KVR Audio

PaulG · Post by **PaulG** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:30 pm

Hi,

I am looking for a high(er)-end audio interface, but I am not familiar with the market. I know about the Mackie Onyx series as far as quality goes, and I don't need a lot of inputs and outputs.

What are some of you using that are conisder higher-end interfaces? (I don't care about the type - PCI/Firewire...it doesn't matter - I'll look at all of them.)

Anyway, thanks all for any input,

- Paul

egbert · Post by **egbert** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:45 pm

Lynx Aurora, RME's higher end stuff possibly and then there's the exotica like Lavry Blue, Apogee, Benchmark etc. Lynx gets a very good rap if you want something simple with not a lot of ins and outs.The Lynx 2 (a b or c configurations) is worth a look - excellent low latency drivers and excellent sound quality.

One caveat - PCI is soon to be obsolete so you may find that if you buy a PCI based interface you cannot use it with your nice shiny new computer in 2010. PCIe is the way of the future, Firewire will endure and possibly there will be legacy PCI until we are old and grey.

where02190 · Post by **where02190** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:33 pm

What's your budget?
What are your i/o needs?

Apogee is the cream of the crop, but very pricey. The Mackie Onyx is good midline stuff, as is Presonus and M-Audio.

Shy · Post by **Shy** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:39 pm

Onyx is not "good", Onyx is terrific and among the best as far as quality and low noise goes.

PaulG · Post by **PaulG** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:04 pm

I only need one mic and one instrument input, but wiling to take more if the box is good enough. Budget is really not an issue. However, I am wondering how much difference going from 24/96 up to 32(?)/192 is going to make.

What are your thoughts on this? Would a major label ever "lower" themselves to release something that was "only" done at 24/96? (It's a funky question, worded that way on purpose.)

Thanks again, all.

UltraJv · Post by **UltraJv** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:30 pm

Bit rate and resolution at 24/96 or higher is no indication of goodness. Its the quality of A/D D/A being used.

jones-y · Post by **jones-y** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:51 pm

UltraJv wrote:Bit rate and resolution at 24/96 or higher is no indication of goodness. Its the quality of A/D D/A being used.

and the analog stages surrounding them, and the clock driving them.

mono_ton · Post by **mono_ton** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:29 pm

rme fireface 800

sounddesigner · Post by **sounddesigner** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 5:07 am

I recently upgraded to the creamware project card and love how it sounds. It may not compare to the high-end stuff but it sure beats the heck out of alot of the little boys running around. I definitely hear improvements over my last soundcards. Also it out-does most cause it offers dsp power for plugin processing. And is a very upgradable system that you can add to as your studio grows e.g. i/o's,dsp power, plugins etc, your original investment remains protected because of it's upgradable nature. It has very nice synths, and effects and is easily argued the best bang for the buck solution out here. You can get a Creamware Project for $700, And you'll get alot with the great sounding soundcard. Research it abit, i'm a happy camper and wonder what took me so long to see the light

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where02190 · Post by **where02190** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:38 am

Budget being no option, and only needing 2 i/o, I'd recommend the Apogee Mini-Me and Mini-DAC.

PaulG · Post by **PaulG** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 5:24 pm

Thanks, Where - and all.

Good stuff as always.

jkotz · Post by **jkotz** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 1:54 pm

I really recommend the Lynx 2 cards. Somehow, despite the converters being on the card, they are incredibly quiet; better even that most external firewire/usb options. Latencies are ridiculously low (I average 3ms roundtrip). If you need to add more i/o, you can add an Lstream card and an Aurora 8. And if you're concerned about the PCI vs. PCIe issue, Lynx updating their line. Hell, they're such a cool operation over there you could probably call them up and discuss the issue with them.
http://www.lynxstudio.com/lynxtwo.html

where02190 · Post by **where02190** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:32 pm

AFA the Onyx stuiff goes, it's good, but nowhere near the quality of something like Apogee. The Mini-Me and Mini-DAC both have no latency monitoring, so that is a non-issue.

PaulG · Post by **PaulG** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:13 am

Hey, Where,

What are the key specs to look at? I can't always tell what's important vs. what's "fluff" on a mfg's spec page.

Honestly, the Onyx's numbers didn't look too bad. But I don't know how to tell on a 2 page spec sheet how what they are saying is applicable or not. Honestly, some of them did better than the Apogee, though I do tend to like the Apogee. Why, though, is the Mini-DAC needed, too, with the Mini-Me. It seems that it alone has everything that you would need.

Thanks, again, for sharing your expertise, and I hope that we all here aren't keeping from too much of your studio time.

- Paul

Good high-end interfaces?