Ideally I want something with:
- ADAT I/O with the ability to slave to the RMEs superior clock (ofc)
- OR - SPDIF I/O/slave that uses the optical connector (not coax)
- At least 1 microphone preamp
- At least 1 separate Hi-Z guitar input (not bound to the same channel as the mic)
- Ability to route the analogue inputs directly to the optical outputs
- Ability to route the optical inputs to at least 1 stereo pair of analogue line outputs, ideally with some kind of main out volume control knob
- At least 1 headphone amp, fed by the optical inputs also, ideally with its own volume control
- Preferably MIDI I/O over USB2, though this is not essential
- DC Power is fine, or power over USB, not too fussed
- Decently fast AD/DA converters, since low round trip latency is one of my priorities
I know I can get lots of big full rack width 18 in out this that and the others, but I really want to keep it small and portable. Something I can throw in my bag with my Macbook and the Digiface. As far as the quality of the pres, etc, I am not super obsessive. For example in my home studio I use an ADA8200 with the RayDAT, with no major gripes.
I have been looking at some discontinued Edirol/Cakewalk stuff, the UA-101, UA-25EX, UA-4FX etc, and they seem like they might fit the bill, but I am honestly not sure. I am wondering if there is anything old from MOTU, EMU, etc. It is often hard to find info on older products, and even harder to find if they would work in this kind of ADAT/SPDIF optical slave mode
Any advice or suggestions on portable, budget friendly, small devices that would suit my needs would be greatly appreciated
