Which interface, MOTU828mk2 or RME Hammerfall?

toyo · Post by **toyo** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 2:18 am

hi,
i have a Powerbook G4 1.25GHZ with X.3.2 installed. so far i used a m-audio FW 410 which never really worked, now i am looking at the MOTU828mk2 with firewire and the RME Hammerfall Multiface with PCMA card. has anybody had any experience with either one on an apple powerbook? after the m-audio fw 410 with firewire i think the hammerfall option sounds better to me.
thank you

special ed · Post by **special ed** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 5:40 am

i use the 828 mk2 and find myself more than happy with it, im not really knowledgable about the rme hammerfall though.

main · Post by **main** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:24 am

I have a RME (with VAIO). I am satisfied with this. Sometimes I don't like the physical connection of PCMCIA (small jack), you have to take care. But latency and sound are extreme professional.

Mbazzy · Post by **Mbazzy** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:42 am

I think you can't go wrong with either of them . Do have the impression that Mac people seem to go with Motu and Windows people more with RME.

jeromepacman · Post by **jeromepacman** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:52 am

toyo wrote:hi,
i have a Powerbook G4 1.25GHZ with X.3.2 installed. so far i used a m-audio FW 410 which never really worked, now i am looking at the MOTU828mk2 with firewire and the RME Hammerfall Multiface with PCMA card. has anybody had any experience with either one on an apple powerbook? after the m-audio fw 410 with firewire i think the hammerfall option sounds better to me.
thank you

I use 828 with my Powerbook. It works very very good.

gaspode · Post by **gaspode** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 4:10 pm

the 828 mkII has plenty of connection, low latency and it doesn't feel likely to break. The PCMCIA interface for the RME looks sturdy enough, but it looks more prone to wear and tear than the firewire cable.

marzio · Post by **marzio** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 4:19 pm

i vote for 828mkII.
good sound good price many features.

Moody · Post by **Moody** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 4:39 pm

I use the 828mkii and well, I am a very happy camper.

The Hulk · Post by **The Hulk** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:05 pm

another vote from an OSX MOTU 828 user. I've been let down by a lot of hardware and software in my day, but never by the MOTU!

warabunga · Post by **warabunga** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:45 am

I vote for the rme digiface.

rock solid and fabulous midi timing (2 midi I/O)! work clock perfect as well... sexy gear

I work on a powerbook...

toyo · Post by **toyo** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:51 pm

Does the hammerfall come with mic-preamps or do i have to get that extra?
by the way, thanks for all the answers.

muthafunka · Post by **muthafunka** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 1:22 am

Try looking at Hammerfall's spec for info about mic pres.
828mk2 here, MUCH better sound than mk1, don't forget it also offers 1x1 midi ports and functions as a mixer too (once you've got your head around Cuemix). Sturdy build, $$ well spent.

jho · Post by **jho** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 3:28 am

I'm NOT knocking anyone's purchase as I'm sure most folks will be happy with either way, but IMO and most pro engineers I know, the PCIMIA or PCI (in a desktop) RME setup beats any firewire setup all day long in terms of speed and stability plus you don't tie up that firewire port for firewire HD's. The RME has better A/D D/A conveters in direct comparisons I've heard personally. The RME also has midi in/out plus a hardware based 64 channel mixer as well that is not host dependent (called Total Mix) so you can run it as a mixer/router with system latency at under 1.5 I think and it's rock solid.

If you go over to recpit or gearslutz and ask what more professional level engineers prefer you'll probably hear more praise for RME. THAT SAID, the Motu stuff is way better than M-Audio as far as quality and I'm not Knocking any MOTU owners. As always YMMV. I'm sure either piece will do you right. PS: I'm using RME on a MAC OSX and love it. I agree the cable to the PCIMIA card does look more flimsy than a firewire port BUT the connection won't pull out or get loose by accident like a firewire cable so easily does. I've not had any issues with mine. Plus when I get my G5 for the studio I'll use my old G4 as another Live or VSTi setup and get RME's PCI card, and I'll be able to use the Multiface on there with the same killer specs.

As far as checking out the RME spec about mic pre's (good trick question Mutha...hehe) you'll find the Multiface doesn't have one. I use the real deal mic pre's like Neve, Avalon and API so I don't need an entry level pre in my I/O box. However RME has announced the Multiface Pro which will be a full rack space and have a few really nice quality pre's and some other new features. The pre in the Motu would probably be suitable for live performance but I'd prefer even a wackie VLZ Pro over it in the studio.

Again either will be an improvement from the 410 and I'm sure you like either one. Just stating my opinion based on direct experience with both and certainly not trying to flame Motu folks because their stuff is not bad either.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 12:50 pm

im currently on search for an audio interface,
firewire, as i hate pccard connections
and as im more into synths stuff, i need -10dBu level.
the problem is most boxes offer only +4dBV..

(same price range)
hercules 16/12 - switchable +4/-10, 2midi i/o $600
presonus firestation +4, 1 midi i/o, but line mixer! $500
esi octafire - +4 only, 4 midi i/o, 8in/8out $650
edirol fa101 - +4 only 10in/out, 1 midi i/o $600
m-audio 18/12 - -10 only, 1 midi i/o $700

so my choice would be hercules.. balanced/unbalanced +4/-10 etc tec.
anyone have experience? they do consumer cards also..
i heard so much trouble with m-audio, that im scared.

did you know, that a lot of audio interfaces share same backbone?
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040116/165217_1.html

thats why all of those are delayded until march-april,
i guess.. another nice product was neon 25 by esi..

jho · Post by **jho** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 1:05 pm

RME Multiface = +4 or -10, jumper selectable FYI (although you HATE pccard connections!)

Which interface, MOTU828mk2 or RME Hammerfall?

Which interface, MOTU828mk2 or RME Hammerfall?

Re: Which interface, MOTU828mk2 or RME Hammerfall?

Motu

828mkii