Firewire Interfaces

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natethegreat

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I've had this ongoing dilemma for some time now - with the slew of new firewire interfaces coming out into the market now, I'm not sure which one offers the best quality for its price range.

The ones I am considering right now are:

Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 i/o
Presonus Firestudio
MOTU 896HD
MOTU 8pre

I want 8 mic pres with some expandability options (ie. ADAT, S/PDIF not as much). Have any of you had experience with these interfaces and can attest to the mic pre and AD/DA converter quality?

I've also heard of RME fireface quality (but they don't have 8 mic pres) and also the new Mackie 400F, 800R, and 1200F (although the 1200F is a bit out of my price range and the 800R does not have firewire)

For the mic pres, I'm looking for clean and clear - any colouration I will get from another single channel mic pre in the future.

Thanks for the help

Nate
 
natethegreat said:
I've had this ongoing dilemma for some time now - with the slew of new firewire interfaces coming out into the market now, I'm not sure which one offers the best quality for its price range.

The ones I am considering right now are:

Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 i/o
Presonus Firestudio
MOTU 896HD
MOTU 8pre

I want 8 mic pres with some expandability options (ie. ADAT, S/PDIF not as much). Have any of you had experience with these interfaces and can attest to the mic pre and AD/DA converter quality?
Click to expand...

I've used the MOTU 8Pre and the Presonus FIREPOD. I would recommend the 8Pre. One of them had a jack break and MOTU swapped it for a new one within a week. I had the entire S/PDIF section of the FIREPOD go out, shipped it to Presonus, and was without it for over five weeks.

The MOTU costs a little more, but when the shit hits the fan and something breaks, they'll get you back up and running.
 
I am in the same boat as you, I want the 8 pre but i hate the fact that the only outputs are adat...(its the only reason that i haven't gotten it yet.) so right now i am looking at the firestudio....i would not get the firepod, but the firestudio has way better options...as far as the mic pres...i don't care what anybody says on this site. I think there equal...they are both what you are looking for...they are both clean and clear, no coloration. as far as the converters go...the 8 pre has better converters but the firestudio converters aint bad...the output options are better in the firestudio and the optional remote is kinda cool and it has two headphone amps in it and you can put more then one set of monitors... As far as latency...i think the motu would have less, but i talked to a sales guy at sweetwater and he has sold over 1,000 firestudios and has not got one back from latency...(and that was my biggest worry about the firestudio) But if money aint in option get the RME, but if it is keep this in mind. If you get the 8 pre and want some outboard gear then you need to get a ad da converter, and if you want a good one, your gonna be paying some money for it
hope that helps
 
I have talked to some people at sales and they all have their own favourites.

Apprently, the MOTU 896HD has better pres and function than the 8pre, but the 8pre is almost half the price. the 8pre also uses the same converters as the RME fireface and Mackie i think (according to Sound on Sound magazine... the AMK chipset converters).

However, I have also been told that the clock on the Firestudio is far superior, with their jitter jetpll-something something technology...

I really like the functionality of the Focusrite Saffire stuff as well and the pres on them should be pretty good, given their previous "green preamp channels" that the saffire pres are supposedly based on. However, I've been told that people are having a lot of problems with the drivers, so it might not be the best choice right now?
 
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