Linking FW-interfaces?

T

TomiR

Lord Ejaculation
Jun 25, 2006
285
0
16
Finland
Well, just a quick little question.

I now have a Focusrite Saffire PRO 26, wich is your basic 8channel (plus spdif etc.) FW interface, but I am really going to need more channels when tracking drums, so I was thinking of getting another Saffire, link them together through ADAT and thus have 16 channels? And it seems that you can link three of these together by using the Firewire outputs. Have any of you linked FW interfaces together and how where the results?

Is this okay, or is there a better solution.

Thanks guys in advance!
 
Yeah that will work. You'd have to connect the Saffire to your computer and set it up to function that way in standalone mode so it saves it to the flash memory, but after doing that once you could use it as an 8 channel mic pre forever.

Better solution is to just buy an 8 channel mic pre with ADAT though, like a Presonus DigiMAX FS or LT, or a Focusrite Octopre, Mackie Onyx 800R, RME Octamic, etc. The Onyx preamps are the nicest out of that list but it is pricier than the Presonus and Focusrite stuff. I would personally get the DigiMAX FS, it's cheap and I've heard good things. The only thing that would piss me off is that the XLR inputs are on the front, while they are on the back on the Saffire. I like things to be neat :lol: That is the only thing making my decision between the FS and LT difficult! The FS is cheaper and people claim it is more reliable, plus it has more features, but the fucking XLRs are on the front! Haha...
 
Thanks a lot for the input!

Yep, it seems that going with an ADAT equipped pre would do the trick without the hassle of having two Saffire's together. But of course there's the price thing as well.

I know what you mean by the XLR's being in the front on the FS, goddamn! I like my stuff to be neat and organized too, and that would really kill my mojo :lol:

So the LE or the Octopre seem to be the ones to choose from if I will end up going the ADAT way. Or I just have to bite the bullet and dish out a bit more cash and get the Onyx.

It's a close call, since the a new Saffire and the Octopre with the ADAT-card will cost about the same... decisions decisions!

Thanks again!
 
Few more options, M-Audio Octane and MOTU 8 Pre. The MOTU is a firewire interface as well but can be configured as an 8 channel preamp just like the Saffire. The Octane is cheap with rear XLR inputs, but it's 2 rack spaces if that matter to you. There's also the Behringer ADA8000 which is cheaper than shit and good results apparently CAN be had with them, I know a few guys here have them.
 
The M-Audio Octane actually seems pretty interesting. "Award winning mic pre's" but how good are they for real? The price is quite nice, but I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to M-Audio, except for the Delta 66 soundcard I had..
 
 
My vote would be the Octopre LE, but bear in mind that you have to add on $200 to its price for the ADAT card, which pretty much puts you up in Onyx 800R territory, which I agree is definitely the best option for <$1000
 
Just for throwing into the pot I have a MOTU 8Pre and a Behringer ADA8000 all hooked together via ADAT right now into my Saffire Pro 26i/o, which is the main interface. Using the MOTU and the Behringer as 8-channel preamp units each. The Behringer is really good to use triggers through, because it doesn't waste your good pres just to record the trigger source, I've also used it for scratch guitars to free up a good channel on the Saffire or 8Pre for DI guitar, etc. For a while I was having problems with the Saffire acting goofy when I had it as the main interface so I slaved it into the 8Pre via ADAT...I found out later that the Saffire doesn't like things daisy-chained to it with FireWire, such as my Glyph drive. So I bought a FW hub to connect the Saffire and Glyph drive separately and now it works like a charm. :) The preamps on the Saffire are about the same as the MOTU, but I can definitely hear the better conversion with the Saffire over the 8Pre.

Also, for $550 brand new, you can't beat the MOTU 8Pre for an 8-channel preamp. It has -20dB pad (extremely useful) as well as 48v on each channel separately (i.e. not like 1-4 active, 5-8 active crap like on the Saffire), nice pres and ADAT i/o all built in. I love mine :)

All said and done, though, I realllllly want an Onyx 1200F and keep the MOTU as 8-channel expansion.

~006
 
It seems like the M-Audio Octane is the way to go this time!

Seems to offer a good bang for the buck and people really seem to like the pre's. And the fact that it has ADAT without having to buy an ADAT card, so I can just plug it to my Focusrite and go! And it has XLR's in the back :lol:

The Mackie, at least here in Europe, is twice as expensive as the Octane. The Octane is about 600€ and the Onyx is almost 1200€, so that propably seals the deal for me :lol:

Thanks again guys! :kickass:
 
this really doesn't have much to do with the topic, but reading all this reminded me that the mackie onyx mixers can be daisy-chained...now if only i can come up with an excuse to need another 1640, i'll be set for LIFE
 
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