I/O interfaces

what is the best for the buck in your opinion?

US dollars

Digi 001.....................$700
Digi 002.....................$1100
Lexicon Omega..........$349
M-Audio Delta 44........$249
M-Audio Delta 1010.....$550
M-Audio Delta 66........$300
M-Box........................$350
MOTU 828 Mk I...........$500
MOTU 828 Mk II..........$750

(all prices are based on average between retail and EBAY. If the item is disc. than the price is based solely on EBAY)



Personally I am leaning more towards the Lexicon Omega for financial reasons, but I think the MOTU 828 Mk II is the best.

Any other opinions?

I think they all kinda all depend on your setup.....your needs/requitements aswel as your budget.

Is this info for you ?

Tell me what your using, how you got your shhhhi hooked up and how u wanna roll wid it

Right now I'm just using a Soundblaster AudigyX sound card. I am wanting to track my MPC sequences without having to do it one track at a time. With the Lexicon I can do 4 at a time which would be cool and since the MOTU is expandable I could get it at a later date and run it and the Lexicon together. I was really trying to get peeps opinions on which one they preferred. More than likely I am going to go with the Lexicon Omega, but I am still looking for the best option.

Rme multiface

Hook it up with the hdsp card. The card is excellent - I did a some research on a lot of cards before I bought and this one is supposed to be lowest latency + trouble free...works great for me. 8 ins and outs, plus midi in/out on the front. Maybe $800 ebay? There's a nuendo version of this thing to...exactly the same thing, different name.

Or if ya got a mac, check out the metric halo mobile i/o.

I'd run with the Digi 002. It's a control surface and the connection is firewire.

djames, have you seen the new emu interfaces, i plan on getting one and using it more like a DAT recorder for final mixing and as an output for some virtual instruments on my old PC.

The E-MU® 1212M Digital Audio System delivers everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results - 24-bit/192kHz converters (the same A/D converters used in Digidesign®''s flagship Pro Tools® HD 192 I/O interface), hardware-accelerated effects and mixing, and seamless compatibility with your favorite PC audio/sequencer software. Whether you are recording full-blown productions or running virtual instruments on a dedicated computer, the E-MU 1212M Digital Audio System is the perfect solution for any application that only requires a couple channels of premium analog I/O (i.e. mastering, remixing and running virtual instruments).

The E-MU 1212M features:

Mastering-grade 24-bit, 192kHz converters - the same A/D converters used in Digidesign®''s flagship Pro Tools® HD I/O Interface

Flexible connectivity with 1/4" balanced analog I/O, 24/192 ADAT I/O and 24/96 S/PDIF I/O, MIDI I/O plus a FireWire® port for seamless integration with your entire studio

E-DSP 32-bit Multi-effects Processor offers you over 16 simultaneous hardware-accelerated studio-grade effects with no CPU overhead - plug-in architecture allows you to add new effects as needed

32 Channels of zero latency Hardware Mixing/ Monitoring with super-flexible virtual patchbay - no external mixer needed

Full compatibility with most popular audio/sequencer applications with ultra-low latency WDM, DirectSound® and ASIO 2.0 Drivers

Powerful software studio package


I/O Configuration:

Two 1/4" Balanced Inputs

24-bit/192kHz ADAT In/Out (switchable to S/PDIF)

24-bit/96kHz S/PDIF In/Out (switchable to AES/EBU)

MIDI In/Out

I never heard of that one Dove, but it only has 2 ins. Everything else looks good on that piece. I wanted atleast 4 ins for tracking from my MPCs to the PC. thanks tho I'm still going to check that out.

