Firepod or MOTU 8pre?

Which interface do you think is better!?

  • Firepod

    Votes: 52 46.8%

  • MOTU 8pre

    Votes: 59 53.2%
  • Total voters
    111
Erockrazor said:
Awesome post's guys. I am really glad that youre stating the faults of the 8pre rather than just praise. I've been wanting to hear the downsides to it a little bit more and now that I have , I think I feel even better about the purchase. I ordered the motu 8pre a few days ago and now its in my living room in a big cardboard box. Catch is , its a "christmas present". Maybe I could sneak it out for a few test runs :D . Also , I'm running it on windows xp pro , so hopefully they will have worked out some of those windows bugs. Thanks alot guys! :D
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So Erockrazor!
How is the MOTU you got for Christmas working since your post of February?
I am soon getting a Focusrite Sapphire Pro 10.
My Sweetwater Rep suggested that it is a better unit than the MOTU primarily based on the Sapphire having much better pres.
 
Wow - the Saffire Pro 10 looks like a great interface. I kinda sat here for a few minutes thinking "why didnt I get that instead?"

I think the price must have come down A LOT in the past 2 months because I seem to remember putting that in the same category as the Presonus Firestudio which was out of my price range.

Hope you like it!


(Edit: maybe the Saffire pro 10 recently came out? or maybe I didnt notice it. I think the one I was talking about was the saffire pro 26 i/o)
 
homestudioguy said:
My Sweetwater Rep suggested that it is a better unit than the MOTU primarily based on the Sapphire having much better pres.
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I am now remembering that he said the MOTU pres were ultra clean and almost sterile sounding whereas the Focusrites had some warmth and could handle more aggressive signal better.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SaffirePro10/
http://www.focusrite.com/product/saffire_pro_10_i_o/
Some Reviews: http://www.focusrite.com/product/saffire_pro_10_i_o/reviews/
 
Motu 8pre gets thumbs up from me.

homestudioguy said:
So Erockrazor!
How is the MOTU you got for Christmas working since your post of February?
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I like the MOTU 8pre. It works exactly as it should. The pre's might not be that great but they seem to be pretty neutral when it comes to coloring the sound. Theyre just clean pre's. It does what its supposed to do. I tend to use my Dmp3 over the pre's on the 8pre because I like the gain staging on my dmp3 more and it works.

My motu 8pre broke. The firewire port burnt out I believe. But the tech support was very cooperative(over the phone((much slower if you insist on emailing)). I sent them my broken 8pre and they sent me back a new one with no hassle.
 
Erockrazor said:
I like the MOTU 8pre. It works exactly as it should. The pre's might not be that great but they seem to be pretty neutral when it comes to coloring the sound. Theyre just clean pre's. It does what its supposed to do. I tend to use my Dmp3 over the pre's on the 8pre because I like the gain staging on my dmp3 more and it works.

My motu 8pre broke. The firewire port burnt out I believe. But the tech support was very cooperative(over the phone((much slower if you insist on emailing)). I sent them my broken 8pre and they sent me back a new one with no hassle.
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Not good to hear about it breaking but very good to hear that they replaced it without much question.:)
 
homestudioguy said:
Not good to hear about it breaking but very good to hear that they replaced it without much question.:)
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Maybe it would of gotten two thumbs up if it weren't for that.


Good luck getting your interface. I'm sure you will be happy with whatever you get. They all seem to be good products.
 
Carter said:
You think so? I dont, have you ever had a piece of Motu gear go bad and Motu sends you a replacement BEFORE you send the broken item back? I dont think so :rolleyes:
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Yes, I have. When my 8Pre had an optical jack break (early on), MOTU put a hold on my card for the price of a replacement unit and overnighted it (yes, overnight) to me along with a prepaid ground return label for the bad one. I played around with three 8Pre units instead of my usual two for a couple of days.... And that was for something that was still basically usable for me by routing unit A into B instead of B into A, i.e. it wasn't even a studio-stopping failure.

