Fireface 800 vs. MH ULN-2/2882...QUICK :)

[jordanh]

Hey everyone...I've been reading through the forums, and thought I should post the question once and for all, detailing my own needs, and hopefully your experiences/opinions can lead me to the right decision. I have just enough money to get either the RME Fireface 800 or the Metric Halo 2882/ULN-2 and am having a really hard time deciding...

At first I was going to get the FF800 but now im leading a lil towards the 2882... For the most part, I don't need to be recording too much at the same time-- It will mostly be used on vocals and acoustic guitar...piano...etc

The possibility of recording drums is definitely a plus which is why I was looking at the fireface in the first place. It appears that the general concensus is that the fireface has great converters but pretty ugly pre's...since I can't afford additional gear right now, will this effect my recordings in a way in which they wont sound very good? Am I better off just going with the MH 2882? How do the converters in the MH stuff compare to the Fireface? I hear that the pre's are much better...are they just more detailed...open..etc?

I appreciate any insight you can give me, especially if you have compared the two items yourself. I do have an important project coming up and need to make my purchase as soon as possible, so any and all information is greatly appreciated. What would you do in my position?

Right now the studio i've been using has a couple Focusrite TrakMasters going through a Digi-002...do you think with any of the options I'll have a significant sound improvement?

Lastly (for now): From what I've been reading, the 2882 seems like the right choice, but people complain about it not being able to record "quiet" things...what does everyone mean by quiet? Would soft detailed guitar not come through a decent condensor mic? Or subtle vocal inflections...etc?

Thanks! This is my first post on the forums...and I look forward to many many more.

Jordan

[SveNaj]

If you don't have to record more that 2 sound sources in the same time (vox and guitar for example)- the answer is simple ULN-2, no doubt.

S

Originally Posted by jordanh

Hey everyone...I've been reading through the forums, and thought I should post the question once and for all, detailing my own needs, and hopefully your experiences/opinions can lead me to the right decision. I have just enough money to get either the RME Fireface 800 or the Metric Halo 2882/ULN-2 and am having a really hard time deciding...

At first I was going to get the FF800 but now im leading a lil towards the 2882... For the most part, I don't need to be recording too much at the same time-- It will mostly be used on vocals and acoustic guitar...piano...etc

The possibility of recording drums is definitely a plus which is why I was looking at the fireface in the first place. It appears that the general concensus is that the fireface has great converters but pretty ugly pre's...since I can't afford additional gear right now, will this effect my recordings in a way in which they wont sound very good? Am I better off just going with the MH 2882? How do the converters in the MH stuff compare to the Fireface? I hear that the pre's are much better...are they just more detailed...open..etc?

I appreciate any insight you can give me, especially if you have compared the two items yourself. I do have an important project coming up and need to make my purchase as soon as possible, so any and all information is greatly appreciated. What would you do in my position?

Right now the studio i've been using has a couple Focusrite TrakMasters going through a Digi-002...do you think with any of the options I'll have a significant sound improvement?

Lastly (for now): From what I've been reading, the 2882 seems like the right choice, but people complain about it not being able to record "quiet" things...what does everyone mean by quiet? Would soft detailed guitar not come through a decent condensor mic? Or subtle vocal inflections...etc?

Thanks! This is my first post on the forums...and I look forward to many many more.

Jordan

[brutze]

I have the FF800 and have tried the MH. I have the feeling that the converters on the MH are a bit better.

But the FF is a wonderful piece of kit with many possibilities.

[dan*leclub]

MH 2882 here. Converters sound better to me as in RME products. The preamps on the 2882 don't offer enough gain for very silent sources or certain mics (e.g. SM7). For drumrecording, You'll be fine with the 2882.

[thermos]

I tried both back to back, and the FF 800 converters were definitely better (especially the A/D section, the D/A were more comparable). No doubt, as I had headroom problems with the MH ones. But the pres in the Mh were better for sure (not fizzy and ugly like the FF 800 pres). So its kind of a toss up. I wouldn't kill someone if I were forced to use the MH box with Drums, have done it before and the client was happy. Either way will be an upgrade from the 002.

[jordanh]

right now it defintiely seems to be between the MH 2882 and the ULN-2. Since I probably wont be using dynamic mics like the 57 on quiet sources, perhaps the 2882 is the right choice? If I do use a 57, it will probably be on something like a snare...etc which I don't consider to be quiet.

What is considered a "quiet source."?

However, since most applications will be guitar and vocals, are the pres on the ULN-2 significantly better in that it will probably be the better choice?

Thanks for all your help...this is coming down to the last decisions now

[henryrobinett]

Quiet source might be room mics for a classical concert. Or distant mic'ing on an acoustic finger picked guitar. For drums the 2882 would be great.

No question that the pres in the ULN-2 are better. More clarity an definition and great for distant mic'ing. But the 2882 ain't bad on loud sources. 57 on snare would be fine unless the drummer is playing very quietly and your mic is 10 feet away. Even 5 feet away.

[jordanh]

For my applications, distant micing isn't really a concern... Im sort of leaning towards the 2882, for the mere fact I can record drums just fine with it (so it seems). However, is the difference in pre's between the 2882 and ULN-2 night and day? From what it appears, the ULN-2 will act much much better for quieter and distance applications but will they be that much better for close and standard micing of vocals and guitar? If so...if it makes a big noticable difference, and will give my recordings that extra boost, and "studio" sound...ULN-2 definitely wins the race.

Thanks again everyone

[bendecido]

Originally Posted by thermos

I tried both back to back, and the FF 800 converters were definitely better (especially the A/D section, the D/A were more comparable). No doubt, as I had headroom problems with the MH ones. But the pres in the Mh were better for sure (not fizzy and ugly like the FF 800 pres). So its kind of a toss up. I wouldn't kill someone if I were forced to use the MH box with Drums, have done it before and the client was happy. Either way will be an upgrade from the 002.

no offense to you my friend but i cannot imagine how you came to the conclusion that that the fireface has better converters. I have a 2882 and am continually impressed by the converters. They are on par with lynx aurora imo. Huge, 3d some of the best ive used. and i cannot imagine the fireface to have better converters that these two. I guess people hear thing differently and prefer different things.

blessings