8-channel mic pre/interface

bkshepard · Post by **bkshepard** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:31 am

Hey Gang,

I'm in the market for an 8-channel, mic preamp/audio interface. The ones I'm looking at are the MOTU 8pre, PreSonus FireStudio, and the ART TubeFire8. Have any of you had experience with any of these interfaces in Digital Performer? How are the preamps? How well do the interfaces play with DP? Are there others in this price range ($500-700) I should look at? Thanks.

lampostudio · Post by **lampostudio** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:24 pm

Hi,
I had 2-HD192 which were great but I needed firewire for a laptop so I sold them and got a new 8Pre, a used 896 and a new Focusrite octopre.
I find the 896 a better unit than the 8Pre but all in all I'm very happy with the 8Pre. I also purchased an UltraLite which I really do not care for. Very noisy and the knobs are too small for quick response. I use it in a pinch for playback only. I have no experience with any of the other items you listed.

aitikin · Post by **aitikin** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:16 pm

I'd also remember that the MOTU units can be modded by BLA, which I might add, did an amazing job on the Digimax I recently picked up used.

zara_drummer · Post by **zara_drummer** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:59 pm

I have an 8pre and a Focusrite 26 I/O and have been happy with both of them.

I do think the converters in the 26 I/O are better than the 8pre though. I have the 8pre connected to the 26 I/O via ADAT...

All-in-all both have been great products...No major issues with either.

bkshepard · Post by **bkshepard** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:16 pm

Thanks for the suggestions and comments. In looking at the Focusrite 26 I/O, I don't see Phantom Power controls. Does it allow you to enable/disable phantom power on each channel?

zara_drummer · Post by **zara_drummer** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 9:42 pm

bkshepard wrote:Thanks for the suggestions and comments. In looking at the Focusrite 26 I/O, I don't see Phantom Power controls. Does it allow you to enable/disable phantom power on each channel?

The 26 I/O does have phantom power...It has a switch in the software controls for channels 1-4 and 5-8. I'm pretty sure you can enable it via the front panel. I havent used it in that configuration yet.

The software for the 26 i/o is pretty cool. You can enable the inserts on channels 1 and 2 seperately, enable MIDI thru etc, and change the spdif so that it reads AC3, so if you want to use it to decode surround sound...it will...You can also enable or disable hardware functionality from the software.

Also the inserts for channels 1-2 are set to the front panel chanels 5-6 respectively...When you have inserts active, you can still use the XLR inputs for the those channels....I wish it were like that for all 8. I think thats where the Presonus product is a bit better, but I'm not so sure their converters are better than the focusrite.

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:20 am

aitikin wrote:I'd also remember that the MOTU units can be modded by BLA, which I might add, did an amazing job on the Digimax I recently picked up used.

aitikin:

I just picked yp the PreSonus Digimax, as well.

Are you saying that Black Lion did a mod on the Digimax or one of your MOTU I/O's?

I don't see anything on BLA's website pertaining to PreSonus.

Thanks.

Buzz

bkshepard · Post by **bkshepard** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:09 am

I also checked with Black Lion on the 8pre. Although they do a mod for most MOTU interfaces, they don't do one for the 8pre.

aitikin · Post by **aitikin** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:39 pm

buzzsmith wrote:
aitikin wrote:I'd also remember that the MOTU units can be modded by BLA, which I might add, did an amazing job on the Digimax I recently picked up used.
aitikin:

I just picked yp the PreSonus Digimax, as well.

Are you saying that Black Lion did a mod on the Digimax or one of your MOTU I/O's?

I don't see anything on BLA's website pertaining to PreSonus.

Thanks.

Buzz

Actually I got one used that the guy had convinced Matt from BLA to mod. He needed cash, so he was forced to sell. Now he's saving up to get another one and convince Matt to do it again. I love the thing and can't believe he sold it!