Advice On Choosing Between Interfaces, focusrite,mbox2,maudio,presonus,motu Options

[jdaawg]

I'm new to the audio recording world. I just bought a macbook and I'm looking to make some music. I would like to record guitar, keyboard, and vocals, and maybe create some rythm backing. I've been reading lots of posts on this site (and getting virtually no work done!) so I decided to present my case to the tribunal in the hope of achieving more specific results.
I've begun looking at the focusrite saffire, the Mbox2, the MAudio 410, the presonus firebox, the edirol FA-66, and the Motu ultralite. I have no allegiance to any particular recording software package, having never used any of them, and I'd like to keep it as cheap as possible.
Based on the posts I've read here, I'm pretty much discarding the Mbox2, if only because of the USB 1.
I would just get something real cheap like the tascam 122 and use garageband, but I know myself, and I will just need to go spend more money upgrading (and time selling the tascam on ebay) in a few months when I want better.
Any advice on which to buy would be appreciated.

[arvidtp]

the motu ultralite looks like the best of the bunch (and most expensive i think) based on how well their other firewire interfaces work. but i've never used one. I really like my firebox, just wish it sucked up a little less of the CPU. (but that shouldnt be as much of an issue with a macbook).

Saphire? sounds to me like the integrated DSP would not really be that useful. Esp. if u already have a pretty fast mac.

Mbox2 - never used one, but i have the Mbox 1 (and work in a lab on campus with Mbox 1s where i have to constantly troubleshoot the darned things). It is extremely unreliable and the huge latency makes it useless for live performance (which i do a lot of).

I've heard mixed things about the 410. Some like it, some dont. A friend of mine uses one a lot for performance and likes it. Someone else i know kept getting clicks and pops with his. Some say the pres are not that great. And only 2 analog Ins is not fantastic.

When i bought the firebox i was also looking at the FA-66, but the sales rep at audiomidi.com steared me away from it, saying it was not that reliable to be used in live settings. He recommended the firebox and it's never failed me in a live or pretty much any setting.

Ce message a été modifié par arvidtp - mer. 19 avril 2006, 00:58.