Firewires...

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johnnypraze

johnnypraze

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Whats the difference between firewire and sound cards?

Do you still need a sound card with a firewire...?

Im new to firewire interfaces, and would like a lil breakdown if someone could...

Thanks
 
Firewire is just an interface to a computer that can transfer 400 MB/sec.

The sound card that came inside your PC is a PCI card (internal).

You can upgrade that sound card with another PCI style card OR You can also buy a DIFFERENT sound card/recording interface. This can be firewire or USB.

Instead of plugging the new sound card into your computers internal PCI slots, they plug into a firewire (EE 1394) port. If you have a Mac or a newer PC, you may already have a 1394 interface.

If you don't you have to buy a Firewire interface card. This gives your computer the ability to use a firewire device (like a firewire soundcard).

I just bought an M-Audio 410 firewire interface. This box basically replaces the sound card in your computer for recording.

My laptop has a built in firewire port so I just plug the firewire soundcard into my laptop.

My desktop does not have a firewire port so I would have to go buy a $50 PCI firewire card and install it in my computer. Then I could plug in my firewire soundcard.

If you have a computer with no firewore port. You need to first buy a firewire card. PCI for desktop or PCMCIA for a laptop.

Then you can go buy a firewire sound card, hard drive, CD burner, whatever you want to attach to the firewire port.
 
John,

All of these are 'soundcards': #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 etc. etc..

A 'soundcard' can reside entirely in the computer, it can reside entirely ouside of the computer, it can be half and half. It can reek with features and function, it can do almost nothing but play music. It can interface via PCI, USB, PCMCIA, or Firewire.

Welcome to the jungle.
 
opdev said:
My desktop does not have a firewire port so I would have to go buy a $50 PCI firewire card and install it in my computer.
Click to expand...
Cut that in half.
$25,-
 
So does the firewire have any noticable advantage over a nice PCI sound card or is it just a different format...?

How would I know If my PC can support firewire? All I know is that I have 3 PCI expansion slots...
 
Just a note. The m-Audio 410 is not compatible with FW cards with NEC chipsets.

That is MANY cards.

The one they recommend for PCI is an Adaptec 4300 ($49 at Comp USA).

Look for a card with the TI chipset. This is a real problem and is in the readme file of the 410 software. Nice of them to tell you after you install the box, eh!
 
johnnypraze said:
So does the firewire have any noticable advantage over a nice PCI sound card or is it just a different format...?

How would I know If my PC can support firewire? All I know is that I have 3 PCI expansion slots...
Click to expand...

There is no real audio benefit from using firewire over PCI cards, it's just another method of signal transfer. I'm sure you'd be quite happy with either.

Ummm... do you have a firewire port? If not then you could get a PCI firewire card.

good luck
jay
 
If you are going to use a desktop and not a laptop (and have a free PCI slot) I would get a PCI card. I think for the equivalent $$$, you get more input/outputs.

PCI is also faster (I think)

I would look at the PCI Cards from M-Audion Delta series.
 
use firewire if you anticipate using the soundcard with more than 1 computer. otherwise, use PCI.

i'd love to have the MOTU firewire dodad to replace my frontier design wavecenter card because i could use it with both my desktop and laptop.

alas, it costs too much, so i'll stick to using my tascam us-428 usb for the laptop (i also use it as a tactile mixer for the desktop).
 
Well, ill be doing vocals almost exclusively, so never more then 1 or 2 tracks at a time. What PCI sound cards should I look into. Ive only really heard/read about Delta 44/66, Audiology 2496, and the echo mia.

Im still debating on whether Im gonna go PC based, or digital recorder, so I wanna try and stay around the $200-$300 range unless Im swayed other wise...
 
RME Multiface. Not cheap. Not too pricey either, but perhaps out of your reach.
 
looks very nice, but a lil more then I wanted to spend.

