Audio Interface

[muusicman]

Im trying to do some research on audio interfaces for studios....I found one tha I like...it's pricy but I want to know if it's any good....and if anyone has ever used it.

here is the link....it is the Echo AudioFire 12

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp...dio_Interfaces

please everyone let me know your thoughts on it or if there is a better one, maybe one cheaper.

thanks
muusicman

[StuH]

That unit has no mic pre-s or HiZ instrument inputs. Will only take line level signals as is. So if you were planning on directly tapping into it with mics or guitars your out of luck unless you have the outboard gear to compensate. The sampling rate is phenominal but in all honesty most at the hobby level are recording at 44.1khz and few seldom at 96khz primarily because the wave files become too large and alot of software based effect, especially synths, won't function properly beyond 96khz. Purely speculating but if the sample rate is that high, they unit probably has very good converters. It also supports Windows Vista and alot of other companies haven't released Vista drivers yet.

Presonus Firestudio is the only alternative I can think of if you need that much IO. Same price but I think it's more flexible for someone who doesn't have additional outboard gear. Google Mark of the Unicorn too (MOTU), they probably have something similar but are usually a little more pricey.

Do you eally need that much I/O?

[cacibi]

It actually says that it does have mic pres - although they are probably accessable through a menu hiearchy or accompanying software, much like my MOTU Ultralite.

As with Stu - I would ask if you really need that much in/out. Will you be recording single instruments mainly - or would you foresee needing to mic a full drum - kit. Do you need outputs at all? Will you be re-routing signals to outboard gear?

As an example - my MOTU Ultralite has 8 ins and 10 outs (not counting SPDIF, ADAT, etc. - which I will never use). It has two combination XLR/TRS inputs and mic pres on all channels - although only two are accessible from the hardware.

They also make a unit called the 8pre which is 8 inputs - mic pres for all and two outs for monitoring. It's comparable in price to the Ultralite - in fact, I'm thinking about adding it to my system just to have more XLR inputs.

The 'big daddy' MOTU 896 has all the bells and whistles including phantom power and mic pres for all channels. So for the Ultralite or 8pre - you're talking $549 and for the 896 - $1k. But the great thing about a company like MOTU that makes lots of different products is that they integrate seemlessly, so you can purchase the 8pre for example - then if you decide you need outputs - add another unit like the Ultralite.

If you really like this unit - there are ways around the TRS input problem - such as an XLR input box to TRS snake.

[Tim Armstrong]

I just bought another M-Audio Delta 1010lt for $199 from MF. Two of them give me 16 in/out (and more if I use the S/PDIF) plus midi in/out.

If you have PCI slots and don't mind having your computer hard-wired, it's a much less expensive way to go, and the quality is as good or better...

Cheers, Tim

[StuH]

I don't think this does have mic pres at all Cacabi. I just downloaded the manual covering Audiofire 2 up to Audiofire 12. Their Audiofire 8 has some though are you looking at that one?

In the specs from the manual it says 12 balanced TRS inputs nominal input level at +4dBu (that's the output voltage coming off a studio mixer) or -10dBV (that's the output voltage from home audio/video equipment).

From muusicman's link, "If you already have a mixer and tons of microphone / instrument preamps, but you need to get all that audio into your computer then the AudioFire12 is just for you."

[StuH]

Tim that M-Audio Delta is a pretty sweet deal. Here's a question. Are the cords on the breakout box long enough for someone to mount all the I/O in a scratch built box? That would be the cat's rump.

[cacibi]

Originally Posted by StuH

I don't think this does have mic pres at all Cacabi. I just downloaded the manual covering Audiofire 2 up to Audiofire 12. Their Audiofire 8 has some though are you looking at that one?

In the specs from the manual it says 12 balanced TRS inputs nominal input level at +4dBu (that's the output voltage coming off a studio mixer) or -10dBV (that's the output voltage from home audio/video equipment).

From muusicman's link, "If you already have a mixer and tons of microphone / instrument preamps, but you need to get all that audio into your computer then the AudioFire12 is just for you."

