U
ubehebe
New member
I am looking to buy a budget (below $200) recording interface. I will mainly be using this for vocal microphone (AT4040 for vocal/accoustic guitar) and direct line-in electric bass. I do not need more than two inputs.
After spending a good amount of time reading many of the copious user and pro reviews of various interfaces such as those made by M-Audio, Line 6, Digidesign, Presonus, Mackie, among others, I have come to the general impression that the best interfaces in this low price range are the Presonus Inspire and the Mackie Onyx Satellite. Part of the reason for this conclusion is that these appear to be the only two budget (under $200) interfaces that come with decent preamps. While this isn't critical over the longer term (I intend to add outboard preamps at some future point), I would like to start with usable pres on the interface I end up buying.
Additionally, part of why these two units are especially compelling is because they've both had fairly significant price drops. (The Inspire recently dropped from $199 to $149 and the Satellite, originally $399 can now be found through some reputable venders at $179.)
Here are the conclusions I've come to about the two. Based on this information and the experiences any of you have had using these two units, please make a recommendation and provide your reasons why.
Presonus Inspire:
Pro: I have experience using this unit and am satisfied with the quality of the results. The unit is pretty bare bones and it is pretty simple to use. Slightly cheaper at $149.
Con: You can only adjust levels via "soft knobs". There are no physical knobs on the unit itself. Presonus gives you a software control panel that you must use in order make levels adjustments. Also, even though simplicity is nice, it means the unit is not as versatile.
Mackie Onyx Satellite:
Pro: Feature-rich (in comparison to the Inspire). Onyx pres are supposedly wonderfully clean and transparent.
Con: I read in a pro review forum that the phantom power provided by the Satellite is only actually ~37.5v instead of 48v. (The reviewer wrote this: "Oh, and the 48V...phantom power is only about 37.5V. That will power most microphones OK, some microphones OK but without their full headroom, and a few microphones poorly." While a number of people have expressed concern over potential problems that could result from this, I have never found any user reports that say they've actually had any problems from this. Have any of you had problems with this? Is this more a "theoretical" problem that I am unlikely to see in its use in my home studio?) The Satellite is slightly more expensive at $179, but seems to be a much better value than the Inspire. However, the rapid price decline on this item could be indicative of its failure as a product and raises questions about quality/other problems that I may not yet be aware of.
I am grateful in advance for any insight, suggestions, and/or recommendations any of you may have.
Thanks!
After spending a good amount of time reading many of the copious user and pro reviews of various interfaces such as those made by M-Audio, Line 6, Digidesign, Presonus, Mackie, among others, I have come to the general impression that the best interfaces in this low price range are the Presonus Inspire and the Mackie Onyx Satellite. Part of the reason for this conclusion is that these appear to be the only two budget (under $200) interfaces that come with decent preamps. While this isn't critical over the longer term (I intend to add outboard preamps at some future point), I would like to start with usable pres on the interface I end up buying.
Additionally, part of why these two units are especially compelling is because they've both had fairly significant price drops. (The Inspire recently dropped from $199 to $149 and the Satellite, originally $399 can now be found through some reputable venders at $179.)
Here are the conclusions I've come to about the two. Based on this information and the experiences any of you have had using these two units, please make a recommendation and provide your reasons why.
Presonus Inspire:
Pro: I have experience using this unit and am satisfied with the quality of the results. The unit is pretty bare bones and it is pretty simple to use. Slightly cheaper at $149.
Con: You can only adjust levels via "soft knobs". There are no physical knobs on the unit itself. Presonus gives you a software control panel that you must use in order make levels adjustments. Also, even though simplicity is nice, it means the unit is not as versatile.
Mackie Onyx Satellite:
Pro: Feature-rich (in comparison to the Inspire). Onyx pres are supposedly wonderfully clean and transparent.
Con: I read in a pro review forum that the phantom power provided by the Satellite is only actually ~37.5v instead of 48v. (The reviewer wrote this: "Oh, and the 48V...phantom power is only about 37.5V. That will power most microphones OK, some microphones OK but without their full headroom, and a few microphones poorly." While a number of people have expressed concern over potential problems that could result from this, I have never found any user reports that say they've actually had any problems from this. Have any of you had problems with this? Is this more a "theoretical" problem that I am unlikely to see in its use in my home studio?) The Satellite is slightly more expensive at $179, but seems to be a much better value than the Inspire. However, the rapid price decline on this item could be indicative of its failure as a product and raises questions about quality/other problems that I may not yet be aware of.
I am grateful in advance for any insight, suggestions, and/or recommendations any of you may have.
Thanks!
