Firewire Audio Interface for Macs around 350 Euros

[tomperson]

Yesh, i'm on the same boat. i have an echo indigo dj and a fw410.
the indigo dj works noticeably better than the 410 in terms of latency. the 410 at 512 samples suffers quite a bit, and we're talking of moderate cpu usage (50%). the echo does much better (although not perfect) but as i'm planning on getting a macbook in the next 12 months, i have to get rid of it.

On my desktop i have a emu 1820m (PCI+breakout box), it works beautifully, it's nice and well built, i'd get the portable ones without even thinking. There are some pcmcia based models (same problem as with the indigo dj) and a usb one (0404 usb) which is plainly beautiful, but not bus powered, and wallwarts are something i really want to avoid, specially because i plan on taking it for some high quality field recordings. a pity, otherwise it was perfect. EMU!!! BRING A FIREWIRE SOLUTION!!!

Then there's the ak-1, which as you said is a hit or miss situation. Some people praise it, others have had nothing but problems. It also looks perfect in the specs. A pity.

The more I investigate, the more i become convinced that there's still no perfect no-brains solution, but lots of people point towards the motu ultralite or RME solutions with their difficult to swallow price tags...but in the end it may be worthwile saving more and getting a really good card and forgetting about problems...

[mlehmann]

How Do you like the mbox 2. I am looking for a audio interface for my mac pro when i switch from PC. I am looking at the UltraLite or the MBox2 or PRo version. I heard that a firewire interface is more stable thab USB 2. And for the same price for the Mbox 2 Vs. the Ultralite the mbox comes with Pro tools. I will be using it at my studio on a Mac pro and also on my laptop for when i gig. Also any input on Logic VS. Protools as a daw. I like the Tools for it's "tools" i.e. Beat dect. Sound replacer. Groove temps etc. but i also love the Inst and efx and the sound of Logic. Any input is much appreciated.

I like the Mbox2 a lot. It is far much better than the original Mbox. I'm able to work with Live at 128 samples of latency which is more than enough to play guitar without any latency problem. I get an occasionnal glitch here and there but everything's fine if I set the buffers at 256 samples which is still good. When I had the original mbox, there was so much latency that I had to buy a Saffire to be able to monitor through FXs when playing guitar. Since I got the Mbox2, I sold the Saffire because I didn't need it anymore. Of course, I'd rather buy a FW interface but there's two reasons I'm keeping the Mbox2: First, I've not been able to find a good-quality, compact and bus-powered FW interface, except the Ultralite which is more money than the Mbox2 anyway. Second, even if tried to switch to Digital Performer (used it for 9 months) and Logic (used it for almost a year), I keep coming back to ProTools when it's time to do serious audio editing. Usually, my workflow is using Live for composition and more electronica stuff and ProTools for mixing, audio editing and straight-ahead rock projects, where there's no synths involved.

[Buleriachk]

I have the AK1 and it is working just perfectly; 1.5 ms latency, and no issues whatever on my 2 Ghz Core Duo Laptop (Toshiba).

[nylarch]

Have the FA66 and its been stable and a good choice.

These look great as well (just released):

http://www.echoaudio.com/

[Zerobae]

These look great as well (just released):

http://www.echoaudio.com/