The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Hey Everyone,

I finally upgraded to a new power PC (it's been 8 years) with Windows 7 and the latest version of Sonar since I've recorded on Cakewalk since the dawn of time. I'm not sure if my old MBox2 is going to work. I've had it for 10 years or so. If I can, that's great (and anyone who has suggestions, feel free to share).

Otherwise, I need a new audio interface. It needs the following:

- Some audio inputs.
- S/PDIF, since my two primary tracks are always a Universal Audio stereo preamp through an Apogee digital converter.
- As affordable as possible without being shit.

I'll contact my guy at Sweetwater and see what he says, but would love to compare his recs with any suggestions you all have.

Bee K

Since you're on a PC you probably don't have FireWire, but in the rare case that you do (or are willing to add it on) I'm still incredibly happy with my PreSonus Firestudio Project. This is probably the only piece of audio gear I've been 100% satisfied with and have absolutely no desire to replace, even having had it for something like 7 years now.

Given how good it is I would expect that their AudioBox line (which is basically a USB version of the FIreStudio) would also be well worthwhile.

Meanwhile, I've had plenty of trouble with Tascam and M-Audio devices in the past, but other people here seem to swear by them too. My big complaint with Tascam is that they have a tendency to require drivers for their products, but then they stop updating the drivers for new operating systems even a year later. M-Audio seems better about that, but I've always found their build quality to be pretty cruddy. YMMV.

Ben, if you want a PreSonus FireStudio, I know a guy who will sell you one cheap. (It's me.)

I recently bought a Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo and it's so awesome. But kind of pricy.

just purchased the PreSonus Audiobox USB my self and love it. More power to the mikes and the USB port seems to work better than my sound card input.

Most of the Focusrite Scarlett interfaces have SPDIF (except the cheapest one): http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CP4IIJY

They work well, and USB 2.0 is fast enough to do several ins without any problem.

I have an 18i6 and like it a lot. It's like $325, but the 6i6 is a bit cheaper and also has SPDIF.

JB

jb wrote:Most of the Focusrite Scarlett interfaces have SPDIF (except the cheapest one): http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CP4IIJY

They work well, and USB 2.0 is fast enough to do several ins without any problem.

I have an 18i6 and like it a lot. It's like $325, but the 6i6 is a bit cheaper and also has SPDIF.

JB

I have the FocusRite Scarlett 6i6 and I've been mostly pretty satisfied with it. Because it doesn't have many hardware controls (just one big knob for the master volume and one smaller knob for each headphone output), most of the fine tuning (such as the relative volume level of each input) is handled by a piece of software you have to install on the computer when you set up the drivers, and I found that software to be very confusing at first. It's been a while since it's given me any trouble now, but in the first 2-3 months, I had frequent bouts where I lost an hour or two of recording time because I couldn't get the software to behave.

Still, it's sturdy, it processes audio with no discernible flaws or latency, and it has all the inputs I need, so I never got frustrated enough to send it back. Now that I'm pretty much over the learning curve, I'm satisfied, though I still try to change the settings as little as possible.

If you go Scarlett, there are some handy Youtube videos on how to tame the software. There was one instance where I was practically running up the walls, screaming "But I'm doing everything the video says to do! Why isn't it working?!" the solution turned out to be rebooting the Scarlett. Just a heads-up.

Thanks, guys! I think I'm leaning towards the Native Instruments interface, which is slightly more at $230, but seems really solid, with good preamps and S/PDIF. I've never had anything less than a great experience with their software or gear. We'll see!

When you're buying an audio interface on or about the $200 range, it makes sense to pay an extra $30 for a product you're familiar with and confident in. Let us know how it works out for you!