Recommendations?: Firewire Sound with *quality* mic pre-amp

[touring]

I've just bought a terratec phase x24. It works beautifully with a macbook under osx, with a latency of 64 samples with logic express and live. Sounds great, bus powered, and the preamps are from spl, so they are supposed to be better than average. Also, has inserts on the mic preamps, and individually switchable phantom power. Oh... and it is made of hard aluminium, totally rugged. I totally recommend it.

[rainydays]

One plus for the Satellite is that you get Tracktion 2 with it. Awesome software.

[inverseroom]

I have both the firebox and the Onyx 400f. The firebox pres are just OK, though it's an excellent interface, very stable. The Onyx pres however absolutely measure up to the hype. They are super clean.

The Satellite is an ill-conceived product, in my opinion. There's no MIDI, for instance, and the base unit/removable part thing is of limited utility with a laptop, as you'll have to use the wall wart power supply. But they're the same pres and sound excellent. (I had a Satellite for like 2 days before I ended up with the 400f).

People do complain about the 400f driver, but it's working for me.

[pw]

The Satellite is an ill-conceived product, in my opinion. There's no MIDI, for instance, and the base unit/removable part thing is of limited utility with a laptop, as you'll have to use the wall wart power supply. But they're the same pres and sound excellent. (I had a Satellite for like 2 days before I ended up with the 400f).

Have to use a wall wart even *just* with the removable part? For my use, no MIDI is irrelevant, and I have a usb midi interface anyway. The *only thing* important to me is two xlr inputs with high quality pre-amps, and a digital in/out. Would you recommend the satellite in this case?

[musikjock]

Given your needs, it doesn't sound like you need to drop 1400 on an RME fireface. I personally use a motu 828 MKII and that has two pretty decent preamps and everything else you'll need. I also got it for about 500 bucks.

[pw]

The motu looks good but a bit too big.

[.jon]

RME RPM, ultralow latency, reasonable price 379,-

http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_hdsp_rpm_mobile_kit.htm

[coreydavid]

The motu looks good but a bit too big.

Personally, I wouldn't use a MOTU hardware with a XP box. There are too many reports of them working great for some people and others being left out (but perhaps that's true for all interfaces). I never had any trouble with my Ultralite and the MacBook but it didn't work under XP. Only the headphone outs worked. Which leads me to another point:

Make sure you have the recommended chipsets for Firewire. Also, I used the XP Hotfix for Firewire and it helped.

The Motu Traveler and 828 racks are about the same size as the Onyx 400f. I had a n Onyx 400f last year and had to return it due to the Firewire whine I was getting. If I was truly "going mobile", I'd use a Traveler and a Mac. I really don't know how "road worthy" the other interfaces are but the MOTU's are built with nice cases.

The Presonus that I have has worked perfectly for me. Native support under Mac and works perfect under XP, too. The preamps are plenty good. I've been thru a lot of gear in the past year and had to sell most of it off due to my health crisis. I'm down to a laptop, a Rode NT K2 mic, a Presonus Firebox, Axiom 24/49 and a couple guitars. All this downsizing has helped me sort out what I really need (or want).

Sounds like you have you mind set on another interface, though, so I'll stop singing about my Presonus.

Good luck.

[Lunch Money]

Only one mic input on that RME. Other than that, looks cool.

[coreydavid]

RME RPM, ultralow latency, reasonable price 379,-

http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_hdsp_rpm_mobile_kit.htm

Wow, what a great deal! Nice stuff! Cardbus is much faster than Firewire, too!

Good idea!

[pw]

Sounds like you have you mind set on another interface, though, so I'll stop singing about my Presonus.

Not at all. I am hoping for alot more information before I buy. The Presonus are known for their pre-amps, so it is a great option. I don't know if all their 'mobile' interfaces have the same pre-amps though.

I am really hoping for some more feedback on the MBox 2, as well.

Lunch Money has just brought up an issue with 6 pin and laptops that I wasn't aware of, so I have to investigate that too.

[pw]

RME RPM, ultralow latency, reasonable price 379,-

http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_hdsp_rpm_mobile_kit.htm

Wow, what a great deal! Nice stuff! Cardbus is much faster than Firewire, too!

Good idea!

yes, looks good, but only one xlr input.

[BorrelNote]

Fireface 400 ! Excellent AD and preamps are good as well. Macky Onyx as a second.

[musikjock]

The motu looks good but a bit too big.

Personally, I wouldn't use a MOTU hardware with a XP box. There are too many reports of them working great for some people and others being left out (but perhaps that's true for all interfaces). I never had any trouble with my Ultralite and the MacBook but it didn't work under XP. Only the headphone outs worked. Which leads me to another point:

I seldom switch from using my XP box and my roomates G4. At first it didn't work just like you described..but then i realized I had to do a factory reset on the interface each time i switched and it worked.

[orange]

ill second the terratec phase x24 has superb drivers and very good quality from the spl preamps!

i used for about 1,5 year now and i have no complains at all!!