Ableton Forum

I asked this question in another post, but no one responded so thought I would try with a new thread.

I have an M-Audio Firewire Solo I am using for my sound device with Live and playing MP3's from my laptop. It only has 2 outputs. I need at least 3. One for the click and 2 for all the audio stereo.

My question is, what do you guys use for this? I tried using the search, but it always returns 18000+ records with no threads even close to my search.

Any suggestions on which device to go with??

Thanks!

I have an M-Audio Firewire 410, that does 4 stereo channels (8 mono) analog out, and 1 stereo channel (2 mono) in.

I also have a MOTU Ultralite which I like a lot better. Lots more inputs and outputs. More expensive tho.

RME Fireface is another good one, though even more expensive.

Google for Presonus as well if you're after the cheaper end of the spectrum.

Remember, with Audio Interfaces, you really do get what you pay for.

Yeah, lot of questions about this come up, I think people are getting bored with it.

Unfortunately, if you run a search for a particular interface, you'll see all the posts where someone's listed it in their signature, no matter what crap they're talking about.

I'm no expert, but this is my experience: I ran my desktop with an emu PCI card I was happy with, and borrowed a friend's FW410 for gigging with a G4 powerbook a couple of times. When practicing it worked fine, but to me, it didn't sound as good as the emu (I thought only real audiophiles would notice the difference, but it's quite obvious). But more importantly, it crashed my system during a gig and I couldn't even boot it up again with it plugged in.

Since then, I've bought a Presonus Firebox and the quality seems much better. At least as good as the Emu, I think. Seems stable and I've not had any crashes so far (touch wood). Only problem was a high pitched hum with the desktop caused by a ground loop, but I think this could happen with any interface and it's hard to predict. So bought a cheap DI box with ground lift, and that problem is fixed. I’m happy with it. 2mic/instru ins, 2 line ins, 6 outs, (+spdif and Midi), not much more than the 410.

I’ve heard the focusrite saphire LE is pretty good at around the same price, as well. I thought it looked a little flimsy though, and I like my equipment sturdy and manly (despite the firebox’s purple dials).

Except maybe the real high end interfaces, I think certain combinations of hardware and software can cause problems with any interface. If what you pick gives you grief, you'll just have to swap it for something that works for you. A decent music shop should let you do this.

wow, thanks for the detailed reply! I appreciate that very much. I didn't realize that this topic was pounded already. Not sure if I am not using the search correctly or not, but it sure doesn't seem to find what I am searching for.

I was leaning towards the 410 because I have the Solo now and it seems to work fine for me. At this stage in my life, without trying several other models, I will have no idea what the differences are so I guess I will just pick one and go for it! The ONLY thing I am using this for is to send my Live stuff out to my house mixer (in stereo)...just doesn't make sense to me to go mono when you have so many cool stereo options. Second thing I want to do is send the click track out (mono) to my Mackie HMX-56 so everyone in the band has the opportunity to hear the click if they want (we use IEM). That's it. I am sure I will come across lots of other things I can do with Live, but for now, I don't know much about the product and that's all I know I can do with it.

I'm currently having the same problem and I need an interface with at least 2 separate outputs too. Have you checked out M-Audio's Fast Track Pro?

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/F ... -main.html

It has two neutrik combo inputs (for line/instrument or xlr mic). It also has 2 balanced outputs and 2 rca outputs that mirror these balanced outputs. In addition, it has yet another 2 rca outputs that act as a separate outputs.

So you can output your stuff to speakers and mirror them through rca to monitors. Then you can also output click to some other monitors too.

It also has an A/B-switch in the front, so you can switch in the headphones between the main output and the click output.

This would suit my needs very well, but I still have to test it with my Powerbook, if it's reliable or not).

And it's very cheap and compact compared to other similar products.

I hope this helps?

The Mackie Onyx Satellite is 2x6, and has dropped in price to $199. If all you need is more outputs, you might check it out. At $199, it's cheaper than any M-Audio device. Better too!