Jump to content

some soundcard help please.. (inundated with choices...)


Recommended Posts

i was totally set on the digi 002.. then i heard about the MOTU 896HD. a lil cheaper, and hey, who doesnt want 8 mic pre's? then i heard the horror stories about it falling apart after a year. ( even during the year in some instances). was recommended the presonus firestation.. but i dont really like anything by pre sonus as of yet, and i certainly dont want all my inputs in the front of the device.

 

im looking for a sound card that has at least 8 analog in's (balanced, unbalanced).. mic pre's are nice.. ill be doing a lot of drums and i plan on buying a trident preamp for my vocals.. with a distressor or two.. so the mic pre's are important.. but i dont need 8.

 

experiences? im trying to spend 1000-1500 this week and now im worried about getting something that just sucks. i know once i get it home things will smoothe out..

 

any help guys? id appreciate it in these trying times... :roll:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thats what ive been staring at all evening. is it 8 or 12 simultanious analog tracks on that thing? can i use the 4 mic pres and the 8 analog bal/unbal in the back to maximize? or is it mic/line selectors for those 4 inputs? thanks for the help!

 

ive also heard the RME is really quiet.. any experiences?

 

 

anybody?

 

:?:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

IMHO, Fireface 800 has 10 separate ins/outs, plus ins 1, 7, 8 have 2 ins, one on the front , one on the back, you can use all inputs simultaneously, so you get 13 ins, but the input signals will be mixed on input 1 , for example, if you use use both inputs, front and back.

Also , you have 2 adat connectors, so you can plug in , for example, an adat 8 channel mic pre. Also, an s/p-dif in out, i use it for CD player / Minidisc recorder, very handy. Also, MIDI in/out, also a handy extra. Good software drivers too.

One minus, no main speaker hardware volume knob, but there are ways around that.

All in all, lots of features and connectivity, very quiet, good pres, a dynamic , analytical sound, i would say.YMMV.

As regards the opposition, the older MOTU stuff is a bit noisy and flat sounding, ive heard, though ive heard good things about the MOTU Traveller.

Metric Halo has a warmer sound, ive heard.

I dont have much experience with other stuff, but the FF 800 is agood solution in its price range, i think.

I hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am considering doing the Black Lion mod on my 002...it's just sitting in a corner...can't remember why I even got the thing!

 

RME seems the way to go for under $2k...so far, I don't think any of those firewire interfaces have great sounding pre's...at best, 'usable.' That being said, the RME and Metric Halo stuff comes out on top...just way better sound quality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...