The 2408 has more features, like all the digital I/O, and monitoring controls. The 24I/O is exactly that, 24 ins, 24 outs. No more, no less. If you don't need monitor controlling from the hardware, or digital I/O then the 24i/o seems like it would be the place to start, and add a 2408 later if you need it.

yea thats what i figured , ill need the digital i/o using the optical ins for mic pres , i was just wondering if the 2408 mk3 lacked any stabilitly that the 24i/o had , im looking to record 24 channels for live shows so its gonna need to be recording into digital performer sometimes for 2 hours straight , into 1 audio file ..just curious if that would be a problem at all.

They both run off the same PCI card, and I've never heard any problems with stability. I don't think either interface would have any trouble recording for 2 hours straight, I'd be more worried about other components in the computer, and even then if you have a good chunk of RAM and enough HD space, it shouldn't be a problem.

I used to have a 24i in my old studio and it was great for recording bands as all the inputs were analog, just add preamps. I also had a 2408 mkii and that only had 8 analog inputs, the rest were digital. I guess it would depend on what kind of outboard gear you have or want to buy. For straight analog inputs its hard to beat the 24i (i0 is the newer one)- I never had any trouble running the 32 inputs from the 24i plus the 8 from the 2408mkii- even when I only had a mac 400 mghz (back in 2000) Just stay of the plugs when you record. later on (2002 or so) I got a dual 867 and that thing would handle 32 simultaneous tracks without a hiccup (just stay off the plugs) I no longer have that studio or the 24i but I would think the faster computers would handle that many tracks without nart skipping a beat.

by the way, you can run up to three interfaces off your pci card so you could have 3 24io's for 72 inputs! i don't know how hat would do but i think my dual G5 can handle that no problem- just stay off the plugs

four units, if I remeber correctly.

Your better off without the builtin A/D, the ones in quality preamps will be better.

thanks maintiger, yea im going for digital inputs , the adat ins, id be using 16 tracks with behringer pres, and some other digital pre for the last 8, mainly for vocals, so im not too concerned with the analog ins , i'd prob not even use them , but thanks for the reply , by the way i have a dual 2.0 powermac g5 with 2 gigs of ram , i'll prob be upping the ram when i get a interface, but thanks again.

id be using 16 tracks with behringer pres

ouch. Get some of the new Mackie 8 packs. They've got ADAT too.

yea im not looking to spend a grand for 8 preamp channels, if i was gonna do that id get focusrite or presonus. id rather spend less for instruments and more for vocals , besides this is gonna be for live recording for large concerts , well 1500 to 2500 seat rooms, rather large pa's , so theres gonna be a ton of ambient noise floating around anyway , plus i already have behringer ada8000 and its not bad sounding , not the best either but not bad for $200 for 8 channels.

MIXMAN3113 wrote: thanks maintiger, yea im going for digital inputs , the adat ins, id be using 16 tracks with behringer pres, and some other digital pre for the last 8, mainly for vocals, so im not too concerned with the analog ins , i'd prob not even use them , but thanks for the reply , by the way i have a dual 2.0 powermac g5 with 2 gigs of ram , i'll prob be upping the ram when i get a interface, but thanks again.

I have the same, a 2.0 G5 with 2.5 GB ram- that amount of ram seems to be sufficient so far. I am sure they will upgrade the daws to take advantage of more ram but for now it does not seem to make much difference. When it does, I'll upgrade to the full 8GB! :D by the way, omi technologies on ebay has 2 GB G5 ram for $189 and its good ram- I've already bought from the a couple of times with no issues
8) 8)

thanks again maintiger , yea thats a pretty good deal on ram , good deals are hard to find these days. just curious, what daw are you using now?? you said you used to have a 24i and a 2408 , so did you upgrade to pro tools hd or something , just wondering what your using now if your not using the motu gear?

MIXMAN3113 wrote: thanks again maintiger , yea thats a pretty good deal on ram , good deals are hard to find these days. just curious, what daw are you using now?? you said you used to have a 24i and a 2408 , so did you upgrade to pro tools hd or something , just wondering what your using now if your not using the motu gear?

here is the link to the ram:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZomnitechnologiesQ2ebizQ21QQssPageNameZFAVQ3aFQ3aSLLR

the 24i and the 2408 mkii I used to have in a studio I sold. Then I built a home studio and I am using a 828 mkii with digital performer. I also have a 2ch rosetta that I use for clock and for tracking vocals and lead instruments. It goes into the 828mkii via spdif

thanks again maintiger , yea thats a pretty good deal on ram , good deals are hard to find these days. just curious, what daw are you using now?? you said you used to have a 24i and a 2408 , so did you upgrade to pro tools hd or something , just wondering what your using now if your not using the motu gear?

oops sorry about that last post , i dunno what happened.