The M-Audio Fast Track Pro looks about like what I need, but the price for a new one is more than I have spent on any other piece.

Well I guess thats what Ebay is for :twisted:

Do some more ebay shopping and look for an older M-Audio or MidiMan Flying Cow. They made a few versions. One that was A/D only, one that was D/A only, and then one that was both. I don't seem to remember if the A/D only unit had mic preamps in them or not?

Found some of them flying cows, but its unclear exactly what inputs/outputs and features it has other than the ad/da. Price is the same or more than the fast track pro. Still inclined towards that I think(at the moment anyways) especially since I could use it separately on different systems fairly easily. Would be nice if I could find something more around $100 or so with 2 inputs to S/PDIF and outs for the ins(so I can use it for live shows - though a few Y cords would do the trick there anyways).

The thing about the fast track or any other audio interface like it is that you may have conflicts when you have two audio devices in the same system. To add to that, most professional host software can only access one driver at a time so you won't be able to use both at the same time.

Now if you only use it for the A/D and mic preamps for the 1212M S/PDIF, then that should be ok except it appears to be USB powered so now you have the possible conflict problem when it is connected as well as USB powered mic pre amps usually have ppor performance and lack headroom.

I would pass on the fast track, keep saving and keep looking. Mabe even look for a cheap effects processer that has S/PDIF out and then get a cheap 2-ch mic pre to use with it.

Thanks for the input, and I will definately keep that in mind. I guess I'm not really in a huge hurry to get something, its just dificult to have 2 inputs inaccessable :?

The Fast Track does have an external power source as well, and I would be using it for the mic pres plus S/PDIF. Though I did notice an Alesis unit that is a bit cheaper for about the same thing (though the reviews were not as good).

well..talk about a cheap alternative. I just checked my own rack and I have a dual compressor I could use as a pre and a stereo effect unit that has an S/PDIF. I cant use the S/PDIF out, but its still a track I could split to or use in the studio(or even both at the same time!).

I bought a second hand
Mindprint di-port
just for this (into my firepod)

Bad things:
no 96kHz
it's not without noise

Good things:
I don't do 96kHz
it's not noisey
Brilliant monitoring / routing

Cheers

hey friends,
i picked up a dbx 386 2 channel tube mic pre with a/d converter to plug into my e-mu s/pdif in/outs. ebay.ca for 300cad (including shippin n' stuff). cool gadget. logorithmic digital convertion eliminates digital clipping without compressor (in theory at least). great for my ghetto fab settup. plentty of info on it, google it, plus article on tapeop.com. anyone else got any exp. with this baby? (suggested usages, tips, etc.) thanks.
-matt