Audio Interface Recommendations (experience related)

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 2:33 pm

Man, have I had nothing but issues with this new set up! Let me please attempt a different approach.

This is my system.
Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB/2.00GHz/667MHz)
2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 950 GM
80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Windows XP Home service pack 2
LIVE 5.2.2
M-Audio Firewire 1814

What do experienced Ableton PC users recommend with respect to quality audio interfaces? This will be used in a multiple input/output/record performance rig. Something has got to work. PLEASE help me.I have used LIVE 5 for over a year now with E-MUs 1820m & a Dell desk top. ZERO problems. Why the heck are these sound card manufacturers so frickin far behind? No one is express card ready and all these firewire interfaces seem prone to be problematic. Surely someone makes a CURRENT friendly firewire app. for PCs running XP Home Ed. SP2. to be used in conjunction with LIVE. What up?

Thanks,
Jeff

mikemc · Post by **mikemc** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:28 pm

This is a desktop?

I'm guessing most people will tell you RME, they spec very nicely and the comments here indicate many happy users.

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/index.htm

From my experience I would say MOTU Ultralite, but I have a notebook so I need to connect via cable.

zeropoint · Post by **zeropoint** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:31 pm

I used to have a Motu 828 in the studio and a FW 410 for travelling with. Sadly I had to sell the Motu when I needed some cash. Now I have the 410 and an Echo Indigo DJ to play out with......recently I went shopping with a vinyl DJ friend who wanted to get into the laptop and Live. With my exoerience with Motu gear I advised him to get the Ultralite.....and bloody hell it is good. The FW 410 sucks by comparison-n fact it has got worse and worse imo with each of their driver updates. - it's a cpu hog with, for me , unacceptable latency on medium track counts and the clarity, punch and definition from the Motu leaves it in the shade....i If I had the cash to splash right now I would definitely get the Ultralite,,,,hands down. just my two cents....

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:42 pm

mikemc wrote:This is a desktop?

I'm guessing most people will tell you RME, they spec very nicely and the comments here indicate many happy users.

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/index.htm

From my experience I would say MOTU Ultralite, but I have a notebook so I need to connect via cable.

I apologize. It is in fact a laptop.

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:46 pm

mikemc wrote:This is a desktop?

I'm guessing most people will tell you RME, they spec very nicely and the comments here indicate many happy users.

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/index.htm

From my experience I would say MOTU Ultralite, but I have a notebook so I need to connect via cable.

Mike
What kind of 1394 chip set do you have? I have Ricoh but cannot seem to find and real yeahs or nays. Everyone blames chips sets when in reality, they simply have not REALLY invested the time and money to write inclusively comprehensive driver pallets.

Brian Ffar · Post by **Brian Ffar** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 8:00 pm

I run an Ultralite on my desktop PC, and it sound great. Granted, there is some research to be done to make sure it'll work for your machine, but once you work the kinks out, it sounds great.

B

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:24 pm

Brian Ffar wrote:I run an Ultralite on my desktop PC, and it sound great. Granted, there is some research to be done to make sure it'll work for your machine, but once you work the kinks out, it sounds great.

B

This is the thing. Motu tells you AFTER the fact (purchase) that you need TI or Lucient chips. They are a first class machine without question, but what they don't tell you is that it's really not ALL about chip hardware quality, it's about their lack of driver availability for other chip sets like Ricoh as well. A chip is like a car. It's a vehicle for getting a certain type of passenger/information (not just quality of passenger or information) to a specific location. The drivers are software engines for a specific type of vehicle and again, not just an elite Ferrari type of vehicle. If my understanding is correct, their drivers only work with the TI or Lucient variety of automobile. Other chip sets of more than comparable quality with respect to specific information transit are simply not supported via their drivers. Who said anything about life being fair?

Monkey Mouse · Post by **Monkey Mouse** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:04 am

TI cjips are the only ones that are safe with all the FW interfaces out there. Some others may apply, but TI is the most compatable by far.

nihad · Post by **nihad** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:23 am

the good thing is that fw-cards with ti chips are pretty cheap ..

bicarbone · Post by **bicarbone** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:32 am

+1 for the ultralite!

I've been using it for 6 months now, in my place, in friends places, in different venues (more than 12 gigs I would say, in quite different conditions - wonderfull sounding or crappy P.A.) and it has never let me down. RME's alledgedly have slightly better preamps, but are quite more expensive too...

What I really like with the motu is it is really sturdy and fits well along with a laptop and stuff in a back pack. I nevertheless treat it with care, but I know I can rely on it in live situations.

hope this helps

nihad · Post by **nihad** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:34 am

i also own the ultralite, been using it in the studio since october something .. and live once sofar where i streamed 8 channels from a dell laptop .. it worked like a charm ..

radib · Post by **radib** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 8:02 pm

DrXparaMental wrote:I have used LIVE 5 for over a year now with E-MUs 1820m & a Dell desk top. ZERO problems.

maybe don´t get it, but why not emu 1616m (pcmcia)? really a great card, sounds even better than rme. good drivers too.

DrXparaMental · Post by **DrXparaMental** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 3:59 pm

radib wrote:
DrXparaMental wrote:I have used LIVE 5 for over a year now with E-MUs 1820m & a Dell desk top. ZERO problems.

maybe don´t get it, but why not emu 1616m (pcmcia)? really a great card, sounds even better than rme. good drivers too.

Try buying a NEW computer with PCMCIA slot. They don't make 'em anymore. The 1616m would have been my FIRST choice.

ultrasource · Post by **ultrasource** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:58 pm

I went through the following in this order: tascam us-428, m-audio audiophile, m-audio 410, TC-Electronics Konnekt 24d, Motu828 MkII.
I went through hell with every one except the motu. your milage may vary.

difference · Post by **difference** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:22 pm

You have a Dell?

Don't buy a firewire interface. Dell use a Ricoh FW chip which has compatibility problems with most FW audio interfaces. Check out this ongoing discussion: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=73829

If you want multi i/o on that laptop then I suggest you go USB 2.0. Look at the Edirol UA 101 and the MOTU 828 MkII usb.

Audio Interface Recommendations (experience related)

Audio Interface Recommendations (experience related)

Re: Audio Interface Recommendations (experience related)

Re: Audio Interface Recommendations (experience related)