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What Audio Interface are you guys using?

VirtualRain said:
LOL... is anyone here doing just one or two track recordings?! Anyone with a sub $1000 interface recommendation? :)
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2/4 channel user here. I've been using a Focusrite Saffire LE for 3-4 years now. Works very well, but no longer available. If I was buying today I'd be looking at the Saffire Pro 14. Goes for less than $250 most places.
 
zephonic said:
With all due respect, any entry level iMac can run 64 tracks with Waves Platinum. Most of those plug-ins were developed in the days of the G4 and Pentium III and designed to work on those machines. And Waves are exceptionally good at efficient coding, too.

If you wanna stress-test your computer with audio-related stuff, the real challenge is VI's at low latency. I guarantuee that a couple of instances of Omnisphere at a 128 sample buffer can bring a six-core to its knees. Especially if you run it in ProTools ;-)
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So you thing the plugs are the same today as they were in G4 days? Not quite in my experience since easy waves to V8 and 9.
I've found 8 and 9 to be more intensive than 7 for sure
Lots of changes came with updates made to 7 in regards to graphics, which made virtually EVERY plug more intensive....
There have been some substantial changes made to most over the years that effect the CPU intensiveness.
of course, this is all in my experience


Ever run 5 or 6 instances of Tune in a session???
And around 180 plugs (Heavy on Q10's and HComps and C1's mostly, which aren' of the most intensive, but HComp is a bit of a hog for a comp)
I also use IR's with impulse responses in every session

All I am saying is that for standard audio work, this is a sufficient beast with nearly any native interface.

SORRY TO SIDE TRACK THIS

To the OP

MOTU 896 is great for the money if you want some channels
also
Or a Duet if you only need a little guy... Apogee converters are phenomenal

With a $1000 budget, you have a lot of options
 
VirtualRain said:
LOL... is anyone here doing just one or two track recordings?! Anyone with a sub $1000 interface recommendation? :)
Click to expand...

I got this one last week. I'm using it with Logic Express and haven't noticed any problems with latency, even when using my pre-historic 1st gen MacBook Pro. :)

IMG_1358.JPG
 
Apogee Duet 2 - hands down for a simple 2-channel sub $1000 interface. It has some of the best sounding converters and pre-amps you can get. It works flawlessly with the Mac as it's a Mac only device. USB latency is actually less than firewire these days after OS 10.6.8 was released.
 
I use a Mackie Onyx 1640 mixer with integrated FireWire interface. The mic pres are nice as well as the EQ and the integration will greatly simplify your set up. 16 channels out and 18 channels out of mixer to the computer (includes the stereo output), combine tracks with the 4 busses and send those to FireWire as well. It's a very nice system I have recommended to about 5 different clients, all have loved it.
 
@OP: what is your typical workload/workflow? People here are all chiming in with their preferred choices, but if you tell more about your needs, insufficient or redundant options can be eliminated.

I rely heavily on VI's, so efficient and robust low latency performance is key for me. I don't need 24 inputs, but I do need 2 headphone outs etc. etc.

Here's a good read on how interfaces perform relative to eachother:

http://forum.dawbench.com/showthread.php?1548-Audio-Interface-Low-Latency-Performance-Data-Base

dawbench-llp-05-12-2.jpg


longer bars are better :)

It's not the most important thing for everyone, but it's certainly a factor to consider. BTW, all the testing was done on a PC, so the results may not necessarily reflect Mac performance. I know for a fact, that MOTU's stuff works great on Mac and not so much on PC. It may be the other way around for other brands.
 
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I'm using the Sound Devices USBPre 2 and love it. I'd really like to hear a comparison between it and the new Apogee Duet 2. I will say that the headphone amp is where the SD unit is weak. There's plenty of gain, too much perhaps, but adjusting attenuation produces audible scratchiness. More importantly, it's not especially quiet. For example, the headphone out on the 702 is much, much nicer.

I did own an Apogee Duet (1). The AD/DA conversion was very good and the headphone amp was quite nice. I've heard that the new unit sounds "clinical" -- but depending on what you do, I guess, I would take this as a complement.

The nice thing about Apogee is that it works closely with Core Audio. The SD unit is class compliant and doesn't have built in Core Audio support. I haven't found this to be a problem. Sometimes when I'm listening to bounces that have been resampled and cut down from 24- to 16- bit, I'll forget to change the settings in in the Apple Midi Setup. This can lead to odd cracks and pops. But when it happens, I know what's up and switch it right away.

The SD doesn't have a breakout cable. Everything is built into the box. It's incredibly well made and, unlike the Duet, it offers a stand alone option. I never really found the breakout cable on the Duet to be a problem, but could see why it would bother some.
 
