Firewire interfaces? Any good?

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tspnyc

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I got a new computer, with Vista. So my fabulous Aardvark soundcard and breakout box are of no use to me :o( It has what were considered the best mic preamps made for computer recording. But Aardvark went out of business anyway, so no Vista drivers will ever be made for the card. And no, I have no interest in uninstalling Vista and installing XP again.

So, I have been looking at a Firewire interface. It is the Alesis IO14 14-Channel FireWire Audio/MIDI Interface. Basically I need four mic ins with preamps. I record acoustic guitar and vocals and not much else.

I am using Cubase SE.

Will this or a similar Firewire unit work for me? I am after as professional a sound as possible, which is why I went with Aardvark and a sound card instead of USB units. This was before PCs were coming with Firewire.

What can I expect from Firewire in terms of issues, integrity, etc.?

Thanks

Here are some specs I got on it. I have a note into the maker to find out if it will work with Vista.

Specifications:

Analog Inputs:
Sample rates: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz

Frequency response: +/- 0.05dB from 20Hz to 22kHz

Dynamic range: 112dB, A-weighted
Signal-to-noise ratio: 112 dB, A-weighted, minimum gain

THD+N: 0.001 -0.0015% @ 1kHz/0dBFS
Crosstalk: -110dB @ 1 kHz

Preamplifier THD+N: <0.0007 at 20dB gain
Preamplifier slew rate: 15 volts/microsecond

Microphone gain range: +6.8dB to +50dB
Microphone impedance: 1.2kOhm

Line gain range: -15.4dB to 27.8dB
Line impedance: 16kOhm

Guitar gain range: +6.8dB to +50dB
Guitar impedance: 1 MegaOhm

Turntable Input (IO|26 only):
Sample rates: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz

Frequency response: +/-1dB from published RIAA curve

Dynamic Range: 95dB, A-weighted
Signal-to-noise ratio: 95dB, A-weighted
THD+N: <0.05%
Crosstalk: -100dB @ 1 kHz
Impedance: 47Kohm

Line-Level Outputs
Sample rates: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz

Level: -10dBv/+4dBu nominal (switchable), +19dBu maximum

Frequency response: +/- 0.075 from 20Hz to 22kHz

Features:


24Bit/192kHz Recording for high-quality, pristine recordings

Superior Clock stability with DICE II JET™ Jitter Elimination Technology

Audiophile Cirrus converters to provide maximum dynamic range on inputs and outputs

Flexible, routable Hardware Direct Monitoring and HDM Control Panel software for customizable monitoring mixes (see image below)

Cubase LE software included (Windows and Mac compatible)

Bus or adapter powered
[inputs]


4 Alesis High Definition Mic/Line Preamplifiers built in (2 switchable high-impedance inputs for direct guitar and bass recording)

Switchable Phantom Power for each channel pair

Inserts on every analog channel

8 channels of ADAT input

16 Channels of MIDI I/O

Stereo S/PDIF digital input
[outputs]


2 line-level outputs

2 discrete stereo headphone outputs

Stereo S/PDIF digital output
System Hardware Requirements

PC:


Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 2.0 Ghz or faster

1 Gig RAM or more

Windows XP Home or Professional Service Pack 2 or higher (Windows XP Media Center Edition is untested)
 
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Firewire is arguably the best interface type....it provides a higher sustained data throughput than USB and probably only bettered by PCI which is being phazed out......

I personally wouldn"t be useing Vista with a recording interface as Vista is still pretty much in Beta stage and still has a Lot of problems to be worked out and there isn"t a lot of driver support for audio in vista and there aren"t a lot of good compatible recording programs with vista yet.....I would stick with XP at least till vista gets it"s act together.....

:D
 
Thanks.

Unfortunately I have Vista now and it works fine for everything else I need the PC for.

I had thought about installing a second hard drive with XP, but the PC manufacturer, Pudget Systems recommended against using a dual boot.

My audio needs are small really, compared to most of you.

I record acoustic guitars with four good mics. Sometimes with vocals, sometimes not. Often the only multitracking is when I record a piece in sections rather than try to get all they way through without making a mistake.

So long as Cubase records 4 tracks at a time and will allow me some 16 tracks four doing the afore mentioned sections, I am good to go.

Thanks.

Looks like I will buy that interface, as it is the only one I can find that has four XLRs. Everyone has two or eight or ten.
 
I have the io26 (for about 2 months now) and I absolutely love the thing.
I'm currently using it with a laptop and I don't have any issues that I know of.

I haven't messed much with the Cubase that came with it, but It works great with Cakewalk HS 2004 XL and Reaper too !

I have only limited Vista experience and none that involve Vista and audio.

FYI- Entirely up to you of course but, I think the io26 is about a hundred bucks more than the io14, that's almost like getting a second io14 for 100$ !


You'll likely end up loving the thing no matter which one you get.


Good Luck !
 
Check out the Firebox by Presonus or whatever it's called.

Personally, I have the RME Fireface 800 and love it.
 
Been using a Motu828mkII daisy-chained to a Glyph firewire drive on my XP laptop for well over a year.

ZERO problems.
 
Thanks yall. I went ahead and dropped the extra $100 and got the Alesis io 26. It has 8 XLR inputs and 8 more 1/4" inputs. I will typically only use 4 XLRs at home. (Two small diaphram mics up close to the guitar and two large diaphram mics farther back in the room.) But it weighs all of five pounds, so someday I know I will be glad I have 8 ins for mics, when the time comes to record a whole band in a live situation!

Thanks again. I will be setting it up tonight.
 
do the alesis interfaces have direct monitoring, like the firestudio?
 
tspnyc said:
Thanks yall. I went ahead and dropped the extra $100 and got the Alesis io 26. It has 8 XLR inputs and 8 more 1/4" inputs. I will typically only use 4 XLRs at home. (Two small diaphram mics up close to the guitar and two large diaphram mics farther back in the room.) But it weighs all of five pounds, so someday I know I will be glad I have 8 ins for mics, when the time comes to record a whole band in a live situation!

Thanks again. I will be setting it up tonight.
Click to expand...

You won't be disappointed - very cool device and much more practical for home users than a 19" rack (speaking as someone who uses a 19" rack at home and an iO 26 in a project studio elsewhere).
 
tspnyc said:
Thanks yall. I went ahead and dropped the extra $100 and got the Alesis io 26. It has 8 XLR inputs and 8 more 1/4" inputs. I will typically only use 4 XLRs at home. (Two small diaphram mics up close to the guitar and two large diaphram mics farther back in the room.) But it weighs all of five pounds, so someday I know I will be glad I have 8 ins for mics, when the time comes to record a whole band in a live situation!

Thanks again. I will be setting it up tonight.
Click to expand...

Cool !

Those extra inputs will be ready when you are.

Hope it works out as good for you as it has for me and Noisedude.

Let us know.
 
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