New Audio Interface... Opinions?, Replacing Edirol UA-5... Options

[JeffMN]

Hi all,

I'm new to the board here, but have been lurking for awhile. I used to be pretty active in recording, but took some time off because I've been more busy playing live. While that hasn't died down, I want to get back in to recording. My situation is this:

I've been a PC user only all my life until we bought my wife a Mac Mini. I was playing around with it and I liked the interface so much that I decided to buy a Powerbook to replace my aging PC laptop. I love how user friendly GarageBand is for just getting things down. I used Cakewalk on the PC, and while I don't have any complaints about the software necessarily, it seems so much easier and less 'techy' on the Mac. Lets me concentrate on playing, and I like that.

So, with my PC, I use an Edirol UA-5. I'm planning on using the Powerbook for recording live gigs as well as home demo stuff. I'm considering a new interface for the following reasons:

1 - self powered unit - less cords!
2 - Firewire / USB 2.0 - lower latency for live guitar(?)
3 - Get in to a bundled Mac version of a recording app...

Regarding number 2, how low can I get the latency with a unit like the Firebox? What units would you guys recommend? I considered the MBox as well, but can I use that unit with other programs besides ProTools?

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[JeffMN]

Okay - I have found in my first afternoon with the Firebox that it performs well. No glitches for me. The only thing I notice is - there's a high pitched noise that comes from my Powerbook when it's plugged in ... why on earth would this be? It's very distracting, if you're working in a quiet environment. If the volume is loud or you're wearing headphones, it's not that big of a deal - but, strange nonetheless.

Is anyone else noticing this?