Which USB audio interface?, Which USB audio interface? Options

[rickenbacker]

Anyone got any suggestions on the best USB audio interface to use? I'd like to hear other people's opinions on the various options - Edirol UA-5, Midiman's Quattro and Duo, Tascam US428, Roland U8 and anything I might have missed. How about the MBox? Anyone tried that yet?

Basically, I need a USB audio solution for my iBook and I want to hopefully get it right first time!

Thanks for your help.

i have the quattro and i hate it - bugged drivers, ugly, heavy, overheats, badly designed.
i haven't tried any other usb interface but they simply can't be worse than this one!

[rickenbacker]

Right, that's the Quattro off the list - thanks for the honest tip. I had heard a few negative comments about it already, but your post has really put the tin lid on it!

[rickparis75]

i use a digi001 and i am very happy with it....

I would bet the M box is fine. plus ProTools software 5.1 is great!!!!

Hope this helps
Rick

[lepetitmartien]

About the Quattro there are other threads (in french maybe) about it… It doesn't seem to be positive… hum. The least that can be said.

The digidesign is excellent but as everything with digidesign it has its idiosyncrasies (check for threads). To be fair, it's not the quality of the interface, but how to use it outside PT…

[rickenbacker]

Thanks for all the replies so far, people. It's been emotional.

Rick - you like Pro Tools, then? Any major drawbacks to it? What do you like about it most? I am definitely moving towards the MBox system. It looks great, has all the connections I need, Focusrite preamps, all very nice. The only concern I have is that I'm going to lay out £400 or so on a box that ties me to Pro Tools LE.

I realise that in using a Mac I should be well used to being in the minority :-) But there's a lot of cool VST stuff out there - Kontakt and Reason, for instance. No way of using them with Pro Tools LE, or is there?

Saying that, I read a magazine test of the MBox earlier today in which they tried using it with other sequencers and Cubase got a reasonable report. So maybe things aren't so final in buying an MBox and I can always try other sequencers as well as PT LE.

Basically, I'm more live audio than MIDI, so Pro Tools seemed like the more appropriate for me. That's why I'm interested to hear from people who are actually using it now.

As for the Quattro, I've heard enough!

[sanric]

What about a Swissonic USB Studio D ?
It's really great, it has digital ports, cannom ports for microphones and there 's even a limited stock offer on their website (www.swissonic.com)

[rickenbacker]

Hey Sanric, this Swissonic machine is completely new to me. Do you use one? I've looked at their website and it certainly looks like a pretty cool machine with all the necessary ins and outs. Can I presume it will work with whichever sequencer I opt for - Cubase, Pro Tools, Logic, whatever?

It looks like the best 'free-standing' USB audio option I've seen so far, but I'd like to hear from someone who has actually used one day to day. What are the preamps like? Good recording sound generally?

Thanks for the tip. Any more info gratefully consumed!

[rickenbacker]

Oops.. I meant to ask whether you know if the Swissonic Studio D works under OS X. I've got one eye on Cubase SX for later this summer...

[sanric]

I've bought it some days ago. It seems very easy to understand with good ASIO driver (to be downloaded from Swissonic website)
It boasts a lot of inputs for a very low price.
I've tried it with Logic with no problems.
It's really sturd made and, most of all, it's a rack !! which is necessary for my studio setup.
I've no regrets in my choice.
One last things: I don't know if it's a problem with electric sockets, but I can feel a little hum of noise. I'll have to check it.

Hope this helps you.

[rickenbacker]

How about the sound quality? Happy with the results? Don't suppose you've tried it with any other sequencers, have you? Although as Logic seems to have occasional problems with non-Emagic gear, judging from various reviews I've read, and yet you've got the Swissonic happily working with Logic, it'll probably work fine with everything.

I also like the idea of it being a rack, as I have space in my 5-unit mini-rack and that would save on desk space. Plus it would mean that everything that needs connecting is together in one place. I'm moving towards the Swissonic now.

[sanric]

The sound quality is good, not excellent, but rather good...
I've tried a bit with Logic and no problemo. I've also tried with Vision DSP and it works very well.
Too sad Vision has been dropped out...
My hope is that Apple buy Opcode from Gibson...

[mannikin]

A friend of mine bought the Emagic EMI 2|6, which he's pretty happy with. That lil blue box is amazing! ;-)

As for Opcode, don't hold your breath. Apple managed to harness the talents of the guy who wrote OMS for opcode, and his knowledge has been integrated into the Midi implementation of OS X.

J.

