Converting to PC recording - interface questions

Armistice

Armistice

Son of Yoda
Hi

I've long used a standalone recorder, and bypassed the onboard pres and used a Mindprint Envoice channel strip and Presonus MP20 dual channel preamp for preamps / phantom power.

Some day soon I'm going to have to go PC recording, so I'm doing some research on the interface.

If I want to continue using my existing pres, am I just looking for something that has a number of line in analogue inputs as well as whatever additional mic pre inputs I need, with individual channel routing via USB.

So, for instance something like a Focusrite Scarlet 18i6 (to pick one at random) would give me the 2 mic pres + phantom power that the unit has, plus another 6 line ins via the back panel, through which I could run signals from the Mindprint (1) the Presonus (2) all at once, plus a few extras for whatever other line signals I had...?

That's probably more (5) mic pres with phantom power than I'll ever need at one time - just want to check my thinking's correct on this - aren't I exposing my channel strip / preamp signal to more circuitry/noise doing it this way? But what other way is there...?

Any recommendations would be handy too..

Cheers
 
Yup, dont worry about it.

the noise floor on stuff now is so low that unless you use really bottom-end equipment you wont be able to detect it.
 
Armistice said:
Hi

I've long used a standalone recorder, and bypassed the onboard pres and used a Mindprint Envoice channel strip and Presonus MP20 dual channel preamp for preamps / phantom power.

Some day soon I'm going to have to go PC recording, so I'm doing some research on the interface.

If I want to continue using my existing pres, am I just looking for something that has a number of line in analogue inputs as well as whatever additional mic pre inputs I need, with individual channel routing via USB.

So, for instance something like a Focusrite Scarlet 18i6 (to pick one at random) would give me the 2 mic pres + phantom power that the unit has, plus another 6 line ins via the back panel, through which I could run signals from the Mindprint (1) the Presonus (2) all at once, plus a few extras for whatever other line signals I had...?

That's probably more (5) mic pres with phantom power than I'll ever need at one time - just want to check my thinking's correct on this - aren't I exposing my channel strip / preamp signal to more circuitry/noise doing it this way? But what other way is there...?

Any recommendations would be handy too..

Cheers
Click to expand...

Dunno if any external audio cards have digital ins these days but if your gear has digital outs then you could hook em up direct.

Otherwise, I think DAC's are a hot topic for some people.

I am very happy with sound quality from my little Focusrite 2i2 picked up recently.
 
No digital outs, alas C.... you can install one on the Minprint, but who'd ever find the card these days.

The Presonus is actually broken, but a nice unit, and I'm sort of wondering whether it's false economy to repair it, or whether I should just plough the dough into a new interface... things are sooooo cheap these days compared to what they were last time I was throwing money around gear, that spending probably $200 or so on repairing the Presonus may be a waste of $$$$.... Will ponder. Thanks for your input, mate.
 
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