Audio Interface or Control Surface

[gvdv]

Hi,
I'm in the final stages of driving myself crazy, so I was hoping that all of you could either tip me over the edge or pull me back from the brink.

Over the past few months (and interrupted by two family tragedies) I have almost fully assembled a powerful DAW which I will be using mostly for tracking at home with friends, but will also be using for editing video using Final Cut Pro.

Here's what I have:
1. New Mac Pro (not the Macbook Pro) 2.66
2. 5GB RAM (I added 4 to the 1 that came standard)
3. 2 hard drives (I added a 1TB Seagate Barraccuda to the 250GB standard drive, and will be adding a second 1TB S.B. soon)

Now I just need some kind of preamp/soundcard arrangement. In my research over the last few years I had thought that I would go for a firewire audio interface, and had settled on the RME Fireface 400, but that has too few mic inputs - I may need more than the four that it provides, and the unit's big brother - Fireface 800 - is a mite too expensive for me, given that I'm going to get a rode microphone and then will be eating bread and drinking water for the next few years in an attempt to pay back the bank.

So, my questions are:
1. Should I go for a cheaper audio interface than I had originally planned (Mackie Onyx 400F, Motu Traveler, Motu 828 MKII, Presonus Firestudio), or should I plump for something like one of the Helix mixer control surfaces?
I'm not thrilled about software mixing with an audio interface, but I could always buy an external fader such as the faderport if I went the audio interface route.

2. If I go for an audio interface in the $800 range, which one should I buy? Ideally, I'd like something that has the capability to go to 192Khz, and that has good pre's. The Mackie Onyx 400F - on paper - satisfies those requirements, but it doesn't have a lot of inputs in comparison to the others (I'd like to be able to record at least 5 mics live at times for tracking, and I've got a radio show idea which will involve combining several live mics with at least one or maybe 2 CD players - how does one do RCA inputs on these things? Get RCA to 1/4" converter plugs?).

And then there's the stability of the drivers to consider, which certainly seems to call the Presonus into question.

I would love to hear people's opionions about this.

Thanks,
GVDV

 

[ccouch7]

I've been using the M-Audio Project Mix "firewire control surface/audio interface" for about 6 months now and it works great for me, the preamps are good and it has eight of them.

As far as the RCA jacks -just get RCA to 1/4" cords or adapters and plug them into the line in's on the interface.

 

[dgatwood]

192 kHz is pointless. Anything over about 60 kHz is pretty pointless, frankly.

My advice if you can't get the FireFace 800 would be to go with something like the MOTU 8Pre. That'll give you the 8 inputs you want and is IMHO a much better piece of hardware than anything Mackie builds.

I wouldn't recommend the Presonus no matter what. DICE II chipsets are pretty notorious for reliability problems.

I'd also recommend keeping your control surface and your audio separate. It gives you more flexibility and multifunction devices are less likely to be reliable in my experience---jack of all trades, master of none, and all that. Perhaps more importantly, you can keep your interface in the rack where it belongs and your control surface on the desk where it belongs without a pile of eighty cables hanging over the edge of your desk.

Just my $0.02.

 

[RandyW]

With a MAC I think going with the Motu 828 MKII would be a no brainer.
I've been using one with a PC running Vista, XP Pro 64 bit, XP it works
fine with everything. But I've been told they really shine with MACs.
They even come with software for recording if you use Macs.

I think you'll be in the same ball park in terms of A/D convertors, the
next step would be 3 times the price.

I'm convinced there is no need for a mixer except playing back mixes
for monitoring. Perhaps using a preamp if it's go the right sound your
looking for. I have 3 mixers and only one ever gets used for recording
and that is only because it has some really nice sounding preamps.
I've used a surface controller on another system and it was kinda handy
but takes a while to get use to especially if you use it infrequently.

 

[gvdv]

Hi ccouch7, dgatwood, and RandyW,
Many thanks for your replies.

I'm a bit confused by the difference between the Motu 828 MKII and the Motu 8 Pre.

I realize that the 8 pre has "eight microphone/instrument preamps", while the 828 MKII only has "2 mic/guitar inputs".

On the other hand, the 828 MKII has a greater number of inputs and outputs, and this may be the reason that it is more expensive than the 8 pre.

I have been considering the Presonus Firestudio (not Firestudio Project), too, but the Motu stuff seems to be better.

Can anyone enlighten me on the relative advantages/disadvantages of the 8 pre and 828 MKII relative to each other?

Thanks,
GVDV

 

[RandyW]

Well I think the main difference in inputs and out puts.
I have a 828MKII and it has 10 analog outs and ins, plus SPDIF and 8 ADAT.
I believe alot of people use both by chaining the 8pre to the 828 using the
8 ADATS. This way you don't even have to use the FW on the 8Pre and you
avoid FW problems.

I'm not real crazy about the pre's on the 828 and as far as I know the 8pre
has 8 of them. I believe the 8 pre only has 2 analog line outs so that could
limit you some depending on how you use it.