Interface/converters/preamp shopping

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jye
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Jye

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So, a little history... I am currently using an M-Audio Ultra 8R, external HD, a macbook, and currently in the transition from Garageband 5 to Logic 8. The 8R connects via USB2, the HD is 1TB and 7200rpm, and the mac is a 2.1GHz, 4GB RAM, running OSX 10.5. Perhaps irrelevant, I like to get all of this out of the way first.

I am looking to upgrade the converters/preamps, with the following goals:
-Need 16 mic ins
-Good preamps (the music lends itself to late 60's-mid 70's psych, so preamps that can give a sense of this era are preferable)
-Good A/D converters (If this is important to sound quality)
-Firewire connection. I notice many popular FW interfaces are still connecting via FW400, I hope this is sufficient.

I've given a large mixing console a miss from advise from all the guys at my local music shop. What I'm thinking i'll do is get an 8 mic-in interface (Focusrite Sapphire 40/Presonus Firestudio/M-Audio Profire 2626/Mackie Onyx Blackbird/MOTU 828 mk3/RME Fireface 800), connect a 8 mic-in preamp rack of the same brand as the interface via ADAT, and get 4 outboard preamps. This is not concrete at all; I'm looking for any suggestions for how I should do this.

Along with advice on a configuration, I'm also asking for advice on the interfaces mentioned, specifically on preamp and conversion quality.

Cheers.
 
Basically what you're asking for is Pre amps, A/D convertors, 16 inputs, and a firewire connection. You're right, you can get all of that in an interface, you don't need a mixer. The first thing that comes to mind is the US 1800, which has I think 14 inputs, 8 of them XLR with preamps. Jimmy69 has the previous model of the 1800 and if you send him a PM (and luckily he's a helpful guy) I'm sure he'll tell you the pros and cons of the unit.

I'm not sure why you want firewire. Although I do use a firewire interface myself, it isn't necessarily better than USB 2.0. If you have the money, you could just get 2 Firestudios and daisy chain them. You'll have 16 inputs, preamps, convertors, and you'll be using Firewire too. Or you could get a Firestudio plus a Firestudio Mobile, if you don't need all the inputs to be XLR.

There are plenty of options, but the cheapest will probably be the 1800. You can slowly buy pre amps for the unit as you get a better ieda of what you want. I wouldn't worry about what kind of pre amps to buy to get me a certain sound (60s,70s era etc.), not in the entry level price range anyway. Thats where I let the plug ins do their job :D I don't know too much about high end pre amps anyway. I just use the DMP3, and I love it.
 
It seems to me the Tascam US 1800 is a degrade from what I currently have... like my 8R, it didn't seem to allow daisy-chaining, and I have heard disturbing feedback re it's sound quality.

Daisy chaining via adat IS my top option as written above, sorry if this wasn't clear. I chose FW as I did not mention I connect the external HDD via USB 2, and have heard from many that running both a HDD and interface through USB 2 is asking for trouble. I just hope FW 400, rather than 800, will be enough when running up to 16 tracks simultaneously.

The Golden Age Pre-73 is an example of the preamps I am looking at. The DMP3 looks pretty good from its specs. I think it would be best to have for example 2 coloured and 2 transparent pres. Anyway keep the advice coming, pref from the topic post.
 
Oh yeah I completely forgot you already have an interface. Daisy chain 2 Firestudios. Or Profires if you're into M Audio.
 
I never mentioned my budget... I am anticipating spending around $3,000.
 
$3000=10 GAP pre-73. If you need to expand the number of inputs, there are a bunch of 8 channel pres for around $500 through ADAT you can use to get 8 more channels, then just plug in your external preamps to get better quality pres.

The GAPs are cool, but if you want different flavors, or to stay in your budget, you can grab maybe 4 of them and a bunch of DMP3s and have a decent set up. There's a lot of good stuff out there, and with $3000 you should be able to get some nice stuff.
 
Thanks all for the input. At the moment I am thinking RME Fireface 800 (to save on a FW400-800 upgrade in 2 years time), 2 outboard pres (e.g. GAP pre-73's/DMP3's/BL B12a's), and a Steinberg MR816X, which gives me a sufficient 14 preamps. Thoughts?
 
I haven't read a bad thing about the Steinberg, the Fireface should do just fine, and the GAPs are great. 2 channels of GAP are $600 vs 2 channels of DMP3 for under $200. The DMP3 will give you more channels like you want, but they won't be anything too different from the ones built into the interface. I'd put out the extra cash for the GAPs. They sound great and will give you one more sound option.

Now, unless I'm mistaken, both the fireface and the steinberg and interfaces. They should work together fine (again as far as I know), but it seem kinda redundant. You could probably get by with one or the other and something like a focusrite octapre (or similiar).

You could even do the Fireface and 2xDMP3 for 8 channels. Then an Octapre for 8 more and 2xGAP for better pres. That way you'll have 10 really nice channels, and 6 nice ones in the focusrite (or similiar)...it just seems redundant to get two interfaces and the steinberg's pres probably aren't better than the focusrite.
 
I will prob go the GAPs as the RME has transparent preamps so it will be nice to have some coloured pres aswell.

For the 2nd preamp rack/interface that will be connected through ADAT - I chose an interface in the event that the RME has a connection error. This way I can just plug that interface to the mac. It's a bit extra $ for insurance. I chose the Steinberg as I was under the impression it had better pres than an octopre/digimax/octane, though this isn't based on anything but the additional cost. I see your point, and with the money saved from your suggestion I might have enough for another GAP...
 
Jye said:
I will prob go the GAPs as the RME has transparent preamps so it will be nice to have some coloured pres aswell.

For the 2nd preamp rack/interface that will be connected through ADAT - I chose an interface in the event that the RME has a connection error. This way I can just plug that interface to the mac. It's a bit extra $ for insurance. I chose the Steinberg as I was under the impression it had better pres than an octopre/digimax/octane, though this isn't based on anything but the additional cost. I see your point, and with the money saved from your suggestion I might have enough for another GAP...
Click to expand...

If you're worried about one interface failing, go for it and get a couple. But most of us here only have one and that has been fine. Basically, for your budget and situation, there are a bunch of options, and it seems you know about most of them. The GAPs are cool preamps, you'll be happy with them.
 
Just rapping up this thread for future readers...

I went with a FF800, an ART tube opto8 unit, and 2 GAP pres. I thought the ART pres sounded good for their price, though I don't push the gain too hard as I don't find their clipping appealing. The only issue I'm having is bypassing the ART pres with outboard pres; connecting a TRS into the line ins on the back didn't seem to work, so I'm not sure if they can be bypassed.
 
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