Interface what to look for help

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epidemic

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right now Im looking at a firepod, saffire pro 26, Maudio firewire1814, and emu x studio/or 1820.
id need prolly 8 inputs max.


rather then asking whats better i just need help knowing how to distinguish them so i can decide what i will need
1) how do i know which interface has better mic-pres. (and would a m-audio tampa be a step up from interface pres? thats a next planned purchase)

2) can i turn interface pres off completely for when i do get a new good pre

3) how do i know which has a better sound if they are all 24bit/96khz? by compairing converters? how do i know whats good and whats not?

4)how do firewire interfaces link to computer (pci card)? ...is firewire better then a pci interface? or is that up to your needs?

5) instead of the rack interfaces would it be better (or is this really not relevant) to use something like a Emu emulator x studio/or 1820? ... or maybe a Firewire 1814(protools compatible)... ..both 24bit/192khz!!



i love payment plans....
 
A pci card hooks up to your computer's chipset. Firewire hooks up to your computer via your firewire port or firewire card. Some consider PCI cards to be more stable, I've never used a firewire interface so I couldn't compare.Yes, it's possible to bypass your interface pre's. And lastly, yes most stand alone pre's are a step up from the less expensive interface pre's and mixers you can find today. Even only if it's because they often come with phantom power, DI's, db boost, vu meters, and other helpful knobs (gain, low cut high cut and sometimes even inserts). And if not for that reason, dropping a few bucks on a few decent standalone pre's will get you more clean gain and maybe even a little desirable color.

Hope that helps a bit.
 
I'll take PCI every time. However, I'm not portable at all, does that matter to you?
 
When I was recording to a PC (I'm using a Mac these days), I was using a Firepod. If your PC already doesn't have Firewire, you'll need to get a PCI Firewire card. I was able to get all 8 tracks into the computer with no hiccups.

I've gotten good results from the Firepod. If you don't want to use the mic-pres on the Firepod, there are 2 line level inputs on the back... but only 2.
 
thanks. and yea being portable doesn't matter to me

ill keep a look out for feed back while i save for monitors, then ill decide on this one and get it all at once.
 
I was under the impression that if you used the TRS instead of the XLR on the front of the Firepod , you wouldn't activate the mic pre's. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that's the case.
 
the micpre problem wont really affect me untill i upgrade to a quality seperate pre. but ill be okay going through the back since ill have two mics max simultaneously. but yea bypassing from the front would be great incase i need more channels, or just a 0 gain would work, my current setup doesnt have that and boosts too much after the preamp with a horrible quality built-in pre.

but im thinking a pci would probably compliment my setup more right now. and since it has a firewire port i can always add a firepod or something later

if anyone has anything as far as quality comparisions of converters and the builtin micpres?
 
that is correct. the firepod has line inputs for all 8 channels. i love my firepod and am hoping to purchase a second unit very soon.

thedude400 said:
I was under the impression that if you used the TRS instead of the XLR on the front of the Firepod , you wouldn't activate the mic pre's. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that's the case.
Click to expand...
 
Just want to toss in my 2 cents.
If you got budget for a Mackie 400F interface (1u rackmount) you'll get premium ONYX mic preamps (4 of them) in the interface.
Recommended.
For the smallest homestudio it might be a tad overkill though.
 
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