MACBOOK PRO Performance onboard (coreaudio) v edirol FA66

[rosti]

I have the Edirols FA66 running with Macbook Pro (2,2ghz, 4gb RAM, osx 1.5.8 ). Its good with mixing and working with virtual instruments, but i have to use maximum buffer size when recording. Otherwise ill have pops and crackling. I would (and will in the future) stay away from all other interfaces than MOTU, RME and Apogee.

Just now i'm fighting to record stuff from my Virus C.. 26.8 ms latency or crackles...

Works better on PC though.

My bad! FA-66 was enabled on OSX and that caused the latency. Disabled it from the OSX audio settings and latencys dropped to usable levels. Still annoying if you want to use your FA-66 on something else than making music.

[nylarch]

I'm another FA-66 owner - seem to be getting worse results since the jump to Snow Leopard. Anyone have any experience with the Apogee One yet? I only plug my bass in so I'm not worried about I/O and I even think the onboard mic could be cool for basic sampling.

[hps909]

The best Audio Cards are the ones using OS Direct Drivers like CoreAudio.
Only a few manufacturer build good drivers for their Audio Cards,
I heard edirol/roland is not one of those, especially now with Snow Leopard.

my 2 cents

edirol use core audio ... there are no drivers to install it's true plug and play ...

i used a FA 66 for many years with out a hitch .. actually it was bomb proof for playing live.. you don't get high end converter quality with but you not paying much money for it also are you?

apogee duet would be a great pick for sound quality ( in a much higher league than the FA - 66 ) if you only need 2 in 2 out

[JAMM]

I Love it.

Use it for recording guitars(high level input), vocals,
midi-interface.
Nice limiter,
red color,
sylenth preamps,
red color,
No latency.
6 pin firewire so no external powersuply needed.
Nice price.
build like a brick.

No problems with it!
4% higher CPU than internal soundcard.
See below.

1. Ableton Live CPU Meter 51%
2. Laptop: MBP
3. Operating System? OSX 10.5.2
4. Ableton Live version? 8.0.1
5. CPU model: 2.5 GHz Intel Core2 duo
6. Amount of Ram: 2GB
7. Soundcard: Internal
8. Hard Disk Drive Speed: 5400 RPM
9. Number of playback tracks: 8

1. Ableton Live CPU Meter 55%
2. Laptop: MBP
3. Operating System? OSX 10.5.2
4. Ableton Live version? 8.0.1
5. CPU model: 2.5 GHz Intel Core2 duo
6. Amount of Ram: 2GB
7. Soundcard: EDIROL FA66(firewire)
8. Hard Disk Drive Speed: 5400 RPM
9. Number of playback tracks: 8

[Wendals]

I have a Edirol FA 66 and its a pile of junk! The analog to digital converters in them are the worst in the game. On the other hand Apogee's are the BEST! I'm selling my Edirol for an Apogee and anyone with the choice in the first place would be stupid to get a edirol. They are only any good for DJ's with a macbook.

[hps909]

yeah it is when you compare it to high end stuff ... it's never going to be in that league but in it's price range it's not bad ..

like i said it's bomb proof mine has never skipped a beat in the last 5 years. great for live plug it in and it works. having said that mine is not a critical listening / recording card it is purely a live playback interface that is compact and ultra reliable