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Davo
Bronze Member
Australia
155 Posts |
 Posted - 07/06/2006 : 9:31:07 PM
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hi guys
i've contemplating getting a new interface in the next 6 months or so and was wondering , has firewire or usb taken over from PCI?
in my situation i have no need to be mobile so for my desktop daw does PCI still deliver the best bandwidth, stability etc. or has it been replaced by firewire/usb?
Cheers
Davo
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aint life sweet!!!!
http://www.myspace.com/frogs4snakes |
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garrigus
Moderator
USA
16014 Posts |
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lawapa
Moderator
USA
2106 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2006 : 11:10:47 PM
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I lean toward PCI  But there are other opinions, and it is getting better? Firewire is best according to Jim Sturn, So whats the question? How many tracks at once? Recording and playback |
Love to make that music,as well I love to tweak,Make my own sample sets |
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Davo
Bronze Member
Australia
155 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 12:09:04 AM
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Cheers guys,
playback up to 20 audio tracks and recording maximum 4 at once,
but generally only 1 0r 2, is there much difference in the price of equivalent FW, USB or PCI interfaces?
Davo
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aint life sweet!!!!
http://www.myspace.com/frogs4snakes |
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garrigus
Moderator
USA
16014 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2006 : 12:01:29 PM
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Hi Davo,
The playback shouldn't be a problem and you should also be able to record 4 tracks at once as well... even with FireWire as long as your PC can handle it.
As for cost... the depends more on the interface itself and what features it provides. If you get a plain old sound card, you simply get a PCI card that pops into your PC. But pro-level PCI interfaces provide both a card and a breakout box (with all the connections, etc.) and those are more expensive.
With FireWire, you get an external box and a FireWire cable. You install the drivers and plug in the box. No need to open the PC case.
Price still depends on the features though... and there are many different ones out there.
Scott
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--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://www.garrigus.com
* Cakewalk SONAR Video Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottGarrigus?sub_confirmation=1
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Publisher of the DigiFreq music recording newsletter: http://www.digifreq.com/
* Publisher of the NewTechReview consumer tech newsletter: http://www.newtechreview.com/ |
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kitekrazy
Member
USA
23 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2006 : 12:10:25 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by lawapa
I lean toward PCI But there are other opinions, and it is getting better? Firewire is best according to Jim Sturn, So whats the question? How many tracks at once? Recording and playback
I'd take PCI over firewire or usb any day.
But with the new AMD systems with PCIe video can be a crapshoot with cards and chipsets.
MOTU is now making PCIe audio cards. |
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ScottyA
New Member
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2006 : 3:45:19 PM
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Playback won't be a problem, since you mix your tracks down to a few busses and ultimately output them to stereo or some surround format (5.1, etc.). This will be way under the limit for Firewire or USB 2. USB 1 support 2 tracks in at a time, so with both USB 2 and Firewire being enormously faster, you can record at your likely upper limit with no problem.
PCI is much more exposed to conflicts within the computer, and as Scott said, you have to open the case - which can be straighforward or a pain. If your computer is in any sort of a rack, then unplugging everything to remove it and take the case off can be a long and painful process. Plugging a FW or USB cable in the back is as easy as it gets. And with either one, you automatically get the breakout box which more expensive PCI devices have.
So, unless you'll be recording with high track counts, either FW or USB 2 should be fine. |
GAS: Taylor (3), Gibson (4), Martin (6), Vox (1), Fender (1), Collings (2), Santa Cruz (1), Breedlove (1) |
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Rezn8
Bronze Member
USA
439 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2006 : 3:58:09 PM
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| I'm waiting on the arrival of my new system; a DAWBox from Justin Lynch at dawbox.com which includes the M-Audio 1814 Firewire. I'm an analog guy that's always relied on PCI to get the job done for me so I'm anxious to find out for myself if maybe I get better AD conversion from the firewire boxes new technology. I always go purely analog all the way to my DAW so you'll get a very relevant review as soon as the new system arrives and I can track some guitar work. I have the same questions you do Davo. |
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Jim Sturm
Moderator
USA
721 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2006 : 5:40:17 PM
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My opinion -
First choice PCI
Second choice Firewire
Last choice USB
-Jim
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Old Dog... New Tricks!
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garrigus
Moderator
USA
16014 Posts |
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firefox
Gold Member
USA
1466 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 10:39:54 PM
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| Just thought I'd add I can track 8 inputs at once with firewire with motu 828mk2. |
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Rezn8
Bronze Member
USA
439 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 11:43:41 PM
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I didn't see your previous post Scott. Yeah, it's nice so far to have a new DAW and this one is totally silent; a DAWBOX built by Justin Lynch. Very nice. The 1814 firewire is running really well so far too. Sounds to me like the converters are a definite upgrade to the converters on the 1010LT.
The only negative thing I can say is XP stinks as an OS. I've always disliked anything beyond 98SE and although XP has some advantages over 98SE it's just too damn klunky and buggy. It chokes and no matter what MS tries to do, IMO, the "NT5" lineage OS's have problems managing system resources.
As for firewire interfaces though, the 1814 is performing really well. |
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Bill Lumbergh
New Member
9 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2006 : 01:52:00 AM
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| Hehe, I was just about to post a new topic, but I found this... I too am considering upgrading from my USB-powered Edirol UA-20. It's been good to me so far but I've had it for 4 years and I'm starting to see some limitations. Anyway, would you consider Firewire a big jump up from USB 2.0? FWIW, I'm looking at the Edirol FA-66. Does anyone have any experience with this particular device? Or, alternatively, could you recommend another unit in the same prices range (300 or so bucks)? Thanks in advance. |
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Bill Lumbergh
New Member
9 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2006 : 06:03:10 AM
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| Sorry for the successive posts, but after browsing around I noticed that the fiurwire audio interface bundled with the Cakewalk package Scott has mentioned in a few threads is pretty much identical to the Edirol FA-66 I was considering. I take it, then, that the FA-66 would be, in a way, one of Cakewalk's recommended interfaces? Sorry for just rambling around, but if anyone has any thoughts, I'd appreciate them. Thanks. |
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lawapa
Moderator
USA
2106 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2006 : 12:23:45 PM
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Cakewalk has in the past posted up all the supported devices you could use with Sonar. That and a list of comp's that will work well. I do not have those links handy atm but a search of cakes site under support might be worthwhile.
Man that was some bad spelling |
Love to make that music,as well I love to tweak,Make my own sample sets |
Edited by - lawapa on 08/06/2006 3:19:51 PM |
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Rezn8
Bronze Member
USA
439 Posts |
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Congrats on the new DAW! It's always fun getting a more powerful PC to run your software. I know I'm enjoying mine.