Motu 896 or avalon pre?

I have an 896 HD and the pres are very clean and transparent. I haven't used an Avalon with my DAW but I would say the HD compares favorably to some nicer Focusrite pres I've heard. I don't know if the 896 and the 896HD have different pres and converters, though.

-creep
 
I have a 896 too and I would like to know much of the same--I am considering upgrading to a JLM TMP8 for my pre's and would really like to know what degree of quality the upgrade will yield..... And I do know that both the converters and the pre amps on the 896HD were upgraded from the 896....
 
I used an 896 HD the other day. For pre's built into a soundcard, they aren't too bad. I certainly would not compare them to an Avalon or a Focusrite. They were a little boxed in. No real extension to them on either the highs or the lows. In fact, I would say that even the Focusrite platinums are a little nicer. However, the 896HD offers many more features than just preamps (conversion, interfacing with CPU etc....). When you look at it that way, the 896 HD is certainly not a bad unit for the price.

It seems like the bottom line is which is more important to each individual consumer. I would never buy the 896 for it's preamps. But if an Avalon is pushing your budget and you still need an interface, than the 896 is not a bad way to start. It's not really fair to compare the two units. They both have completely different feature sets and intended uses.
 
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