[sanric]

The fact that Apple bought the guy (and not the team) behind OMS it's an important fact.
But a single guy won't probably make Vision DSP and StudioVision Pro come back to life, even if this would be lovable...
If you consider well, Apple has done marvelous things for the video (FinalCut 3, iPhoto, iMovie) but quite nothing for audio, except iTunes.
Wouldn't it be nice to have an... iSong for OSX ? :-))

[nathanan]

i heard that roland is coming out with UA-70, which even has an onboard effect unit. it is already on roland japan site, so may be it is worth the wait.

[rickenbacker]

Do you mean the UA-700? It looks pretty good - kind of a USB Pod for guitars, plus MIDI, digital and analogue I/O. Some FX, but nothing dazzling and nothing users won't already have with their sequencers. I wonder what the mic preamps are like. And how much it will cost. Anyone out there speak Japanese?

[lepetitmartien]

[OT]

>Anyone out there speak Japanese?

Is it an obligation to be able to play guitar?

(irresitible joke after a sleepless night

(by the way, in the beginning of time, I was a classical guitarist, it became far worse now

[/OT]

[rickenbacker]

Hey LPM, I think it's your jokes that have become far worse now, not your guitar playing!

[lepetitmartien]

my (terrible) jokes are my private domain

It still doesn't tell me why japanese?

If you want the addresses of Roland sites in english, it's quite possible

USB doesn't need japanese either, so?

(I should have really slept last night)
(I'll have to clean this thread in a few days/hours/minutes/seconds)

[rickenbacker]

Why Japanese? OK, I could only find information on this UA700 USB thing on Roland's japanese site, roland.jp. It's all in Japanese characters (fair enough, them being Japanese and all) but with a few tantalising words in English. Like compression, reverb, American Tweed, Metal Stack and some other choice phrases. All very intriguing, but I can't find any more info on it in English. Sleep tight! ;-)

[lepetitmartien]

>compression, reverb, American Tweed, Metal Stack and some other choice phrases

Don't repeat that to the CIA…

>I could only find information on this UA700 USB thing on Roland's japanese site

8 hours to have this piece of knowledge boys!

The only things I found are (to be constructive)

http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/may02/article...ankfurtnews.htm
(article upon Frankfurt Musiksmesse)

http://www.users.surfaid.org/~robinv/hardware4.htm
(private page upon audio interfaces for laptops)

It seems that the UA700 was only an announcement for now…

'Aujourd'hui peut-être, ou alors demain'
(maybe today, or tomorrow then)

[rickenbacker]

Thanks for the links - I'm going to read the 'recording with a laptop advice' pages more closely now. No mention of Swissonic, though - does nobody else know anything about their products? I'll know the answer to that myself soon enough - yesterday I ordered one of their USB Studio Ds. It looks like it will do everything I need and is excellent value, so I'm hoping for good things from it.

[macmod]

this summer...mmm....quite optimistic Rickebacker...I would'nt hold my breath....
best regards,
Macmod

Quote: from rickenbacker on May 23, 2002 - 16:40[br]Oops.. I meant to ask whether you know if the Swissonic Studio D works under OS X. I've got one eye on Cubase SX for later this summer...

[lepetitmartien]

Swissonic as far as I know make good converters, but it's not a hands on experience…

In fact, the firewire interface builders are in the same ligue of reputation… rather good. But it's better to find victims who could tell us their endured tortures

Catch them and question them! Now!

has anyone mentioned the emagic 2|6. It's nice and simple, not too expensive, though not cheap either ( i payed 400 USD). Doesn't require a power supply. Mine has worked fine and generally gives no trouble.

[rickenbacker]

I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of my new Swissonic interface, so I'll post my thoughts on it after a month or two of recording with it. As for the emi 2/6, a lot of people have mentioned it (not just here, all over the web) and it does look good. Trouble is, I don't really like Logic all that much, so I was looking for a good third-party product that I could use with every sequencer, not just one closely tied to one sequencer, like the 2/6 or the MBox. For me, Swissonic's USB Studio D seems to fit the bill. Time will tell...

[brian holden]

mbox is great with cubase, logic, peak .... just anything . but use the propagamma asio driver ! works great on my titanium .. i had to buy it ...... but never regret .

[tommypenngotti]

I have the Quattro & it works fine...drivers can be downloaded right from the website...it does get hot, but it is small & is very portable...

what about Edirol UA-5 and Yamaha UW500? Edirol is reviewed on www.sospubs.co.uk and has good marks - it looks like a decent machine, without MIDI though. And Yamaha€s interface which has MIDI and synth in there is mentioned nowhere except their own web site, of course. any ideas? Does anyone even saw Yamaha€s UW500 on sale online?
I think as soon as I get iBook 600 I will order Edirol UA-5 and get a USB Keyboard for playing VST instruments in Logic and I don€t need MIDI then at all.

[DavidK]

IMHO the mbox is excellent, convenient and reliable...
one of the best choices!