Nice. Focusrite has total crap pres/ passible conversion but it can do it in real time. lol. :p
As mentioned by previous posters. Best sub 1000.00 2 track is probably the original Apogee Duet. Not the new USB one. That has some thin-ass bass imaging. Avoid M-Audio, Motu, Focusrite, pretty much anything Guitar Center sells if you want fine sounding end results. Steinberg has an interface that is pretty amazing for the price but not sure if it is under a grand. MR816x is the model.
 
derbothaus said:
Nice. Focusrite has total crap pres/ passible conversion but it can do it in real time. lol. :p
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Actually, no. Their drivers are at the bottom of the heap.

derbothaus said:
Avoid M-Audio, Motu, Focusrite, pretty much anything Guitar Center sells if you want fine sounding end results.
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Sorry, but this is nonsense. They may not be the greatest in conversion, but both MOTU and M-Audio offer solid products that are reasonably priced. Focusrite packs a lot of features for the money but see my comment above.

derbothaus said:
Steinberg has an interface that is pretty amazing for the price but not sure if it is under a grand. MR816x is the model.
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It is more like $600 and I was gonna get one as I'm a Cubase guy. But there are a lot of reports on the net about crappy drivers, so in the end I got the Mbox3Pro, as it had the best performance of all sub-$1000 firewire units.
 
zephonic said:
Sorry, but this is nonsense. They may not be the greatest in conversion, but both MOTU and M-Audio offer solid products that are reasonably priced. Focusrite packs a lot of features for the money but see my comment above.
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Solid and reasonably priced has nothing to do with ears, listening, and good sound. Sorry. They are budget units. They sound like budget units. If you can't tell the difference then kudos. Your a cheap date. I don't know anyone releasing records using that crap. Unless maybe electronica midi emulation bedroom warrior stuff for their iMovie. For analog they do not pass muster.

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zephonic said:
Actually, no. Their drivers are at the bottom of the heap.
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Sorry I thought it was a round trip latency graph in ms.
 
derbothaus said:
Solid and reasonably priced has nothing to do with ears, listening, and good sound. Sorry. They are budget units. They sound like budget units. If you can't tell the difference then kudos. Your a cheap date. I don't know anyone releasing records using that crap. Unless maybe electronica midi emulation bedroom warrior stuff for their iMovie. For analog they do not pass muster.
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Sure, they are built to a price. But hits have been made with MOTU hardware! If you record 24+ tracks of acoustic music in a top studio, you want something better. But the OP said his Lexicon USB device conked out. That tells me he is not in the market for a Prism Orpheus or an HDX system.

Ten years ago it was a different story, but today you can get pro-grade conversion for <$1000. And you'd have to spend a LOT more to get something noticeably better.

The funny thing is, many of the "high end" units use exactly the same Cirrus Logic converters as the <$1000 ones. They have to, as there are only a few OEM's who manufacture these things.

The difference could be in the analog circuitry design, but when someone posted a blindfold test on Gearslutz, the majority of the "pros" preferred the $600 Steinberg MR816 over the $3000 Prism Orpheus. :D It is important not to underestimate the placebo effect that a hefty price tag can induce.

The bottleneck on my Mbox3Pro (and most others in this price range) is NOT the ADAC's but the preamps. They are OK, but nothing like a dedicated unit. The conversion is fine. In fact, Avid says it is the same as their HD192 (industry-standard for the last decade or so). And why not? They have gotten a return on their investment and can make that technology available in their budget units.

In any event, Glenn Ballard recorded Alanis Morrisette's multi-platinum Grammy-winning "Jagged Little Pill" on the original (blackface) ADAT's. Compared to the conversion in those, any of today's budget converters sound better.
 
In the Mac Pro (running Logic), I use a MOTU PCIe-424 card connected to two 2408mk3 rackmount interfaces. They've been terrific for years. I especially love being able to i/o 3 separate ADAT cables to each unit (allowing 48 channels of digital in!)

In PC#1 (sample instruments), I use an RME Hammerfall HDSP card connected to an RME Digiface breakout unit. I send all audio out via ADAT on the RME, so I'm not doing any recording (no audio in) on this unit.

In PC#2 (sample instruments, as well as a very old Windows version of Logic 5 platinum), I use an Echo audio Layla 24/96 card and interface.

I should note that I do virtually no analog recording. The vast majority of my work is in-the-box, with orchestral (and other) sample libraries and virtual instruments. If I stay with Logic in the future, and for some reason start to do more analog/digital conversion, I will most likely switch to Apogee and their system of interfaces. AD/DA conversion quality isn't a huge priority for me at the moment.

