Which Firewire Audio Interface?

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guitarevan07

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Hey guys I'm trying to get a Firewire Audio interface used for 200$ or lower. I would like one that has a good enough built in preamp to happily use a SM57 recording my guitar amp at a room volume. Here are a few I'm considering. Let me know what you think(and other suggestions):
Presonus Firebox
presonus inspure
maudio firewire solo
M-audio firewire 410

Thanks!
 
The Firebox is the only one I like a lot. M-audio's left much to be desired and the inspire was meh.
 
Thanks man! What stuck out to you about the firebox?
 
6 ins(Four analog two digital) Several outs, Specific controls on the front, plug and play compact size and good sound for the price.
 
Thanks man. For some reason I've heard a lot of bad things about that on the gearslutz forum.(cant link unitl I have 5 posts :-(.
. They were talking about really expensive stuff compared to what I want to pay but everyone says the Echo AudioFire 4 is really good. Thats quite a bit over my 200$ price limit but the Echo AudioFire 2 is in my price range. I really only need to inputs. No need for midi. Hows the AudioFire 2 compare to the 4? Thanks!
 
Thanks! Thats true. Couldn't do that. So what would you suggest for my 200$ budget?
 
Focusrite Saffire LE. It's BeBoB-based. That's about $25 more than your price point, but it seems to be reasonable hardware, unlike pretty much every device on your list there. Be sure to get a new one. The older ones didn't obey the FireWire inrush current specs (much like the FireBox) and thus don't work off bus power with a number of recent machines (and likely to become more commonplace in the future).

Unlike Presonus, Focusrite actually fixed the problem....

http://www.focusrite.com/answerbase/en/article.php?id=124
http://psfaq.presonus.com/index.php?action=artikel&cat=3&id=45&artlang=en
 
dgatwood said:
Focusrite Saffire LE. It's BeBoB-based. That's about $25 more than your price point, but it seems to be reasonable hardware, unlike pretty much every device on your list there. Be sure to get a new one. The older ones didn't obey the FireWire inrush current specs (much like the FireBox) and thus don't work off bus power with a number of recent machines (and likely to become more commonplace in the future).

Unlike Presonus, Focusrite actually fixed the problem....
Click to expand...

I second dgatwood on the Saffire LE, Great product. And avoid the Audiofire 2 I had one it was very fickle with my machine and then quit all together(not to say it doesn't work it just didn't like my Mac for some reason).

dgatwood, I don't know were your getting the distaste for Presonus but I and many of my close friends and many folks here on HR who own a firebox have no such issue.

I have a "Recent machine"(Meaning its less that a year old) laptop and have never had an issue with the firebox being powered of the 6 pin port(I have a 7 month old 2.2ghz Black Macbook and a PC laptop, No issues with any of them).

Unless your referring to older machines and power compatibility? That I can see, but after searching I haven't found one issue online that refers to such a "problem" with the firebox.........
 
blazingstrings said:
dgatwood, I don't know were your getting the distaste for Presonus but I and many of my close friends and many folks here on HR who own a firebox have no such issue.

I have a "Recent machine"(Meaning its less that a year old) laptop and have never had an issue with the firebox being powered of the 6 pin port(I have a 7 month old 2.2ghz Black Macbook and a PC laptop, No issues with any of them).
Click to expand...

The plural of anecdote is anecdotes, not evidence. Here are posts to the contrary:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=830742
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6823414

I'm not sure which models of MacBook/MacBook Pro are affected. In the long run, I would hope that more machines will add this sort of protection. From the stories I read back in the G4 era talking about user-performed logic board mods, these protective parts significantly reduce the odds of PHY death due to shorted ports.
 
dgatwood said:
I'm not sure which models of MacBook/MacBook Pro are affected. In the long run, I would hope that more machines will add this sort of protection.
Click to expand...

Most of the issues had more to do with release date than model. In the last year or so, Apple went from using a Texas-Instruments-based Firewire adapter to something else. It is supposedly the non-TI models that are causing issues. However, it doesn't affect all F/W interfaces. I, for example, have a Tascam FW-1082 that I've used with a non-TI MacBook and brand new Mac Mini, both with no issues whatsoever.
 
Those all referred to G4 models dgatwood...... Again my close friends and I all have new Macs and firebox interfaces and no issues with power up.

I'm starting to think you have issues with Presonus on a personal level. :)

But we haven't addressed guitarevan07's issue completely yet, back to the point of the thread:

guitarevan07 do you have PC or Mac? Laptop or desktop? 4pin or 6pin firewire port?

if you have a 4pin(mini firewire) port you will need to use a ac adapter anyway.
 
