Best Firewire Interface For My Budget...please help!

moogboy · 25th September 2006, 03:21 AM

Hello All,

I have a Mac G5 Quad 2.5 GHz PowerPC and I use Logic Pro 7. Currently, I am still using my old Tascam US-122, which has horrible latency because it's USB, so I am in deserperate need of an upgrade.

So, after much research on this forum and other sites, I have decided on these two firewire interfaces with my budget, from $600 to $850:

1. MOTU 828MKII or The Traveler (What's the main difference between these?..i don't care about the ability to take my interface on the road..i actually prefer a rack mount)

2. Mackie Onyx 400F (I heard there are a bunch of problems with this unit...I don't want any headaches down the road, but I have heard on this forum that its a similar quality to the RME)

Here's the other options in my price range that I have checked out but dismissed for now: Presonus Firepod, Presonus Firestudio, Echo AudioFire 12, Focusrite Saffire Pro

and the too exspensive list, but would buy if I had the money: RME Fireface 400, Apogee Rosetta or Ensemble, Metric Halo uln-2, and the list goes on

I just need an audio interface that is:

A. Solid running under a MAC and Logic; The most dependable in my price range

B. The least amount of latency

C: Great sounding Preamps (i want quality not quantity..most of the time i only record, at max, 2 inputs at once, but having more preamps is a bonus)

D: Great MIDI interface. I use MIDI alot for my synths, so I need that to be acurrate.

baikonour · 25th September 2006, 10:03 AM

the MOTU 828 MK2 is probably your best choice: can be racked, decent converters and pres. flexible routing, etc... the latency is ok but not as low as the RME. there's MIDI i/o too

moogboy · 25th September 2006, 10:09 PM

so what makes the Motu 828mkII better than the Mackie Onyx 400F?

ticohans · 25th September 2006, 10:42 PM

Moog, I'm not sure what problems you've heard of with the 400F, but I own one and haven't had any issues thus far.

moogboy · 26th September 2006, 12:04 AM

Yeah, I'm starting to lean towards the 4OOF. It has 4 preamps and the interface seems like it would work best on a rack...unlike the MOTU Traveler, which has the midi i/o ports on the side and no inputs on the front panel.

I just want to know if the 400F will be the most stable under my system.

6strings · 26th September 2006, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moogboy

so what makes the Motu 828mkII better than the Mackie Onyx 400F?

MOTU is Johnny-on-the-spot for keeping their mac drivers up to date! Mackie has little far less experience/history in comparison to MOTU when it comes to this. Just something to consider.

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25th September 2006, 03:21 AM	#1
moogboy Gear interested Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3	Best Firewire Interface For My Budget...please help! Hello All, I have a Mac G5 Quad 2.5 GHz PowerPC and I use Logic Pro 7. Currently, I am still using my old Tascam US-122, which has horrible latency because it's USB, so I am in deserperate need of an upgrade. So, after much research on this forum and other sites, I have decided on these two firewire interfaces with my budget, from $600 to $850: 1. MOTU 828MKII or The Traveler (What's the main difference between these?..i don't care about the ability to take my interface on the road..i actually prefer a rack mount) 2. Mackie Onyx 400F (I heard there are a bunch of problems with this unit...I don't want any headaches down the road, but I have heard on this forum that its a similar quality to the RME) Here's the other options in my price range that I have checked out but dismissed for now: Presonus Firepod, Presonus Firestudio, Echo AudioFire 12, Focusrite Saffire Pro and the too exspensive list, but would buy if I had the money: RME Fireface 400, Apogee Rosetta or Ensemble, Metric Halo uln-2, and the list goes on I just need an audio interface that is: A. Solid running under a MAC and Logic; The most dependable in my price range B. The least amount of latency C: Great sounding Preamps (i want quality not quantity..most of the time i only record, at max, 2 inputs at once, but having more preamps is a bonus) D: Great MIDI interface. I use MIDI alot for my synths, so I need that to be acurrate.

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25th September 2006, 10:03 AM	#2
baikonour Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: brighton UK Posts: 784	the MOTU 828 MK2 is probably your best choice: can be racked, decent converters and pres. flexible routing, etc... the latency is ok but not as low as the RME. there's MIDI i/o too

25th September 2006, 10:09 PM	#3
moogboy Gear interested Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3	so what makes the Motu 828mkII better than the Mackie Onyx 400F?

25th September 2006, 10:42 PM	#4
ticohans Gear nut Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 116	Moog, I'm not sure what problems you've heard of with the 400F, but I own one and haven't had any issues thus far.

26th September 2006, 12:04 AM	#5
moogboy Gear interested Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3	Yeah, I'm starting to lean towards the 4OOF. It has 4 preamps and the interface seems like it would work best on a rack...unlike the MOTU Traveler, which has the midi i/o ports on the side and no inputs on the front panel. I just want to know if the 400F will be the most stable under my system.