Channel Strip to Laptop, Help?

[dave_moody]

I wanna get a focusrite trackmaster going into my laptop vis a usb 2.0 slot. I've got a cheap alesis mixer with a usb output that I can go through but I think ill loose some of the quality during the process.

Does anyone have a cheap method of getting sound from an unbalanced 1/4'' jack output into a usb socket without loosing much quality?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Dave Moody

 

[TimOBrien]

"cheap", "quality" and "audio interface" should never be used in the same sentence or thread.

The obvious answer is to get something better than the Alesis mixer you mistrust.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

 

[SonicAlbert]

That Firebox is a good suggestion. It has a lot of features that aren't needed in this scenario though, like the two preamps and all the extra I/O.

dave_moody, another option would be to get the Echo Audiofire2. It's less expensive and doesn't extra features you don't need.

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireWire/AudioFire2/index.php

Both the Firebox and Audiofire2 are firewire interfaces, which I would highly recommend over a USB interface.

For USB there are many options. Perhaps look at an Mbox2 Mini, Tascam US-122L or US-144, or Edirol UA-25, to name a few.