Best sounding audio interface under $300?

[Felonius]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--FOCSCAR8I6
Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 USB Audio Interface

http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRSAB44VSL
PreSonus AudioBox 44VSL USB Audio Interface

http://www.zzounds.com/item--NIN21066
Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 USB Interface

[muthafunka]

Does 299 count? I've heard good thing about the new Komplete Audio 6.

249 even...tempted to upgrade my AK1

[rdevries]

you can also start reading peoples' signatures to see what they use.

So you use a Steve Martin? Is that firewire or USB?

epic fail
(this is the first time I use this term on the forum, I am glad I waited for the right moment.)

[Boss Level Music]

Akai EIE Pro
Akai EIE

Should be available late October. Starts a $199. Looks real sexy.
Don't know how well it will actually work though.

[Felonius]

The Akai is USB 1.0, the Pro is USB 2.0. I doubt that the Pro starts at "$199.9999999999999999."

[Boss Level Music]

The Akai is USB 1.0, the Pro is USB 2.0. I doubt that the Pro starts at "$199.9999999999999999."

You're correct, I was simply saying that the "EIE" line starts at about $200. Sweetwater says they will have the Pro version for $250. For the price it seems like it could be a nice little piece of gear.
4 ins/outs w/inserts and phantom power.
24bit/96k
Analogue VU meters.
A built in 3 port powered USB hub.
All metal construction. No cheap plastic crap to break.
Midi i/o.
Plenty of knobs and switches to fondle.

As long as it actually works as advertised I think it's a good deal. Might not suit everyone's needs though, and it's definately not a proven piece of gear yet, just another option to consider.

[23kon]

Both are definitely nice looking bits of kit. Nice going Akai!
I wonder if this is the start of a new range or retro-looking stuff?

Nice touch with the extra USB's.
On the downside it looks pretty big and not really aimed at a portable setup. For the same reason, a lot of folk won't like it needing it's own power. It means you probably need to haul an adapter along to gigs too as plugs are usually sparce at venues.

[kitekrazy]

Nooby question for you all -

What would you say is the best sounding audio interface for under $300 new?

I've been thinking about picking up the Native Instruments Audio 6, but I'm having a hard time finding good comparison to justify that. If I can spend less get and get the same or better quality, that would be awesome. Thanks for the help.

There really isn't a such thing as best sounding audio interface just like when people ask for the best sounding DAW. Monitors tend to make a difference when it comes to sound.

There are also 4 types of interfaces.


1. PCI -my favorite choice but only available in desktop
2. PCIe - most recent technology, few companies make PCIe cards.
3. Firewire - my favorite external since I don't have anything else using those ports.
4. Most common external device

Under $300 the choices are endless.

[JAMM]

FA 66

[23kon]

Nooby question for you all -

What would you say is the best sounding audio interface for under $300 new?

I've been thinking about picking up the Native Instruments Audio 6, but I'm having a hard time finding good comparison to justify that. If I can spend less get and get the same or better quality, that would be awesome. Thanks for the help.

There really isn't a such thing as best sounding audio interface just like when people ask for the best sounding DAW. Monitors tend to make a difference when it comes to sound.

There are also 4 types of interfaces.


1. PCI -my favorite choice but only available in desktop
2. PCIe - most recent technology, few companies make PCIe cards.
3. Firewire - my favorite external since I don't have anything else using those ports.
4. Most common external device

Under $300 the choices are endless.

There's also express card options out there.
Unfortunately because Macs dont offer these on their computers and they are becoming less common on laptops as they get smaller and thinner these are getting rarer.

[lapieuvre]

Get a PCI firewire extension card with TI chipset and get yourself an Audifire2 or Audiofire4 from Echo. Built like a tank, superb sound (uses same AD/DA-chips as the much more expensive RME interfaces) and quality drivers. You'll not regret it!

+1

[23kon]

Get a PCI firewire extension card with TI chipset and get yourself an Audifire2 or Audiofire4 from Echo. Built like a tank, superb sound (uses same AD/DA-chips as the much more expensive RME interfaces) and quality drivers. You'll not regret it!

+1

I'm not saying this is no good, but from reviews of this product it looks like it was released in 2007.
In this day and age when technology moves at a rediculously fast pace, isn't this pretty old hat?

[lapieuvre]

It's true that when you look at their drivers, they date from a long time... Maybe they are going bankrupt?

Anyways, echo has an amazing sound quality.

[metalmyarvy]

fast track pro got me a lot of bugs on 64bit... i went native instruments!

[kitekrazy]

Get a PCI firewire extension card with TI chipset and get yourself an Audifire2 or Audiofire4 from Echo. Built like a tank, superb sound (uses same AD/DA-chips as the much more expensive RME interfaces) and quality drivers. You'll not regret it!

+1

I'm not saying this is no good, but from reviews of this product it looks like it was released in 2007.
In this day and age when technology moves at a rediculously fast pace, isn't this pretty old hat?

Echo rarely has to update their drivers. They get em right the first time. There's also drivers for their discontinued units as well.
BTW I use an M-Audio FW 410, Presonus 1394 on a VIA chipset and there are no problems.