To Firepod .... or not to Firepod? that is the question

[lurgan liar]

OK,

I have a P4 3 Ghz Cpu with Hyper threading ... 1 Gb ram ...and 250 Gb HDD .... i'm using Sonar 5 Producer edition.

I need an audio interface but can't decide which one to go for .. I want the portability of the Firepod ...but also don't want to spend money on something that i will probably only use once every couple of months ...

I have a Roland VS880 (multitracker) which i have been using recently to record drums .. I am wondering if i Buy the firepod ..will the preamps / convertors really make that much of a difference ... at present i am going from my multitracker straight through the line in on my computer.

Any advice suggestions are welcome

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

If I'm reading your post right then you're going through 3 lots of (not great quality) conversion:

A-D from your sources into the multitracker (which is digital?)
D-A out of the multitracker
A-D (again) back into the comp

So if you get a half decent interface then yes there should be a noticeable difference.

I doubt there'd be a huge night and day difference with the preamps though.

Out of interest why is portability an issue if it's going into a desktop PC anyway? Personally I'd go with an M Audio delta card and a Yamaha MG mixer. A Delta 1010LT and an MG 12/4 would cost you a bit over €350, what's the firepod, getting on for €700?

That's not exactly portable though.

 

[lurgan liar]

Out of interest why is portability an issue if it's going into a desktop PC anyway?

I want the portability of a firewire interface so that i will be able to record to a laptop ...as i can't record drums where i have my computer in my house ...

...However the idea of a delta AND a yamaha mixer for that price sounds like a very nice alternative...

I suppose If i want to record drums i could bring my computer with me ...

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

I want the portability of a firewire interface so that i will be able to record to a laptop ...as i can't record drums where i have my computer in my house ...

...However the idea of a delta AND a yamaha mixer for that price sounds like a very nice alternative...

I suppose If i want to record drums i could bring my computer with me ...

Is there no digital out at all on your multitracker? If there was a way of going from that to the comp without the need to convert back and forth that'd be ideal if you just needed something for occasional mobile use.