Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Advice for good external sound card? M-Audio, Echo, Edirol, PreSonus, MOTU???

Consultant

Consultant

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
My 5 year old external sound card just died right before an event (good thing I have backup). Looking for a new one... It is for outputting one stereo channel audio from MBP to Mixer only, no recording.

Any suggestions, recommendations, reviews, are appreciated.

Have to buy a sound card soon... Not sure what web site to look for reviews, as there seems to be a million web sites on these things. I actually don't need any recording features, but seems like all the non-basic sound cards all have recording functions (although I prefer not to have it if possible). Here are some that i found:



FIREWIRE
M-Audio Firewire Solo US35030, $166
Echo AudioFire2 $195 (not available in many places, also their web site lists: "All specifications are preliminary", a big shady?)
Edirol FA-66 $289
PreSonus Firebox $300
M-Audio 1814 $300 (but MSRP is higher than Firewire 610)
M-Audio Firewire 610 $400
Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) UltraLite $550
Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) Traveler $850

USB
Tapco by Mackie Link, $150



Requirement
- Balanced output
- Quality DAC, quality sound output

Nice to have
- Bus powered
- Preferably one with stronger low frequency response
- No line ins if possible

Absolutely don't care for
- Number of inputs / outputs
- Mic Preamp (will not be recording)
- Bundled software
- Volume adjustment (already have mixer)
- Headphone port, headphone pass through
 
mike1123

mike1123

macrumors 6502
Sep 19, 2007
290
72
I actually was in the market for one yesterday, and I ended up ordering the Lexicon Alpha (can be had for $99) Seems like a good product from a fairly reputable company (lexiconpro.com). However even cheaper is the Behringer FCA-202 (can be had for $79), which doesn't have much, but it does act as a sound card. Some people don't like Behringer, and I've never used one of their products before.

EDIT: Oh, and for reviews, check out:
zzounds.com
musiciansfriend.com
amazon.com
 
Consultant

Consultant

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
mike1123 said:
I actually was in the market for one yesterday, and I ended up ordering the Lexicon Alpha (can be had for $99) Seems like a good product from a fairly reputable company (lexiconpro.com). However even cheaper is the Behringer FCA-202 (can be had for $79), which doesn't have much, but it does act as a sound card. Some people don't like Behringer, and I've never used one of their products before.

EDIT: Oh, and for reviews, check out:
zzounds.com
musiciansfriend.com
amazon.com
Click to expand...

Thanks, I know of those web sites, but nothing with comparisons from experts.

I have tried an inexpensive Behringer mixer (returned), thought it would be a good backup equipment. It was unacceptably noisy on high end speakers. They seem to produce mainly budget products... Know the $79 thing, but probably not for me.
 
mike1123

mike1123

macrumors 6502
Sep 19, 2007
290
72
Consultant said:
Thanks, I know of those web sites, but nothing with comparisons from experts.

I have tried an inexpensive Behringer mixer (returned), thought it would be a good backup equipment. It was unacceptably noisy on high end speakers. They seem to produce mainly budget products... Know the $79 thing, but probably not for me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hear you. I decided to go with the Lexicon last minute. Hopefully it's adequate. I, too, would love more professional reviews. Anyway, good luck on your search. :)
 
Consultant

Consultant

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Some of the early 2008 reviews mentioned that M-Audio drivers don't work too well with Leopard. Anyone have any recent experience with that?

Probably going for one of these...

Echo AudioFire2 $195
Edirol FA-66 $289
PreSonus Firebox $300


Perhaps DAC? (MBP optical OUT -> DAC)
Here is a list of lots of DACs but I don't really know what they are... (Except that probably won't go for the low end such as Creative)

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/all-dacs-money-can-buy-pt-2-a-325941/
 
B

bbain

macrumors newbie
Aug 19, 2006
23
0
I have the Behringer FCA202 FW interface. It's pretty solidly built and having 24-bit 96kHz at that price range is a plus. If you don't need mic pre-amps and are only taking in line-level sources, it works fine, and the one I have is not any noisier than my mBox2 Pro with line level inputs. If you're going into the interface from a 4 wire FW port, you'll have to use external power since the bus power is on the 2 lines that are missing. I was using in on my iMac before I went with PT and it worked fine on bus power.

At $99 the Lexicon is a good deal if you don't need 24-bit, 96kHz since it's USB IIRC. It's got pretty nice mic pre-amps from what I understand.

Bill Bain
Atlanta
 
firecrasher

firecrasher

macrumors member
Oct 15, 2008
61
0
Baltimore
I like my new Firebox but there could be some compatibility problems with the new Macbooks (sorry I'm a PC user right now). You can get it for well under $300 if you shop around or have Guitar Center match your price - I found it for $230 online on some shady site and GC matched it, no questions asked. The Firebox also comes packaged with Cubase LE, you may be able to find it for less without the software.

Sadly... I may be forced to downgrade to USB to use with the new Macs. Any suggestions there?
 
K

kucukbasak

macrumors newbie
Oct 21, 2008
7
0
i've been using a firebox with my imac for a while now. it's pretty legitimate, although i did all of my recording and everything through it. i imagine it would be pretty solid for simple use like that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom