recommend me an interface

terryb · Post by **terryb** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:45 am

I've been using either digi 001 or 002 the past 9 years. I'm tired of the hazy, unfocused sounds and lack of detail and depth in my recordings.

I'd like something with 8-16 line level inputs, really solid clocking and conversion, and at least one adat input so I can add another 8 inputs as needed. Even better would be two adat ins.

Money is certainly a concern and I'd rather keep it under $2k if I can.

I've looked into:
rme ufx
ua apollo
metric halo 2882
steinberg mr816
and the BLA mod on my 002

I'd love to do the BLA mod, but I'm really hesitant to put that kind of money into a 10+ year old piece of plastic that might kick the bucket at any moment. Would also possibly anchor me to legacy versions of protools (currently using pt8).

LowG · Post by **LowG** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 10:29 am

Echo Audiofire?

jhharvest · Post by **jhharvest** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 10:45 am

All of those look like good options to me. Personally I wouldn't pay for an "upgrade" of an old piece of gear but apart from that. You could add Ferrofish and a Madi card to that list if you don't need preamps, I guess.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:17 am

I cannot say enough great things about the Metric Halo 2882 Expanded and the MIO console. The MIO console is RIDICULOUS for mixing; I send stems to it from Digital Performer. Character is nice stacked over channels, and the onboard Reverb is excellent. I plan on getting a +DSP license sometime in the future. The Metric Halo stuff is pretty much completely future-proof, which in this day and age is very important to me.

http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/product ... html#tab=1

I have mine clocked to a BLA MicroClock mk2. Love the setup. I'm about to send my MOTU 828mk2 back to Black Lion to have their clock modification from 2007 pulled out of it so that it, too, can sync to the MicroClock. That will give me options of running 16 tracks at 24/48 if I use ADAT, or 18 tracks at any sample rate up to 96K if I create an Aggregate Device in OSX. The 2882's 8 on board mic preamps are definitely decent, though they do get noisy at full gain and are not great for quiet sources. However, considering that I use mostly outboard stuff (Sytek, CAPI VP26, 2 channels of PM1000) and rarely go over a dozen tracks live, I am only going to use them for extras after the outboard preamps are all used up.

Jeff

jeddypoo · Post by **jeddypoo** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:55 pm

another vote for echo audiofire. Had mine for 8 years(!) still works great and sounds even better.

Studiodawg · Post by **Studiodawg** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:31 am

What about Lynx Aurora with external preamps?

terryb · Post by **terryb** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:17 am

I'm pretty much down to either the UA Apollo 16 or the Lnyx Aurora 16.
Both are $3k new, but the Apollo opens up the possibilities of their world class plugins.
Honestly, I'm still probably a year away from making this purchase, but I like to plan ahead.
thanks for the input everyone

alexdingley · Post by **alexdingley** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 5:33 pm

I'm about to send my M-Audio ProFire 2626 to BLA... I have a friend who swears by his BLA 002 and the BLA guys say the 2626 is one of their best-sounding conversions. Also... Guitar Centers are (when they have them) blowing out new-in-box 2626 units for $300... So, for under $900 you can have a pretty serious sounding unit.

tjcasey1 · Post by **tjcasey1** » Sun May 19, 2013 2:24 pm

This is heretical, but I'd say look at your current board and think about a Presonus Studiolive. It's a full-fledged digital mixer with a firewire port - all the inputs and outputs are available in your DAW. The sound quality is great, and the cabling is minimal. And the price is a bargain once you start looking at 16 or 24 tracks of simultaneous mic inputs.

I've been using it for three years now, and I will never, ever go back to a setup involving a mixer and a separate interface. It's just too much crap that can go wrong.

I know a guy that runs a 24-track pro studio who also made the leap, and he ain't ever going back.

bniesz · Post by **bniesz** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:44 pm

The MIO 2882 is the only piece of pro audio equipment I've ever used that has gotten MORE functional over time. I really can't say enough good things about it.

On the other hand, I love UAD's plug-ins, so I've been eyeballing the Apollo as well.

WillMorgan · Post by **WillMorgan** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:06 pm

I have never used anything but a combined board and interface. My Mackie Onyx 1640 mixer with firewire has worked well for years, jammin', trackin' and jam-trackin'!

blungo2 · Post by **blungo2** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:49 pm

Don't know if it's relevant, but i had an Echo with built in pres for a while. I think the AD/DA was fine, but all of the analog section pretty much sucked. The headphone and line outs were weak and noisy as were the pres.

Currently using an RME UFX, it's about a thousand times better. Just my two cents on what works for me and what didn't.

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