Best Audio Interface?

Which Systems?

  • Aardvark Q10

    Votes: 42 6.5%

  • Echo Layla24

    Votes: 42 6.5%

  • M-Audio Delta 1010

    Votes: 146 22.6%

  • Digidesign Digi-001

    Votes: 54 8.4%

  • RME Hammerfall Multiface

    Votes: 99 15.3%

  • Motu 2408mk3

    Votes: 62 9.6%

  • other... please specify

    Votes: 200 31.0%
  • Total voters
    645
The RME does sound fantastic I must say (even without quite understanding what it is), even if the website does have a few translation problems:

"no unexpected problems crapped up"

:D
 
Layla

I noticed, got no votes. Is just a really well kept secret or is it a big piece of shit?

Please enlighten me.

Twonky
 
As far as a sound quality to ease of use to EXTREMELY low price ratio is concerned... I think you would be a fool to NOT think hard and long about the new MOTU 828mkII.

It is Firewire (i.e. no bumbling PCI card to install, configure, de-install, find the IRQ interupt, re-install, swear a lot, start haging your computer, and then finally call a friend). It has 10 inputs and outputs. It can be daisy chained a couple of times, so you could have 10, 20, 30 and I think even 40 inputs and outputs.

It has two killer pre-amps (for that price) per unit. it has digital I/O.

It is basically the 2408mkIII without the messy card business, and I do believe it doesn't have the TDIF. (but who uses that anyway unless you are running a big front end mixer or something?) And it is a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the 2408mkIII.

I think it basically depends on what your needs are. If you have a lot of digital thing-a-mah-jiggies i.e. drum machines, synths, samplers, sequencers etc. Then digital I/O might be more of a priority. But if you are just recording yourself with a guitar and want to overdub parts, or you are in a full band and want to multi-track record the next top 100 rock song, then I would say that analog I/O is higher on the priority list. i.e. GET A MOTU 828mkII.

And if your drummer has a double kick drum and 300 drums and cymbals and you record live with a 20 pice choir... get a MOTU 24i. It has the PCI-424 card to install, but it does have 24 analog ins and outs in one unit. The last of the great PCI card units (I hope!)

I HATE cards!
 
I have never had a problem with MOTU. I have a 2408 MKII and a 24i/o with the PCI 424 card. I have 32 analogue ins and outs and as amny digital ins and outs as I could want though I do not use the digital ins and outs becuase I do not have much to plug into them. I am probably going to upgrad the 2408 MKII to MK III soon enough though there is not rush. For now 24 tracks at 96 k is fine. By the way, the 96 khz sounds very nice.

For the most part, I have gotten the MOTU stuff to sound really great and, becuase I use Digital Performer as my main program, it all works together really well. I did not find this stuff to be so expensive especially when you consider the cost of the Digidesign HD series or any Digidesign stuff for that matter.

One final thought. I have also gotten the Kontakt software hoping for such programs as Vienna Symphonic Library or Garritan to come out in Kontakt versions. That has not happened yet, which may bery weel be due to the OSX issues. So, I have grown tired enough of waiting that upon receipt of some extra cash (that I expect soon enough) I will purchase a P.C. for use with Gigastudio and I plan to use and RME card to make it all happen.

To me, $850.00 or so for the card is reasonable when you consider the amount of work that can be accomplished on it and, when you consider what such sound quality would have cost a mere 5-10 years ago.
 
if i'm not mistaken you can use the motu with a PC unless ur going with the RME because it sounds better....

Jerry W said:
I have never had a problem with MOTU. I have a 2408 MKII and a 24i/o with the PCI 424 card. I have 32 analogue ins and outs and as amny digital ins and outs as I could want though I do not use the digital ins and outs becuase I do not have much to plug into them. I am probably going to upgrad the 2408 MKII to MK III soon enough though there is not rush. For now 24 tracks at 96 k is fine. By the way, the 96 khz sounds very nice.

For the most part, I have gotten the MOTU stuff to sound really great and, becuase I use Digital Performer as my main program, it all works together really well. I did not find this stuff to be so expensive especially when you consider the cost of the Digidesign HD series or any Digidesign stuff for that matter.

One final thought. I have also gotten the Kontakt software hoping for such programs as Vienna Symphonic Library or Garritan to come out in Kontakt versions. That has not happened yet, which may bery weel be due to the OSX issues. So, I have grown tired enough of waiting that upon receipt of some extra cash (that I expect soon enough) I will purchase a P.C. for use with Gigastudio and I plan to use and RME card to make it all happen.

To me, $850.00 or so for the card is reasonable when you consider the amount of work that can be accomplished on it and, when you consider what such sound quality would have cost a mere 5-10 years ago.
Click to expand...
 
pisces7378 said:
As far as a sound quality to ease of use to EXTREMELY low price ratio is concerned... I think you would be a fool to NOT think hard and long about the new MOTU 828mkII.

It is Firewire (i.e. no bumbling PCI card to install, configure, de-install, find the IRQ interupt, re-install, swear a lot, start haging your computer, and then finally call a friend). It has 10 inputs and outputs. It can be daisy chained a couple of times, so you could have 10, 20, 30 and I think even 40 inputs and outputs.

It has two killer pre-amps (for that price) per unit. it has digital I/O.

It is basically the 2408mkIII without the messy card business, and I do believe it doesn't have the TDIF. (but who uses that anyway unless you are running a big front end mixer or something?) And it is a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the 2408mkIII.

