looking for audio interfaces and preamps

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FalseMessiah Mike

Member
Feb 17, 2007
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Hey everyone, so I’m looking for a new audio interface. At the moment I've got an M-Audio FireWire 410, so I can't record drums at the moment and recording drums is a must if I am to record local bands, DFHS may be good for my own creative purposes but its an impossible task convincing bands to use DFHS for drums when I ask them if they want to record some songs with me.

I'm looking for a FireWire interface that has 8 preamps (or more) and 16 channels of ADAT. That will give me loads of flexibility and allow my project studio to expand in the future.

So I've looked at thefollowing:
Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 IO
M-Audio ProFire 2626
Presonus Firestudio

I've also looked at the Mackie ONYX 1200 F as cool as the spec is it is really out of my price range.

Can anybody make any other suggestions? Or tell me what experience they have had with any of these audio interfaces and how they would rate them.

After I've bought a new audio interface I'll start saving up for a good 8 channel microphone preamp

I've looked at the Mackie Onyx 800 R and I reckon that it’s quite pricey.
Can any of you recommend some 8 channel preamps?

Thanks for any help you can give.
 
i just baught a MOTU 8pre firewire and got it today:)

8 pre's
firewire audio interface
plenty ADAT inputs
Midi I/O
only downside, no more outputs other than the stereo one, meaning, no sends and returns to hardware + re-amp difficulty i can imagen without those outputs
 
beyond dead said:
rme ff 400 or 800 are the best choices.
Click to expand...

Yeah the RME Fireface 800 looks good, the downside is that it has 4 microphone preamps. Yes it has 8 balanced line level inputs but I'd need a mixing desk to add gain and I don't want to buy a mixing desk because its yet more cash.
 
jesterroot4 said:
i just baught a MOTU 8pre firewire and got it today:)

8 pre's
firewire audio interface
plenty ADAT inputs
Midi I/O
only downside, no more outputs other than the stereo one, meaning, no sends and returns to hardware + re-amp difficulty i can imagen without those outputs
Click to expand...

Yeh that lack of outputs is a big downside really. Apart from that its good and not too expensive
 
Well you wouldn't have to get a mixing desk for the FF400, you'd just need more preamps, such as a pair of M-Audio DMP-3's or a Presonus Digimax FS. And the FF400/800 is great because of the quality of its conversion, but apparently the Mackie Onyx 1200F uses the same AKM converters, and while there are other factors than just the chip (namely, the analog circuitry throughout the unit), I've heard great things about the unit in general, so that's what I'd get...

...but because it's so expensive, I'm gonna get a FF400, and a Digimax FS down the road, so I can split up the costs and prioritize.
 
Metaltastic said:
Well you wouldn't have to get a mixing desk for the FF400, you'd just need more preamps, such as a pair of M-Audio DMP-3's or a Presonus Digimax FS. And the FF400/800 is great because of the quality of its conversion, but apparently the Mackie Onyx 1200F uses the same AKM converters, and while there are other factors than just the chip (namely, the analog circuitry throughout the unit), I've heard great things about the unit in general, so that's what I'd get...

...but because it's so expensive, I'm gonna get a FF400, and a Digimax FS down the road, so I can split up the costs and prioritize.
Click to expand...

Good point (concerning buying extra preamps), I should have thought of that. But to be honest a FF800 costs almost twice that of a Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 IO, M-Audio ProFire 2626 and Presonus Firestudio

Is a M-Audio DMP-3 any good though. A Presonus Digimax FS looks like a good preamp
 
Metaltastic said:
Well you wouldn't have to get a mixing desk for the FF400, you'd just need more preamps, such as a pair of M-Audio DMP-3's or a Presonus Digimax FS. And the FF400/800 is great because of the quality of its conversion, but apparently the Mackie Onyx 1200F uses the same AKM converters, and while there are other factors than just the chip (namely, the analog circuitry throughout the unit), I've heard great things about the unit in general, so that's what I'd get...

...but because it's so expensive, I'm gonna get a FF400, and a Digimax FS down the road, so I can split up the costs and prioritize.
Click to expand...

You can hook up the extra preamps into the ADAT I/O right ? and thats it? more preamps?
 
Both the Digimax FS and DMP-3 are fantastic from what I've heard from many people here (I even started a thread about the Digimax a little while back you could search for, it got lots of positive testimonials), and yeah, just ADAT out from the Digimax into the Fireface (and you can get the FF400 for $1000 as opposed to the FF800 for $1500, and the only difference is half as many preamps, half the size, and a few knobs on the front consolidated into a multipurpose assignable knob - still same quality converters and I/O options).
 
might be a total newb question but are all of these interfaces pro tools combatable cuz im try to figure out the best way to get arround 12 mic pres into a pro tools system an im not sure how it all works.
 
Only M-Audio or Digidesign interfaces are PT compatible - if that's really important to you, best bet is the M Audio Profire 2626, cuz the control surface on the Project Mix is useless to me and WAY too bulky, and Digi interfaces are overpriced for their quality

The only thing that gives me pause about the Profire is that it's brand new, so it hasn't proved itself reliable yet (not like they have a bad track record, I'm just paranoid).
 
Metaltastic said:
Both the Digimax FS and DMP-3 are fantastic from what I've heard from many people here (I even started a thread about the Digimax a little while back you could search for, it got lots of positive testimonials), and yeah, just ADAT out from the Digimax into the Fireface (and you can get the FF400 for $1000 as opposed to the FF800 for $1500, and the only difference is half as many preamps, half the size, and a few knobs on the front consolidated into a multipurpose assignable knob - still same quality converters and I/O options).
Click to expand...

Are there any other microphone preamps that you would recommend?
 
Out of the 3 mentioned I would go with the M-Audio Profire 2626 with no hesitation. The Focusrite preamps have a gain range of +13 to +60 which is a pain in the ass because there are no pads and any remotely hot signal will be clipping even with the gain at 0, that's why I returned mine... The Profire has -20db pads on every preamp along with every feature that the Saffire has, although Focusrite has an arguably better reputation for quality than M-Audio, but I doubt that the preamps and converters in the Profire are seriously THAT bad compared to the Saffire Pro... The Firestudio has no pads on the preamps but at least has a gain range of 0db to 60db so the clipping shouldn't be as much of an issue. There's only one headphone output on that though vs. the 2 outputs on the other units, and I have heard that the converters aren't as good as the Focusrite unit, but the M-Audio unit isn't even out yet so I don't know how that compares.

I was in the exact same situation as you and ended up going with the Onyx 1200F. My wallet hates me.
 
Honestly, yeah, it probably would, but since it only has SPDIF I/O (not ADAT), I personally can't consider it because it can only have a maximum of 10 inputs (which really pisses me off, honestly - I wish Mackie made an Onyx with ADAT I/O that wasn't the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink 1200F)
 
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