audio interfaces

shalmaneser · Post by **shalmaneser** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:59 pm

I am looking for an audio interface to use with Ableton Live and maybe Cubase on an XP laptop (Dell M4400).

Lookign at reviews on zZsounds etc. every single one ssems to have problems (glicks, glitches etc.) - so here's my question:

Does any one actually have an audio interface that they use with Live (for live performance) that they are happy with in terms of reliability and sound quality?

(BTW I did look at FAQs and other posts to see if the question had already been answered).

Thanks

Shalmaneser

trilo · Post by **trilo** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:11 pm

Just finally picked up an M-Audio Fast Track Pro, and really like it. Only down side is you can only plug in one M-Audio USB device at a time, which renders my aging Ozone controller useless until I run over to the local Guitar Center and grab a MIDI cable (since apparently that combo works fine).

Fast Track Pro is bus-powered (though you can add a DC adapter for phantom power if you like), has a pair of ins and a pair of outs, MIDI in/out, and a preamp. Sounds good, works well. Perhaps some others out there who've had theirs for a while can chime in with their experiences.

Aequitas123 · Post by **Aequitas123** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:26 pm

I also use the Fast Track Pro. I know lots of people are going to say it sucks, and i suppose for sound quality its not the best, but it does the bare minimum.

And trilo, i run my m-audio axiom and my M-Audio Fast Track pro at the same time. Not sure why you wouldn't be able to.

fishmonkey · Post by **fishmonkey** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:27 pm

how much money you got to spend?

Silwolffe · Post by **Silwolffe** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:34 pm

I know this may be a bit on the financial scale, but I know a lot of people here use a MOTU Ultralite. It's on my list to eventually pick up, as I've heard a lot of good reviews about it. http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php? ... +Ultralite

jstilger · Post by **jstilger** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:17 pm

I have a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1. I really like it. I mostly use it for my home studio, but I have used it a few times for djing at small events. Never really had a problem with it. It would help us out if we knew what kind of specs you need for it (e.i. how many ins and outs you plan on using).

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:51 pm

fishmonkey wrote:how much money you got to spend?

yep. what are your needs? what will you record with it? how many ins/outs do you need?

FWIW M Audio has a bad reputation, they also have a high volume, so naturally there are more complaints. people complain about just about ALL the interfaces. whatever you get don't skimp, the audio card affects EVERYTHING, how smooth Live runs, how high of a sample rate you can use, how many plugs ins you can run, everything. it's as important and picking a computer's speed.

Emissary · Post by **Emissary** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:55 pm

Anything made by RME, those things are tanks with just about the lowest latency you can get

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:08 pm

I've been using the M-Audio Profire 610 here for about 2 months now, and it's been very reliable and sounds great. Factor in the price-point and it's a real winner.

I guarantee you that plenty of dissenting voices will chime in about how you should avoid all M-Audio products because they've had bad experiences (or just because it's the default response), and that's fair enough...but they've come up with a good interface at a very reasonable price with the Profire.

For balance, I've also used the MOTU Ultralite and the Apogee Duet. The Profire is proving to be just as good at nearly half the price.

Aequitas123 · Post by **Aequitas123** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:22 pm

Slight tangent:

Can anyone here know knows actually confirm that there is a noticeable sound quality difference between something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro and the MOTU Ultralite?

interceptor · Post by **interceptor** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:38 pm

I have a Echo AudioFire2.

Very pleased with the sound quality. Balanced ins/outs. But the latency is more than I can handle.
I have actually started using the internal soundcard on my Macbook Pro as it gives a lot lower latency.

Im in the market for a small low latency interface. Fireface 400 looks good but I really just need 4 ins/outs.

Android Bishop · Post by **Android Bishop** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:43 pm

Presonus firebox for the fucking WIN
NI Audio Control for USB

M-Audio sucks balls0rz, seriously

twisted-space · Post by **twisted-space** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:15 pm

Aequitas123 wrote:Slight tangent:

Can anyone here know knows actually confirm that there is a noticeable sound quality difference between something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro and the MOTU Ultralite?

I can't comment on the ultralight but there is a noticable difference between my fasttrack pro and my emu 1616m (with the emu being the better sounding).

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:06 pm

Aequitas123 wrote: Can anyone here know knows actually confirm that there is a noticeable sound quality difference between something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro and the MOTU Ultralite?

What kind of confirmation would you like? Technical data regarding the A/D converters and so on?

Personally, I'm happy enough to trust my ears and they tell me that the difference is rather slight between most of the mid-priced audio interfaces that I've used. And, as with other studio gear, there's a marked improvement the higher up the price brackets you climb.

I've not used the Fast Track Pro, but since it's a lot cheaper than the Profire and Ultralite I'd say that M-Audio have had to compromise somewhere to sell it at that figure, so it's unlikely to be as good as the Ultralite.

All I know is that the Apogee Duet, MOTU Ultralite and the M-Audio Profire series are all astoundingly good products for the semi-pro engineer/producer. If I had to choose I'd say the Duet edges it, but not by a huge margin.

puzl · Post by **puzl** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:07 pm

I'm very happy with the Ultralite

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