Recommended External Soundcards

marcus · Post by **marcus** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:40 am

I'm looking around at external firewire soundcards to plug into my Macbook to play around with Ableton and other producing programs. What do people out there recommend? Whereabouts can you purchase? Is it worth hunting them down 2nd hand?

SoulWhiteMan · Post by **SoulWhiteMan** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:42 am

M-Audio firewire is meant to be solid

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:51 am

SoulWhiteMan wrote:M-Audio firewire is meant to be solid

Don't buy one if you have a mac. It will fuck your computer. Had to reload the OS to get it working properly again.

http://melbournebeats.com/forum/viewtop ... o+firewire

The intel macs may be different tho

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:07 am

Scholtzy wrote:
SoulWhiteMan wrote:M-Audio firewire is meant to be solid
Don't buy one if you have a mac. It will fuck your computer. Had to reload the OS to get it working properly again.

http://melbournebeats.com/forum/viewtop ... o+firewire

The intel macs may be different tho

I love comments like that....

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:16 am

I'm still scarred by that experience, cant you tell?...

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:19 am

Yes, I can tell mate.

Sucks ass when shit like that happens, but there are so may paramaters within computers (PC's especially) that can cause units to fail... it's very rare that an entire platform is incompatible with a product - and even if that does occur, new drivers are usually written ASAP to overcome such problems.

Having said that, I can fully understand the "once bitten, twice shy" mentality.

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:32 am

Your probably right.

@ Marcus; Just make sure you do a google search for any known incompatibilities with your mac & whatever soundcard your looking at. Forums are usually a good place to look as they are full of people complaining about malfunctioning hardware

flippo · Post by **flippo** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:38 am

Scholtzy you end up getting a new interfacE?

you were talking about going down the pro tools path.... Noticed the new Mbox mini the other day, thought it might be a good option for you.

gb · Post by gb » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:48 am

Scholtzy wrote:
SoulWhiteMan wrote:M-Audio firewire is meant to be solid
Don't buy one if you have a mac. It will fuck your computer. Had to reload the OS to get it working properly again.

http://melbournebeats.com/forum/viewtop ... o+firewire

The intel macs may be different tho

I've been using an M-Audio firewire 410 with my macbook and Logic, never had a problem with it - recommended.

flippo · Post by **flippo** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:51 am

gb wrote:
Scholtzy wrote:
SoulWhiteMan wrote:M-Audio firewire is meant to be solid
Don't buy one if you have a mac. It will fuck your computer. Had to reload the OS to get it working properly again.

http://melbournebeats.com/forum/viewtop ... o+firewire

The intel macs may be different tho
I've been using an M-Audio firewire 410 with my macbook and Logic, never had a problem with it - recommended.

lol. fkn wardware.

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:15 pm

flippo wrote:Scholtzy you end up getting a new interfacE?

you were talking about going down the pro tools path.... Noticed the new Mbox mini the other day, thought it might be a good option for you.

I've become pretty comfortable with cubase, so there prolly isnt any point in getting a digidesign soundcard. However I do need to get a soundcard at some stage, probably a presonus firebox when I have some $$$ spare.

flippo · Post by **flippo** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:17 pm

Scholtzy wrote:
flippo wrote:Scholtzy you end up getting a new interfacE?

you were talking about going down the pro tools path.... Noticed the new Mbox mini the other day, thought it might be a good option for you.
I've become pretty comfortable with cubase, so there prolly isnt any point in getting a digidesign soundcard. However I do need to get a soundcard at some stage, probably a presonus firebox when I have some $$$ spare.

would you like to road test mine on your machine? My lappy is incompatable with it, it's just sitting in my cuboard untill I build my new machine.

LuKo · Post by **LuKo** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:17 pm

why fark around:

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/traveler

or the ultralite....both have 8 analogue ins and outs, the traveller tho, once i expand it with an octopre will take advantage of the ADAT and i will gain another 4 analogue ins/outs

so yeah ultralite would be the minimum imo.

my 2 cents.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:24 pm

If you do happen to go down the M-Audio road, you can always get Tools MP at a later date.....

unsoundbwoy · Post by **unsoundbwoy** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:16 pm

presonus firebox
just use the external power and all is well

Smile on Impact · Post by **Smile on Impact** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:56 pm

marcus wrote:I'm looking around at external firewire soundcards to plug into my Macbook to play around with Ableton and other producing programs. What do people out there recommend? Whereabouts can you purchase? Is it worth hunting them down 2nd hand?

