Echo Audiofire 12 if you need a bunch of analog outputs:http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireW ... /index.php

M-Audio Firewire 410. Eight TRS 1/4" line outs.

japmn wrote:alex maiolo wrote:I can say with absolute confidence that there is no reason to consider anything other than the Universal Audio Apollo at $2k, unless you are looking to spend well over twice that.-AI agree. That I/O has changed the game a little. If yo want to spend less and get less, that Echo Audio Fire thing looks good.While it is great, would you really want it in a live rig? I'd be sweating something going down the entire time.

alex maiolo wrote:I can say with absolute confidence that there is no reason to consider anything other than the Universal Audio Apollo at $2k, unless you are looking to spend well over twice that.-ASo, when is the review coming out? I am in the process at looking for a new interface to replace my MOTU 828mkii. The search has been narrowed down to either a UA Apollo or an RME Fireface UFX.The Fireface is sort of winning because you can use all the analog ins at the same time, whereas I think the UA you can't use the mic pres and the #1-4 line ins at the same time. The UA of course has the powered plugs for tracking, so it's still in the running. I also have a Digimax FS that will be connected to whatever device I get so that UA analog I/O limitation may not be so bad.

It's a moot point: there's no way I can afford a $2,000 interface, even if it had an espresso maker built in and drove itself to gigs.

A quick check on ebay shows you can get an 003 rack w/protools for about $500. May be able to luck out with getting one cheaper. It's got 8 out; I've had one for three or four years and its been fine.= Justin

DefinitelyNOTtheSWEDE wrote:I use a Apogee Duet 2 (they may just call it the duet now). It has excellent pre's and from what I can tell, very nice converters. The "2" (there was an earlier model) now has 4 outputs- or really 2 separate stereo outs. I love mine for the fact that it runs on bus power from the usb, and sounds fantastic. I love its small profile, and have used it for recording as well as playback in live situations. It features a very clean and very usable "soft limit" feature on the input stage that really does help with transients and seems undetectable. Its also small, and "attractive" as my wife has pointed out...Its a bit more costly than similar units, there are cheaper interfaces, but I can't say enough about the quality of the signal- its head and shoulders above my motu interface. I have noticed that since I got it I have been using it more than my motu- even for drums, which has lead me down the path of experimenting with tracking drums in stereo right from my mixer, and forgoing most of the multitracking I used to do. Oh, I should mention that it is a MAC only device, so there is that to consider. If you are looking to go cheaper, I recall there are numerous usb/firewire multi-channel devices by mackie (the blackjack) and some prbably very reliable and decent motu units.Here is a cheaper alternative:http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicroBook2/Good luck!I'll 2nd the Duet (what?)I have the OG model. Was not aware the new guy has 4 outs. Fuck me I think I need to upgrade now.

I have the Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 which has 4 analogue outs, a midi out and a spdif out. It was 200 and I like it, the mixing software is very useful once you get the hang of it. They make larger units with more ins and outs. If I could go back, I'd probably buy the Focusrite Saffire instead, cos that doesn't require usb power - i.e; you could use the preamps on it and run it straight to a tape recorder rather than your computer. there's loads of similar usb devices, I did a shitload of research before I bought it - cos some look a bit flimsy, some don't have enough features, or have too many, etc, etc.. ..

BusBus wrote:The Fireface is sort of winning because you can use all the analog ins at the same time, whereas I think the UA you can't use the mic pres and the #1-4 line ins at the same time. The UA of course has the powered plugs for tracking, so it's still in the running. this is a touch inaccurate. on the fireface, there are 8 line in on the rear, and 4 mic pre/line in on the front. inputs 7/8 are switchable to either rear line 7/8, or to front inputs 1/2. front inputs 3/4 are line in 9/10.rule of thumb: every built in preamp in every interface ever is total shit. shopping for an interface, you mainly want the best quality line level a/d and d/a you can afford. the UAD looks nice, but i could give a shit about realtime plugin processing while tracking. tracking, i am only concerned with getting the signal to the computer in the highest quality possible. i really cannot recommend the fireface enough. i bought it because they were the best quality converters in that ballpark...the lynx were just coming out, but a bit more expensive. myteks were a bit too expensive for me. i'm sure there is some new shit that is awesome, but yeah. i paid around 1k a piece. the UFX effects, again, while cool, i could care less about. i would shoot for finding the original series cheaply.anyways, with two, i can do 20 analog lines in/out, and there are another 16-20 digital channels to use. all zero latency monitoring, and the total mix interface allows insane routing capabilities.for the prfnycbbq, we ran the mics from the stage to my external preamps, then to the rme for recording, which passed each mic signal zero latency back out the outputs, which then went to the board for the live mixing. two days straight of the entire show running through the interface back out to the board. one glitch and the party came to a grinding halt. zero issues. rock solid.

Nice! It seems like you should be in good shape. Definitely get an external drive or two for recording/backups.I'm really surprised that you found a new laptop with an express34 slot.