Mungo Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Hey, my colleagues bought a brand new mac pro in our office we mainly use for video transcoding, copying files, reading SxS n stuff. Now we need an audio interface we want to use to listen to and to analyze our recorded / transcoded audio with wave agent, Adobe Audition etc. There has to be: - good sound 24/96 (yes, really?) - ideal: XLR out for our Genelecs (or TRS) - low latency - XLR input that accepts line level - very good headphone amplifier - not needed: mic amplifier, 48v, multitrack i/o, guitar in, phono, 7.1 ... - price: unfortunately lower than RME league So what do you recommend? Greets mungo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Youngman Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Apogee Duet 2 Focusrite Scarlet line Presonus Motu http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces/popular/params=eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJQcmljZSBSYW5nZSI6eyJsb3dlciI6IiIsInVwcGVyIjoiNzUwIn19LCJkaW1lbnNpb24iOnsiQnJhbmQiOlsiNDI5NDk2NjIzNiIsIjQyOTQ5NjYyNTEiLCI0Mjk0OTY2ODY1IiwiNDI5NDk2NzEzNyJdfX0 Take your pick Que the Senator! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Toline Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Apogee Duet 2 Focusrite Scarlet line Presonus Motu http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces/popular/params=eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJQcmljZSBSYW5nZSI6eyJsb3dlciI6IiIsInVwcGVyIjoiNzUwIn19LCJkaW1lbnNpb24iOnsiQnJhbmQiOlsiNDI5NDk2NjIzNiIsIjQyOTQ5NjYyNTEiLCI0Mjk0OTY2ODY1IiwiNDI5NDk2NzEzNyJdfX0 Take your pick Que the Senator! It should be Cue not Que. To Que is to get in line, Cue is to.....well you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Actually, that'd be queue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Toline Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Actually, that'd be queue. Well yes but I was 60% correct, close enough for government work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al mcguire Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Eric, Social Security Income does not qualify as government work Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmahaAudio Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Roland Quad-Capture (http://www.rolandus.com/products/details/1166) $269 (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/QuadCapture/) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 I'm a big fan of Universal Audio. This might be a good fit. CrewC http://www.uaudio.com/twin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Mungo: " price: unfortunately lower than RME league " finally recognized my cue! possibly unreasonable expectations... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Didn't see the price point. Forget my otherwise excellent suggestion.;~) CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Toline Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Eric, Social Security Income does not qualify as government work Al Neither does Government work qualify as work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Feeley Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 After a sort-of similar discussion here last year, I bought a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (about $200 at the time, iirc), one of several models in their USB-interface line. I'm happy with it. http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces Based on that experience, if you're after a Thunderbolt interface, maybe check out the (new or updated, I think) Focusrite Saffire PRO line of interfaces. Note that I haven't used these. Starting around $250. http://us.focusrite.com/firewirethunderbolt-audio-interfaces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungo Posted August 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Thank you so far. I think I'll test a focusrite first. Some thunderbolts are still free to connect something ... What about the Tascam stuff? They look quite worthy, but prices are suspiciously low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Youngman Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Thank you so far. I think I'll test a focusrite first. Some thunderbolts are still free to connect something ... What about the Tascam stuff? They look quite worthy, but prices are suspiciously low. Go with Focusrite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Mills Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 The Presonus ones had less latency than the mbox and tascam units I tried earlier this year... so I kept it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Ear Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Mungo: " price: unfortunately lower than RME league " finally recognized my cue! possibly unreasonable expectations... What expectations do you see that are unreasonable? The op's request seems fairly straight forward, and reasonable. Many good suggestions made already. I'm personally a fan of the apogee and ua lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonG Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 If you want an interface with 8 outputs for 7.1, you're getting into an expensive league already. Most interfaces should be able to do 96kHz these days, but good mic pres and converters are subjective. Most "guitar center grade" interfaces aren't considered pro. I have a UAD Apollo Quad, which has everything you listed that you wanted (except you will likely not find XLR outputs on anything), but at $2,500, Im guessing is beyond your budget. The converters are great, the "guitar inputs" or Hi-Z Inputs are fantastic, four excellent mic pres, eight TRS outputs, and a lot of other cool things. When I got it, it was a toss up between it and the Apogee Ensemble. I went with UAD because the ensemble has been around for a good 10ish years already, which makes it more likely to be retired from support. Otherwise its a great machine. Im not a fan of Presonus or Focusrite because I find their mic pres harsh or dull depending, and there is too big of a difference in levels with the slightest turn of a knob, so it is hard to dial in exactly the level you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Duffy Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Thank you so far. I think I'll test a focusrite first. Some thunderbolts are still free to connect something ... What about the Tascam stuff? They look quite worthy, but prices are suspiciously low. As a TASCAM employee, I say unequivocally that our computer interfaces are well made, better sounding that the competition and excellent value for money. Don't let the low cost dissuade you. The market at this price point is a bloodbath, but we've used all our expertise to engineer and manufacture the best possible quality. The UH-7000 is our latest 2 channel interface with top shelf quality. (192kHz), priced more than the entry level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 As a long time TEAC / TASCAM customer, I agree with what the employee just said; these products are great values. These days, I frequently, specifically recommend TASCAM models over any comparable Zoom models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonG Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 I'd take Tascam over Zoom, and I had a very nice FW-1884, but they stopped supporting it. I would have gladly payed for an upgraded USB 3 or Thunderbolt port in place of the firewire to keep it running, but that wasn't an option, and now its in a landfill. I'm considering getting an SD USBpre which doesn't require drivers, and therefore will have a longer lifespan. I already have a CL Labs MotorMix as a control surface that requires no drivers as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earmuffs Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 I'm going to contradict Jon on the Focusrite. I have a Scarlett 8i6 and while it's no UAD or Prism I find that it's pretty flat but has nice fidelity, not uber flattering but to me it's better most of the low end BOB/interfaces for VO work and monitoring. Level controls never seemed to be an issue. It also has a nice setup interface on the mac side. Never been a fan of Tascam or Zoom, at least on the low end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfisk Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 I'm seriously considering getting the new Tascam US-2x2. I currently have a Mackie Onyx Blackjack. It serves its purpose. It doesn't have as much gain as I'd like, though. Most of the lower cost interfaces (doesn't mean they are bad, just the price) don't have XLR outputs. That's totally fine with me. Even my Digi 002 Rack didn't have XLR outputs, if I remember correctly. For what it sounds like you are doing I wouldn't spend a ton of cash on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanovich Posted February 10, 2017 Report Share Posted February 10, 2017 I'd say get a nice DA and AD. The apollo boxes are pretty sweet since they have a basic 'master section' built in. The new apogee boxes are pretty sweet as well. I use a Cranesong Avocet mkII which is killer. Also, the new Avid boxes sound surprisingly good. Looking to do an HDX upgrade at some point. Even the HD Native is great but I enjoy the low-latency of the new HDX systems.... Unfortunately none of this stuff is cheap. But the headphone amp on the Avocet is stellar! It can drive any phones you plug in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted February 21, 2017 Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 If you can get away with just 2/2 there are a lot of good choices, hifi too. If you need more inputs, like 8 or more then really good stuff (RME) gets expensive unless this will become part of your daily driver rig. I have an RME at the center of my studio rig and it works very well. For occasional use, mostly rehearsal recordings or multichan playback a Focusrite is a good value, esp if you don't need all the FX etc stuff that MOTU builds into their boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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