firewire audio interface

foresight

New member
did some more research and...

i've read too many horror stories about the M-Audio Firewire 410 from OSXaudio.com forums as well as from Ableton forums.

i was originally planning to get either the 410 or Firewire Audiophile, but the constant bad press about driver issues with OSX is frightening. besides crashing the mac and forced rebooting to get the box to work, it seems that the M-Audio boxes can't be hot-plugged into the firewire bus too. and there have been occasions of fried firewire busses due to this.

not everyone had problems tho. it seems to be a 50/50 chance at the 410 working well with OSX. is it a risk worth taking? or should i look for the Edirol FA101 or Presonus Firebox instead? are these boxes available locally?
 
foresight said:
is it a risk worth taking? or should i look for the Edirol FA101 or Presonus Firebox instead? are these boxes available locally?

You could try the Digidesign Digi002 rack or MOTU 828 mk ii at Sinamex.

If you do live recording and need preamps, the Presonus Firepod woudl be your 1st choice. Look for joel68 and PM him. He knows where to get a good deal.
 
i'm afraid the Motu and Digidesign ones are way over my stated budget. i'd instantly grab one of those if i has the cash tho. but i just plonked down a bomb and a half on my powerbook, and finances are running tight now.

still, are there any others in the SG$700 price range? I know the Firepod goes for around SG$1000. still over budget.
 
Alternative: ESI QuataFire 610 - Way below S$700

http://www.esi-pro.com/viewProduct.php?pid=16&page=1

QuataFire-S-3-M.jpg


QuataFire 610 is an ultra-compact, FireWire compatible audio/MIDI recording interface for laptop and desktop computers. QuataFire 610 offers top quality 24-bit 192 kHz output and 96 kHz input audio performance and its 6-in/10-out configuration offers great flexibility whether you’re recording, or routing discrete outputs to a mixer. QuataFire 610 features MIC/line inputs with built-in preamps and +48V phantom power, individual gain controls, headphone output with volume control, 32 channel MIDI I/O, and S/PDIF digital I/O. It also allows you to monitor your inputs through the internal digital mixer for Direct input monitoring. QuataFire 610 can be completely FireWire bus-powered for ultimate mobile applications.
FRONT PANEL: 2 combo [XLR & 1/4 inch] jacks for inputs 1&2, Mic/Line switch, Instrument (Hi-Z) switch, +48V phantom power switch, Input gain control, headphone output with headphone volume control.
REAR PANEL: RCA type connectors for analog inputs 3&4 and outputs 1-4, S/PDIF coaxial I/O, 1/4 inch jacks for analog outputs 5-8, MIDI 2 in 2 out.
QuataFire 610 works under Windows XP (Service Pack 1 is required) and Mac OS X (version 10.3.6 and higher). It integrates easily into all common professional audio applications under Windows XP and Mac OS X.
Specifications.
- 4 channel analog input (24-bit/96kHz)
- 8 channel analog output (supports up to 24-bit/192kHz)
- 24-bit 96kHz 2 channel S/PDIF [coaxial] digital I/O
- 2 Mic/Inst Preamps with +48V Phantom Power
- 2 port MIDI I/O [32 MIDI channels]
- Headphone Amp with volume control
- Powered by FireWire bus or external power supply
- supports WDM, MME, CoreAudio and ASIO 2.0
- Ableton Live ESI software for PC included
- Windows XP Service Pack 1 required
- Mac OS X 10.3.6 and higher version required

- Ultimate Audio Tools;
- Live ESI by ableton : Real time audio sequencing Instrument,
- Tassman ESI by AAS : Sound synthesis studio
- VST Plug ins and VST instruments
- - Khaerhus Audio -the classic series (7 complete VST plug ins)
- - Audio Nerdz- Delay Lama
- - MDA-VST - Piano, ePiano
- - Sinus · Freeverb Too
- - Silverspike · RoomMachine 844
- - Abyss · Cushion, Exciter, Filter
- - PSP audioware · PSP Piano Verb
- - CSI · C FFT, C Tuner, C Super Stereo
- - Steinberg · Leveler, Tools One
- - Externalizer, Stereo Expander
- - Voxengo Stereo Touch
- - Supaphaser

- Technical Tips

- - External adaptor is needed for laptop.
- - Does not support None PCM pass thru for digital output.
- - External adaptor is needed for +48V Phantom microphone.

- Limitation on the MAC

- - Sample rate: 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96kHz are supported, even though
- 176.4 and 192kHz are displayed on the AMS, these sample rates
- cannot be used at the moment. (NOV, 11, 2004)
- *176.4 & 192kHz are intend to use for monitor output only

- - 4pin IEEE1394 Port laptop users have to use external adaptor which
- included.

- - Some of Bass guitars can be occurred noise during recording.

- - Note 1 : Quata Fire can be used bus power basically. But you should
- use external adaptor which included for laptop or desktop PC which
- does not provide full power.
- - Note 2: IEEE1394 cable which 6-4pin does not supports power supply
- from 4pin connector of your PC.
- - Note 3: It does not support GSIF and DirectWire3.0
- - Note 4: You must setup on volume to more then 80% when input from
- some of microphone or electronic guitar for Characteristic Impedance .
 
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