Im not totally sold on PC recording, so I dont want to drop a whole lotta dough into it (mic, pre-amp, and card) if Im not goin to end up usin em. I do however, want something nice to help me make my decision.

as I said, alot of ins and outs arent going to be neccasary as Im gonna be doin vocals, pretty much exclusivley.

Thanks for all the input so far...

any other recommendations for a scenario such as mine...?
 
The one thing that is central to computer recording and that I have wrestled with is analog/digital (A/D) conversion. All A/D is not the same. Apogee, for example, has the MiniMe. Very nice. For me, too expensive, even though it is represented as being superb at A/D (the mic pres don't suck either). On the other end of the spectrum (to compare apples to apples) look at the dbx 376. Like the Apogee, it is a mic pre that performs A/D conversion, but after reading a post by a dbx employee slamming the box I wouldn't pick it up on ebay for fifty bucks... rather buy a nice steak dinner.

For me the RME Multiface is a excellent compromise. I have a high level of confidence in the RME Hammerfall A/D technology, and the Multiface gives me the functionality that I need, including MIDI. When coupled with the RME QuadMic 4 channel mic pre I am spending as much as I would spend on a MiniMe with more functionality and equally excellent A/D conversion. And I WANT that high level of A/D conversion as it is essential to taking me where I want to go.

Computer sound manipulation is absolutely the future. The high end ADAT recording solutions are essentially dedicated computers. If you don't pay for a certain level of quality, then you won't go with the computer solution as the sound, for justifiable reasons, will suck.

In the end, each must decide for himself, but if explaining my reasoning helps, cool.
 
CAn I just say what you just said Wheelema actually helped me a whole lot:) No joke, That makes more sense to me:)

I have been struggling with this for a month, and that helped me look at it differently:)
 
wheelema said:
The one thing that is central to computer recording and that I have wrestled with is analog/digital (A/D) conversion. All A/D is not the same. Apogee, for example, has the MiniMe. Very nice. For me, too expensive, even though it is represented as being superb at A/D (the mic pres don't suck either). On the other end of the spectrum (to compare apples to apples) look at the dbx 376. Like the Apogee, it is a mic pre that performs A/D conversion, but after reading a post by a dbx employee slamming the box I wouldn't pick it up on ebay for fifty bucks... rather buy a nice steak dinner.

For me the RME Multiface is a excellent compromise. I have a high level of confidence in the RME Hammerfall A/D technology, and the Multiface gives me the functionality that I need, including MIDI. When coupled with the RME QuadMic 4 channel mic pre I am spending as much as I would spend on a MiniMe with more functionality and equally excellent A/D conversion. And I WANT that high level of A/D conversion as it is essential to taking me where I want to go.

Computer sound manipulation is absolutely the future. The high end ADAT recording solutions are essentially dedicated computers. If you don't pay for a certain level of quality, then you won't go with the computer solution as the sound, for justifiable reasons, will suck.

In the end, each must decide for himself, but if explaining my reasoning helps, cool.
Click to expand...


Funny I came on this board wondering what the RME piece would do for me. So If I already have a Delta 44 exactly how would the Multiface improve my setup?? I am curious about that piece. Sorry to highjack ya thread...

Geoff
 
Altruist said:
Funny I came on this board wondering what the RME piece would do for me. So If I already have a Delta 44 exactly how would the Multiface improve my setup?? I am curious about that piece. Sorry to highjack ya thread...

Geoff
Click to expand...
Geoff,

I am not the best resource to compare the Multiface to the Delta 44. Off the top of my head I don't think that the upgrade would buy you all that much. I was upgrading from a MD4 so I had to choose as wisely as I could. I think I did.
 
Right now Musicians Friend had the Delta Omni Studio bundle on special for $349.

That's the Delta 66 card and the studio interface with mic pres, effects send/return/headphone outs, etc.

I think if I did not buy the 410, I would have bought that bundle. Seems like a pretty good deal.


This eeks above your 300 budget but looks like quite a package (to me who just started computer recording.)
 
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