MOTU Ultralite VS. RME Fireface 400

[flextone]

Hi guys,

i`m looking to buy a new interface, 8 in 8 out, and having trouble deciding. i don`t record with microphones other then a vocal here and there, mostly synths and drum machines. so what would you go for? please feel free to suggest different interfaces, but i think that at this price level these are the top contenders.

 

[SuperGeek]

RME - Fireface 800

Hi guys,

i`m looking to buy a new interface, 8 in 8 out, and having trouble deciding. i don`t record with microphones other then a vocal here and there, mostly synths and drum machines. so what would you go for? please feel free to suggest different interfaces, but i think that at this price level these are the top contenders.

Musicians frend has the RME - 400 for $900

and the RME - 800 for $1500 I relize the 800 is probably a bit high (better bang for the buck - twice the capacity)

Musician's Friend

May pay more or less but shop around.

but it has adat inputs and outputs. You can easly set it up for more channels for the furture.

I have the 800 and im very happy I paid the higher price.

For it will grow as I grow.

Just my 2 Watts

 

[christiaan]

I've had an RME 800 for over two years now and I've never recorded more than 4 tracks simultaneously. While it's a great unit, I'm seriously considering to downsize if I can get a decent price for it. If the FF400 had existed back then, I would have probably chosen that one.
What I don't like about the RME is that you can't accurately set the gain on the preamps, especially on high gain settings.

The Motu Ultralite seems a nice package to me. Looks compact and sturdy, bus powered too.

 

[flextone]

I relize the 800 is probably a bit high (better bang for the buck - twice the capacity)

Are you reffering to the 800 being fw800 compatible? what does that mean in the real world?

 

[ErichS]

Hi guys,

i`m looking to buy a new interface, 8 in 8 out, and having trouble deciding. i don`t record with microphones other then a vocal here and there, mostly synths and drum machines. so what would you go for? please feel free to suggest different interfaces, but i think that at this price level these are the top contenders.

I just went through this same decision process about a month ago. I have very similar connectivity requirements as you (e.g don’t need many mic preamps but wanted to be able to connect various other equipment). My decision had come down to the same two interfaces. This was a difficult decision since the RME is almost 2X the cost of the MOTU. Their features are very similar and I liked the fact that the MOTU had knobs that could be used in stand alone mode, but in the end I went with the Fireface 400.

I’m not exactly sure why, but after reading tons of user comments and industry reviews I had more confidence in the RME.

Anyway, so far the RME has performed perfectly. My system is configured as follows;

ASUS P5B deluxe motherboard
Intel Core2 Duo 2.4Ghz, 2GB ram
2 Western Digital 7200 rpm 250GB
Windows XP
Sonar 4

I typically run 10 to 20 audio tracks and 1 or 2 soft synths at about 5ms latency in Sonar 4 and haven’t had a single glitch or stutter.

 

[whattaguy]

This place has the best price on the RME Fireface800 http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=24690&Category=Audio_Interfaces

Or you could have SamAsh match the price minus the mic and knock off $300. It worked for me, but I ordered an RNP and RNC on top of the Fireface.

 

[SuperGeek]

input output

Are you reffering to the 800 being fw800 compatible? what does that mean in the real world?

Was meaning the I/O capability (its not exacly double) but i use mine at 400 at the moment no hic ups.
but will go 800 when i add more channels but it will run with the octa8 no problems on 400.

 

[flextone]

well the 800 is way to expensive, even the 400 is a strech.

if i understnad correctly, the motu has 6 ins and two more which are dedictaed mic/inst pre`s? that`s isn`t very good for me, i want 8 line ins. anyone uses the ultralite?

 

[Starstreams]

Hi

Doses anyone know, if the converters in the FF400 are the same ones used in the 800?
This is sometimes deceiving--For example: The Moto Traveler uses cheaper converters then the older 896HD, yet they say nothing about it on their site. also, the 896HD has no S/PDIF which sucks.
http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/

I’m wondering if this is the case with RME? Are the converters in the FireFace400 high end in general?
And, the gain level in the FF400's Mic Pre spects seem lower then the Moto pre spects. Maybe that doesn’t matter?
I guess the converters really matter, how are the converters compared to Emue or PreSonus?