is NRV10 a good solution ?

brianbacio · Post by **brianbacio** » Tue May 06, 2008 9:57 pm

i need a mixer, i need a soundcard with more ins and outs than my Firebox.
Is the M-Audio NRV10 a good compact solution? And how good are the preamps?

Thanks for user experience...

Akshara · Post by **Akshara** » Wed May 07, 2008 6:51 pm

I'm running a NRV-10 with a Macbook Pro, and am very happy with it. For live performance, it's really great. For recording, there might be better solutions in this price range depending on what the needs are. The NRV-10 is not a control surface, and requires a power outlet, so while compact it's not really mobile.

The NRV-10's preamps are what I would call good. They're not the quality of an Apogee, yet are comparable to most other pro-sumer interfaces. What it lacks in sound quality it makes up for in routing flexibility and performance features. If recording quality is paramount, this isn't the best solution. Having said that, I would have no qualms using it as the main interface for an album or recording project.

Naim · Post by **Naim** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:00 pm

Funny, I'm in a similar situation right now with my Firebox. It's a nice little piece of gear, but I really need to be able to route more audio. Right now I'm making do by just using my Mackie 12ch mixer as a sort of patch board, but I'll probably need to get something better.

I'm strongly considering a Mackie Onyx 12ch with the firewire option, but maybe this NRV-10 would be enough? I'm pretty fussy when it comes to my preamps though.

brianbacio · Post by **brianbacio** » Thu May 08, 2008 1:31 am

-Akshara
your info will help me decide, but going Apogee is $ out of reach ; perhaps the Duet and an 8 ch Mackie (recording is important factor ).....

Akshara · Post by **Akshara** » Fri May 09, 2008 6:22 am

Naim...

I'd say that if "better than average" preamps are of paramount importance, then the NRV-10 isn't the best solution. Having said that, it is my opinion that in the price range which we're talking about here, the practical differences between interfaces and preamps are often minimal and somewhat dependent upon what outboard equipment one is using. The NRV10 pres are as good as any other M-Audio interface I've worked with, including the Delta series.

brianbacio...

The Duet is a superior sounding unit, yet to be fair this is partly due to the low jitter clock. The idea of using a Duet with a quality analog mixer is a good one; yet it's still only two I/O channels, and Mac compatible only.

Another non-bus powered recording solution which offers similar I/O flexibility as the NRV-10, yet with higher quality preamps, is the Motu 896 HD. It's $300 more than the NRV10, at almost half the price of an Apogee Ensemble, while still being less than comparable RME and Metric Halo interfaces.

Good luck with the choice, both of you.

Edit: If you guys haven't already checked this out, give it a watch... Sonicstate NRV10 Video Review

Naim · Post by **Naim** » Fri May 09, 2008 7:06 pm

Thanks for the info and the link to the video review. I'm actually reasonably impressed with the device now and definitely will consider it as my new interface.