By contrast, when my FIREPOD went down, I was without it for five weeks. I was without recording capability for... five weeks.
 
Go MOTU. Clean, neutral, and good. I've never had ANY problems or limitations with my MUTO gear. But them, I'm not a pro. :D
 
Don't get suckered by someone stamping the Focusrite name on the same 10 cent chinese mic pres and I/O boxes as everything else then charging you double for them

AKG Perception anyone?
 
pipelineaudio said:
Don't get suckered by someone stamping the Focusrite name on the same 10 cent chinese mic pres and I/O boxes as everything else then charging you double for them

AKG Perception anyone?
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Is the Perception a knock off? I was actually just starting to check those out, if they're cheap-o Chinese crap maybe I should go back to considering the Studio Projects that I was looking at originally. Just looking for a (mostly) budget minded general purpose (room, vocals, acoustic guitar) large diaphragm condenser.

-Wes
 
Well, its not correct to say knock off, and its not even "bad" to be chinese, its just that things tend to get the price cranked on them if people try and stamp their name on Chinese OEM

For instance, you bring up Studio Projects:

1086633418-stereo-microphone.jpg-Windows-Picture-and-Fax-Viewer.png


1086633447-tube-condenser-microphone-1.jpg-Windows-Picture-and-Fax-Viewer.png


Look familiar?

Now, bearing in mind not one of those mics is over 80 bucks, is Studio projects ripping you off?

I say no, for a few reasons:

1. Its a bitch to ship those things over

2. There's a pretty steep minimum quantity

3. Studio Projects doesn't claim they are made in austria or something

4. Studio Projects stands behind their product and will make sure you have a good, working mic (need I say how piss poor Chinese QC is? SP might throw out a few mics for every good one for all I know)
 
Hmmmmmm.

So one would really be better off just going right to the source for pricing sake, but would probably gain from the warranty and (possible) quality control a company like Studio Projects or AKG (may) add(s) to the supply chain later?

Or would you have a better suggestion of GP LDC's?

Thanks man!

-Wes
 
For me nowdays, I'll go with the el-cheapos if I am sure that they are the same as the others AND more importantly if I can get a return with no hassles in the likely event of a dead one.

SP to me is quite a fair price. I can usually find cheaper, but not with confidence. AKG is like twice the price on the cheapies, for the same mics

Apex and Nady and even Samash's house brands, or if you are in Europe the Thomann house brands, are all pretty much the same stuff, as long as you can get a return if its defective and you have the time to wait for the returnm I would go for it

Otherwise go with one of the rebadgers like SP or ADK or whoever. An interesting offshoot is something like Peluso who seem to use chinese parts for the cheap junk but add their own capsules allegedly

I like this idea, buy the cheapo mic, throw away most of the junk and build this http://www.10000cows.com/SomeMicPhotos.htm

Then you KNOW what you are getting in the business end of the mic.

Also have a look at the Group Buy mic guy threads in the mic forum here. I dont know why he plays pickle surprise, james bond, super secret guy with his "secret" distro and contacts as the shipping costs will preclude anyone from stepping on him anyhow, but he has good prices and good feedback.
 
pipelineaudio said:
Don't get suckered by someone stamping the Focusrite name on the same 10 cent chinese mic pres and I/O boxes as everything else then charging you double for them

AKG Perception anyone?
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yep.

i have a perception 200, and while it's really not terrible at its price point, it's nothing like it was hyped (pun intended) to be.

i recently saw a thread where someone claimed it was an exact clone of a c414 and every bit as good as a U87!!!!! :eek::eek::eek: LMFAO
 
I would recommend the 8 pre, I've had it a week and have been very satisfied with it. The pre-amps aren't quite as good as the Focusrite Octopre LE that I use connected to it via ADAT, but they're pretty amazing for the money.

