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

[Barbarossa]

a very good audio interface with 2 high quality mic pre-amps

Very good? What? Sound? Apogee MiniME.

[Website!]

hey guys, enyone tried Tascam FW 1082 ?

i just ordered one.

w!

[pw]

a very good audio interface with 2 high quality mic pre-amps

Very good? What? Sound?

um, yes.

[floydbase]

Presonus Firepod is what I use with my laptop. Good preamp, firewire and has MIDI. I like it!

[pw]

I am starting to like the specs and price of the Saffire. You guys recommending it, do you use the Saffire LE or the Saffire? The main difference seems to be onboards DSP for the Saffire - any other differences?

[Genetic_Junk]

I'd be inclined to try out the TC Electronics Konnekt8.

http://www.tcelectronic.com/Konnekt8

Sorry I can't give any first hand experience

[pw]

I'd be inclined to try out the TC Electronics Konnekt8.

http://www.tcelectronic.com/Konnekt8

Sorry I can't give any first hand experience

Well, it also looks good, and has exactly what I need and not a thing more, but I can't find any real user comments on the pre-amps. The dedicated Hi-Z inputs are a great addition too.

[koolkeys]

I can vouch for the Onyx Satellite. VERY nice preamps, the same ones that come on the larger Onyx devices.

As for power, Lunch is right. Unless you have the full firewire port and not the 6-pin one, you will have to power whatever device you use through the wall. That's one advantage of USB.

But I love my Satellite. Very durable, and if you want to plug in to the base unit, you get extra in/outs and more functionality. By itself, the Satellite Pod(the portable part) includes everything you are needing.

Brent

[pw]

I can vouch for the Onyx Satellite. VERY nice preamps, the same ones that come on the larger Onyx devices.

As for power, Lunch is right. Unless you have the full firewire port and not the 6-pin one, you will have to power whatever device you use through the wall. That's one advantage of USB.

But I love my Satellite. Very durable, and if you want to plug in to the base unit, you get extra in/outs and more functionality. By itself, the Satellite Pod(the portable part) includes everything you are needing.

Brent

yeah, but the Mackie forum's only posts on the satellite are about hum introduced when phantom power is activated! Do you use phantom power? It is a must for me, and makes me a bit wary of the satellite.

[Genetic_Junk]

here's a gearslutz thread with some opinions on the konnekt preamps

http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.p ... t=konnekt8

edit: actually just search for konnekt on the gearslutz forum and you'll find lots of stuff. Probably some stuff at the Tapeop forum also.

[koolkeys]

I can vouch for the Onyx Satellite. VERY nice preamps, the same ones that come on the larger Onyx devices.

As for power, Lunch is right. Unless you have the full firewire port and not the 6-pin one, you will have to power whatever device you use through the wall. That's one advantage of USB.

But I love my Satellite. Very durable, and if you want to plug in to the base unit, you get extra in/outs and more functionality. By itself, the Satellite Pod(the portable part) includes everything you are needing.

Brent

yeah, but the Mackie forum's only posts on the satellite are about hum introduced when phantom power is activated! Do you use phantom power? It is a must for me, and makes me a bit wary of the satellite.

I don't have any hum. I know there were noise problems on Mac(did we discuss this before?), and they were fixed. But I personally don't have any problems at all. And it has gotten excellent reviews from what I've seen.

Brent

[pw]

I don't have any hum. I know there were noise problems on Mac(did we discuss this before?), and they were fixed. But I personally don't have any problems at all. And it has gotten excellent reviews from what I've seen.

Brent

No, we haven't talked about it before. It seems, from what I can gather from the Mackie forum, that Mackie admit (indirectly) there is a problem (not the Mac problem, that is a different problem with similar symptoms), as they seem to have a modification they can do for the extra noise when the satellite is in the dock.

Quoting from Mike Rivers there: "Mackie tells me that they have a modification to eliminate the whine with phantom power when the pod is in the dock. One of these days I've gotta send mine in to have that fixed and see if it works"

pity.

[inverseroom]

Yeah, I would avoid the satellite if you get hum from phantom. That's insane.

One problem I had with the Firebox, and you're likely to have with any wall-wart equipped interface that you use with a laptop, is ground hum when the laptop is on wall power. The nice thing about the Onyx 400f is that it has an internal transformer and a grounded IEC cable, and I get no hum at all with it, ever.

[koolkeys]

I'm telling you though, the hum doesn't happen with all the units. Myself and about five other people I know don't have the problem. They DID have problems with noise, but it wasn't something that needed hardware changes. I wish I could find the email about it. If I do, I'll post it. Also, it was on Mac that the problems existed if I remember correctly.

It has gotten stellar reviews, and I'm sure it would be a major downside if it was something that happens all the time.

I'm not saying there hasn't been problems reported, or that it's definitely the choice to make, but I'm saying that it is NOT a problem that I have personally seen, both with the pod and the base station. And I know several others who have not had issues.

Anyways, good luck with the choice. Sorry to seem persistent with this. I just don't want it to go around that all Satellite's make noise, that's all!

Brent

[pw]

Anyways, good luck with the choice. Sorry to seem persistent with this. I just don't want it to go around that all Satellite's make noise, that's all!

Brent

No, it is fine, I want as much info as possible. Thanks.