to many audio interfaces

H

happymatty

New member
hey, im looking at getting an audio interface in aprill so i dont have to put up with mono one track at a time recording any more.

but there are so many i thought ide ask for you guys suggestions and advice first.

im looking for 8 input interface that connects via PCI (preferably) that i can use with cubase SX.
it should have outputs for going ot my computer, a heaphone output, and another sterio output.
ermmm what else.... o yes! phantom power would be a bonus.

if anybodys has any advice i would appreciate it.

ta, matt.
 
happymatty said:
hey, im looking at getting an audio interface in aprill so i dont have to put up with mono one track at a time recording any more.

but there are so many i thought ide ask for you guys suggestions and advice first.

im looking for 8 input interface that connects via PCI (preferably) that i can use with cubase SX.
it should have outputs for going ot my computer, a heaphone output, and another sterio output.
ermmm what else.... o yes! phantom power would be a bonus.

if anybodys has any advice i would appreciate it.

ta, matt.
Click to expand...

do you have a price range? onboard preamp is usually not as good as seperate ones. I'm guessing something like the Delta 1010 or the Echo 1616 would do it. Alot of people uses them. But personally I would go for something like a USB 2 or Firewire box, it's just more conveint, but you tend to pay a little more for quality stuff.
 
my price range isi dunno, 400 GBP mabye, thats why i cant get a seperate preamp aswell.

i dont personly sing so i dont need a mike pre-amp to much myself, so a built in one with no settings at all just gain would be fine :) i have friends with up market gear that i can borrow for seriouse recordings, like a demo cd for whatever band im in or somthing.

i dont have a firewire port but could get one if the gear im gonna plug into it is considerbly beter then PCI interfaces.
 
happymatty said:
my price range isi dunno, 400 GBP mabye, thats why i cant get a seperate preamp aswell.

i dont personly sing so i dont need a mike pre-amp to much myself, so a built in one with no settings at all just gain would be fine :) i have friends with up market gear that i can borrow for seriouse recordings, like a demo cd for whatever band im in or somthing.

i dont have a firewire port but could get one if the gear im gonna plug into it is considerbly beter then PCI interfaces.
Click to expand...

that's quite alot of money for mid range stuff. Like I said, check out the Emu 1616, it looks decent, it's a PCI card + break out box.

And it's got built in preamp (i think)...

at any rate, after a while you'll start to want to get a seperate preamp just so that if something goes wrong it's easier to spot which piece of gear is messing up. And it usually sounds a little better than the mid range/low end onboard pre.
 
warlock110 said:
do you have a price range? onboard preamp is usually not as good as seperate ones. I'm guessing something like the Delta 1010 or the Echo 1616 would do it. Alot of people uses them. But personally I would go for something like a USB 2 or Firewire box, it's just more conveint, but you tend to pay a little more for quality stuff.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend USB to my worst enemy. It's really rather bad for audio purposes. Well, frankly, it's rather bad for any purposes, but it's survivable for mice and keyboards.... :D

Delta 1010 contains zero pres, so clearly not an option there. The RME Multiface again has zero preamps. Do you mean Emu (not Echo) 1616? Two pres, I think.

I'm guessing the original poster wants pres for every input, not just a couple. Otherwise, why bother specifying more than a couple of channels? I can't imagine anybody using eight line level inputs in a home studio. Maybe one pair for a keyboard, one for a tape deck if you're mixing analog gear in, but basically everything else you bring into your interface is going to be at microphone level, whether it's an actual microphone or a guitar via a DI box. The only way most people would ever use line level inputs in any significant quantity would be if they had a bunch of external pres to drive them.

I can't think of any PCI hardware with breakout boxes that would suit the original poster's needs short of something like a MOTU HD192. IMHO, your best bet would be something like a MOTU 8Pre and a TI-based FireWire card to drive it.
 
dgatwood said:
I wouldn't recommend USB to my worst enemy. It's really rather bad for audio purposes. Well, frankly, it's rather bad for any purposes, but it's survivable for mice and keyboards.... :D

Delta 1010 contains zero pres, so clearly not an option there. The RME Multiface again has zero preamps. Do you mean Emu (not Echo) 1616? Two pres, I think.

I'm guessing the original poster wants pres for every input, not just a couple. Otherwise, why bother specifying more than a couple of channels? I can't imagine anybody using eight line level inputs in a home studio. Maybe one pair for a keyboard, one for a tape deck if you're mixing analog gear in, but basically everything else you bring into your interface is going to be at microphone level, whether it's an actual microphone or a guitar via a DI box. The only way most people would ever use line level inputs in any significant quantity would be if they had a bunch of external pres to drive them.

I can't think of any PCI hardware with breakout boxes that would suit the original poster's needs short of something like a MOTU HD192. IMHO, your best bet would be something like a MOTU 8Pre and a TI-based FireWire card to drive it.
Click to expand...

the older models uses USB 1.1 which is really really slow, there's been some model out there that does 2.0 USB, which is essentially similar to firewire. We're just doing audio, the transfer rate of USB sits somewhere around 20-25MB/sec from my experience, which is good enough for a few tracks, if you're doing alot of tracks it's much safer with PCI/Firewire.

