RME HDSP9632 or go firewire?

  • Thread starter Thread starter laiben
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laiben

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Hi,

I am gonna buy a RME HDSP9632 because it has 2 analog In and Out that I need,
and good reputation of their solid driver and superb converter.
However, since it is a relatively old product comparing to bunch of firewire fancy
boxes these days.. I doubt if the h/w (e.g. converter chips) using on this card is
going to be outperformed by nowadays product in the similar price range..

I read about Mackie Onxy 400F and it is loaded of features! at least it have two
headphone output and volume control of the monitors which is MUCH more handy
than the PCI card like RME 9632, let alone builtin preamp, and the price is
just a little higher, or even cheaper considering that i may need
another volume control box and headphone amp to control the listening volume.

I am using Maudio USB interface and it is horrible.. I will never buy USB interface
again.. and I am afraid I will get the same experience with Firewire.. so PCI will
make me feel more comfortable...

Any RME users pls tell me what do you think about the RME card?

BTW, I am a PC guy, so I always switch between ASIO and MME mode in my
windowsXP.. I need SOLID MULTICLIENT driver.

Thanks
laiben
 
I use the RME Fireface 800, and though I've only had it for a couple of weeks now, it has been amazing. The drivers are the most stable that I've seen, and the Total Mix software is incredible. Not sure what your price range is, but if you can swing it, the Fireface is definitely worth it.
 
cawhite12 said:
I use the RME Fireface 800, and though I've only had it for a couple of weeks now, it has been amazing. The drivers are the most stable that I've seen, and the Total Mix software is incredible. Not sure what your price range is, but if you can swing it, the Fireface is definitely worth it.
Click to expand...

To add another point, I would definitely not spend the price for the HDSP9632 these days. Spending $500+ on a PCI card is nuts. Apple just dropped PCI across its entire line. Other companies are in various stages of phasing it out in favor of PCI Express. So in five years, you'll either have to replace your audio interface, spend $2000 on an expansion chassis to support it, or stop upgrading your computer.

FireWire or USB only. I mean, if you were considering buying a $100 sound card that you'd probably outgrow in a couple of years anyway, maybe PCI would make sense, but if you're buying anything that costs that kind of money, it doesn't seem like a sound investment (no pun intended).
 
Thanks guy.
FireFace is out of my budget (a lot!).
Yeah PCI may be outdated after a few years.. it is relatively old...

Maybe should I get a Firebox (not Firepod, i don't need that much I/O), and
then save up the money for a delicated AD/DA converter? :confused: As far as I know
Firebox have a SPDIF input, I can connect a delicated converter to it right?
Do it this way would not let the "budget" Firebox degrade my chain right?


Any suggestion is welcome.

Thanks
laiben
 
Yes firebox has a SPDIF input in it, but if you were considering the Mackie 400f, then why did the budget suddenly just shrink to over half? If the drivers turn out stable, that mackie unit would be a good choice. I've worked with those onyx pres and they are really nice, and the converters in the 400f are suppposed to be pretty nice as well.
 
cawhite12 said:
Yes firebox has a SPDIF input in it, but if you were considering the Mackie 400f, then why did the budget suddenly just shrink to over half? If the drivers turn out stable, that mackie unit would be a good choice. I've worked with those onyx pres and they are really nice, and the converters in the 400f are suppposed to be pretty nice as well.
Click to expand...

Oh.. because I don't need so much I/O like 400F right now . The RME 9632 have two inputs and outputs which is just right for me. The extra ADAT
I/O is just for me future expansion. I can always add additional hardware to make use of the extra I/O on the RME card later.. but if I buy the 400F the extra I/O is just a waste for this moment.. so If I go to firewire I think there is no "hi-end" choice. All I want now is just have something have solid driver,
which will not bother me to troubleshoot on my PC and I can use my time to
make music!

Thanks!

laiben
 
When I had a firepod, those drivers were very solid, so I assume that the Firebox would be the same. And at $299, that's a pretty good deal as well. If you go with RME, then you will have probably the most stable drivers in existence. That's always been a strong point of RME, great converters, unbelievably stable drivers.
 
Thanks guys! $299 won't hurt so much.. so I would go for FirePod and save
the money for the ture "hi-end"
 
laiben said:
Thanks guys! $299 won't hurt so much.. so I would go for FirePod and save
the money for the ture "hi-end"
Click to expand...

Remember, FireBOX is $299, FirePOD is $599.
 
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