M-Audio ProFire 610 audio interface

Question

Level 1

8 points

M-Audio ProFire 610 audio interface

Hi,

I'm new to Garage Band and am trying to get set up properly to learn how to use the software. Is ProFire 610 a good way to go or is there something better in a similar price range (MSRP was $399 but I got this one for aboug $200 and THEN learned another company bought M-Audio which makes me kind of concerned - as in, will the continue to upgrade their software?) Wondering now if I should return it for something else before I get started.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Syl

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Dec 11, 2012 8:15 PM

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Answer 1

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Dec 11, 2012 10:02 PM in response to Sylvia Z

M-Audio is now part of AVID that has long been in the high end audio video industry. The only problem I see with the ProFire is that it is Firewire. Firewire has long been preferred but the future of firewire is uncertain at best. Personally I stopped buying Firewire devices a few years ago.

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Answer 2

Sylvia Z Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 12, 2012 3:28 AM in response to isteveus

Good morning!

Thanks for the quick response. What would you recommend, if not firewire? There's not much out there in the way of Thunderbolt, from what I've seen and it's pretty pricey.

I'm quite a newbie at this stuff so I really appreciate the input from those with experience/knowledge.

Apple store has Apogee Duet

sugggested. It looks super simple which is what I'm looking for while in the beginning. In the past I've bought equipment with such a tough learning curve that it took the fun out of it.

For now, I'm just looking for the simplest way to connect guitar, keyboard & mic so I can experiment with GarageBand and learn how to use it.

Looking forward to your response.

Have a good day!

Syl

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Answer 3

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Dec 12, 2012 6:41 AM in response to Sylvia Z

The Profire 610 is great, very good quality and as long as you have a Firewire Mac no reason to get anything else. The last two Macs I bought had no Firewire so I went with usb 2 interfaces. Thunderbolt is only in super high end interfaces right now, it will be a while before that becomes affordable.

All interfaces work basically the same and do the same job. The Profire has good preamps, fairly easy to use and is very well built. Don't worry so much about the gear just plug in the Profire and get to making music.

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Answer 4

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Dec 12, 2012 7:23 AM in response to isteveus

isteveus wrote:

The last two Macs I bought had no Firewire so I went with usb 2 interfaces.

don't forget, Apple does sell TB to FW adaptors for $29, so you can still use FW devices

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapte r

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