Re: WHAT SORTS OF FIREWIRE INTEFACES ARE PEOPLE USING THESE DAYS?(still the interface thread, not the mobile recorder one)

[Rainer Straschill <moinsound@googlemail.com>]

tEd ® KiLLiAn schrieb:
> What are people out there using that sounds really, really good?
First of all, as judging from the title of this post you seem to like 
uppercase, your best bet would be RME or MOTU ;)

(going to serious mode now):

I'm with Charles (that those kinds of experiments are really tricky to 
do with accuracy, and will require a level of blindness) and Bill (that 
the signal path in the analogue domain is the important part) on this 
topic. Still, using the inputs 3/4 (which I assume are line level ones) 
does even make more sense then using the micpre channels if you feed it 
with the signal from the VG99. And (as was already suggested), you could 
try the SPDIF route. Btw, does the MOTU have an analogue output level 
knob? If not, setting the level in the digital domain can also cause 
problems (when setting the attenuation to very high values).

Apart from that, interfaces I personally have experience with:
Presonus - have the Firebox (the small one), which is a great bang for 
the buck. Latency only goes down to relatively high levels, and never 
connect your outputs to some phantom-powered inputs (this may be true 
for the other interfaces as well, I won't try it). And it's got an 
analogue knob for the output level.

TC Electronic - I have the Konnekt24D. Great sound quality (pres, 
converters, FX plugins), poor driver design. The combo of a) an analogue 
attenuator for the main outs, b) an assignable knob on the front and c) 
a button to switch between three different setups even in standalone 
mode are cool for live use.

RME - only have the HDSP series devices (multiface/digiface), so no 
experience with the firewire stuff. The lowest latency I ever 
experienced. Sadly, one of their HDSP express cards failed just one 
month out of warranty and clearly due to a defect that already existed 
when it left the factory, yet they showed no sign of at least covering 
part of the costs for the repair. Since then, I hate the company.

Marian - they once had a cool interface which was the first proper USB2 
audio interface - which I got at a factory blowout at a great price. 
Unfortunately, no new drivers since XP 32bit...but the feature set is 
really cool (among the key benefits, the only halfrack interface I know 
of with four micpres).

So basically, they all kinda suck.

          Rainer

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