Presonus Firepod vs. Mackie Onyx

[Exocaster]

Has anyone here used both of these? How do the pres and converters compare? I'm in the market for an 8 channel interface (again, seeing as I haven't been able to afford one until recently) and these seem like the best options for what I need.

I've heard the MOTU stuff has crappy pres, and RME or Apogee is way out of my price range, unfortunately.

How's the new 8 input Focusrite unit? Has anyone given that a shot yet? (The Saffire, not the Octopre)

 

[CJWall]

i'm waiting for the Firepod's big brother to arrive: the Firestudio. Same 8 pre's and all as the Firepod but with supposedly much better AD/DA and word clock. ADAT in; out, S/PDIF and comes with a Remote-type unit w/talk-back, etc.

I think it's going to street around $900.

If you're looking to stay in the Firepod price range, like $500-600 or so, you may want to check out the Echo Audiofire 8.. 8 ins, 2 of which have mic-pres. Word is that it has very stable drivers and from what I've read, excellent conversion.

The Saffire 26 i/o looks promising, but we'll see.

The Mackie unit may have better pre's than some of these other units, but I'm sure the conversion is more or less the same as the Firepod, etc.

You're leaving out a vital question though; drivers. Last thing we want is to be sorting driver issues when all we want to do is effin' record. The Firepod has a great reputation in this department, as does the Echo stuff.

Decisions, decisions.

Charlie

 

[MX582]

have u seen this? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DigiMaxFS/
its new from presonus..looks pretty schweet

 

[t-willy]

i had a firepod and sold it after the band i was in dismantled. biggest mistake i ever made. i used that thing to record (all eight tracks at once) and never had a problem. drivers were rock solid for me and customer service was cool as hell on some other questions i had. the sound was crystal clear.

damn, i'm really wishing i had mine back now...

 

[Exocaster]

Thanks for the help so far guys!

I do feel the need to mention- I need something with eight onboard pres. I'm selling my 16 channel Mackie board to finance part of this.