Apogee VS. Presonus

[RubixGroove]

This is a weird internal debate I've been having... here goes:

I'm looking for an interface to record some tunes with, mostly all live.
There's no one type of genre, either, so lets not worry about that!

The Presonus Firestudio Project attracts me because it has 8 XLR inputs right on the front, and each have their own pre and you can daisy chain anything in the Firestudio family!

The Apogee Duet attracts me because... well, I think the product name says it all. It's the APOGEE DUET.

I'd really like to have FOUR mic inputs, at least. Two for trumpet & bass/guitar & bass/trumpet & guitar/what have you AND two for overheads to pick up my drums.

Right now it's really quantity Vs. quality sort of thing, but I was wondering if I paired the Duet up with the right mics... maybe I could capture the sound decently enough. With the Presonus, I could get away with just about anything I want... I'd just be missing out on the Apogee sound.

/brainmelted


Thanks for any words of wisdom ahead of time!

[badhorsie777]

I'd also consider the MOTU 8pre. My ultralite mk3 from them has been rock solid, and I hear the same on the windows side of things, as well. Pretty great bang-for-the-buck interface if you're mainly needing mic inputs. The duet will sound fantastic - no doubt, but if it's nowhere near the number on inputs you need, is it any good at all?

-Matt

[RubixGroove]

Well, I was thinkin' maybe I could daisy chain some of those Duets together to maybe have four (solid) inputs! I'm probably wrong on this, though. I have NEVER used an Apogee product before, only been around them in-use.

This learns me to always ask questions, even if I'm not too sure if the knowledge will be relavent to my situations later in life!


Oi! Think I'm just going to go the Firestudio Project route and see how it works. I figure, I could get something to record all my bands/friends bands (Firestudio Project) and get something that would be "just for me"... being the Duet. I think it'd be super sexy to have two BAD ASS overheads running into two equally bad ass pre's/converters... that'd be a fun way to record some drums right there.

I get turned on thinking about getting nice, clear sounds out of small/under-appreciated gear!


Wish gearslutz had a phone sex operator who would tell me about all their (dirty) experiences with low-input interfaces in untreated rooms...

[Michaelrophone]

Hey man, it sounds like price is a determining factor. Personally, I'd suggest taking a look at the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40. Much better than anyting Presonus makes and right at the same price point. Still no Apogee, but chaining two Duets is gonna run you at least a grand and there's a LOT of interfaces that would give you the inputs you want at that price range.

Not for nothing...

[LX3]

In my experience, the quality of the drivers for your chosen interface has a huge bearing on things. The best mic pres and converters in the world are a waste of time if it's frustrating to use or you can't get the thing working at all.

Also in my experience, the Presonus and to a lesser degree the Apogee drivers aren't that well-designed. Not to say they won't improve, but it's anyone's guess when.

(My experience is based on the Mac drivers for Firestudio and Ensemble. Other interfaces are available).

Back in the day, I had both the original and the MkII MOTU 896 interfaces. They were fun to use, drivers for those were really solid. So the 8 Pre might not be such a bad suggestion... although there's not much love for the preamps 'round these parts!

[mixedupsteve]

Rubix,
If you go with Presonus I'd get the regular firestudio. It can handle 26 total inputs by adding more pres via ADAT. I have one and a D8 Digimax on a Macbook and never had any problems.

[maxpidge]

m-audio 26/26 it will handle everything you need...

[hbphotoav]

I started on a PreSonus FirePod (eight inputs for less than $500) and was quickly disenchanted by the mic amp noise (Gefell M296 mics) on very quiet a capella choral stuff. I moved (quickly) to an Apogee Ensemble ($1,600 on sale at GC a couple of years ago... $1,300 or so used on eBay these days), and added a year later a DAV BG8. The Apogee mic amps sound, to my ears on the choral stuff I usually record (Sennheiser MKH8040 pair and DPA 4061 pair, as well as the Gefells) mucho better than the PreSonus; the BG8 simply took it up one more step and added four additional channels of Very Nice Pre.

People I trust have said the Duet preamps are very close to the Ensemble's... but I've not ever used a Duet.

YM, of course, MV

[fossaree]

I don't know if it's in your budget , but I'd highly recommend you a RME Fireface 800 , around 1500 bucks ...

[AlexK]

+1 for the RME, but I think it's out of the OP's budget.

Don't be tempted by the Duet simply because it's got Apogee written on it. As it happens, I really think RME's conversion is better than Apogee's on all levels.

The Pro 40 is a great piece of kit for it's price, but I do find the mixer software a little confusing...

[Michaelrophone]

Originally Posted by AlexK

The Pro 40 is a great piece of kit for it's price, but I do find the mixer software a little confusing...

I thought the same, at first. It's actually incredibly useful, especially when it comes to cue mixes.

[RubixGroove]

I'm actually thinkin' of going the Presonus route, now I'm just not too sure.
I want one at least eight XLR inputs, figuring that it'd be the best way to go.

Plus, daisy chaining seems pretty easy.
I'm NOT a big-time producer or one that records tons of albums for some "indie" label. Just a simple drummer that plays tons of music with tons of different people & groups that is going to help out ones that aren't fortunate enough to buy their own setup!

Blah, that was a mouth full! Anyway, that's just the situation. Looking to get some decent quality for a reasonable price. Once I get that, there's ALWAAAAAAAAYS room for expansion

[jslevin]

Echo Digital Audio Corporation

I don't know what the psychotic hold is that the Duet has on some people who've never even tried it.

It does not have boutique preamps. It does not have Apogee's high-end converters.

And if you need more than two channels, it is categorically and obviously the wrong thing to buy.

There are a lot of great products out there. Duet is, at most, one of those products.

JSL