Mac Studio Set-Up

Hello all, I hope this is the correct section for this.

I've been thinking about switching from PC to Mac for some time now and, now that the iMac has been updated, it seems like a good time to make the plunge. I use my computer mainly for recording music, editing video/photos and general internet. I don't play games or anything else really.

I want an iMac mainly due to cost and being fed-up of having wires everywhere! Looking at the current range I'm probably looking at the 20" 2.66GHz version, with Logic Express and Final Cut 4 Express.

Now I'm not much of a technophile when it comes to computers, so it'd probably be better to explain my current set-up as I want it to work pretty much the same:

Windows XP, Audiophile 24/96 soundcard, Eurorack MX602A mixer, Cubase VST 5 (old!!), M-audio Oxygen 8 (USB)

In basic terms I plug my guitar, mic, bass etc into my mixer

guitar>>mixer>>computer>>amp>>headphones/speakers

My soundcard has RCA connections for input and output, which seems to work well. I also use my computer for playing mp3s and playing along with my guitar through this set-up.

Now I've read about the audio interfaces and ideally I'd like to use my mixer (or even upgrade my mixer) rather than plug straight into one of these interfaces. So first question:

Is it worthwhile plugging my mixer straight into the audio input on the iMac or is the quality poor?

If I have to buy an interface, I'd probably go for the Edirol FA66, which is Firewire. Does it matter much if it's USB or Firewire? Are there latency problems with USB? Also, I want to have a firewire port free for my camcorder, does the Firewire 800 accept 400 gizmos?

My main concern is monitoring, so can someone advise me how best to connect a mixer, iMac and Amp without spending too much, but maintaining some quality? Probably a simple question for you lot!! Basically I want to set it up and never have to unplug anything again for another 5 years.

TIA

Siggy

 

Thanks for the advice. I've been look at the Duet and it looks like it would do the trick for me. It's a little bit more than I wanted to spend but it could be worth it.

This is probably another easy question. Do you know if I would be able to play music from iTunes and play my guitar whilst listening to both through the headphones on the Duet (or any other interface)? I'm guessing the answer is yes but just want to make sure!!

 

That's an interesting option, are there any downsides to this mixer, noise etc? Would this be used monitoring as well as input? Also, would I be able to use this alongside iTunes to play my guitar with headphones on?