frednork Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 (edited) Hi all, interested in getting back into a bit of recording so curious on what people here use and why. Am interested in a minimum 6-8 out unit as would like to be able to use it for setting up some 3 way actives maybe with subs as well for a bit of fun . Also if it runs on a linux box as at least a 6-8 channel dac would be a bonus. Major questions are interface protocol usb, firewire and thunderbolt. Thunderbolt on the surface of it looks the best but are there other things to consider. forgot to mention dante quality of DA converters. as I want to use it essentially as a multi channel dac at times. any comments on quality of the dacs and sound signatures of various brands. I will asssume they all sound the same so if you agree with this dont bother repeating me!!!! Not that worried about the latest plugins and sounds and emulations and whatever. Price point, probably looking at middle of range but if there is a compelling case willining to spend more. Edited October 24, 2020 by frednork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frednork Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 (edited) double post Edited October 24, 2020 by frednork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Stick to the big name brands like RME and MOTU, perhaps Lexicon. They will have a better ADC stage, balanced ins / outs, great support in audio applications and operating systems and you can get a good deal on these used pretty easily on places like reverb.com. The speed of the interface isn't that important these days. USB will likely be more backwards compatible on machines you plug in into, but you'll find many of the 8 or 10 way interfaces will be firewire or lightning. You don't need Dante. I've got a first generation 10in / 10 out Motu ultra lite that I've had for 10+ years and it's still gong strong as a great firewire 400 mobile unit. The latest version of it, the Mk4 is 40 channels of 24 bit 192kHz audio with DSP and effects, all over USB for under $1k: https://motu.com/products/proaudio/ultralite-mk4 Motu and RME make 1RU rack mountable units too if that is important for you. For my bigger recording needs, I have a 16 channel digital mixer that links all my synths etc and is the primary sound card for my main Mac Pro and my Barefoot Micromain monitors. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 I had a spare few minutes and jumped on to the Store DJ website. The other brand you may want to consider is Presonus. My digital mixer is a Presonus and I rate it highly. Stable, great sound and very flexible. Lots of models that might suit what you want. All things considered, I'd be hunting for a used RME Fireface or a MOTU Ultralite or 828 if I wanted something that would last the "will I have it in 5 years?" question. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frednork Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Thanks @BugPowderDust (btw a fave track of mine as well as the K&D versions} , on a side note I think it is quite interesting what a user name elicits in others. For instance I prefer BPD to the previous moniker and think probably mine has an automatic negative connotation, maybe I should change also??) I am looking at it with a bit of a view to the future as I think my path forward involves a custom set of active speakers somewhere between the linkwitz 521 and the big jbl pro setup that Mitchco runs. So am interested in a highest possible fidelity solution {whatever that means ) as well as the ability to do recording if at all possible. My understanding of usb interfaces is that (in terms of reducing digital jitter to the lowest possible values) usb is likely at the bottom of the heap on that parameter, My assumption is that thunderbolt and firewire are similar as long as you remain within bandwidth and dante may be the best (theoretically anyway) . SO willing to spend a little more to reduce this issue but probably not dante for the sake of it as its not mature enough yet and jitterless transfer to a lower level dac seems like robbing peter to pay paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Yep. All sensible. Pretty much anyone half way serious in home recording is on a FireWire interface of some sort. Lightning is a newer addition, but behaves very similar to FireWire anyway. The question really for you is one of form factor. Do you want to rack it or not? Most older (3+ years) will be 24/96 and not 24/192 so if that’s important, you’ll be on newer editions of devices if you go hunting used. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frednork Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Yep and also would expect ,just as in Hifi some products are a bit more than the sum of their parts and belie their age or even spec. So if you know of those legend status products am interested. Its interesting that the lynx cards get mentioned quite a lot by some of those pro's (mitchco included). Not specifically looking for a rack solution but not a deal breaker either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 1 hour ago, BugPowderDust said: Store DJ website $50 off at the moment, same at Manny's (on +$300 order) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Yeah but the Lynx gear is proper expensive for not a lot of justification in my book. You should give Lew a call at Awave if you want the ins and outs on more premium options. He fits out a lot of the studios around town and is always good for a chat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 5 minutes ago, aussievintage said: $50 off at the moment, same at Manny's (on +$300 order) or was it DJcity - can't recall now sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rand129678 Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 (edited) On 24/10/2020 at 9:28 AM, frednork said: Hi all, interested in getting back into a bit of recording so curious on what people here use and why. Am interested in a minimum 6-8 out unit as would like to be able to use it for setting up some 3 way actives maybe with subs as well for a bit of fun . Hi mate, I know this is an old thread but I have a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 Gen3 USB interface I'll be listing for sale soon, if you're still looking. 10 channel balanced analogue inputs and outputs and very good microphone input, for your speaker/room measurements with suitable mic. Still within 3 year Focusrite warranty. Edited May 16, 2021 by rand129678 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frednork Posted May 16, 2021 Author Share Posted May 16, 2021 4 minutes ago, rand129678 said: Hi mate, I know this is an old thread but I have a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 Gen3 USB interface I'll be listing for sale soon, if you're still looking. 10 channel balanced analogue inputs and outputs and very good microphone input, for your speaker/room measurements with suitable mic. Still within 3 year Focusrite warranty. Thanks, am sorted for now though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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