Presonus Firepod or E-MU 1820M PCI?

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KingDiamond

New member
I have an E-MU 0404 right now and it was good for me as a beginner but now I want to move into recording a full drumset and have drums on seperate tracks and such. So I need an interface with more inputs. Which will offer better sound quality and useability, the Presonus Firepod or the E-MU 1820M PCI? I see a lot of reviews that the Firepod is the best for under $600 but I also read the same thing about the 1820M so I'm not sure.

Also the EMU has two preamp XLR inputs. The Firepod uses neutrik connectors, so does that mean I have to buy all new cables with an XLR on one end and a Neutrik connector on the other end?
 
here come the flames

emu/ensoniq/soundblaster/whatever are the bottom of the barrel big biz, wont listen to the users type of crappola

presonus firepod has been an AMAZING sucess for me so far (I still dont own one, but use them on a regular basis). The developer is high class all the way when it comes to dealing with customers and other software developers

"The Firepod uses neutrik connectors, so does that mean I have to buy all new cables with an XLR on one end and a Neutrik connector on the other end?"

Neutrik is a brand, the connectors on the firepod are combo connectors, that allow you to plug in either Male XLR or Male 1/4". A regular mic cable will plug right in to all 8 channels

Channels 1 and 2 the 1/4" ins of the combo connector are actually DI inputs, the line inputs for 1 and 2 are on the back
 
hindustudiosgod said:
They are both horrible. I prefer the D-Control.
Click to expand...

D-control is not a sound card

It does not pass audio in

It does not pass audio out

It is a very expensive hunk of plastic used for controlling one and only one software application

The original poster is looking for an interface, not a 50,000$ mouse
 
KingDiamond said:
I have an E-MU 0404 right now and it was good for me as a beginner but now I want to move into recording a full drumset and have drums on seperate tracks and such. So I need an interface with more inputs. Which will offer better sound quality and useability, the Presonus Firepod or the E-MU 1820M PCI? I see a lot of reviews that the Firepod is the best for under $600 but I also read the same thing about the 1820M so I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

PCI is dead. Don't even THINK about spending hundreds of dollars on PCI cards. If you wouldn't buy an ISA sound card three years ago, you shouldn't buy a PCI sound card now. The future is here, and it is PCI Express (PCIe). PCIe is not compatible with existing PCI cards.

As more logic boards switch to PCIe, you will find it harder and harder to get one with PCI. It won't be long before we start seeing fake PCI slots that are simply bridged off a PCIe controller, and from early testing reports, the bus latency from such bridged designs will likely be too high for most audio devices to work correctly. Those slots will still be called PCI, and good luck figuring out which are which.

Within 3-5 years or so, the availability of PCI slots will likely be limited to specialized motherboards like server boards (with PCI-X). At that point, you'll find yourself spending more and more money with each computer upgrade trying to keep that PCI interface working, and eventually, you'll be completely stuck. Oh, and if you ever decide to switch to a Mac, you'd already be stuck; Apple hasn't sold a machine with standard PCI in a couple of years.

IMHO, your choices should be between the FIREPOD and other FW interface. PCI shouldn't even be in the running unless you're buying something used and cheap.
 
Can the Presonus Firepod record 8 digital tracks simultaneously ?

or are these 8 mic signal being mixed at the Firepod and send in 2 tracks to the computer ? Thanks.

I am a totaly newbie but want to learn

Alan :)
 
Alright I'm gonna go with the Firepod. I didn't think about it at first but the Firepod might also help in my situation because I can run a single Firewire cable into my "control room" in my house (which is basically a seperate smaller room that's our office) from the Firepod to the computer, instead of having to run a whole bunch of long mic cables. Also the firewire will let me run it on the laptop if I ever need to do that.
 
Is the Fire Studio an obsolete product or a more function product ?

pipelineaudio said:
the firepod will take all ten channels discretely into the computer to be presented as separate tracks.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
Alan :)
 
If I record a piano track and a vocal track separately, how to sychronize

pipelineaudio said:
the firepod will take all ten channels discretely into the computer to be presented as separate tracks.
Click to expand...

I am considering the Fire pod, If I record an accoutic piano in the first session, then the singer will need to listen to the recording being made earlier and then sing to it. Can these hardware and software allow playing a track while recording another one at the same time.

Is this possible to be done in Fire Pod or EMU 1820 ...etc.

Thanks.

Alan :)
 
All decent soundcards should handle overdubbing. On a 1.2 Athlon, at 3msec latency we were able to play 24 tracks out thru the main l+r out while recording 8 with input monitoring on around 10% CPU

The firpods and others often come with a monitoring utility as well as a workaround for the latecny problems if you need to go much over 6 msec. The Firepod also comes with a hardware trick to pull this as well like the old Seasound Cards could
 
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