Emu 1820 M or Firepod?

  • Thread starter Thread starter gvdv
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gvdv

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Hi,
I think (please take that with a grain of salt) that I've narrowed down the choice for the type of soundcard down to either the Emu 1820 M or Presonus Firepod.

My requirements are multiple inputs, built-in good preamps, abiliity to do MIDI, and keeping the price under about $800 U.S. for the soundcard. (I am allotting another $1000 U.S. to buy a motherboard, 3 hard drives, memory etc. , and will be editing digital video on the computer in addition to making it a DAW).

If I go with the Firepod, and given that it comes with Cubase LE, I also am wondering what people think about either using LE with the Firepod, or starting off with Sonar 4. Is there any inherent disadvantage with using LE at first and then switching to Sonar later? For example, will I be able to seamlessly import previous projects recorded in LE into Sonar?

GVDV
 
Personally I'd go with the firepod ( I already did). I need the preamps as I record drums and I wanted something I could use with a laptop.

I don't think you can import a cubase project in sonar, but you'd certainly be able to import individual tracks as wavs
 
Bulls Hit said:
Personally I'd go with the firepod ( I already did). I need the preamps as I record drums and I wanted something I could use with a laptop.

I don't think you can import a cubase project in sonar, but you'd certainly be able to import individual tracks as wavs
Click to expand...

How do you find the firepod works with a laptop? I've got a very expensive Dell, but it's finicky - sometimes conflicts arise with the simplest devices - and never really considered doing anything other than building a desktop DAW specifically for audio and video recording.

Also, do you use LE with the firepod/laptop or do you use another program for recording?

GVDV
 
Bulls Hit (nice name),
How do you find the preamps in the firepod? Are they 'warm' enough?

I was looking at a tube preamp on the Presonus website and wondered if you had considered that.

Also, I noticed in several reviews of the firepod that I've read that the only consistent negative mentioned is that the headphone monitor is quiet. Once again, I noticed on the Presonus website that they make a four headphone preamplifier - would it be possible to plug this in to the firepod and to make it work?

Thanks for your replies,

GVDV
 
I've got an Asus laptop, & it works real well. Pentium M,512MB, wireless, ATI Radeon mobility graphics. The wierd thing is I found out after I got it that Presonus explicitly recommend that you Dont use ATI mobility graphics, as they've had compatability issues with the firepod. However I've never had a problem with it.

I don't use LE as I already have Cakewalk GT3.

The firepod's preamps are very good. They don't seem to have a lot of grunt, i.e you have to crank up a ways to get a good signal. However they sound good all the way up, without getting harsh like my Yamaha mixer used to when wound up.

I track drums and I've found the headphone/monitor mix level plenty loud enough so I've never looked at a seperate headphone amp.

The firepod suits me because as well as the convenience of 8 preamps in one box, I can drag it with the laptop along to a jam and get 8 tracks of the band down. Pretty handy
 
HI Bulls Hit,
thanks for the reply.

Do you know if it's just the mobility graphics (ATI) cards that Presonus doesn't recommend? I had a look on their website the other day and couldn't see anything about any graphics cards, and one of my friends is a super math whiz who designs the ATI cards, so I was hoping to get a card through him (discount). I'm not pleased with the Geforce in my Dell Inspiron.

Thanks,

Geert.
 
This is from the firepod 'Compatability' tab on the presonus site

"Laptops with the ATI Mobility Radeon 9000/9100 IGP chipset have shown consistent problems with pops/clicks on playback. You can check for this chipset in the Device Manager/Display Adapters. We strongly recommend that you do not get a system with this chipset, as there is not currently a workaround for this incompatibility."

The 9100 IGP chipset is the one in my machine. If I'd seen this before I bought it, I wouldn't have bought it, but like I say I've never had a problem. I've also got a Radeon in my desktop daw and that works fine with the firepod as well
 
well it depends on your usage, if you are recording drums or whole band together then firepods 8 preamps can be handy, but if you need just one or two preamp, EMU will give you a lot better sound quality + any possible routing. I upgraded from firebox to EMU1820m and loving this interface, better pres, rock solid stability and the sound quality is just outstanding, I mixed a song other day with 24 tracks with loads of waves plugins and no pops no clicks nothing but transparent audio.
 
Anarchist,
Can't the firepod and the 1820M record simultaneously the same number of tracks via preamps?

GVDV
 
gvdv said:
Anarchist,
Can't the firepod and the 1820M record simultaneously the same number of tracks via preamps?

GVDV
Click to expand...

I don't really understand the question, but the total amount of recordable inputs is greater on the 1820M/1616M.
 
No, but it has a couple of nice ones.
And much better convertors.
 
True, it all depends on what you're after.
1820m = real good convertors, 2 nice preamps, dodgy drivers
firepod = good convertors, 8 nice preamps, solid drivers
 
Bulls Hit said:
True, it all depends on what you're after.
1820m = real good convertors, 2 nice preamps, dodgy drivers
firepod = good convertors, 8 nice preamps, solid drivers
Click to expand...
The drivers are no longer dodgy. Initial release, yes, but no longer.
 
fraserhutch said:
The drivers are no longer dodgy. Initial release, yes, but no longer.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree, I am using for almost a month now and yet to find a single problem with the drivers, although smallest latency I tried was 4ms with no problem which is quite good for me, and I use the card with both Sonar5 and cubase SX3.
 
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