best audio interface for D.P.?

[scooter]

Just wondering after repairing my 24i/o and then having it go dead on me again. I used that and my trusty 2408mk3 for audio interfaces for many years.
I would love to get some feedback on what others are using and what audio interfaces are truly pro sounding and compatible with D.P.

thanks,

scooter

[Mr_Clifford]

Mine's an RME Fireface 800. Loving it. Not quite as integrated with DP (in terms of monitoring etc.) as the MOTU interfaces, but 'TotalMix' is really good. Add a cheap Behringer fader controller and you don't even need to switch back and forth between DP and the totalmix GUI.

I'm about to move overseas and I'm selling off just about everything, but the RME is going in my suitcase. There's no way I'd part with it.

[Frodo]

Mine is a Solid State Logic Alpha Link XL connected to a 64- channel SSL PCIe card via fiber optic. This thing is FEROCIOUS.

[daniel.sneed]

If I was somewhat richer (!), this one for sure :
ULN8 +DSP
http://www.mhsecure.com/v5mm/ULN-8.html
But around 6000$ (+ 700$ for plugins) are not in my ballpark yet !

[jlaudon]

I use an 828mk3 for tracking (no latency with DP and effects if needed), but only thru the digital ins and outs (my mic preamp, SSL, has a digital out, and the digital out on the 828mk3 goes to a D-box, which has better sounding convertors, IMO. For mixing, and recording multiple tracks (more than 2), I use an Apogee Ensemble - very nice convertors, and i find that the Maestro software is also very stable.

I think it depends on what you want most - no latency (the MOTU interfaces), or better sounding convertors and pres, but than having to bring your buffer way down in DP (between 64 and 256 for me), so something like the Ensemble, RME, etc.

[cbergm7210]

Mine's an RME Fireface 800. Loving it. Not quite as integrated with DP (in terms of monitoring etc.) as the MOTU interfaces, but 'TotalMix' is really good. Add a cheap Behringer fader controller and you don't even need to switch back and forth between DP and the totalmix GUI.

I'm about to move overseas and I'm selling off just about everything, but the RME is going in my suitcase. There's no way I'd part with it.

This is my setup as well. Works great, even with no fader controller. The Total Mix software that comes with it gives you much versatility in monitoring, headphone mixes, etc.

Initially I was going to go with a MOTU interface, but this unit is supposedly a higher end mic pre.


Chris

[Armageddon]

I started out with and still occasionally use my trusty old 828 mk1 -- no CueMix DSP, no built-in FX, no way to mix via the interface, phantom power on two channels but no preamps (it was, I believe, the very first FireWire audio interface on the market) -- but for my current rig, I have a TC Konnekt 24D, which has a great sound, two powered plugs, two decent preamps, 192 kHz capability and the TC NEAR console is comparable to CueMix. It also runs like a top inside of DP 6.02 on my MacBook.

[Phil O]

I prefer the modular route, keeping pre's and converters separate. I currently have a couple of old 828's that I use when I need extra channels, but I'm not real fond of MOTU converters. I don't know what their newer stuff sounds like. I also have an Apogee Rosetta 800 which gets daily use that I really like. There are better converters on the market, but I like Apogee's bang for the buck, and to get a big improvement it takes lots of bucks. If I decide to expand, I'm considering the Apogee X series. The converters are supposed to be better than the ones in the Rosetta and the clock is the same as what's used in the Big Ben (but I haven't heard one yet).

As far as preamps are concerned, there are a lot of good ones out there. I really like Grace and I've been taking a close look at True Systems. I'm sure Brad will chime in here. I think he's a Focusrite fan.

Phil

[Armageddon]

I prefer the modular route, keeping pre's and converters separate. I currently have a couple of old 828's that I use when I need extra channels, but I'm not real fond of MOTU converters. I don't know what their newer stuff sounds like.

I imagine they've come a long way from the 828 (their first non-PCI interface), and when I made that jump, I made it from the built-in 44.1 kHz/16-bit D/A on my iMac G3, so at the time, it sounded like a big leap in quality. I've noticed a lot of issues with it since then, of course, but I'm sure their latter-day interfaces has solved a lot of them. I keep my 828 around these days to re-mix my legacy projects on my G3; otherwise, it would be packed up or sold. Nostalgia only goes but so far ...

