Digidesign 002 does not offer 8-firwre ports. it offers two firewire ports, 8-analog I/O, 2-channel digital S/PDIF coax I/O, and a choice of either 2-channel I/O digital optical S/PDIF or 8-ch ADAT I/O that only works at 44.1kHz or 48kHz for a grand total of 18-channels of I/O at the same time.

Like many things in music and audio, which one is better has more to do with a users working style and requirements that it does with one being of a higher quality that the other.

the 828 mkii has analog 2 channels with preamps, 8 more analog channel w/o preamps, 8 ch via adat optical and 2 ch via spdif for a possible total of 20 inputs. Keep in mind that to achieve these 20 channels you will need 8ch of preamps to go in the analog inputs, 8 more channels of preamps with an adat out for the 8 light pipe channels and 2 ch of preamps going through an spdif output (like a 2 ch AD rosetta, for example) So you have a total 20 threoretical channels you can use but only 2 with built in preamps that you can use right out of the box.

This works well for me as I own a few preamps and can gett 8 analog, the 2 built in and the two spdif via my rosetta for a total of 12 channels at anyone time. If i want to use the 8 ch of adat optical though, I will have to get an extra converter or preamp with adat out. (lucid makes an 8ch AD that you can get on e-bay ocassionally for just about 1K or so) If you don't own extra preamps or converters you are limited to just 2ch of preamps and IO, though.

The pres in both the MOTU and the 001, are not that great. I would consider that lost money off the top .. the MOTU is not as compatible with Windows and it is with a Mac OS ... something to consider. The oo2 means you will be stuck with PT, limited to 32 tracks and in some opinions, not as good of recording / processing quality. Do you want to be under the Digidesign "thumb"?

I personally think there are a lot of better choices than either of them.

well im buying the 4000e sebatron preamp (for vocals and instruments) and a presonus or behringer 8 ch pre ( for drums) so pres dont really matter. i know i wont have the flexibility of using other programs if i get the digi 002 and as im told motu isnt really for windows.

What are the better solutions? mixer and interface wise? (im looking around the price range of the digi 002).

The New Presonous Firepod with it's 10 I/O and can be linked to another via firwire has my interest. It even comes with Cubase LE.

Have a look at the RME Fireface 800, 56 channels (28 in / 28 out) all usable simultaneously, Firewire 800 connectivity (also runs perfectly well on Firewire 400), Hi-Z input with tube distortion and soft-limiting, 4 mic-pre's each with their own insert point, 2 x ADAT i/o, SPDIF i/o, wordclock, balanced TRS i/o, 192k/24-bit, digicheck analytical tools and the totalmix software ... retails at £999 in the UK.

Check out http://www.synthax.co.uk or http://www.rme-audio.com

Audiogaff.......

Are you saying you can daisy-chain two Firepods together, doubling the inputs?

If so, then that's interesting to me.

bubblegum wrote: Audiogaff.......

Are you saying you can daisy-chain two Firepods together, doubling the inputs?

If so, then that's interesting to me.

Ya, that was my understanding from reading the lit and/or the webiste. There are of course likely to be specific conditions and requirements to do so.

Your suppose to be able to do that with the MOTU 828 or 828MKII as well. Which is also on my list.

AudioGaff wrote: The New Presonous Firepod with it's 10 I/O and can be linked to another via firwire has my interest. It even comes with Cubase LE.

Just curious Gaff, I understand you have quite a collection of great micpres, why would the firepod appeal to you? :?
It seems like a simple interface with 8 basic pres and nothing else, are there other hidden qualities, or do you have secret inside information? :twisted:
Also, where did you read about the linking possibility, that would be great, but I didn´t find that part in the manual?

I am shopping for a mutichannel firwewire interface and the Firepod is something that I came accross that fits the basic criteria. I don't care about the preamps or any processing features as I will be using outboard and external mixer. It also comes with cubase LE which is a nice bonus. I don't remember exactly where I read about the linking other than it was either from the ad on their website or in trade rag. I guess I or the source of the info could of gotten that wrong. Currently, it is towards the bottom of options on my list anyway.

The MOTU 828MKII is very near the top of my list, and although I'll spend more in having to buy two and link them, I'll have the 32-channel I/O capability I want and need. The other top contender is the RME Digiface with it's 3-ADAT I/O that I can use via the PCMCIA interface and still have the firwire port available for other duty. That very much appeals to me and at the same time forces me to have to buy new converters which of course is more expensive but is the best and correct way to upgrade for my needs. The RME Fireface also looks like a very good unit but there is also a lot of stuff on there I wouldn't use or need that I don't want to pay for.

Ok, I have done my google homework now, havent got a response from Presonus yet, so this is what I came up with...

It seems like nearly ALL online dealers for the firepod has the same info text about the hardware, including a paragraph mentioning daisychaining two or more units.

Now, the Presonus website also has that same info, but excluding the daisychaining paragraph...
It maybe was a feature that was removed in a late stage of developement, and the online stores need to do a newer copy-paste procedure of the website?

I´ll let you know when i recieve their response.

Firepod

We are working on the next driver for daisy chaining two or more FirePods together. We currently do have a beta driver that we are testing. The new driver and control panel should be available in late October. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to let me know!

cheers

mark williams
presonus audio

If case anyone is interested, 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.