Firepod? MOTU? Saffire pro 26? HELP!

magic_joel

magic_joel

New member
So i thought i was set on getting a PreSonus Firepod, but having read alot about the others, i'm back at square one again.

I've been reading about the MOTU 828 MKII, MOTU 8pre, Saffire 26 Pro and i really have no idea now, so any opinions on any of them, pro's and con's would be massively helpful and appreciated.

Thanks alot in advance!

EDIT: 828 MKII is out the window i reckon due to only 2 XLR inputs, so the other 3 left.
 
My opinion is going to have bias towards the 8pre because I've grown to love my 896HD now I've sorted the driver issues I was having :) The Motu stuff is nice for the price you pay (yes, its not top-grade, but its another step up in the prosumer chain), however the Firepod is also a very good unit as shown by its popularity here. Both of them would do the job well so its down to preference.

I would recommend you google around to see if people have had any issues with using either interface with your firewire chipset / motherboard. Firewire is great when it works, but from what I've seen there is a slight element of 'hit-and-miss' about compatability. Even the interfaces with good drivers can be very fussy. The Windows Motu drivers are particularly fussy, but once you find the right config then they work fine - I use XPSP2 with the firewire drivers rolled back to SP1 and Motu drivers v3.6.7.0 (not the latest) and can now get down to some nice small buffer sizes.

I also recommend a quick search though ebay, as you can nearly always find good-condition hardware at bargain prices. I got my 896HD (HD = mkII, unfortunately the mkIII are still a bit expensive at the mo') off ebay for a few coppers over £300.

For some reason I've chosen to completely ignore the Saffire. Sorry to anyone that has one, but it just doesn't seem like something to shout about.
 
The only thing that puts me off the MOTU is the fact the pre's are apparently not quite as hot as the Firepods, and if i had to shell out for a load of good pre's, well that wouldn't really be ideal, but like i said, it's all up in the air at the minute!
 
I've used an 828mkII on my xp laptop for over 2 years with ZERO problems.
I'd buy another Motu again in a heartbeat.

Just make SURE your using Texas Instruments firewire chips (or add a card that uses them) as Motu requires them.... but then so does every other high-end interface manufacturer; they are the gold standard.
 
TimOBrien said:
Just make SURE your using Texas Instruments firewire chips (or add a card that uses them) as Motu requires them.... but then so does every other high-end interface manufacturer; they are the gold standard.
Click to expand...

Both my computer and my laptop have TI firewire chips and were streamlined for recording, so this is why I was slightly miffed when the Motu didn't work properly with both of them at first. It was a combination of the XPSP2 firewire drivers and the latest Motu drivers causing the problems.
 
Are the preamps far worse in the MOTU 8pre than on the firepod? Or is it nothing to worry about and the 8pre is a much clearer choice?

Still very much undecided!
 
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