Thanks so much so far guys. I am using a PC Laptop(compaq). No Firewire port but I do have an expansion slot. What PCMIA Card should I buy if I go the Firewire route. Also What do you all think of the Mbox 2 mini? Comes with protools LE and is only 300$(used I imagine I could get it cheaper).
 
If your going the PCMCIA card rout get one with a TI(Texas Instruments)Chipset.

Most manufacturers of firewire interfaces prefer them for compatibility.

How old is your laptop(Processor speed and model would help)?

USB 2.0 onboard at all?

Pro tools can be a bit fickle when it comes to specs. You probably want to check out this page for compatibility and support info on your particular computer: http://digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid=54&itemid=23954&langid=1

I do like the M-Boxes(that will probably be met with reasons why they suck I'm sure).
 
Thanks for your help man. Here is a link to the laptop I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Presario-v2552us-Notebook-Processor-Wireless/dp/B000G18WK8
It does have USB 2.0 on it. I was looking on the mbox 2 mini and that actually isnt usb 2.0. Is there a huge differnce between 1.1 and 2.0? I saw that the m-audio fast track pro was 1.1 and the ultra was 2.0. I saw the Edirol units (UA25ex) was also 1.1 but is a 300$ unit. Ugh still stuck on what to get.
Concerning the laptop. I can upgrade the ram can't I?
Ughh so many difffernt choices. I think Ill just buy one at a time at my local sam ash and try everything out. Ill buy a pmcia card just for the heck of it. I guess ill tr out the firebox first since I know samash carries that. I worry with the m-box 2 mini im paying half the cost for protools which I may not be able to run.
Would you recommend the Mbox2 mini for a usb interface or does the non-2.0 usb thing turn you off?
Thanks so much bro.
 
Please tell us you have added more RAM. 256MB is going to frustrate you very quickly... Sorry, not trying to be the party-pooper, but you'll need to get your machine up to snuff.

2nd Generation USB supports faster data transfer. Honestly, if you're recording 1 or 2 channels at a time, an older (dare we say used?) usb interface should work just fine. If you want to record more channels at once, you'll be limited more by your PC's lack of memory than the speed of the hardware.
 
Thanks so muchf or the helpful reply. Haha I have not upgraded my RAM but I have not used it for recording. I will be upgrading it to a gig. Think after I do that it will be able to run protools on a minimum? If so I guess Ill go with the Mbox mini 2. What do you think? If not, should I go with like a M-audio Fast Track pro or an edirol UA-25EX or something? Thanks!
Also, do you think you could link me to a memory card that would work with my laptop(I guess 1 gb)?
One more:
Is getting an interface with usb 2.0 really that important for me? I mean some 300$ units don't have it yet some 200$ ones do...
 
If you still plan on going the FW route, SIIG usually has good stuff. I bought a SIIG card for a desktop model and it's been great. I've recently started looking for a PCMCIA card and they do make (all of?) theirs with the TI chipset.
 
Thanks man. If I got that way Ill check them out. What do you all think of the Native intruments Audio Kontrol 1? Seems to have everything I need.
 
guitarevan07 said:
I have not upgraded my RAM but I have not used it for recording. I will be upgrading it to a gig. Think after I do that it will be able to run protools on a minimum? If so I guess Ill go with the Mbox mini 2. What do you think? If not, should I go with like a M-audio Fast Track pro or an edirol UA-25EX or something? Thanks!
Also, do you think you could link me to a memory card that would work with my laptop(I guess 1 gb)?
One more:
Is getting an interface with usb 2.0 really that important for me? I mean some 300$ units don't have it yet some 200$ ones do...
Click to expand...

Evan, I looked around online and found a link that might be helful: 4AllMemory.com Compaq Upgrades. It looks like HP/Compaq RAM is fairly inexpensive (around $44 for 1GB), so that should get you set. There's a tutorial on HP's website on how to perform the install here: HP Help Center: RAM Upgrades. On Windoze XP, 1GB should be enough to get you started.

This may not be the most popular answer around here, but I don't think you need usb 2.0 or FireWire if you're just recording your guitar amp one track at a time. You might get more bang for your buck looking on the used market - maybe scour eBay for a used Tascam US428 or PreSonus Audiobox.

From what I know about the Focusrite interfaces, I think they're all Firewire-based - meaning you'll need to spend more $$$ on a Firewire card for your PC. I love Focusrite stuff (I have a Platinum channel in my own rig for voiceover work), but I think it's overkill for what you're doing.

Keep it simple. You don't need need today's latest-and-greatest interface to record a couple guitar tracks over drum and bass loops. (You do need the additional memory, though.) A basic usb input box will do just fine.

David
 
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