time for a new audio I/O...what should I buy??

[Smellhound]

I've been using a 10/10 Focusrite Saffire Pro...it's served me well but is having some problems lately. Rather than sending it in to get repaired I think I may just put the money into a new unit. Does anyone have any suggestions for something that might be better?

[leedsquietman]

RME is the best option for lowest latency and solid performance - it is also the most expensive.

If your budget doesn't stretch that far, Presonus or Echo Audio.

MOTU are great if you have a Mac, but more so-so on a PC.

[djsynchro]

You didn't say how much $$$ so here's the (Tec Award) winner:
http://www.uaudio.com/products/hardware/2192/index.html

[evolwizard]

What about the Fast Track Ultra???

[Smellhound]

Those RME's are so tempting but such a big price jump! I'm trying to determine if another $500 will actually buy lower latency, better stability, etc.

I used to have a Presonus Firepod but it had very bad firewire jacks that would become loose after only a few months of plugging & unplugging. If I don't go with the RME I would probably get a Presonus Firestudio as I'm pretty sure they upgraded the jacks and a few other things. Anyone else want to chime in?

[McQ714]

You didn't say how much $$$ so here's the (Tec Award) winner:
http://www.uaudio.com/products/hardware/2192/index.html

how can UA make a device they call an audio interface without an actual way of connecting to the computer. what exactly does it interface with? it's really just an AD/DA converter. there is no firewire port, or usb, or a pci card.

my suggestion at the $500 would be the focusrite saffire pro 40. it's a 20 in / 20 out. looks like a solid unit with some really good features. or jump up to the liquid saffire 56 for $1000. i'm not really familiar with the saffire line of interfaces but the features look great on the 56. i have an RME multiface 2 with PCIe card and i love it, but if you can't afford it, then don't get it.

[leedsquietman]

RME.

And if you're having firewire problems, the new Fireface UC USB2.0 interface actually outperforms the FF400 in terms of latency for around the same money.

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_fir ... uc_general

this also gives you a lot of performance information based upon various computers and laptops.

you can spend the money and get great solid performance, or buy presonus, echo, TC or focusrite - you will not get latencies as ultra low as on RME (they use their own proprietary firewire and USB protocol which is improved on those standards, the rest erm, don't) but they all offer decent pres and performance. On a MAC, MOTU is another consideration.

[Smellhound]

Would anyone be able to give an estimate of how much latency will be decreased by going with a higher-end model like the RME Fireface? A percentage guess would be great.

[leedsquietman]

1-2 notches typically. But that performance chart on their webpage is good because some systems can only run at a minimum of 256 samples mostly due to driver quirks or hardware issues within the computer, whereas most are 32 or 64 - which is phenomenally low.

If you can run a 12 track liveset with say 3 sends and half a dozen inserts at 128 samples or less, then you are doing really well. Live seems to need 1-2 buffer raises more than Logic or Cubase in my experience.

[Smellhound]

when you say nothces you're talking about milliseconds and not samples, correct?

[Smellhound]

also, I can't find that performance chart. Could you post a link? thanks

[Scaper7]

recently released from SSL ... MX4 MADI 128 ch I/O card with onboard mixer (including SSL EQs, channel and bus compressors. Mixer latency is 4 samples. Not cheap (requires MADI converter such as SSL Alphalink or RME).

http://www.solid-state-logic.com/music/ ... /index.asp

I run the MX4's predecessor (Mixpander PCI card) and can confirm the latency specs from years of use (totally negligable). Also allows pretty unlimited connectivity between external studio hardware and multiple audio applications simultanenously.

[Chicle777]

I have heard that the Apogee Duet got some real good converters. How is it compared to the RME and the Focusrite?

[bossyandrew]

Wow~~~!
You are kidding me???

are this really???

[leedsquietman]

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_fir ... uc_general