-D. James

Yeah, i know its only two ins, if you wanted to do multitracking, i guess you'd have to cop a digital mixer with 8 analog ins and a digital out, then put that in between the mpc and the card. Might be the same price or even less than a Digi002 but with more flexibility and no pro tools software. Good luck!

that's a good suggestion too, thanks Dove

hey,
you could cop the The E-MU® 1820M, it's like the most powerful E-Mu card with a lot of inputs and outputs:



The E-MU® 1820Mis the flagship of E-MU's line of Digital Audio Systems, delivering everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results- 24-bit/192kHz converters (the same A/D converters used in Digidesign®'s ProTools® HD 192 I/O interface), hardware-accelerated effects and mixing, comprehensive sync options and seamless compatibility with your favorite PC audio/sequencer software. No other audio solution available offers the performance, flexibility and value of the E-MU 1820M.

The E-MU 1820M features: Mastering-grade 24-bit, 192kHz converters - the same A/D converters used in Digidesign®'s flagship ProTools® HD I/O Interface
Flexible connectivity with 18 audio inputs and 20 outputs, 32 channels of MIDI I/O, Word Clock, SMPTE and MTC sync, plus a FireWire® port for seamless integration with your entire studio
Two premium TFPro™ mic preamps with Mic/Line/Hi-Z inputs with 40db of gain/attenuation and 48V phantom power - plug guitars, keyboards and microphones straight into your system
E-DSP 32-bit Multi-effects Processor offers you over 16 simultaneous hardware-accelerated studio-grade effects with no CPU overhead - plug-in architecture allows you to add new effects as needed
32 Channels of zero latency Hardware Mixing/ Monitoring with super-flexible virtual patchbay - no external mixer needed
Full compatibility with most popular audio/sequencer applications with ultra-low latency WDM, DirectSound® and ASIO™ 2.0 Drivers
Powerful software studio package

I/O Configuration: Two TFPro Mic/Line/Hi-Z preamps (w/48V phantom power)
Six 1/4" Balanced Inputs
Eight 1/4" Balanced Outputs
Turntable input (w/ground lug and hardware RIAA preamp)
24-bit/192kHz ADAT In/Out (switchable to S/PDIF)
24-bit/96kHz coaxial S/PDIF In/Out (switchable to AES/EBU)
24-bit/96kHz optical S/PDIF Out (switchable to AES/EBU)
Two sets of MIDI In/Out
Four stereo 1/8" Speaker Outputs (configurable from stereo to 7.1)
Stereo Headphone Output
Firewire® Interface


you can check it out on: http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp ... oduct=2211

the retail price will be $499
I think I'm gonna cop that, it has a lot of ins
but I'm wondering, is the sound from the MPC 4000 better with the ADAT outputs or with the analog outputs ?
well, I dunno for sure yet, but this 1920M card from E-MU looks real nice (but I don't know a lot of stuff on this kind of things, I must admit)

I checked out the website, that 1820 and 1820M look like good deals. They both provide 6 ins, but my guy works at the Guitar Center and he said he could get the Lexicon Omega for $280. I can't beat that. Thanks fellas. That EMU card does sound like the ish tho, I may have to hold off.

I'm wondering, is the sound from the MPC 4000 better with the ADAT outputs or with the analog outputs (when I record on this kind of card) ?

Yo,
I just got a new rack made by Berhinger called "Digital 8" and it has 8 inputs with ADAT optical I/O, The EMU 1220 card Dove talked about is perfect for this rack. It will allow you to multitrack from the 8 outs on your MPC to any Multitrack software via the ADAT optical I/O on the 1220 soundcard. While also giving you 2 analog 1/4" Ins and Outs, Midi I/O, S/PDIF I/O, and Firewire.

Guess you were right all along Dove good lookin!

I never seen that Behringer digital 8 you're talking about... is it good? Do they have it at Guitar Center?

Toecutter wrote:I never seen that Behringer digital 8 you're talking about... is it good? Do they have it at Guitar Center?

Yeah they sell it at GC, I have my 8 outs hooked up , but I'm waiting on the EMU 1212M to come out. Once I get that I can use the ADAT opticals to connect the Digital 8. I'll let you know then. The 1212's scheduled release date is 02/18/04.