How much do you wanna spend ??

how good do you wanna sound ?

range IMO - $350 for Maudio fasttrack pro USB2.
upto - $1500 for RME fireface.

Smile on Impact · Post by **Smile on Impact** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:03 pm

LuKo wrote:why fark around:

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/traveler

or the ultralite....both have 8 analogue ins and outs, the traveller tho, once i expand it with an octopre will take advantage of the ADAT and i will gain another 4 analogue ins/outs

so yeah ultralite would be the minimum imo.

my 2 cents.

adat should be able to do 8 channels and octopre should be 8 pres.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:15 pm

Dude, if you're after heaps of channels and pre's... perhaps look at Alesis' Multimix FW range.

They function as a mixer/interface as they transport every channel out, including a 2-track mix.

Damn tidy IMO and great for the price. You kind of get 2 units for the price of one... a mixer and an interface.

Check them here: http://www.alesis.com/product.php?id=94

^That's the 16-channel version. $1249 RRP.

spiral · Post by **spiral** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:25 pm

went with presonus firebox and very happy

Spherix · Post by **Spherix** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 7:23 pm

RME!!!!

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 7:23 pm

ive analyised this no end:

http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/vie ... highlight=

lots of links to the various issues the prosumer cards have

i had a bad experince with m-audio also

happy when i had a few weeks trial of the presouns

do read the link, lots of info to see

nothing is perfect

and an m-audio is an object of desire if you have the $

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 7:24 pm

my points are on prosumer gear really - sub 800 bucks

jungle_tactics · Post by **jungle_tactics** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:15 pm

Spherix wrote:RME!!!!

he knows

Smile on Impact · Post by **Smile on Impact** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:18 pm

FoundationStepper wrote:
nothing is perfect

Apogee

LuKo · Post by **LuKo** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:21 am

feelslikeafukinrevolution wrote:
LuKo wrote:why fark around:

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/traveler

or the ultralite....both have 8 analogue ins and outs, the traveller tho, once i expand it with an octopre will take advantage of the ADAT and i will gain another 4 analogue ins/outs

so yeah ultralite would be the minimum imo.

my 2 cents.
adat should be able to do 8 channels and octopre should be 8 pres.

ahh you are absolutely right, my bad...should really not post when inna rush at work

looking at the interfaces on the market now, i reckon i would be tempted into one of these mixer / interfaces....i like the idea

cheers for teh link foundation stepper! another cool site for me to waste work time at

flippo · Post by **flippo** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:26 am

feelslikeafukinrevolution wrote:
FoundationStepper wrote:
nothing is perfect

Apogee

Behringer

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:41 am

:snort:

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:04 am

flippo wrote:
feelslikeafukinrevolution wrote:
FoundationStepper wrote:
nothing is perfect

Apogee

Behringer

Nice one mate!

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:57 pm

This is sorta on topic so;

So I've been using the onboard sound card for a while now...after having a listen to the latest mix I did using the onboard card back to back with the one I did a while ago, for which I used a Digi002...I really noticed the high frequencies get rolled off.

As far as playback the onboard seems ok...its not too noisy, but at the same time...because I haven't been able to compare it to anything,...maybe I've just got used to sub standard monitoring...at the same time maybe I haven't and if I go out and buy a firewire sound card ill just end up with pretty much the same quality and a couple of hundred lighter.

I haven't got any hardware...so recording isn't such a big deal for me, apart from recording the odd mix. Has anyone had past experience using apple onboard soundcards?....they seem to be heaps better than the one in my old pc.

I know onboards are usually shitty but this one seems ok...what do you guys reckon?

Shadowgames · Post by **Shadowgames** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:02 pm

they are shitty. if you A/B it with something half decent you will hear the difference.

on both A/D & D/A.

Post by **huge** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:02 pm

monitors are more important i reckon.

if ur just starting out and cant fork out $$$$ for soundcards i dont think it matters too much.

what you got in ur a Texas Instruments TAS3004??

Shadowgames · Post by **Shadowgames** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:04 pm

yeah yoru monitors will make a bigger difference when playing stuff back than a soundcard.

but a sound card is just as important.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:06 pm

^ Definately.

Sholtzy - when you were A/B'ing, what monitors were you using. You've got Truth's right?

Apple onboards are not supposed to be too bad, not as bad as PC's - but you can pick up good, cheap soundcards easily these days - particularly if you don't require many features.