One other comment:
I know it's not as crucial as it used to be, but I still completely recommend going with PCI/PCI-X/PCIe audio interfaces, for two reasons:
1. They're faster and PCI has more bandwidth than firewire and USB.
2. Using PCI leaves your firewire and USB busses free for external storage, other peripherals (midi interfaces, video boxes, etc.) and other accessories (flash drives, cameras, etc.)

PCI may not be as easily portable as Firewire and/or USB audio solutions, but when it comes to quality audio work, especially in a professional (or prosumer) situation, portability is almost never more important than performance and results.

Obviously, tons of options available. Good luck.
 
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zephonic said:
Sure, they are built to a price. But hits have been made with MOTU hardware! If you record 24+ tracks of acoustic music in a top studio, you want something better. But the OP said his Lexicon USB device conked out. That tells me he is not in the market for a Prism Orpheus or an HDX system.

Ten years ago it was a different story, but today you can get pro-grade conversion for <$1000. And you'd have to spend a LOT more to get something noticeably better.

The funny thing is, many of the "high end" units use exactly the same Cirrus Logic converters as the <$1000 ones. They have to, as there are only a few OEM's who manufacture these things.

The difference could be in the analog circuitry design, but when someone posted a blindfold test on Gearslutz, the majority of the "pros" preferred the $600 Steinberg MR816 over the $3000 Prism Orpheus. :D It is important not to underestimate the placebo effect that a hefty price tag can induce.

The bottleneck on my Mbox3Pro (and most others in this price range) is NOT the ADAC's but the preamps. They are OK, but nothing like a dedicated unit. The conversion is fine. In fact, Avid says it is the same as their HD192 (industry-standard for the last decade or so). And why not? They have gotten a return on their investment and can make that technology available in their budget units.

In any event, Glenn Ballard recorded Alanis Morrisette's multi-platinum Grammy-winning "Jagged Little Pill" on the original (blackface) ADAT's. Compared to the conversion in those, any of today's budget converters sound better.
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All good points and I don't disagree. I mainly have thrown more money into digital as I couldn't seem to find anything to even compete with a Tascam 4-track much less the 2" tape I was used to using. On finding the Metric Halo it was a gold nugget in a dung heap of sterility.
If you have the talent you can record anything anywhere and make it work. It is the "trying to sound pro but misses the mark" that is so upsetting to me. Otherwise give me some cassette hiss over M-audio pres. But I am 20+ year veteran and very callous:cool: 80% or more analogue so it costs me more for authenticity compared to the midi folks.
 
VirtualRain said:
LOL... is anyone here doing just one or two track recordings?! Anyone with a sub $1000 interface recommendation? :)
Click to expand...
If you are talking about a way to move digital audio into a computer, this will not be helpful; but if you are talking about recording 2-track analog audio from a source external to the computer as a digital file (the computer handles the analog to digital conversion in software), nothing is easier or more reliable than Audio HiJack Pro from rogueamoeba.com. They have other apps that are tailored more to specific uses, as well. The quality is scalable, and fine for podcasts.
 
relbbircs said:
Whatever brand you choose, you'll be much better off with a firewire connection than with USB. The latency in USB is often noticeable whereas the latency in firewire is generally not a problem.

I wonder when/if anyone will come out with a USB 3.0 solution???
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With RME they have opposed. USB performce better then FireWire

Also I choose my interface to be USB because I know that Firewire is dead and there will be USB3 or Thunderbolt
 
DPUser said:
My currently favorite thread for the Golden Eared purveyors of the conventional wisdom:

http://www.gearspace.com/board/gear...converter-da-ad-loopback-shootout-thread.html

Voodoo and religion often predominate when audio conversion quality is debated:

https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/journal/?ID=2

Compositional skill and musicianship combined with quality engineering and mixing rule the day. And the size and weight of the interface's knobs.
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Thanks for the GS link. I visit the forum almost daily, but this one totally passed me by.
 
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LoveAppl said:
With RME they have opposed. USB performce better then FireWire
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That's been debated and proven false marketing. And we are only talking latency and USB 2.0. USB 3 should be better if implemented properly and TB even better than that.
 
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MOTU Ultralite. Got it back in 07, so it's FireWire 400 only. The newer model, the "Mk III" I believe, has both FireWire and USB 2.0

I output to a pair of KRK Rokit5's along with KRK 10" sub.
Logic Pro

Never had an issue with it (knocks wood....)
 
Using the Duet 2, I find it only consistently works on the back USB port on my 15" pro though which can be a pain in the ass. Other than that really happy with it, nicely doubles as a great headphone amp too
 
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