New Interface Options

What do you prefer?

  • MOTU 828/828mkII

    Votes: 7 20.6%

  • Tascam FW1804

    Votes: 4 11.8%

  • PreSonus Firepod

    Votes: 12 35.3%

  • Other

    Votes: 11 32.4%
  • Total voters
    34
C

cowboyj

Senior guitar guru
In my quest to upgrade my AD box, I've been reading the thread on portable options, which has helped to some extent, but I need more inputs. Portability is not necessary, so I thought I'd start a new thread as not to hijack the other.

What's everyone's opinion?

Thanks,

Jason
 
Also, According to Musiciansfriend.com, prices are as follows,

MOTU 828mkII - $749

Tascam FW1804 - $499

Presonus Firepod - $599

I think at this point I'm torn between the Tascam and the Firepod. I link the fact that the Firepod has more preamps, but I also like fact that the tascam unit has more MIDI ports and is $100 less....

Thanks,

Jason
 

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looks like a great thread

i plan on the 1804 so im interested to see what everyone votes for


ill tell you right now the firepod wil most likley win
 
I seem to remember reading a review of the 828mkII somewhere that mentioned that it required/work best with a TI chipset-based firewire card... Anyone know if the other interfaces have such a specific preference?

Jason
 
cowboyj said:
I seem to remember reading a review of the 828mkII somewhere that mentioned that it required/work best with a TI chipset-based firewire card... Anyone know if the other interfaces have such a specific preference?

Jason
Click to expand...

True on the MOTU stuff and IMO with any Firewire audio interface. The cards with the TI chipset (from what I've read all over) are the most compatible with Firewire audio use. I have a firepod and purchased a Keyspan firewire card - zero issues. I don't think Presonus specifies what to use, but you can't go wrong with a TI chipset.
 
I've been reading more on these units, it seems the Firepod lacks optical ADAT in/out. The Tascam unit seems to have this feature, as does the 828mkII. Am I correct in my assumption that I could buy an additional ADAT converter and get 8 more inputs?

Jason
 
Also, if the above scenario is true, would I be able to monitor these new inputs throught the main monitors connected to the ADA interface?

Thanks,

Jason
 
Last edited:
cowboyj said:
I've been reading more on these units, it seems the Firepod lacks optical ADAT in/out. The Tascam unit seems to have this feature, as does the 828mkII. Am I correct in my assumption that I could buy an additional ADAT converter and get 8 more inputs?

Jason
Click to expand...

Yes on the ADAT. I loved my Firepod, but realized I would like to have the potential for more expansion in the future. I guess the idea at Presonus was that people would want to buy more Firepods for more inputs (hence the daisy-chain driver creation). I ended up with a Echo Audio Layla 3G, and although it's PCI, it has ADAT, S/PDIF and Word clock.

I've heard good thing about the Tascam, including the fact that is has nice A/D (analog to digital). It also offers more expandability than the Firepod (minus 4 pre-amps).

In regards to monitoring the ADAT ins, not sure. I've never done it.
 
How fast are you wanting to move on this? I'm trying to make my final decision on whether or not to sell my 828mkII and Presonus Digimax LT (and whether to sell them together or separate)

Edit:
I should also make sure you're aware that the 828mkII only has 2 mic preamp channels onboard. It is main uses are its 8 channels of A/D conversion and its 8 channels of ADAT in over the firewire bus. That's why I used the Digimax along with it. The Digimax has 8 mic preamps which can be sent straight out to the ADAT in on the Motu, still leaving the Motu's A/D channels open.
 
warble said:
Yes on the ADAT. I loved my Firepod, but realized I would like to have the potential for more expansion in the future. I guess the idea at Presonus was that people would want to buy more Firepods for more inputs (hence the daisy-chain driver creation). I ended up with a Echo Audio Layla 3G, and although it's PCI, it has ADAT, S/PDIF and Word clock.

I've heard good thing about the Tascam, including the fact that is has nice A/D (analog to digital). It also offers more expandability than the Firepod (minus 4 pre-amps).

In regards to monitoring the ADAT ins, not sure. I've never done it.
Click to expand...

How are you liking the Layla 3G? I have been sitting on the fence between the Layla, firepod and Tascam for a couple of weeks now. Any words of wisdom? Also, any advantages/disadvantages of firewire vs PCI other than portability. Portability is not an issue for me.
 
sile2001 said:
How fast are you wanting to move on this? I'm trying to make my final decision on whether or not to sell my 828mkII and Presonus Digimax LT (and whether to sell them together or separate)

Edit:
I should also make sure you're aware that the 828mkII only has 2 mic preamp channels onboard. It is main uses are its 8 channels of A/D conversion and its 8 channels of ADAT in over the firewire bus. That's why I used the Digimax along with it. The Digimax has 8 mic preamps which can be sent straight out to the ADAT in on the Motu, still leaving the Motu's A/D channels open.
Click to expand...

I did know about the mkII only having 2 preamps, but thanks for the heads up. :) I'm not quite ready to make a move on anything yet, I still need to get a little more money together. If you did decide to sell the mkII and the Digimax together, what would you be looking to get?

On another note, I've found a few options for a PCI Firewire card for my desktop, but I was also wondering if anyone could recommend a cardbus card for use with my p4 laptop?

Thanks

Jason
 
omtayslick said:
How are you liking the Layla 3G? I have been sitting on the fence between the Layla, firepod and Tascam for a couple of weeks now. Any words of wisdom? Also, any advantages/disadvantages of firewire vs PCI other than portability. Portability is not an issue for me.
Click to expand...

Love the Layla. Great converters which provide for nice stereo field, no brittle high end and nice low end. Drivers are solid except for apparent issues using the midi ports on it. Echo says they're working on a fix. I'm using a MOTU micro lite, so no worries there. For the price, these things are an excellent value and really shine compared with the other offerings in the price range.

As far as PCI vs. Firewire is concerned, I'm getting better latencies with the Layla. I'm down to about 2.9 ms in Sonar using ASIO drivers, and no hiccups. I imagine I could venture a touch lower, but really don't need to. On the Firepod, 6 ms was the lowest setting and I was usually at around 8 ms. I've got a pretty decent system too as well as a TI chipset firewire card.

PCI has just been more solid for me as I owned a Gina 24 previously with zero issues. I decided I didn't need the portability, or eight of the same pre's and switched to the Layla and am going to invest in some nicer pre-amps.
 
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