Thomas1987 Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Hi all, Considering getting my brother an external sound card for his MacBook this Christmas. What he's looking for is at least 1 decent mic/line input and ideally minimum of a pair of outputs. It's for the occasional bit of recording, and playback into a PA. No idea where to start really, but wondered If anyone had any suggestions. Money wise, not silly money, but if its a bit more than budget but very good, I'd consider it, current budget is about 150. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Might be a notion to search through Thomann cat'. Then you will see exactly what your budget will/won't buy. Go from there as in seek opinions on the kit you can afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbotsmike Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Not familiar with their product range at the minute, but the M-Audio stuff has always had a good reputation, and I'm sure they do something to suit your budget, if not new then definitely second hand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 There's some great pricing on Focusrite Saffire units. Really like mine. They do USB (red) and Firewire (black) versions. Mine's USB. Have a think about which one you go for. Very few windows machines have firewire on them, and I'm not too sure about its' future presence on macs either. Mine's got it but it's a couple of years old. USB3 may be about to push firewire a few steps further towards that place where minidisk and betamax live. No complaints about my USB Saffire, in fact I really like it. The range is pretty well spread so I'm sure you'll find something that meets your needs and budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I have an M Audio Mobile Pre I use for exactly the purposes you mention. It has two mic/line inputs on the front and two additional line only outputs on the back. Line outputs are two TRS balanced. I can work with USB bus power or a separate wall wart--the bus power has be useful from time to time if the power supply on a lap top makes an earth loop a problem. I've had mine for about six years now without any problems (I'm a PC user but have no reason to think it wouldn't be as good on a Mac). One thing: M Audio is in the process of being taken over by Avid so right now things like product specs, driver downloads, etc. are scattered between the two sites and a bit awkward. I'm sure it's only temporary but it's a bit of a pain now. Otherwise, as has been said, the Focusrite Saffire range has become very popular--I've not used it myself but several people I trust speak highly of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Food for thought ref Firewire? http://www.mactech.com/content/usb-30-doubtless-coming-mac-whats-future-firewire and to muddy the waters further with mention of Thunderbolt; http://forums.presonus.com/posts/list/17346.page http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/664386-future-audio-interfaces-laptops-firewire.html So, if your brother wanted to change his machine in the future then finding a "future proof" connector might be an issue in its self? Just when "you" thought usb3 was the answer, oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I wouldn't touch Firewire any more--my "studio" interface is FW and I recently had a dickens of a time finding a computer that could still use it. Thunderbolt may be good but nobody makes interfaces yet. However, USB2 is pretty much universal and it entirely adequate until you get to track counts above 16 in/out. Frankly, USB would be the only thing I'd consider just now. USB will be around for many years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 USB2 is quite good for 32/32 now I've found no need to reduce the channel mode down. All the makes mentioned here have large numbers of fans - I personally have Tascam and Lexicons - have a look on the sound on sound website - reviews of most are on there. Most comments seem to revolve around facilities - not quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techywhizz Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Have a look at the Roland quad capture. The mic pres are cool and they are really easy to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I have a number of interfaces: a Lexicon Ionix 10in / 4out which sounds lovely and is great for studio work; a cheap Behringer stereo in/out which is fine for throwing in the top of a flightcase on the off chance, and then I recently bought an Icon Cube Pro (4in/4out) which I thought would be nice for playback as the Lexicon is a bit big. The Icon is aesthetically nice, has an okay software control panel and sounds adequate, however the last time I used it it stopped outputting audio! It had been plugged in all day doing a tech run, but then when it came to opening I hit go on the intro-video thing and I had no audio. Had to unplug it and replug it, then restart Q-Lab to get any audio out of it. I'm contacting Icon at the moment to see if they know anything about it, or if it's a known problem, but if it wasn't for this I would be recommending them to you http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I've no hands on experience, but when I was looking at the Focusrite I did also look at the Akai EIE units. Cheap and chearful, but with a built in USB hub and inserts, it seemed pretty well thought out. No idea how it'll sound mind you! In the end I was put off by a lack of information about WDM drivers for it (which I needed for my playback software) - won't be a problem with Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbothegreat Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Depends on the degree of quality you require, but Tony Andrews of Funktion 1 swears by the Echo Audiofire, which can be got for around £85. As he spends all his life listening very critically to all elements of the signal chain, an opinion worth noting if you are looking for really high fidelity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Jelfs Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 not so good for you as its not out yet, but one to keep an eye on in general, is the new Behringer (yes I know) FCA series, firewire and USB, in either a 16/16 I/o or 610 I/o config. current price is €190 for the 16/16 version, which if the 4mic preamps are any good might be worth a shot. I shall prob get one when they are released in the new year to have a test with and to replace my old Terratec 8/8 io unit thats only used on my desktop at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Approach the Akai EIE stuff with caution--I've heard frequent complaints about dodgy drivers and a total lack of updates in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Siddons Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Out of the box idea for you but maybe an Allen and Heath ZED10 FX may tick more boxes than you originally thought? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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