USBPre 2 vs Steinberg UR824

[JWF]

Havnt even heard of the USBpre but I love my UR824.

I find the quality of the converters to be very good. I still use my outboard pres myself but the pres on the UR are good enough that you could use them exclusively and get good results.

You also get the RevX reverb DSP which you can use without latency. I originally was planning on just using it for monitoring only but I like it enough that Ive been using it alot for mixing. Very useful

You also get the channelstrip DSP, which is also latency free. I dont use it that much as I prefer my UAD stuff but it actually is useable in a pinch or for monitoring.

The latency is worse than a firewire interface obviously but its good enough at low buffer sizes for me.

Just my 2 cents though.

[jiggitysmith]

I've read some of your other posts on the UR824 and that you had an Echo AF 8 before for conversion and that the UR824 might be a step up, it's been a few months, what are your thoughts on it being a step up / about the same for conversion?

Preamps a big step up from the Echo? Lol would it be reasonable to sell my Pre73 to help pay for this since the preamps are so good? (looking for a more neutral pre anyway). At what point do they get noisy (lol or can you crank them without noise?)

How's the latency / etc ? Is it about the same on USB / ADAT ? Also, I've been out of buying an interface for so long that they don't specify anything as multitrack. I'm guessing it does send out multiple (8) channels of audio via USB or ADAT? Hows the clock performance (since I think that's the doodad that makes sure all 8 tracks line up when recording?)

What would you consider the bang for the buck to be on this at 700$ ?

Lol sorry for all the questions, but out of all the thread searching, you're the one who likes to talk most about his UR824

Conversely, I think the biggest selling point of the usbpre 2 is the portability / quality. I figure I could do better in the same price range since portability doesn't matter to me as much.

[JWF]

Originally Posted by jiggitysmith

I've read some of your other posts on the UR824 and that you had an Echo AF 8 before for conversion and that the UR824 might be a step up, it's been a few months, what are your thoughts on it being a step up / about the same for conversion?

Preamps a big step up from the Echo? Lol would it be reasonable to sell my Pre73 to help pay for this since the preamps are so good? (looking for a more neutral pre anyway). At what point do they get noisy (lol or can you crank them without noise?)

How's the latency / etc ? Is it about the same on USB / ADAT ? Also, I've been out of buying an interface for so long that they don't specify anything as multitrack. I'm guessing it does send out multiple (8) channels of audio via USB or ADAT? Hows the clock performance (since I think that's the doodad that makes sure all 8 tracks line up when recording?)

What would you consider the bang for the buck to be on this at 700$ ?

Lol sorry for all the questions, but out of all the thread searching, you're the one who likes to talk most about his UR824

Conversely, I think the biggest selling point of the usbpre 2 is the portability / quality. I figure I could do better in the same price range since portability doesn't matter to me as much.

Sorry I didnt respond earlier. Somehow I missed this post.

I still stand by my statement to this point about the UR/MR converters. They dont completely blow away the Audiofire converters, as the Audiofire's are still pretty good but the difference is def. noticeable IMO.

I love my GAP pre73 personally but if you are looking for more neutral pres then I think you'll be happy with the Steiny pres. I find them to be clean and smooth. I do find BLA and Sytek I have to be more detailed but the Steiny's sound good.

The latency isnt bad. I dont really remember what I was able to get it down to with the lowest buffer sizes as I usually use higher buffer sizes. Id say you can get it down to 14ms in and back out but dont quote me.

I havnt used the ADAT yet and havnt used the clock.

Ill say this. Ive spent alot of money the past 6 months trying to upgrade my setup and this is probably the best money ive spent next to my acoustic treatment.