Post by **huge** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:06 pm

if you're super serial about making ze choons buy a good one then scholtz. ur laoded anyway so it shouldnt matter eh!

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:11 pm

definitely justified to get even a prosumer interface - night and day between the onboard mac and a semi-decent firewire.

plus things like mic pres or multi outs of course are other important factors to some

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:15 pm

I'd go PCI if possible. Unless portability is a must.

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:18 pm

Given my recent mac pci, pci-x, voltage changes experince id never go pci again... creamware anyone?

plus you never know when you might want to go portable/do a project at a mates etc

Smile on Impact · Post by **Smile on Impact** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:49 pm

Scholtzy wrote:
I know onboards are usually shitty but this one seems ok...what do you guys reckon?

yeah unless you are gonna spend $600-$1500.
stick with your onboard.

you'll be just be buying another cheap sound card.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:55 pm

feelslikeafukinrevolution wrote:
Scholtzy wrote:
I know onboards are usually shitty but this one seems ok...what do you guys reckon?

yeah unless you are gonna spend $600-$1500.
stick with your onboard.

you'll be just be buying another cheap sound card.

You're kidding mate?... there's no way you have to spend that sort of money for a decent card. I know pro producers employing a $240 Audiophile 2496... You can pick up a phat Delta-192 for well under $400...

If you don't need converters, heaps of ins/outs and pre's etc you can get a wicked card for sub $500 IMO.

Having said that... if you don't need all the bells and whistles, maybe some better monitors are in order before a soundcard upgrade.

Smile on Impact · Post by **Smile on Impact** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:41 pm

Direktor wrote:
If you don't need converters, heaps of ins/outs and pre's etc you can get a wicked card for sub $500 IMO.

Having said that... if you don't need all the bells and whistles, maybe some better monitors are in order before a soundcard upgrade.

yeah it depends..

I'm of the mindset that you buy good gear or cheap gear.
you can spend a lot of money for all the mid range bells and whistles.
but at the end of the day only good gear sounds good (with few acceptions)

I was thinking of buying an EQ.
I've listened to about half a dozen between $600-$2500.
and unless i spend the $2500 i prefer to work around it..
tiny bit of subtractive soft eq.
otherwise you get the crappy sound of the cheap/midrange gear.

if you buy a $500 sound card and it's great and your room is less than great and you monitors are less than great
then your referancing is whak anyway..

so better off to save the funds.

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:12 pm

Thanks for the advice guys

I've got a pair of truth active monitors, and I don't intend on getting anything better until I can afford something really special. I also think that at my stage of ability its probably not necessary anyway...

I'm looking at the presonus firebox, I think that has a good balance between quality & cost, the sound on sound review seemed pretty positive as well.

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:16 pm

Nice one. if you feel inclined, go chat to tristan at soundcorp in south melbourne, tell him eliot sent ya...

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:20 pm

Direktor wrote:I'd go PCI if possible. Unless portability is a must.

Cant do, the generation of powerpc's that I've got don't have PCI slots,...all of em are PCI-e, meh....

I used to have a Audiophile 2496 and was gutted when it didn't fit

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:36 pm

FoundationStepper wrote:Nice one. if you feel inclined, go chat to tristan at soundcorp in south melbourne, tell him eliot sent ya...

Sweet, had a look on their site; $489 ain't too shabby.

Spherix · Post by **Spherix** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:26 pm

PCI hactually transmits a bit of noise form the board and fans and shit i reckon

i have a pci atm but im wanting to swap

marcus · Post by **marcus** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:42 pm

Thanks for all the info guys.

I'm sort of inclined to go towards Motu I think, seems to be a few fair good comments about them, although a bit pricey.

Spherix · Post by **Spherix** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:50 pm

id recommend RME over motu

marcus · Post by **marcus** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:01 am

^mmmm, didn't catch that one. Will have a look.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:26 am

Spherix wrote:PCI hactually transmits a bit of noise form the board and fans and shit i reckon

i have a pci atm but im wanting to swap

Usually yes.

But some PCI's (like the 1010) have a breakout box where the processing is done external of the PC/Mac, but it still slots into a PCI slot - thus eliminating any noise.

I'm sure there's heaps more similar products in other brands.... but for Sholtzy's case it's a no-go anyway due to a lack of PCI slots.

Smile on Impact · Post by **Smile on Impact** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:54 pm

Spherix wrote:id recommend RME over motu

me too

Melbourne Beats

Recommended External Soundcards

Recommended External Soundcards

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