MOTU 828 MKII Vs. TASCAM FW1804 - TranceAddict Forums

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-- MOTU 828 MKII Vs. TASCAM FW1804

Posted by Sushipunk on May-25-2007 05:50:

MOTU 828 MKII Vs. TASCAM FW1804

Your opinions? What would you go for, considering any price differences?

Pleeez

Posted by tranceinjection on May-25-2007 15:10:

My opinion is for you to read up and do what the rest of us have to do.
Read reviews on music sites forums etc. I hate this v that bull shit!!!!
Versus means in a race where two cars race each other and i dont see two sounds cards racing each other do you?
If someone says buy the motu and you hate it then you blame the guy that said go for it.
Just read reviews and decide wich one is best for your needs.

Posted by Sushipunk on May-25-2007 23:13:

quote:
Originally posted by tranceinjection
My opinion is for you to read up and do what the rest of us have to do.
Read reviews on music sites forums etc. I hate this v that bull shit!!!!
Versus means in a race where two cars race each other and i dont see two sounds cards racing each other do you?
If someone says buy the motu and you hate it then you blame the guy that said go for it.
Just read reviews and decide wich one is best for your needs.

Well I certainly feel better knowing you got that off your chest.

I have ready many reviews, on many sites. I have done a lot of reseach, and that is why I've narrowed it down to these two particular pieces of gear.

I came on here asking for people's opinions, same as I have done on many other sites. If you don't wish to offer your opinion, then don't

Posted by Getafix on May-26-2007 00:36:

Hmmmm well depends on your needs really..The motu gives you more i/o's, i can't really say which one has better preamps or converters..That would be the deciding factor if i had to make that choice..

I would also consider the Motu Ultralite or TC Konnekt 24D in case you don't need as many i/o's..These two will also be a little easier to carry around to gigs than the one's you mentioned..

I was in the same dilemma as you a while ago & i decided to bite the bullet & went for the Fireface 400, haven't regretted it one bit! I did tons of research & the FF 400 was the only one that i didn't read one negative review about, so if you can then spend the extra $250ish & get it!

Posted by No Left Turn on May-26-2007 05:54:

Tascam isn't nicknamed "Trashcan" for nothing.

If you're looking towards MOTU, I would look into the Ultralite unless you need the extra mic inputs. It's newer, so it's a little more stable than the other interfaces. Plus, it's a lot cheaper.

Posted by DigiNut on May-26-2007 16:29:

Actually, the Ultralite is known to be less stable than the 828. It definitely is a lot less expensive though, and offers a pretty good feature set if you don't need all the I/O that the 828 has.

Just make sure that you always download the newest drivers for any MOTU hardware; I tried setting up my 828 in Windows 2003 Server the other day with the drivers on the CD and kept getting PFN_LIST_CORRUPT bugchecks (BSOD) a few minutes after logging on. Then I installed the newest (Vista-compatible) drivers and haven't had a single problem since.

I'd say that it's better to go with MOTU than Tascam, but I guess I'm a little biased. I did notice that the Tascam model you've mentioned here seems to be on sale for half-price (less?) in a few places - is that why you're comparing them?

Posted by Eric J on May-26-2007 17:15:

Diginut,

Did you install the 1.6.7 MOTU dirvers on Windows XP? Every once in a blue moon my 24IO goes haywire and I have to reboot. I'm fixing to reinstall my music workstation, so I wanted to see if you were currently using 1.6.7 on your DAW and if that DAW was running XP dor W2K3?

Posted by DigiNut on May-26-2007 18:27:

I'm using the drivers on their site listed as version 3.6.7.4 (they show in the device manager as 3.6.7.2101). I don't remember what the older version was, it was several version numbers back like 3.6.1 maybe. I never had serious problems in Windows XP with the old drivers unless I turned the unit off while some audio app was running, but the 2003 Server consistently crashed with the same BSOD a few minutes after bootup.

Again - for any prospective MOTU buyers, that problem is solved. No matter what hardware you buy, you should always have the newest drivers!

(My system is a dual boot, all my production is still done on XP but I still want basic sound in 2003!)

Posted by Eric J on May-26-2007 20:42:

OK, we may be referring to two different things. I was referring to the drivers for the PCI-424 card, but you may have the older card (PCI-324?). If that is indeed the case, then I'm sure the drivers for the PCI-324 are further along than the ones for the newer card.

Posted by DigiNut on May-26-2007 22:42:

The 828mkII is a Firewire box.

Posted by Eric J on May-26-2007 23:13:

Ahh, well that would explain it

Posted by emc^2 on May-27-2007 07:43:

Everything you need to know about Tascam....

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=168834

Posted by echosystm on May-27-2007 09:25:

You might want to check out Echo AudioFire 12s too. That's probably what I'd go for if i needed a bit of I/O. But... I am a fanboy ^_^

Posted by Sushipunk on May-28-2007 00:06:

Thanks for your input guys. We ended up going for the MOTU, as it just seemed like a better all-round package for the price.

I eagerly await it's delivery

Posted by DJ RANN on May-28-2007 16:04:

.....and you saved yourself a lot of hassle. The Trashcan 1804 is not worthy of comparing to even the older 828.

Lucky bastard.....