Best Audio Interface in terms of expandability?

[ZiggY!]

well?

the only 2 i see as expandable are:

MOTU Products
and
Aardvark Products

any others?

which one would you get?

 

[FanTC®]

I vote Motu (2408)

But Mixtreme and Sek'D Prodiff are also expandable.

 

[justwantyou2kno]

M-audio says the 1010's are expandable, but I don't know how well that works out.

 

[ambi]

I hear the RME Hammerfall is pretty much great, and really expandable. But it's very pricey.

I think consistantly you'll hear RME is the best of the crop (i think lynx beats it out in the converter area, but lynx is even more expensive).

 

[laptoppop]

Motu is expandable - one PCI slot branches to multiple outside boxes, and you can buy more boxes seperately. Motu tech support stinks, and at least in the past the interface card was VERY picky about what computer to work in (supposed to be better with the 424 card). Motu is a good way to go if you have pure Intel cpu with Intel chipset. You pay less to expand MOTU because you use the same PCI interface for multiple expansion boxes.

Aardvark and RME are expandable, but you have to use multiple PCI cards to do it. RME has great ultra low ASIO driver latency. AArdvark has a couple of units with great microphone preamps -- an all-in-one type of solution.

-lee-

 

[ZiggY!]

Im running a dell computer... 100% intel components me thinks but i'll check into it...

 

[Stealthtech]

I second RME for expandability and reliability.

 

[ap]

To the pro RME guys: MOTU's single PCI slot seems like a pretty big advantage. When you consider that most slots are shared, IRQ's are usually scarce and a consistent problem, and you may want to add a powered plug-in card or two(OK, I'd like a UAD-1 AND a Powercore), it seems pretty hard to beat...unless, I guess, if the MOTU can't even communicate well between it's own card and breakout boxes.

Do you know any specific problems or even general reputations of the MOTU or RME cards expandability?

 

[adam]

I agree with the RME comments, though the PCI slot issue is a major drawback. For me though, it is less about using multiple RMEs than adding on accessories, and flexibility.


For example:
*24/96 capable -- not as much as a big deal today, as more are coming out, but many firewire interfaces are still only 48.
*ADAT - Can add a 4-8 channel pre like the Digimax - with the option of using it at 16/48 or 24/96.
*Use with a laptop
*Switchable power - use anywhere in the world or with batteries
*Only 1/2 rack size - so can expand (e.g. pre's, comps, more i/o) without taking alot of space
*Recently announced they are coming out with 4 and 8 input mic pres to use with the rme
*Midi interface

The PCI is a drawback and non bus power on laptops is another, but otherwise, I find the RME very "expandable"