I think it basically depends on what your needs are. If you have a lot of digital thing-a-mah-jiggies i.e. drum machines, synths, samplers, sequencers etc. Then digital I/O might be more of a priority. But if you are just recording yourself with a guitar and want to overdub parts, or you are in a full band and want to multi-track record the next top 100 rock song, then I would say that analog I/O is higher on the priority list. i.e. GET A MOTU 828mkII.

And if your drummer has a double kick drum and 300 drums and cymbals and you record live with a 20 pice choir... get a MOTU 24i. It has the PCI-424 card to install, but it does have 24 analog ins and outs in one unit. The last of the great PCI card units (I hope!)

I HATE cards!
Click to expand...

I agree that the MOTU 828MkII is a great unit...works flawlessly on my desktop and laptop PC's.

I do want to clarify something though...It actually has 20 inputs...2 Mic/Instruments pre's, 8 analog, 2 S/PDIF, 8 via lightpipe (Could use a Digimax LT, Focusrite Octopre, etc...). It has 22 outputs as well (that includes the headphones). Also, the bees knees is "CueMix" which offers direct monitoring (zero latency) of ALL channels.

It also sounds better than the MOTU 896 I had previously, and contains the same converters as the MOTU 2408MkIII!

Great unit!! :cool:
 
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well thee nubs would have to disagree with all said above selections. The best sound-card is digital inputs only with external converters hooked up to said digital inputs. I am particularly fond of aes/ebu inputs into my computer with a prism front end. T
 
sweetnubs -- i'm thinking of going this route myself. do you have any suggestions for inexpensive solutions of this nature? i was thinking of buying an old ADAT and using it as an external converter, getting a cheapo card that has ADAT optical and recording through that. i figure i could get a 8 input setup for about 250-300 that way... (assuming i purchased an older adat with some problems relating to it's tape recording functions that still works as a a/d converter... ) then upgrade my external d/a converter later...

is that a reasonable goal or am i thinking incorrectly? can i even do what i want to do and use the adat as a passive a/d converter or am i forced to record to tape first then dump into the computer?


thanks..

_illium
 
hi illium,
you can definitely use the adat as your front end.
the trick will be finding a cheap optical pci card.
the last i checked,it's been a while,
the wavecenter card from frontier designs was the least expensive one.
 
FYI If you're looking for an ADAT-soundcard in Europe here's a killer deal.

www.thomann.de is selling Nuendo 96/52 DSP card for 315 euros (incl. Finnish 22% VAT, to other EU countries it will be even cheaper, UK 299 euros). This card is a OEM version of RME HDSP 9652 which costs 525 euros at Thomann.

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw2_artikel-143493.html

The picture of the link and the specifications are for the older RME Digi 9652 (Nuendo 96/52 without the DSP) but I just emailed them and the guy wrote back that it is indeed the newer DSP model.

I just placed my order and I suggest that you get yours as long as they still have them at this price.
 
i'm not too sure if the old adat's would be better then the current prosumer cards...a lynxtwo will blow it away and compete with the higher end standalone...

illium said:
sweetnubs -- i'm thinking of going this route myself. do you have any suggestions for inexpensive solutions of this nature? i was thinking of buying an old ADAT and using it as an external converter, getting a cheapo card that has ADAT optical and recording through that. i figure i could get a 8 input setup for about 250-300 that way... (assuming i purchased an older adat with some problems relating to it's tape recording functions that still works as a a/d converter... ) then upgrade my external d/a converter later...

is that a reasonable goal or am i thinking incorrectly? can i even do what i want to do and use the adat as a passive a/d converter or am i forced to record to tape first then dump into the computer?


thanks..

_illium
Click to expand...
 
Layla24 vs. Mbox

Hey, what's the big difference between layla24 and an mbox other than more plug-ins and Mbox comes with Protools? Saw a good deal for a Layla, but maybe all I need is an mbox and maybe it's easy with just as good sound?

Thanks
 
layla has 8 ins and 8 outs while the mbox i think has 2 in and outs and pre's? and has usb....u do the math...
 
Jerry W said:
I have never had a problem with MOTU. I have a 2408 MKII and a 24i/o with the PCI 424 card.
For the most part, I have gotten the MOTU stuff to sound really great and, becuase I use Digital Performer as my main program, it all works together really well. I did not find this stuff to be so expensive especially when you consider the cost of the Digidesign HD series or any Digidesign stuff for that matter.
Click to expand...

Jerry, good to hear you're happy with 24i/o. I've been looking at it for a while and seems like the way to go. I just wanna bring twenty four tracks out to my analog desk, and 24i/o looks perfect for that. You're obviously on a Macintosh...any idea when DP will be available for PC??
All the best.
 
Well, I have used echo gear, and liked it pretty well, but I now run two MOTU 1224's, and I LOVE them. And, as far as MOTU support, I emailed them a question, they answered in less than an hour, and I bought my gear off ebay. For just over $500, I have 24bit/48khz - 16 in/16out, 4main outs, and 4 AES/EBU in/out. For a home studio, that ain't a bad deal. Plus, MOTU is the most easily expandable system I have ever seen. I can add another expansion interface for $200 give or take and have 8 more in/outs.

Also, they sound fantastic.


NL5
 
Don't forget RME's new HDSP 9632. Here's a brief add quote: "Latest 192 kHz AD- and DA-converters with more than 110 dB signal to noise ratio" ...I have Multiface and it works great but it's being replaced with a firewire version. The president of RME answers questions on their forum personally and quickly.

Chuck
 
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