8 XLR Input Soundcard

raindog.promo

Hey,

Can someone recommend me an 8 XLR Input Soundcard or recommend a site that sells them?

Cheers.

GTE

I own a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.

Grand box. Routing software is good, versatile for me.

A TRS output for every XLR/TRS input plus a monitor out pair and two headphone outs. Can route most signals to anywhere too, so DAW output 23 could go to line out 3 if you needed.

Expandable to 16 XLR in with an ADAT interface (cheapo Behringer ADA8000 is a gem of a recording pocket rocket).

Meters for the 8 XLR/TRS inputs too.

I think Mackie offering doesnt have meters and the Motu 8pre lacks any sort of decent output section. Presonus didnt impress me from reviews compared to the Pro 40.

Thomann.de are very good, havent needed to check prices recently though. I have had great experience with them in the past, though I bought the interface from Xmusic as they matched the price. They did not however match Thomanns 3 year warranty but I never needed it anyway I would be inclined to go for Thomann for the warranty though. I think some other sites offer a 4 year one too! I have needed to use Thomanns warranty before that they were great about it.

raindog.promo

Great post. Thank you.

GTE

No bother.

Here is a handy feature of Thomann.de.

http://www.thomann.de/ie/search.html?xsid=7b37cfd4bcf3f554200daf6e86983434&KF=on&gk=coaifw&oa=ala&bn=&pr=&wgfid1=9167&wgf9167=&wgfid2=9168&wgf9168=8x+XLR&wgfid3=9173&wgf9173=&wgfid4=9174&wgf9174=&wgfid5=9175&wgf9175=&wgfid6=9231&wgf9231=&wgfid7=9181&wgf9181=&wgfid8=9232&wgf9232=&wgfid9=10187&wgf10187=&wgfid10=10183&wgf10183=&wgfid11=9178&wgf9178=&wgfid12=10184&wgf10184=&wgfid13=10185&wgf10185=&wgfid14=9185&wgf9185=&wgfid15=10186&wgf10186=

That should bring you to a firewire audio interface search engine.
Narrow down the rest of the parameters for stuff you really need.

Then do a good google search, Soundonsound forum/article search and ask about the interfaces you ended up with here.

raindog.promo

Money's an issue at the moment so I think I'll go for this:





http://www.thomann.de/ie/alesis_io26.htm

GTE

raindog.promo wrote: »

Money's an issue at the moment so I think I'll go for this:





http://www.thomann.de/ie/alesis_io26.htm

Only warning I give when I read an answer like that is that the money could force a compromise. I only say it because I have been down that road with some things, cheaper things, but its still something worth noting.

If there is a machine that suits you better, try your best to push for that which is in reality more futureproof.

If the Alesis suits your current and foreseeable future plans go for it! =D

That ADAT in is nice though. Options immediately open there.

Rock on

slavedave

I had the 4 channel firewire version of this on a Windows desktop and Laptop and ended up fighting with it (or at least it's drivers) for the duration of ownership. Don't get me wrong - the pre's are great, the ability to monitor two different mixes via headphones was spot on, inserts were good and tying mine to a Behringer 8 channel adat was as simple as pie. Really wanted it to work. There was a mega long thread on a respected review site (Craig Anderton) whereby driver bugs were batted about. Alesis took their time developing new drivers and then stopped doing it all together so check the web pre-purchase. Some raved about it and others ranted. Texas Instrument Firewire regularly got sited as essential for proper operation - I bought a TI interface card and things improved but I still got pops / dropouts (and this on a dual boot system with a very tweaked XP partition for audio).
In the end I looked at alternatives and my experience with firewire put me off. I ended up with a Tascam us-1641 and haven't looked back. Very pleased with it on three different systems so far.
Your mileage may vary though. All the best with the search!

raindog.promo

Another great reply, much appreciated.

Reason for use would be recording demos and live recordings so I'm not expecting (or seeking) world class results. All I need is the 8 ins and wouldn't see myself using ADAT etc. No harm in upgrading at a later date if needed.

mada999

Line6 toneport ux-8 is decent also!! i've had one for a few year but i'm not a recording professional and it does the job for me, you may have different needs!

