Best I/O Interface under $500?

Question

Level 1

5 points

Best I/O Interface under $500?

I'm a newbie who finds the interface part of the MIDI studio setup extremely confusing. I'm purchasing ProLogic, East/West Gold (and some basic pop libraries), either a Fatar SL880 Pro, VMK 188, or M-Audio 88 Pro controller, and decent studio headphones and speakers.

I will do almost no live sampling (1-2 mic inputs will be plenty). 99% of my I/O Interface usage will be simply to properly connect the keyboard to the computer so I can use the computer's software to compose.

Firewire only - not USB.

Mindprint Trio? Konnect 8 Firewire? MOTU Ultralite 10 x 14? M-Audio Firewire 410? PreSonus Firebox 610? Tascam FW1804? Or?

It's bewildering to me and I can't find a good comparison overview.

Help?

Macbook Pro Core Duo 2 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2 gig SDRAM 2.33 GHZ Core Duo 2

Macbook Pro Core Duo 2 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2 gig SDRAM 2.33 GHZ Core Duo 2

Macbook Pro Core Duo 2, Mac OS X (10.4.8), 2 gig SDRAM 2.33 GHZ Core Duo 2

Posted on Feb 17, 2007 7:48 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Feb 17, 2007 8:00 AM in response to cblakeman

I'm a fan of PreSonus Interfaces. I have the Firepod, it's basically just a higher track count then the Firebox. It has never given me any problems before, good headroom, and nice clean sound. Also, their customer support is pretty awesome!

Reply

Answer 2

Feb 17, 2007 9:29 AM in response to cblakeman

Hi

I've got a presonus firebox & I think it's great. The preamps are very good and the box is portable (gets it's power off my powerbook) - yes, i love it!

But, do check out the post on apple discussions (either in logic or macbook pro) which details how many/all macbook pro users with the firebox have had problems using theirs.

It's a pity and has actually stopped me from buying a macbook pro im the immediate future and instead i've been looking at the rme ff400 which by many logic users experiences runs great. It is a bit more expensive though.

Hope that helps.

PB G4, iMac C2D Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Reply

Answer 3

cblakeman Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 17, 2007 1:36 PM in response to rounik music

Wow - eight months that thread has been going on about Firebox and Firepod incompatibility with MacBook Pro - yikes. Seems like one or the other of the two companies (Apple or Presonus) would have wanted to get this resolved. I've posted on the PreSonus forums site ( http://www.presonus.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16) to see if their techs have any answers - I was ready to pull the trigger and get one, but not if this isn't resolved.

Thanks for the huge heads up - could have saved me hours/days/weeks of frustration!

Chuck

Reply

Answer 4

Feb 17, 2007 3:32 PM in response to cblakeman

no prob's.

I still feel very dissapointed by this issue - I love my firebox and the idea that i won't be ab;e to use it with a 15" macbook pro bus powered is such a pity.

It'd be interesting to know what presonus say to you about the issue - but don't hold your breath sounds like they don't seem to care too much - crazy as it seems!

anyway, let us know which interface you decide on.

Reply

Answer 5

cblakeman Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 18, 2007 4:59 PM in response to rounik music

Rounik,

I posted the problem on the (new?) Presonus forum site (presonus.com/forums) and the moderator posted the following response that, according to him, says there is no incompatibility per se, just an unwillingness on the part of the MacBook Pro to power the Firebox without first plugging it into its own wall adapter, then plugging it into the Mac, then uplugging from the wall.

See post below from the presonus form - and even though I'm getting this assurance, everyone on each forum is saying go MOTU Ultralite instead with the MacBook...

http://www.presonus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=901

cfb, the issue discussed in the linked thread is about the MacBook Pro's Firewire bus over-current protection technology... it is discussed in great detail in the thread, and only applies to the FireBox, which can be bus powered. It's not really an incompatibility as much as it is an annoyance for those who need to use the MacBook Pro and the FB when they are reasonably far away from any outlet or extension cord. The MacBook pro line (used to be only the 17"s and now including the 15 inch) has this overcurrent protection where it senses the amount of power drawn from the firewire bus, and when the power approaches the maximum, the MacBook Pro shuts it down. This apparently new specification for the MBP's means that if you want to use your firebox without the included power supply, you still have to plug in the power supply for the firebox first, then your firewire cable. After this initialization, you can unplug the FB power supply and ride on free bus power from the MBP.

The people in this thread seem to be doing a lot of mobile recording. Apparently, they find themselves in places that are curiously distant from any source of electricity, and/or they have discovered that bringing along the firebox's small dc adapter to their mobile recording locations is just too much of a hassle.

Reply

Answer 6

Feb 18, 2007 5:22 PM in response to cblakeman

Hi Chuck

Thanks very much for the detailed reply.

I always use my firebox bus powered...works so seamlessly with my powerbook. There have been many occasions when i've taken my setup to wildlife parks and such where though there were plenty of deer and birds and rabbits and crickets there were no ac power supply outlets (a good thing in my opinion!!!)

just been looking at the motu ultralite - looks lovely.

But the presonus guys have a point. If you aren't ever gonna be doing mobile recording far from a power socket then despite the extra hassle of plugging in and then unplugging the firebox might be a viable option. It all depends on your needs.

check out the konnect24D too - just been reading about it and wow sounds great...just saw a review on sweetwater and saw the price is currently at $499. I'd be interested to try out the plugins it comes with and have the ability to use it live without a computer... but again - it all depends what your needs are.

Only other thing i'll add is that the m-audio 410 is not highly regarded amongst many Logic users at LogicProHelp forum. Can't find the link right now. sorry... but you search at www.logicprohelp.com

thanks again for the info!

Reply

Answer 7

Feb 18, 2007 6:46 PM in response to cblakeman

why not just get a tascam us122 or something.

i have had one of these for 3 or 4 years. sometimes i use it when i just need 2 channels for a mobile rig. don't let the usb scare you. it is fine for 2 channels of audio, and is less than 2 hundred dollars.

Reply