Help Me Decide on My Upgrade Path!

[MatrixClaw]

Hey guys, right now I'm running a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 with a Behringer ADA8000 slaved through ADAT, with M-Audio DSM3s as my monitors. The Focusrite has served me well, but I'm doing some major downsizing with my music gear I don't use anymore, which is going to free up a ton of extra cash to spend on things I will use.

Right now, I'm in the process of treating my room, and I want to upgrade my interface. My initial plan was to just stay with the Saffire and get some external preamps, but since you can't bypass the internal ones, I'm not sure that's the best route. I'm also in the process of changing DAWs (been using Reaper for the past few years, and Pro Tools 9 more recently, but both are extremely buggy for me, and I'm just tired of it - I used Cubase SX3 back in the day, so I'm going to go with Cubase 6 more than likely). Right now, I'm looking at 3 options:

1. Steinberg MR816 + M-Audio Octane/Focusrite Octopre (or just use my Saffire)/Presonus Digimax/etc. + (2) GAP PRE-73s (Need ~14 channels) + Mackie Control Universal.

2. RME Fireface 800/400 + M-Audio Octane/Focusrite Octopre (or just use my Saffire)/Presonus Digimax/etc. + (2) GAP PRE-73s (if I have enough left over) + Mackie Control Universal.

3. Allen & Heath ZED-R16 + Mackie Control Universal (Maybe? Anyone used one as a DAW controller??)

I should be able to get all these used, or at a discounted rate, because I have a friend who owns a store that is a dealer for all these brands.

I'm really leaning more towards the ZED, just because I heard the clips in the shootout thread we had a while back against the API preamp, and I was quite impressed. That, plus the EQs, which are supposed to be phenomenal, and the ability to expand it to even more inputs via ADAT has got me extremely interested. Plus, I like the idea of having the hands-on approach, I just wish it had motorized faders

I'll also be upgrading my computer, and my two options are:

1. Apple iMac - Core i5 Quad, 4GB of RAM (will probably upgrade that), 500GB HDD, etc. through my school for $1100

2. Custom Hackintosh - Core i7 Quad, 16GB of RAM, SSD, 1TB HDD, etc. for probably less than the iMac.

Obviously, I'm leaning more toward the Hackintosh, because I can get A LOT more for my money building it, but I'm concerned about stability. The price I can get on the iMac is pretty cheap, though - but i5 thing kind kills it for me at that price, though the i5 IS a quad core CPU.


What would you guys do?

 

[Empathy]

I'd got the A&H and Hackintosh route.

 

[BLUElightCory]

Dude! Get the new Universal Audio Apollo as your interface. Nothing comes close, feature-wise, for the price. I'm considering ditching my Pro Tools HD3 rig and just going native with the Apollo as my interface.

Read 'em and weep....

http://www.uaudio.com/interfaces/apollo.html

It uses FireWire and Thunderbolt but you'll need a computer with Thunderbolt to get the most out of it.

 

[arv_foh]

Been on hackintosh for months now with no stability issues, and girlfriend's has been running for a few years with no issues. They are stable as all get out if you build them with the right components

 

[fatalforce]

Dude! Get the new Universal Audio Apollo as your interface. Nothing comes close, feature-wise, for the price. I'm considering ditching my Pro Tools HD3 rig and just going native with the Apollo as my interface.

Read 'em and weep....

http://www.uaudio.com/interfaces/apollo.html

It uses FireWire and Thunderbolt but you'll need a computer with Thunderbolt to get the most out of it.

Wow, this looks impressive! The thunderbolt expansibility is intriguing

I second going hackintosh. I have no problems with mine and I am using dated hardware

 

[MatrixClaw]

Thanks for the comments on the Hackintosh stuff guys, I was pretty much set on that from the get-go, but just wanted to make sure

Dude! Get the new Universal Audio Apollo as your interface. Nothing comes close, feature-wise, for the price. I'm considering ditching my Pro Tools HD3 rig and just going native with the Apollo as my interface.

Read 'em and weep....

http://www.uaudio.com/interfaces/apollo.html

It uses FireWire and Thunderbolt but you'll need a computer with Thunderbolt to get the most out of it.

The Apollo definitely does intrigue me (I'm the one who posted the thread after it was announced at NAMM). I'm just not sure I can really afford it - 2 grand (or 2.5 for the Quad) is kind of pushing it for me for only 4 mic preamps. I'm definitely interested in seeing what people think of it, but the price to get as many inputs as I need is going to be pretty steep when I'm not making very much money (not making anything right now because of my hectic schedule lately). The Duo/Quad built into it does seem really cool, but the plugins for that are going to be pretty expensive in itself. I already own Waves Gold, and I'm just not sure investing in more plugins at this point would be terribly beneficial to me.

Do you really think the conversion/preamps (though I assume you're using outboard ones, anyway) are going to be able to stand up to an HD rig??