Alternatives to Tascam US-1800?

[ayerobot]

I bought a Tascam US-1800 interface a month ago because I need the ability to record 12 tracks simultaneously to my laptop and this appeared to be a very inexpensive way to do that. However, it has turned out to be the most problematic piece of musical equipment that I have ever worked with (I've used both a Lexicon and an M-Audio interface for 12 years on my desktop computer without issue). I've gone through the setting with a fine toothed comb and still have problems getting my computer to consistently recognize it. When it works it is fantastic, but I have only managed to get it to record for the duration of an entire song three times without stalling (yes, I have every other program turned off, set latency to highest setting, disabled other devices, disconnected from the internet, tried different timing masters, etc, etc, etc. I also did an OS reinstall a week before getting the unit, so my OS is free of bugs and bloat. Searching online, I can't seem to find any known issues between my chip set (GM45/GM47) and this interface. Tech support at Tascam has been useless. I think I am going to take advantage of Musician's Friend's 45-day return policy on this one.

Can anyone recommend another interface that can record 12 simultaneous that doesn't cost a grand or more? One complicating issue is that I don't have firewire ports (Dell inspiron 1545, Pentium duo 2.2 GHz, 4 MB ram, 7200 rpm sata drive, Windows 7). Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[JimmyS1969]

Wow! That is hard to believe. I have never heard this before. One question; What else are you running through the USB controller? I ask because a USB2.0 interface is basically worthless if sharing a port with a streaming device. On my old Dell Pavillion Slimline desktop, I had tons of issues. Purchased a PCIe USB2.0 card, and it ran seamlessly. Now I have a high powered i7 that I still had to run the interface on its own controller. USB3.0 actually. I honestly have not heard any issues with the 1800 except for the port thing and not setting up a computer for audio performance. I assume you have tried these, but making the suggestion because there is obviously something still interfering with your connection. I'd love to help you to give it another try. Nothing in the price range will compare to what the 1800 gives.