Motu 896HD for $400

[kevinkace]

896hd is a great affordable interface for what it does, but it doesn't sound like it's what you need. Meaning you're paying for 8 mic pres but only using 1.
I'm not familiar with the saffire pro 24, but might be better suited to your needs. Maybe even the RME Babyface, which I'm sure would be a great card, just not sure about the pres on that.
So no, an 896hd for 400 is not a bad purchase, just hopefully you can make use of it's features.

[Stinko]

Hmm I've never heard of the RME Babyface before but it looks like it's a USB interface and I was hoping to either use a firewire interface or PCI card since from what I've heard they perform slightly better in terms of latency and such. Also that seems a little pricy... Even though the Motu is an 8 channel do you think since I could get it for so cheap it'd be worth it or would I be better off looking for something else?

[oretez]

theoretically the MOTU 828 MKii (f/w, I think they might have made a USB version) could be picked up 2nd hand for slightly less then 896HD. It has a pair of mic pre's plus 6 additional line in's. A not beat to crap one should be able to be found for between $2-300.

[pathdoc]

I have an 896HD and its a fine unit. I paid $1000 for mine new a few years back. Its super reliable.

[Stinko]

Originally Posted by oretez

theoretically the MOTU 828 MKii (f/w, I think they might have made a USB version) could be picked up 2nd hand for slightly less then 896HD. It has a pair of mic pre's plus 6 additional line in's. A not beat to crap one should be able to be found for between $2-300.

Yeah but that'd only be like $100 cheaper. Do you think it'd be worth it? Cause if I ever do decide to upgrade the Motu 896 HD would probably sell for more. Also how are the pre amps on it? Is it worth it to buy the golden age pre 73? I've heard it goes really well with the sm7b. Thanks for all the input so far!

[kevinkace]

There's a common misconception that FW or PCI(e) is better than USB. In terms of the needs for audio interface it's not really true.
RME is 100% reliable and outstanding quality (not sure about the specifics of the Babyface though).

[Stinko]

Originally Posted by kevinkace

There's a common misconception that FW or PCI(e) is better than USB. In terms of the needs for audio interface it's not really true.
RME is 100% reliable and outstanding quality (not sure about the specifics of the Babyface though).

Yeah I definitely heard both sides of that argument and I don't think USB would really hurt the quality of my audio since I'm only recording one track at a time and according to the guy at guitar center the only time your audio will suffer is if you're recording more then a usb can handle. But yeah the RME is still pretty expensive too, I'd be willing to get it though if I didn't need to buy an additional preamp to get the best sound. Does anyone know how the preamps sound on either the Motu or the RME babyface?