need audio interface suggestions

im upgrading my setup and getting rid of my tascam 144l . my budget is 500 and wanted to know what audio interfaces you might suggest. im gonna be connecting it to my mpc 60 and 950.

There was a similar thread recently with the same price tier. This Presonus FireStudio Project seems the best specified interface for under $500 on the market in that thread.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... &A=details

I had recommended the preceding model to it in that thread, but I was set straight on the fact that a newer model replaced it. 10 ins 10 outs, 8 preamps, 114dB dynamic range. It's a lot of interface for $400. I've used the mobile one and vouch for it having very good low latency performance. (the firewire controller is the same in the whole Fire series).

If firewire is a no go Focusrite offers some quality interfaces in the price range.

yeh word. ^^

Might pay for me to add while researching i found a group called BlackLion who do nice mods to interfaces / older units so could be worth checking them out, they might have a 2nd hand interface which has been improved.

crate king 1 wrote:im gonna be connecting it to my mpc 60 and 950.

You got a lot of audio outputs there and midi to consider, what connections you plan on making?

peeping tom wrote:yeh word. ^^

Might pay for me to add while researching i found a group called BlackLion who do nice mods to interfaces / older units so could be worth checking them out, they might have a 2nd hand interface which has been improved.

Best bet is to buy a used 002/003 (can def. be had for less than $500), then when you have more $ get the mod done @ BLA. You're going to need options to expand with 16 audio outs and a bunch of midi connections

thanks for all the feed back guys . oh clint im gonna be using the 60 midi'd to the 950 so should i just use the mix outs on both machines . any suggestion from you guys is more than welcomed. my set-up is gonna be mpc 60 midi'd to s950 into my book pro with soon to be purchased audio interface using logic pro 8.

peeping tom wrote:yeh word. ^^

Might pay for me to add while researching i found a group called BlackLion who do nice mods to interfaces / older units so could be worth checking them out, they might have a 2nd hand interface which has been improved.

if you can, get the BLA mod, they do fantastic work. havent personally used them, but everyone i know that has has nothing but praise for them and their mods.

crate king 1 wrote:thanks for all the feed back guys . oh clint im gonna be using the 60 midi'd to the 950 so should i just use the mix outs on both machines . any suggestion from you guys is more than welcomed. my set-up is gonna be mpc 60 midi'd to s950 into my book pro with soon to be purchased audio interface using logic pro 8.

your setup sounds like the one i want/have pretty much, i just have a different mpc. and i dont have an s950 yet.

your gonna love logic.

if you dont go the bla route, im sure the presouns one would work well for you too, i know someone who has the precursor to that model and they didnt have any complaints.

yeh i still have to read more on black lion audio mods, sounds like the AD/DA improvements as well and sync / clocking improvements are **** amazing.

that and they can crack a 002 to work with anything haha! **** digidesign

imo in that range cant go wrong with Presonus, digi or motu

crate king 1 wrote:clint im gonna be using the 60 midi'd to the 950 so should i just use the mix outs on both machines

No track separation required for processing/ mixing in the DAW? I reckon you'd do well to think about that again and cop an audio interface with at least 8 inputs. If you don't need 'em all now, you will sooner or later.

I know of the BLA mods, but really gear shouldn't need expensive mods to do their job well IMHO. But it's your hard earned, not mine...

i agree with clint, sure you should be able to get by without a mod, but the BLA mods are supposed to bring your 002/003 to a whole new level. they also mod the mic pres.

if you know anything about tracking/recording this should probably be very apparent in the sound quality you would be getting.

i know going from a firewire 410 without a mic pre when i was recording vocals, to using my fw 410 with a nice mic pre, the difference was night and day. (i also had a fairly good sounding room and knew the recording process well)

although since you are going from line outs of your mpc to line ins of your 003 to your daw, this might not be as apparent as it would be if you were actually recording live sounds/vocals.

but again, i havent used the bla modded ones first hand either, but have heard from many people who i trust their opinions on audio quality that its a really great mod.

if i were you i would go for it.