Good Mac Audio Interface

Have a look at this page from HangTime, who posts in the Garageband forum (which would also be a good place to ask for advice in this area):

http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/Interfaces.html

Hi Stefaan,

Whatever you do get a firewire interface with preamp, 1/4", and XLR input. MOTU 8Pre or Presonus FP10 are two recommendations depending on your unmentioned budget.

Hello again Stefaan,

As mentioned before, whatever firewire interface you choose make sure it has a built in pre amp. That boosts the audio signal to acceptable levels without compromising quality. The two devices mentioned have both XLR and 1/4" inputs with 1/4" being the plug like one you would see on a guitar cable. If you look at the product shots for the MOTU 8Pre posted below on the inputs there's a hole in the middle so you can plug in a guitar, etc. that has a 1/4" plug. This type of input is common on professional audio interfaces.

Click on the image to see a larger view.


Number of simultaneous inputs may not make a difference at this time however they may come in handy in the future. For instance if you are recording a podcast with a mic for each person in an interview you can connect the additional mics and have each as their own individual track in the software that you can edit individually without compromising the other audio tracks. Firewire interfaces can also be daisy-chained to allow for additional inputs. Of course you are left to the mercy of subsequent limitations from your hardware in the respect to real time processing of multiple tracks simultaneously. I bought one of the cheapo-s at first but it didn't have a preamp and as a result the audio was less than desirable. I got the MOTU 8Pre after researching and testing both the MOTU and the Presonus. There's pros and cons to both interfaces and if you're interested in either and do your hands on research you'll discover for yourself. Needless to say I went with the MOTU and I am happy with it.

Hello Stefaan,

At the time I was comparing the MOTU 8Pre with the Presonus Firepod. Presonus has since changed their model and I am unfamiliar with the features the new model possesses so can not provide an accurate comparison between the two. It has been years but I can tell you what I remember.

MOTU has preamp available for all 8 inputs with optional phantom power support where Presonus had preamp input for only first 4 tracks and other 4 tracks had analog input without preamp. MOTU had inputs on back Presonus on front. MOTU had 24 bit 96khz recording I don't remember if Presonus did or not however it seems there is 24 bit depth 96khz on FP10 from reviewing their tech specs. MOTU had optical converter Oi don't see any on FP10. MOTU was just a better buy. There's LED audio level indicator on it FP10 doesn't have one and it seemed as though MOTU produced a better, more clear sound.

Only thing I liked about Presonus that MOTU did not have was in the knobs. The knobs on the Presonus were ratcheted so with every change in level you made with the knob the knob would "click" into place with the adjustment. This made for precise adjustment of input levels. The MOTU has fluid level knobs so when you make an adjustment the knobs moves smoothly when adjusted whereas the Presonus would click, click, click as you adjusted the level with the knob. This is one feature the MOTU lacks that Presonus has and I wish the MOTU 8Pre had this one feature. This has not caused any dramatic setback in my production workflow and I do not regret my purchase decision of choosing the MOTU 8Pre over the Presonus Firepod.

Both devices mentioned have a high demand for power and are unable to be powered through the computer bus. They need to be plugged in separately to work. You may find a more portable device meets your needs such as the bus powered ultralite-mk3. I have not used it but it looks like MOTU's solution for a portable, bus-powered preamp interface. mk3 and 8Pre look like they're in the same price range but you are giving up expandability features for portability. This may be a consideration if the work you do required mobility. For myself I do a lot of studio recording with the Mac Pro so I chose the 8Pre.

I'm surprised to see the apple poster recommending the MOTU interfaces... It seems like when I'm seeing Apple sponsored event around LA they're always pushing the Apogee Ensemble

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop_image/product/69aceed37949deb0fea2a4434a7ba01 5.jpg

EDIT: I get it. That user isn't really Apple. My bad.

If you're looking for a really high quality interface, I suggest demo-ing the Ensemble.

Message was edited by: CReddick

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