However, I would NOT RECOMMEND the Alesis Multimix mixers... The pre-amps are shocking and I had no end of hassle trying to install the blasted thing... I got a Phonic Helix board, after I had the Alesis and before I had the 8 Pre, and it knocked spots of the Alesis...
 
I have owned 6 interfaces so far over the last 1 1/2 years ( including the firepod & 8 pre. From oldest to newest: Firepod, Motu 896,Firestudio,8 pre, Firestudio Tube,( in that order) & now The RME fireface 800 :D. If you are dreaming of a future in recording & want to know what you are capable of save yourself the hassle & get a Fireface. However... if you are just recording for fun & want to make a baby step into the world of computer recording the 8 pre is the only choice. It has far better conversion than the firepod (allowing more flexibility during mixing & a clearer sound). the firepod has slightly better preamps but Motu makes better more stable drivers. Presonus drivers are lame. I`ve heard someone on here mention how presonus should get their products working correctly, yet they continue to release new products without addressing the issues of their unstable drivers (they are correct in saying so). the Firestudio sounded more appealing to me than the 8 pre but the 8 pre is the best because it works #1, It has stable drivers#2 & as far as comparing it to the firepod? it is a better product (assuming you don`t need any ins & outs). I like the presonus hardware better but over all i want my stuff to work ( all Presonus returns were because of sluggish performance & random reboots:( )& Motu has their act together when it comes to stability & performance. & as i said before "better converters". By the way because I know own a Fireface I am going to put my 8 pre on ebay soon. It is mint condition & has about a year left on the extended warranty (through Guitar Center which i believe is transferable...I`ll have to check). I`ve updated the firmware (about a month ago). & have only unplugged from the preamps a few times ( I like to leave everything hooked up & my mics out for when inspiration strikes). It has never left my work desk nor has it been in a rack....Oh & by the way i am not the kind of person to eat fried chicken while sitting with my music gear( i will mention that on ebay because know one wants something that been gruesomely molested) . I wash my hands well before even playing guitar ( a bit O.C.D. i know)... I hope the above helped & Good luck either way;)
 
Dmeek said:
I have owned 6 interfaces so far over the last 1 1/2 years ( including the firepod & 8 pre. From oldest to newest: Firepod, Motu 896,Firestudio,8 pre, Firestudio Tube,( in that order) & now The RME fireface 800 :D. If you are dreaming of a future in recording & want to know what you are capable of save yourself the hassle & get a Fireface. However... if you are just recording for fun & want to make a baby step into the world of computer recording the 8 pre is the only choice. It has far better conversion than the firepod (allowing more flexibility during mixing & a clearer sound). the firepod has slightly better preamps but Motu makes better more stable drivers. Presonus drivers are lame. I`ve heard someone on here mention how presonus should get their products working correctly, yet they continue to release new products without addressing the issues of their unstable drivers (they are correct in saying so). the Firestudio sounded more appealing to me than the 8 pre but the 8 pre is the best because it works #1, It has stable drivers#2 & as far as comparing it to the firepod? it is a better product (assuming you don`t need any ins & outs). I like the presonus hardware better but over all i want my stuff to work ( all Presonus returns were because of sluggish performance & random reboots:( )& Motu has their act together when it comes to stability & performance. & as i said before "better converters". By the way because I know own a Fireface I am going to put my 8 pre on ebay soon. It is mint condition & has about a year left on the extended warranty (through Guitar Center which i believe is transferable...I`ll have to check). I`ve updated the firmware (about a month ago). & have only unplugged from the preamps a few times ( I like to leave everything hooked up & my mics out for when inspiration strikes). It has never left my work desk nor has it been in a rack....Oh & by the way i am not the kind of person to eat fried chicken while sitting with my music gear( i will mention that on ebay because know one wants something that been gruesomely molested) . I wash my hands well before even playing guitar ( a bit O.C.D. i know)... I hope the above helped & Good luck either way;)
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Two words:

Paragraph breaks!

Yikes!
 
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