The trouble of choosing an interface...

[ahjteam]

Alright, I'm going to burn some cash in the near future, but I have trouble choosing the interface... Must run Pro Tools (LE or MP) and be bus powered, so that it can be used off the powergrid with a laptop like on a car, train or aeroplane. I am only interested in the analog in and outputs, not the spdifs etc. And fuck Mbox micro. Not even considering it. If it would've had like atleast one input, I could've considered it.

My choises currently are:

a) Mbox 2 mini (USB): 2 in 2 out. cheapest and most portable choise, but least options. PT LE included. 266€

b) Mbox 2 factory (USB): 2 in 2 out. PT LE + iLok + lots of extra plugins included. 415€

c) Mbox 2 Pro (FW): 4 in 6 out. firewire version of the mbox 2, so most likely less influenced by the usb-bus noise that has been a problem with the mboxes. PT LE included, factory bundle not included. 545€

d) M-Audio Profire 610 (FW): 6 in 8 out. Can be used for surround mixing if needed + having still 2 extra outputs. No PT included, so I have to buy PT MP separately. 319€ + 189€ = 508€

e) Fuck PT, wait for the non-hardware locked native PT for the next three decades and get RME Fireface 400 or 800 while waiting. 798/1166€

f) something else, what?

 

[Kazrog]

RME FireFace + Cubase 5 is my personal favorite, and it's my full time DAW setup. I've used a lot of other things, including PTLE. An RME FireFace is one of the only interfaces out there that deserves to be considered an "investment" - in that it's not likely to become obsolete for the foreseeable future, and even once it is semi-obsolete, it will still fetch a high price used.

 

[ahjteam]

An RME FireFace is one of the only interfaces out there that deserves to be considered an "investment" - in that it's not likely to become obsolete for the foreseeable future, and even once it is semi-obsolete, it will still fetch a high price used.

Yeah, I know, I have the Multiface myself currently (and it is for sale if someone is interested btw), but since I don't have PCI express connector on this laptop, I can't use it.

 

[ahjteam]

I went with the 610