Paolo_M

I use this
http://www.thomann.de/ie/maudio_fast_track_ultra_8r.htm?sid=001493aed8bcbdc49b3dab6fa0920d90
and find it awesome. Never has a single issue with drivers, latency etc., and it's internal routing and effects are very good and easy to use.

It does exactly what I want from a sound card; records very well, cleanly, reliably, and get's the f*ck out of my way to let me get on with things!!

Adyx

slavedave wrote: »

I had the 4 channel firewire version of this on a Windows desktop and Laptop and ended up fighting with it (or at least it's drivers) for the duration of ownership. Don't get me wrong - the pre's are great, the ability to monitor two different mixes via headphones was spot on, inserts were good and tying mine to a Behringer 8 channel adat was as simple as pie. Really wanted it to work. There was a mega long thread on a respected review site (Craig Anderton) whereby driver bugs were batted about. Alesis took their time developing new drivers and then stopped doing it all together so check the web pre-purchase. Some raved about it and others ranted. Texas Instrument Firewire regularly got sited as essential for proper operation - I bought a TI interface card and things improved but I still got pops / dropouts (and this on a dual boot system with a very tweaked XP partition for audio).
In the end I looked at alternatives and my experience with firewire put me off. I ended up with a Tascam us-1641 and haven't looked back. Very pleased with it on three different systems so far.
Your mileage may vary though. All the best with the search!

I got the Tascam us-1800, also because of Firewire issues (and price!). Haven't had any problems with it so far. Adat would have been nice, but it wasn't essential as the 8 XLRs is usually enough. If I have to I sometimes use a direct out from my desk or another pre to the line-ins which gives up to 6 more channels.

TelePaul

Not to piss on anyone's bonfire, but I've returned two of those Alesis io 26s to Thomann. Both developed issues after very limited use - nothing major but each time, poor build quality seemed to be to blame.

I'm in the same boat as yourself and am currently looking at offerings from Mackie, MOTU and Presonus. I remember when the original Firepod was launched, it got such fantastic write-ups.

rcaz

I bought slavedave's Alesis interface off him on adverts.ie and also could never get the drivers properly working. The inputs would work fine but I could never get any output from anything. I emailed Alesis three or four times asking for some help, and I'm still waiting for a response more than a year on :pac:

At the start of summer I got a Presonus Firestudio Project (8 inputs, 10 outputs [two pairs of the main output], one headphone out, send and return). I'm very much at the beginning of my career of playing around with this stuff so I can't really comment on how good the unit performs, but things I've read from forums of people who know a lot more than I do have been pretty positive. As far as I could tell when I was reading around for advice on what to get, it's the best I could have gotten for €379.

TelePaul

El Pr0n wrote: »

I bought slavedave's Alesis interface off him on adverts.ie and also could never get the drivers properly working. The inputs would work fine but I could never get any output from anything. I emailed Alesis three or four times asking for some help, and I'm still waiting for a response more than a year on :pac:

At the start of summer I got a Presonus Firestudio Project (8 inputs, 10 outputs [two pairs of the main output], one headphone out, send and return). I'm very much at the beginning of my career of playing around with this stuff so I can't really comment on how good the unit performs, but things I've read from forums of people who know a lot more than I do have been pretty positive. As far as I could tell when I was reading around for advice on what to get, it's the best I could have gotten for €379.

Bahhhh. My credit card is burning a hole in my pocket now.

slavedave

El Pron, that sucks - sorry to hear you didn't have joy with it.
OP- if you want to try out my US-1641 with your laptop to see if it suits your needs drop me a PM.

raindog.promo

Cheers for the replies, I'm certainly put off buying the Alesis now. I'll have to keep searching I guess, my laptop set up is finicky at the best of times so getting something with a load of reviews saying they've driver and technical problems would probably drive me insane.

mada999

toneport ux-8 - been doin the job for me for about 3 years but i'm only a beginner at this recording jazz! very sturdy metal box...usb 2.0 and rack mountable!

8 xlr input and 8 1/4 inch inputs

http://line6.com/toneportux8/specifications.html

http://line6.com/toneportux8/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Line-6-TonePort-UX8-USB-Recording-Interface-8-channels-/180712571591?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a134f02c7