And yes i meant Emu 1616, thanks for the correction, I don't know where my head was lol.
 
happymatty said:
hey, im looking at getting an audio interface in aprill so i dont have to put up with mono one track at a time recording any more.

but there are so many i thought ide ask for you guys suggestions and advice first.

im looking for 8 input interface that connects via PCI (preferably) that i can use with cubase SX.
it should have outputs for going ot my computer, a heaphone output, and another sterio output.
ermmm what else.... o yes! phantom power would be a bonus.

if anybodys has any advice i would appreciate it.

ta, matt.
Click to expand...

This is nicely integrated with Cubase, but not sure about SX.

http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/n8n12/index.html
 
im not sure what the hell breakout box's and RME Multiface's are so igf someone could enlighten me :)

the 8 inputs, where would that leave me, a left and right for my rolands, guitar, bass, 2 vocals, 6 channels used, so 2 spare, 8 seems good to me, for my 3 piece band :P
 
dgatwood said:
I wouldn't recommend USB to my worst enemy. It's really rather bad for audio purposes. Well, frankly, it's rather bad for any purposes, but it's survivable for mice and keyboards.... :D

Delta 1010 contains zero pres, so clearly not an option there. The RME Multiface again has zero preamps. Do you mean Emu (not Echo) 1616? Two pres, I think.

I'm guessing the original poster wants pres for every input, not just a couple. Otherwise, why bother specifying more than a couple of channels? I can't imagine anybody using eight line level inputs in a home studio. Maybe one pair for a keyboard, one for a tape deck if you're mixing analog gear in, but basically everything else you bring into your interface is going to be at microphone level, whether it's an actual microphone or a guitar via a DI box. The only way most people would ever use line level inputs in any significant quantity would be if they had a bunch of external pres to drive them.

I can't think of any PCI hardware with breakout boxes that would suit the original poster's needs short of something like a MOTU HD192. IMHO, your best bet would be something like a MOTU 8Pre and a TI-based FireWire card to drive it.
Click to expand...

No PCI rant? ;)
 
I'm happily using a Echo Layla 3G (PCI). Great converters and really usable pres (2 of them) built-in. I've got it running rock solid with Sonar 7.

It's got a total of 8 line ins, of which I typically have 6 in use for recording. ADAT, Word Clock, MIDI and s/pdif as well. You might look into their AudioFires as well - anywhere from 2 to 12 line inputs on that product line.
 
warble2 said:
I'm happily using a Echo Layla 3G (PCI). Great converters and really usable pres (2 of them) built-in. I've got it running rock solid with Sonar 7.

It's got a total of 8 line ins, of which I typically have 6 in use for recording. ADAT, Word Clock, MIDI and s/pdif as well. You might look into their AudioFires as well - anywhere from 2 to 12 line inputs on that product line.
Click to expand...


this inter looks perfect :)

just 1 question, will everything i plug into these things come through the outputs?
 
warlock110 said:
the older models uses USB 1.1 which is really really slow, there's been some model out there that does 2.0 USB, which is essentially similar to firewire. We're just doing audio, the transfer rate of USB sits somewhere around 20-25MB/sec from my experience, which is good enough for a few tracks, if you're doing alot of tracks it's much safer with PCI/Firewire.
Click to expand...

It's not a question of bandwidth. USB 1.1 can handle 8 channels at 48kHz with bandwidth to spare. However most of the problems that USB 1.x has still apply to 2.0. It just wasn't designed for throughput, requiring way too much CPU overhead.
 
My vote is for anything you can get in your budget from MOTU.
I would also recommend either PCI or Firewire for the same reason dgatwood stated.
Too much CPU overhead with USB 2.0.
I would lean toward a firewire MOTU interface and a TI or Lucent chipset based Firewire card.The firewire solution will give you much versatility and mobility in your setup.
RME makes excellent equipment too, kinda pricey though.
 
happymatty said:
this inter looks perfect :)

just 1 question, will everything i plug into these things come through the outputs?
Click to expand...

Yes. If I have keys coming in (two channels) and say a guitar (one channel) as well, both will come out the analog outputs - any outputs I'd like them to. I run my Yamaha Motif into the optical in, and can have the output to any channel(s) I wish to. It's a pretty straightforward setup, and the Echo Console software is pretty simple to use (this is the sofware where you control ins, outs, etc.)
 
warble2 said:
Yes. If I have keys coming in (two channels) and say a guitar (one channel) as well, both will come out the analog outputs - any outputs I'd like them to. I run my Yamaha Motif into the optical in, and can have the output to any channel(s) I wish to. It's a pretty straightforward setup, and the Echo Console software is pretty simple to use (this is the sofware where you control ins, outs, etc.)
Click to expand...

kk, but back to basics here, i will plug this up and install the software, have 6 inputs used up, have 6 differnt tracks recording on cubase, and if i want to have 2 outputs functioning, (left and right) is that how it works if i wish for it to?
 
happymatty said:
kk, but back to basics here, i will plug this up and install the software, have 6 inputs used up, have 6 differnt tracks recording on cubase, and if i want to have 2 outputs functioning, (left and right) is that how it works if i wish for it to?
Click to expand...

Yes, everything can come out of two outputs. That's pretty much a standard concept with these type if interfaces. Specifically, if I'm recording say something on inputs 1/2, I will hear what I'm recording out of outputs 1/2 - left and right if you will. It's easy to configure this way and everything can simply be routed to use the same two outputs for "stereo" sound.
 
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