Mmmm - my dilemma too. I'd like to move to a desknote to kill the fan noise and firewire seems to be the way to go, if it's reliable and doesn't make lots of expensive pre chain worthless.

I too, would like some input in this area from wirewire users.

thanks

omaru

I use the motu 828mkii and there are no issues with it- solid, no hassles- it gives you a total of 20 inputs but only 2 pres- there's another 8 analog inputs but
you have 2 supply the pres
Also 8 of them are via lightpipe so you will need 8 pres with lightpipe out for those- the remaining 2 are spdif- so in all 20 inputs though only 10 analog- :D

No straight ahead firewire devices out there that I know of .... the ones I have seen come bundled with lots of features like questionable mic pres and various spdif, AES and lightpipe crap that is essentially useless ... unless you're looking for an all in one solution ..

The problems with ADAT lightpipes are well known and the protocol is on it's way out ... even with the advent of SMUX ... Firewire is the new kid in town and "The Next Best Thing" as Vince Gill puts it ..

I hope manufacturers will respond soon to the clamors and bring out a simple straight ahead 192 capible line in/out, Firewire interface ... something with at least 8 channels and perhaps a spdif connection. A 16 line in/out box would be killer IMO!

Kurt Foster wrote: A 16 line in/out box would be killer IMO!

something like the motu 24i/o but firewire instead of the pci card right?

but doesn't the rosetta 800 works like that kurt? 8 channels with firewire option for connection to your computer?...

you really think that adat lightpip is dead in a short time?
i don't agree with you! i think it will be out there for around more 5 years at least!
it's like the cd! we all know the dvds and the super audio cds but...
we still stick to the cds or better one, the diskettes! we still use them! i don't but many people do! ok they can go out of market and be obsolete but they will still be around for more 2 years at least!

but i do think firewire is the future!
not 192 but 96 in the near future!

I want to agree with you in regards to the 96 vs. 192 ... but I don't. The manufacturers (for the most part) will push the issue imo, ... I personally think more stability in the rates would be a good thing .. but I don't sell digital interfaces.

I think lightpipe is going to die soon ... SMUX is the only answer to get to 96k and I don't think it will work for 192 ..(not sure about that, no flames please). Bit splitting protocols do not seem to have inspired the audio community very much.

With light pipe, jitter is a big issue unless you use glass cables (can you say expensive?) and it gets worse the longer the cable run is. Manufacturers like it because it carries w/c, which is darned handy and it eliminates the need for w/c connectors and it makes the device easier to set up and operate.

doesn't the rosetta 800 works like that kurt? 8 channels with firewire option for connection?

I believe it does and I think the AD16 and DA16 does too ... but at a high cost ... I was thinking of something a litte more "affordable".

The problems with ADAT lightpipes are well known and the protocol is on it's way out ... even with the advent of SMUX

Well, I don't think they are as bad as is reported if using fairly short cables and a good clock. If it was as bad as touted, Apogee wouldnt of likely designed it into their latest version of converters (AD-16X/DA-16X)

I ended up going with the RME PCMCIA card which uses firewire but in RME's format into the Digiface 24-channel ADAT optical (with S/MUX) breakout box that forces me to use external converters. The price was just to good to pass up and it leaves me my firwire interface for either another audio interface or a dedicated hard disk.

[quote=Kurt Foster]No straight ahead firewire devices out there that I know of .... the ones I have seen come bundled with lots of features like questionable mic pres and various spdif, AES and lightpipe crap that is essentially useless ... unless you're looking for an all in one solution ..

That's what I was hoping the fireface was (is?). For a serious songwriter/very amateur home recordist like me, I don't need a ton of tracks and a lot of bells and whistles. It'd be great to have a firewire interface consisting of 2 to 4 channels of top end AD/DA and pres. That's it. Maybe a soft limiter or something, but just a stripped down interface with great sound. Is that too much to ask? Does the RME fireface 800 cram in too much stuff? What usually suffers in this case? Conversion? Quality of pres? The description makes it sound like a high quality all in one solution. Where does my ignorance lie?

http://

ILS

In your case,the RME is probably perfect ...

I read that the Apogees AD/DA-16x have the option to connect directly to your DAW via Firewire. You need an expansion-card and there you go.
You would have 16 discrete line-inputs directly into your Workstation.

The only disadvantage is that you can´t involve other sources like AES ore SPDIF.

skyman

so is that the only difference between the rosetta? which one is better?...