Best sound card under £300? I've hit a wall!

[Martallika666]

Ok, so I planned on getting a Focusrite Saffire 24/24 DSP external sound card, but recently realised it uses Firewire 400 not 800 like I wanted. Atm I am also looking at the Edirol FA-66 which i can get a killer deal on but I have heard the mic pre's aren't as up to the mark as the Saffire pre's. I'm just starting out seriously in the home recording world but don't want to invest money in something really crappy and "beginner", I'm looking for something like the FA-66, reasonably priced, good quality, and above entry level.

Any suggestions on other interfaces in this price range would be a real help.

Thanks,

Mark.

 

[Martallika666]

Also, I have just bought an Edirol PC-50 midi controller on eBay for a steal too, would it be a good pairing getting these two as I can connect the PC-50 to the FA-66 using a midi cable apposed to using one of my USB ports?

 

[Martallika666]

And by "beginner and crappy" I mean, I want something decent and reliable I can use for a couple of years until I have some more experience and money under my belt and can invest in something more high end

 

[TimOBrien]

FW400 is not a problem. It can stream well over 100 channels.
As long as the unit is the last device in the chain, i.e.:
Puter -> Harddrive -> interface
Using a simple fw800-to-fw400 cable to the interface, everything else will run at 800 speed.

Most project studios wont come anywhere near overwhelming fw400.
(especially when a 24-input interface is far smaller than fw400s limitations)

The Focusrite would be a good choice.

 

[Martallika666]

Cheers again Tim! You are becoming my "go-to-man" for all my audio problems it seems haha!

another question for you!

Here is a link to a diagram for input and output options for the Saffire 24 DSP.

http://c0000541.cdn3.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1466443pop.jpg

Check out next to the power switch on the back, it has an in and out port for an "external digital fx processor". Could I plug a POD XT Pro into this? I currently have a Line 6 POD EX which I was going to use as a dongle when I got the 24 DSP. An XT pro would kick ass though!