From the link:

12 in/12 out Firewire Audio Recording with Preamps

[StuH]

Here's some reviews on it.

http://www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/download/audiofire-12

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct0...oaudiofire.htm

[muusicman]

Im starting to think that all this stuff I need to buy for a studio is more trouble than it's worth....I live on a fixed income...Im lucky sometimes to come out with 100 dollars at the end of the month so I think im gonna have to focus my attention and money onto something else....any sugestions?

[StuH]

The card Tim mentioned if you have an extra PCI slot in your computer.

Your right here it is so so easy to get carried away. One step at a time.

What exactly do you want to accomplish. A little hobby with you producing your own solo type musak? You can do this on the cheap and get good results.

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by StuH

Tim that M-Audio Delta is a pretty sweet deal. Here's a question. Are the cords on the breakout box long enough for someone to mount all the I/O in a scratch built box? That would be the cat's rump.

They're pretty short, but I just got a bunch of RCA to 1/4 inch cables from RadShack, and I run them into a nice older 12-channel Yamaha mixer, plus some other preamps I have. It's a fairly permanent installation for me, I don't break it down between sessions...

Cheers, Tim

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by muusicman

Im starting to think that all this stuff I need to buy for a studio is more trouble than it's worth....I live on a fixed income...Im lucky sometimes to come out with 100 dollars at the end of the month so I think im gonna have to focus my attention and money onto something else....any sugestions?

Originally Posted by StuH

What exactly do you want to accomplish. A little hobby with you producing your own solo type musak? You can do this on the cheap and get good results.

Stu's absolutely right, you have to define what you want to do before you can come up with a plan to get it done (and before we can give you anything resembling useful advice!).

Do you need to record a lot of tracks simultaneously?

Before I got this 8-channel soundcard, I had a $99 stereo soundcard on my computer, an M-Audio Audiophile 2496. It's functionally the same as the more expensive one, except that it's only two channels. Works great for recording myself playing an instrument and/or singing.

Cheers, Tim

[Gilamnstr]

Originally Posted by muusicman

Im starting to think that all this stuff I need to buy for a studio is more trouble than it's worth....I live on a fixed income...Im lucky sometimes to come out with 100 dollars at the end of the month so I think im gonna have to focus my attention and money onto something else....any sugestions?

If you want to take the budget route - something like an Alesis MultiMix 8 USB Mixer ($149.99) into Audacity (FREE multi-track recording program) on your computer. Buy yourself a halfway decent mic and you're all set. It won't produce the professional-level results that some of the guys here are getting, but for a hobbyist home musician it's a great way to get into it without blowing your budget to shreds. The mixer comes with Cubase LE (a more advanced recording program) included, but I pretty much stick with Audacity because it's very easy to use and has almost zero latency.

[CountryShawn]

Originally Posted by muusicman

found one tha I like...it's pricy but I want to know if it's any good....and if anyone has ever used it.

here is the link....it is the Echo AudioFire 12

That's the one that I use. It's great - especially for very expansive drum mic'ing. I like it.

Shawn

[maxvintage]

Originally Posted by muusicman

Im starting to think that all this stuff I need to buy for a studio is more trouble than it's worth....I live on a fixed income...Im lucky sometimes to come out with 100 dollars at the end of the month so I think im gonna have to focus my attention and money onto something else....any sugestions?

I sympathize. What do you mean by "studio?" Do you want to be able to record bands like on 48 tracks? Or do you just want to be able to lay down tracks one at a time?

If it's the latter, it doesn't have to be expensive. You have a computer. You can use a free DAW like Audacity. Here's my real hardware costs

Mackie Onyx Satellite--$199
M-Audio BX5 monitors--$199 "reconditioned" from musiciansfriend
2 MXR condenser mics--$100
Shure sm 57$ 100

You could do without the monitors, and just get a decent set of headphones and you don't need the SM-57 unless you absolutely have to mic cabs. More and more I don't bother, I just run direct and use a sim

Cacibi makes a great point about the MOTU stuff--I use a Mac and if I had more money to spend I'd get a motu ultralite and add on as needed. But I think I've gotten good results laying down tracks with this simple rig. Here's a page of samples