretty flexible.... When it works.. Which leads me to my problem. I spend as much time getting this darn thing to work as I do using it. Half the time the computer doesn't recognize it. The other half weird things happen like the project I am working on will lock up, or it clicks and pops, or it just says audio device error would you like to view your device settings. I have many, many hours logged messing with this thing. I have all but stopped trying to record because of it.

I have tried everything. New installs of XP, every different drive Alesis puts out, back to the old drivers, different buffer settings, you name it. The thing just gives me crap all the time.

My first question is this. Is this an inherent firewire problem? Is this an inherent Alesis problem?

My next question is this. If I only really need 2 mic inputs minimum, and a gain/volume, a decent monitoring option what can I find pretty cheap that won't give me these problems?

I don't need effects, eq, pan, or anything crazy, just the basics. and I need it cheap. I would love to pick up something like a firebox or a focusrite sapphire or something like that used and cheap if they are worthwhile. When it works the Alesis is plenty good for what I do.
 
Your Problems might be because of the Firewire chipset in your PC....Some Firewire cards just don"t play well with some firewire devices...A Texas Instruments FW Chipset is probably the most overall compatible and Stable FW chipset for both Audio interfaces and Digital video...


:D
 
So you think I should try a new card first if mine is not a texas instruments chip set on my firewire. It was a cheap card off of ebay.
 
Well I would maybe try to contact tech support over at Alesis and see what they say might be the problem ,But if you can get a FW Card with a TI chipset cheap to try out then I say give it a shot ,It it doesn"t work you can take it back or sell it....

;)
 
Windows xp sp2 included some weird elements that lower firewire performance and cause problems for some firewire interfaces. Microsoft has some hotfix patches available that correct this-- I would try that before getting a PCI firewire card simply because it's free if you have a valid XP copy.
Also the Mackie firewire stuff sounds good and has decent conversion, but the line has pretty well known compatibility problems-- especially with older computers. I'd check the Mackie forums and/or contact their customer support and give them your computer specs before buying a Satellite.
 
I already have the T.I. pci firewire card. I need something that works with my setup. Its frustrating enough when you can't play all that well to get something to sound decent. Then it just becomes work when you have to mess with settings and stuff half the time and half of those times it doesn't work. Then the next time you restart it just magically works.
 
If I were to buy one from like guitarcenter and try it out would they let me return it if it didn't work?
 
My first question is this. Is this an inherent firewire problem? Is this an inherent Alesis problem?

The Alesis hardware is based on the DICE II chipset. These problems are pretty common with those device, unfortunately.


My next question is this. If I only really need 2 mic inputs minimum, and a gain/volume, a decent monitoring option what can I find pretty cheap that won't give me these problems?

Anything with a different chipset. Either MOTU gear or anything BeBoB-based (the Phonic mixers, for example) should be much more reliable, IMHO.
 
I will check those out.. Any opinions on the Onyx satellite?
I have the sattelite and feel that it's a great value, with very decent quality... I did have an issue with a know bug in the initial firmware where you could not turn the monitor volume all the way down... they fixed that... I downloaded the firmware and driver updates, installed them and now I'm having a problem with intermitent distrotion on the left channel monitor only through the base, that the only manner to resolve is to undock and power cycle numorous times... really is pain... haven't had the time to really dig into it... It's not my primary interface...
 
The Alesis hardware is based on the DICE II chipset. These problems are pretty common with those device, unfortunately.




Anything with a different chipset. Either MOTU gear or anything BeBoB-based (the Phonic mixers, for example) should be much more reliable, IMHO.

MOTU stuff is not cheap though. I don't know anything about the phonic mixers. Sounds like all of these things have their pros and cons.

What about presonus stuff?
 
I have the sattelite and feel that it's a great value, with very decent quality... I did have an issue with a know bug in the initial firmware where you could not turn the monitor volume all the way down... they fixed that... I downloaded the firmware and driver updates, installed them and now I'm having a problem with intermitent distrotion on the left channel monitor only through the base, that the only manner to resolve is to undock and power cycle numorous times... really is pain... haven't had the time to really dig into it... It's not my primary interface...

Do you know anything about a supposed phantom power issue (low voltage)?

Paj
8^?
 
Do you know anything about a supposed phantom power issue (low voltage)?

Paj
8^?
Haven't heard of it... hasn't been an issue for me... on numerous LDCs... but like I said, it's not my primary interface, I use it at my office desk, or to travel
 
Tascam firewire stuff seems to work pretty well. I have recored quite a few live multi-track recordings with my FW-1802 without any problems at all.
 
The presonus firepod may be ok, it has extremely high latency, and unit failure is pretty high, but it is a very full featured unit for 8 channels of I/O

The presonus firestudio and firestudio project are dice 2, so if you are having trouble with the alesis, you will likely be having the same trouble with them. The TC Konnekt and mackie onyx 1200F and onyx 400f are also dice 2. There is some concern that motu may, or already has, gone dice 2 with some of their products, but the 8 pre is a good one and an exceptional value for peanuts if the I/O configuration suits you

DO NOT use the new 3.6.8 drivers if you get the motu, or expect any help from their tech support. https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=262350
 
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