best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

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alpermo
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best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by alpermo » Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:34 pm

hi folks,

i am planning to switch from winos running laptop to snow leopard running macbook pro.
which firewire device (within my budget) works best with the combination?
my budget is max 300 euro.

edit: i'll use this setup mainly with ableton live and lots of vsts. maybe audio recording in the future and also with vestax vci-100+traktor dj ing.

thanks for the help

a

SubFunk
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by SubFunk » Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:39 pm

for 300 euros the presonus firebox.

it is not the best interface on the planet (well for the money it is) but one rock stable workhorse.
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rikhyray
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by rikhyray » Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:48 pm

SubFunk wrote:for 300 euros the presonus firebox.

it is not the best interface on the planet (well for the money it is) but one rock stable workhorse.
The new one- firestudio mobile should be better, I got sick so couldnt go and check it but will do that and write some report here. Hopefully still this week. Otherwise NI interfaces or Echo ( stable drivers but I dont like the sound much).
Probably the best interface right now is RME USB, on Mac it is killer but that is outside of your budget

evileye
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by evileye » Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:19 pm

im happy with my Tc electronic konneck 24 not had any problems so far
a lot of people on here seem to run motu ultralite with macs
you should be able to get one secondhand for under 300

SubFunk
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by SubFunk » Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:30 pm

rikhyray wrote:The new one- firestudio mobile should be better, I got sick so couldnt go and check it but will do that and write some report here.
oh PLEASE do that, i would love to test it myself... i am super curious about this card.

it looks interesting, plenty of ins (8) and 4 outs looks like a sexy config for homestudios, too
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kriegerliebhaber
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by kriegerliebhaber » Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:50 pm

im currently looking at the echo audiofire 4 and the focusrite saffire pro 24, not sure about the latter as I've heard people having issues with latency, which would not be good live. but it has amazing sounding preamps so i've heard.....would anyone have any insight??

SubFunk
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by SubFunk » Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:58 pm

well, the focusrite pres are pretty sweet, but i am personally not a great fan of focusrite or TC electronics for that matter, even they are making very good sounding hardware the driver development / stability lacks...

companies like echo, presonus and RME are opposed very good in that respect and deliver a rock solid performance / link with you computer system.
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kriegerliebhaber
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by kriegerliebhaber » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:11 pm

subfunk, what would you go for then for a live setup the presonus or audiofire? also for live use, is usb interfaces out of the question as I am the only one with a firewire MBP but my band mates might wanna use it with their regular MBs live.

jonesonyou
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by jonesonyou » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:17 pm

evileye wrote:im happy with my Tc electronic konneck 24 not had any problems so far
a lot of people on here seem to run motu ultralite with macs
you should be able to get one secondhand for under 300

+1 on the used motu idea. You can get one on ebay for $300, Thats what I did to run on a macbook, by far the best setup I have used.

MartinOM28V
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by MartinOM28V » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:21 pm

For that budget look at the Apogee ONE. Great sound but downside is only one input channel at a time (either XLR, 1/4" or the built-in and quite good condenser mic). IMHO the sound quality improvement makes up for lack of additional channels, and besides I record one instrument at a time anyway.
iMac 3.4 GHz i7 12GB/Apogee Duet 2/Event ASP8/AKAI MPK61/Ableton Suite 8/Logic Pro 9/Waves Platinum/Komplete 7/Amplitube 3/Omnisphere/Stylus RMX/Trilian

SubFunk
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by SubFunk » Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:03 pm

kriegerliebhaber wrote:subfunk, what would you go for then for a live setup the presonus or audiofire? also for live use, is usb interfaces out of the question as I am the only one with a firewire MBP but my band mates might wanna use it with their regular MBs live.
hard to say, i think they are up to par... having a bit different characters, especially the pres, if you need them...

echo is something i just know it's good, but never worked with myself, but i used several different presonus cards and had always very good experiences, good clean sound and rock, rock stable performance... they are real workhorses in my eyes.

if you ask me, i would probably get a presonus card after my personal experiences, check what you really need (how many I/Os, etc.) and then decide on the model, i mean the focusrite has certainly better pres then any of the presonus or echo cards, but the stability and performance with the computer is from major importance for me... if you want to use it a lot of mic recording, then it's a tough choice.

i am a happy firebox user at home. (well, i don't do a lot of fancy mic recordings at home... otherwise i would get something else or a separate pre)

i mean there are happy TC and focusrite users around, but those two are more likely (unfortunately) to cause trouble with some systems then some other cards
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hps909
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by hps909 » Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:05 pm

SubFunk wrote:well, the focusrite pres are pretty sweet, but i am personally not a great fan of focusrite or TC electronics for that matter, even they are making very good sounding hardware the driver development / stability lacks...

companies like echo, presonus and RME are opposed very good in that respect and deliver a rock solid performance / link with you computer system.

my TC konnekt 48 is rock solid on my mac the driver is super stable i get low latency without glitches dream card for the price
macbook pro 2.5 i5 os 10.12 , TC Electronik Konnekt 48, Live 9, Cubase 9, event 20/20, Waldorf Blofeld, roland tb-03, roland Jx-03, korg mikrokontrol, novation nocturn, akai lpd8

ze2be
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by ze2be » Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:13 pm

The bestest of the bestest is.. (kidding)

Maybe we should create a tread with links to multiple sound card treads. Each sound card thread should contain a vote: "not happy, medium happy, or very happy" with the device.
And of course people are free to write their experiences and questions.

Good idea or crap?

SubFunk
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by SubFunk » Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:22 pm

ze2be wrote:The bestest of the bestest is.. (kidding)

Maybe we should create a tread with links to multiple sound card treads. Each sound card thread should contain a vote: "not happy, medium happy, or very happy" with the device.
And of course people are free to write their experiences and questions.

Good idea or crap?
not a bad idea, that question comes up nearly weekly. and with some cards people have very different experiences and with others nearly the same.
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ze2be
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Re: best audio interface 4 macbook pro+ableton live

Post by ze2be » Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:31 pm

SubFunk wrote:not a bad idea, that question comes up nearly weekly. and with some cards people have very different experiences and with others nearly the same.
So whos up for it? It should be someone who post here more frequent then me at least.. :)

Id be happy to report there about my 7 sound card experiences. (I use only 4 at present time)

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