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Earlier this year my Motu 828mk2 gave up on me (I'd had it for 8 years I think?) and the firewire link got really flaky. Looked around at a bunch of other options and around the price I was looking at (up to about 1000) nothing else seemed to fit the bill, so I went and got another 828, this time the X (thunderbolt/usb) version. I really like that they give you a dedicated stereo monitor output in addition to the 8 line outputs, means I can monitor the return when I'm printing bigger mixes through my desk.The convertors don't sound quite as ballsy as the Apogee AD8000 I've got hooked into the ADAT port, but they're quite nice and clear up top.Given the budget I'd have liked the Apollo 16... maybe next time, but hopefully I'll get another 8 years out if this one, right?

FuzzBob wrote:Anthony Flack, if all you need is S/PDIF into your Saffire, I highly recommend the Audient Mico. Excellent pres and converters, noticeably a step up, but you'd take a huge nosedive in quality just going a little cheaper with the DBX or Joe Meek stuff. Got mine off eBay for $400, and couldn't be happier.Well, I'm not sure. I'm kinda just investigating the possibilities right now. Mostly I'm thinking it would be useful to have a 2-channel interface for using at home, doing overdubs and stuff like that, without having to pull the main interface out of the band room, unplug everything etc.The S/PDIF is a bonus; it would mean I could potentially bring it to the band room and take the number of simultaneous recording channels from 16 to 18 if I need to, which could be handy.That Mico looks very nice, and the possibility of adding two superior pres is quite tempting. I'm quite happy with the Saffire pres, but of course you always are until you start using something better, huh. But $400 on ebay is likely to translate to more like $800 for me, once postage and import duties have had their way. In which case it's gonna be more of a wish list item for later, rather than something I pull the trigger on any time soon.

I recently (January 2014) upgraded the digital setup I've had since 2006. I'm a mac user.I wrote a story about it here:http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=31675

Anthony Flack, if all you need is S/PDIF into your Saffire, I highly recommend the Audient Mico. Excellent pres and converters, noticeably a step up, but you'd take a huge nosedive in quality just going a little cheaper with the DBX or Joe Meek stuff. Got mine off eBay for $400, and couldn't be happier. On another interface note, I've owned my SPL Crimson for awhile now, and it has only grown on me. Lush, warm, dimensional. Even running mics into Little Imps into channels 3-4 for a four mic setup, *those* sounded great. It's good enough that the only plugins I really like using on it are ReaPlugs, because the natural richness and warmth holds up through them, and Slate/PSP/Sound Toys/etc. warming plugins actually detract from, instead of enhance, the sound.The setup on it is weird, but running a Zed into channels 3-4 and the Mico into S/PDIF channels 5-6 is plenty for me, plus I have analog summing available.

Bumping this thread to not create another one.I want to upgrade my audio interface, i have a focusrite saffire pro 40 that i'm pretty happy with it, but it's way too big, and i have very little space on my desk. also i would like to upgrade the converters and the general DAC. so i'm searching for:- something portable (half rack or less)- nice pres- price between 500$ and 1000$- several inputs would be a plus, like 4-8 inputs. that's difficult because i want something portable too.for now my choices are:- rme babyface- apogee duet - motu ultralite -> i like that this one has millions of inputs and options but i don't know if it's better than my saffire at all.anything else i'm missing? i would consider an universal audio but i'm scared that i will spend my life savings on plugins. thanks!

Benny wrote:Bumping this thread to not create another one.I want to upgrade my audio interface, i have a focusrite saffire pro 40 that i'm pretty happy with it, but it's way too big, and i have very little space on my desk. also i would like to upgrade the converters and the general DAC. so i'm searching for:- something portable (half rack or less)- nice pres- price between 500$ and 1000$- several inputs would be a plus, like 4-8 inputs. that's difficult because i want something portable too.for now my choices are:- rme babyface- apogee duet - motu ultralite -> i like that this one has millions of inputs and options but i don't know if it's better than my saffire at all.anything else i'm missing? i would consider an universal audio but i'm scared that i will spend my life savings on plugins. thanks!I've heard the apogee works great.

Thinking of taking the plunge for a Universal Audio Apollo 8 thunderbolt...anyone using either the DUO or QUAD? I'd be really interested to hear folks' opinions that aren't trying to sell me something.

Looking for a combo recommendation:I do some army-of-synths stuff at home that requires a fair amount of i/o (12 TS in / 8 TS out minimum), but when I take my laptop elsewhere to play with others, I usually only need 2x2 + MIDI. Ideally I'd like to keep some shit always connected at home, but be able to throw the laptop + audio interface in a backpack for going places to play with others. I do use microphones pretty regularly at home, but I'm fine using external/standalone preamps for them.AFAICT there are a couple paved road ways of having that flexibility:- some kind of networked audio protocol, like MOTU interfaces using AVB or RME interfaces using MADI, that turns multiple interfaces into one from the computer's perspective.- connect a small audio interface to an I/O expander, probably via optical, and just leave the optical I/O in place permanently.is there another possibility I'm missing?I'm also super skeptical of the networked audio protocols, so if anyone has experience with them, I'd love to hear about it.

brephophagist wrote:- some kind of networked audio protocol, like MOTU interfaces using AVB or RME interfaces using MADI, that turns multiple interfaces into one from the computer's perspective.I never used audio over ethernet, but seems like it works. The Furman headphone boxes use audio over ethernet, but you could argue that since it's for headphone monitoring while tracking that it's not the highest quality. Focusrite also has audio-over-IP interfaces, if you're looking for other options of that variety.brephophagist wrote:- connect a small audio interface to an I/O expander, probably via optical, and just leave the optical I/O in place permanently.That's what I was thinking. You could even do that with a couple of older MOTUs. The Ultralights and 828s come with MIDI I/O, so there's that solved. Personally I have their 16A that I use without any augmentation. It works well, but not MIDI. For that I use one of their MIDI interfaces. FWIW, none of the MOTU interfaces allow you to chain thunderbolt devices, which I think is silly.Another option: UAD Apollo. You could get the Twin, which is portable and has 2in 2out, along with the Apollo 8 or 16. I believe they are chained over thunderbolt. The UADs are quite a bit more expensive than the MOTUs and don't have MIDI I/O, so you're still on the hook for a MIDI interface (which you might need anyway if 16 channels of MIDI aren't enough).

Apologies if this question has been asked before, I searched but couldn't find anything.I've been recording to tape for a few decades now, but a few years ago started working with a band in a different state that records at a Pro Tools studio local to them, then the engineer sends me WAV files from the sessions and I do overdubs and mix in Reaper. I bought a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 eight channel pre that's been working fine up until now, but with the new record we're working on I'm going to need more than eight channels.I have a bunch of nice analog pres, Syteks, APIs, some others, that I'd love to use. Is there a simple way to use these pres with my computer?Thanks for any help you can give!