Of course, it doesn't get a whole lot better than Apogee's stuff. If I'd had money to burn, I'd have likely gone the Ensemble route instead of snagging a Konnekt 24D. However, I also agree that keeping things modular isn't a bad plan, either. Grace or Blue's Robbie the Mic Pre seems like a great investment.

[Frodo]

Of course, it doesn't get a whole lot better than Apogee's stuff.

I agree. I could have gone Apogee, but I chose SSL for different reasons. In my case, the purchase wasn't a matter of price. (That's not to say that it wasn't a matter of money!!)

If vocals, live piano, or live guitar were more at issue, I might have gone with Apogee for AD.

But at some point, the *better* part of it starts to taper off. It doesn't get much better, but it does get "different" and certainly more expensive.

[waxman]

Mine is a Solid State Logic Alpha Link XL connected to a 64- channel SSL PCIe card via fiber optic. This thing is FEROCIOUS.

Ferocious 64 channel SSL PCIe card? Are you interfacing to a console? Frodo what do you think about the UAD interface?

[Armageddon]

I agree. I could have gone Apogee, but I chose SSL for different reasons. In my case, the purchase wasn't a matter of price. (That's not to say that it wasn't a matter of money!!)

SSL is nothing to sneeze at, either. Speaking of "modular", I love SSL's custom chassis/console modules, as well as their new A/D Matrix console, though I haven't gotten a real chance to mess around with their interfaces or powered plugs. I chose TC because of the price and because I'm a huge fan of their hardware (the Finalizer, the 6000, etc.) and their software. For me, the Konnekt 24D was comparable to what MOTU was releasing at the time for their FireWire interfaces, except I felt like I was getting more bang for the buck.

[Frodo]

Mine is a Solid State Logic Alpha Link XL connected to a 64- channel SSL PCIe card via fiber optic. This thing is FEROCIOUS.

Ferocious 64 channel SSL PCIe card? Are you interfacing to a console? Frodo what do you think about the UAD interface?

64 channels over FIBER OPTIC PCIe!! It's the only thing of its kind out there that I know of. DP's available buffers only go up to 512 now because the fiber optic is the first discreet two-way audio cable. That means that unlike other interfaces, the IN signal does not have to battle for throughput with the OUTPUT.

What do I think of the UAD interface? Not sure which one you mean. There's the 2192 ADDA converter, but then there's the DCS remote which has been discontinued before I could even get one!!! (I'm on the prowl to see if resellers are jacking the price or cutting them.)

[Frodo]

SSL is nothing to sneeze at, either. Speaking of "modular", I love SSL's custom chassis/console modules, as well as their new A/D Matrix console, though I haven't gotten a real chance to mess around with their interfaces or powered plugs. I chose TC because of the price and because I'm a huge fan of their hardware (the Finalizer, the 6000, etc.) and their software. For me, the Konnekt 24D was comparable to what MOTU was releasing at the time for their FireWire interfaces, except I felt like I was getting more bang for the buck.

I know how important the bang/buck ratio is. What I ran into was the bang part of it. Had everything worked properly as I had it set up (method and manufacture I won't mention), I'd still be there to this day. However, my previous bang petered out in a matter of months and I had to get serious about things or go out of business forever.


In my old age, I had to decide that I'd had enough of the cheap *bangs* of the past 30 years.

(Only the real geezers around here can *fully* appreciate that last statement.)

I was ready to spend *bucks* if what I bought was what was needed, being A#1 "transparent" conversion and immaculate PCIe compatibility with OSX and DP. PCIe-to-fiber optic? RU kidding me? My PCIe card goes back in time recording audio.

The SSL drivers? DP quit crashing. No version of DP has ever crashed since using the new interface. My last crash report was dated some time in March, 2009.... right about the time I bought the SSL.

I love and am getting all of their stuff-- I have my eye on their XLogic Super Analogue!! Good gravy!!

I know--- it doesn't have CueMix..

Well, a choice had to be made. If CueMix were my priority I'd be overlooking the main problem I was having, being no worky.

[tobysan]

I have Symphony system (Rosetta 800, X option card, symphony 64) already SL compatible, and of course 100% DP friendly.

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/s ... on=compose