profire 610 vs FF400 for semi-pro user

[Fragle]

hey there,

i'm about to finally upgrade to a firewire interface (using m-audio audiophile 2496 as if right now ).

the thing is, i'm not a pro by any means....i never record drums (lack of space), just vox, bass and guitars....i'm mainly doing local band demo's as of right now, but i'm also going to record all but the drums for my own bands upcoming full length (hence the upgrade).
judging by that, the profire 610 has everything i need...2 mic preamps which are apparently decent, maybe even better than the FF400 ones, DI in's, enough outputs for reamping and the likes...however, the lack of future upgrade ability (mostly no adat i/o) kinda scares me...who know's if ill be recording drums anytime in the future.
also, the FF400 converters are said to be miles beyond the profire ones, plus giving me enough options for possible future upgrades.
so, what do you guys think, should i go with the profire 610 (350 euro) which is sufficient as far as features go right now, or should i shell out the extra $$ for the FF400 (i'd go used (ebay), so think around 600 euro maybe)....also keep in mind that i'll be recording a full length album later this year, and i'm not quite sure if the profire's quality would be up for that.
on the other hand, the FF400 preamps are said to be nothing spectacular, esp compared to an API512 or the likes....so maybe getting the profire and one of there later on would give me better quality results (if it wasn't for the RME's superior converter quality, that is).

i'm really not sure where to go right now, as it's also difficult to demo any of these devices....so, any input will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Trevoire520]

The profire should be fine for what you're doing. If you're worried about future expandability then get the 2626.

 

[Metaltastic]

Preamp-wise the differences are gonna be pretty nonexistent, and neither has good enough preamps to warrant picking one over the other. Converters are another story however, where of course the edge belongs to the FF, but it seems like M-Audio has really stepped up their game with the conversion in the Profire 610 and 2626, so I think it'd be more than satisfactory. Thus the Profire gets my vote! However, I personally am going for a Mackie Onyx 400F for 4 good preamps, as good (if not better conversion) and 10 total inputs, but I've heard it has some reliability issues, so I'm making sure to get one with a massive warranty!

 

[Fragle]

so are you saying that the profire has decent enough quality converters and pre's to record a real (although indie release of course) full length with, or is your point that neither of these devices are sufficient?
the lower price of the 610 would actually enable me to get a nice pre like the api 512c later on, do you think that would be a reasonable route to go, or are the profire's/RME's own pre's of decent enough quality so to speak?
once again, how about converter quality on the profire? would plugging a decent pre like api or whatever into the profire basically be a waste of potential, or should it be alright? i'm pretty sure the RME would hold it's own when coupled with some higher end stuff, not so sure about the profire though
....but then again, maybe i'm just reading way too much stuff over at gearslutz

 

[JeffTD]

I'd go ProFire + better pre than FF400, and the 610 allows you run PT if/when you need to.

 

[jauernis]

I have to look into that if the conversion of the Mackie Onyx 400F is as good or better than the fireface ..looks like I'll be buying as well!

 

[Metaltastic]

so are you saying that the profire has decent enough quality converters and pre's to record a real (although indie release of course) full length with, or is your point that neither of these devices are sufficient?
the lower price of the 610 would actually enable me to get a nice pre like the api 512c later on, do you think that would be a reasonable route to go, or are the profire's/RME's own pre's of decent enough quality so to speak?
once again, how about converter quality on the profire? would plugging a decent pre like api or whatever into the profire basically be a waste of potential, or should it be alright? i'm pretty sure the RME would hold it's own when coupled with some higher end stuff, not so sure about the profire though
....but then again, maybe i'm just reading way too much stuff over at gearslutz

Nah dude, the Profire's converters will be fine, and you'll DEFINITELY notice an improvement with better preamps - the way I look at it is, the later in the signal chain it is, the less of an effect it has on the sound, and since converters are at the very end, well, there you go! Really the only reason to care about converters among higher-end interfaces is the D/A, cuz that's where you will notice a difference cuz whole mixes are being piped through there (rather than just one track at a time in the case of A/D), and the differences in depth and stereo image are not subtle between good and bad D/A converters - this has no affect on what's actually recorded, and probably won't affect your mixing that much, but it's nice to have the best quality for listening to music casually!

But I'm confident the Profire will be more than fine

 

[Fox Mulder]

The only reason I'm not getting hold of the Profire is cause it does not support anything lower than Pro Tools 8.
I do not plan to upgrade to 8 cause it's got problems with Drumagog. I plan to stay with 7.4 - with a shitty M-Audio Firewire 410.

Pro Tools spoilt me. I'm not comfortable with any other daw even though the advantages are wonderful.

 

[black.death]

The only reason I'm not getting hold of the Profire is cause it does not support anything lower than Pro Tools 8.
I do not plan to upgrade to 8 cause it's got problems with Drumagog. I plan to stay with 7.4 - with a shitty M-Audio Firewire 410.
.

According to the Digidesign website this is not true:

"ProFire 2626 require Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4cs3 or higher, available from the Pro Tools CS Updates page"

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=100&navid=54&itemid=28796

 

[Fragle]

the profire610 is only PT 8 afaik though.

anyways, thanks for the advice guys!

so, i'm watching a FF400 @ ebay right now, and if i can get it cheap i'll do so, otherwise it will be the profire 610 for me.
....if it only had ADAT i/o

 

[Fragle]

just in case anyone will use the search function and stumble upon this thread...

get the fireface!

went out and bought the profire, 4 weeks later i returned the profire and got a fireface. had them both here side by side - there's just no comparison. the FF is a real pro piece of gear, the profire is more prosumer oriented...at least that's what it looks like when put up against a fireface.
better pre's, WAY better converters, you get the total mix routing matrix which is awesome, plus I/Os suited for pretty much any situation you could think of.