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USB Interfaces suck

am I right, or is it just the one i have that suck. man i prefer making music with out a soundcard than using that piece of crap, its an m-audio fast track usb audio interface, and whats worst im using it on a PC Laptop. so im gona get rid of that thing soon, now what do you guys recommend for a PC Laptop, Firewire or PCMCIA.... and one more thing, for the Firewire interfaces it says firewire port required on the Pc, anyone uses firewire that would be able to explain a little bit.

thank you

i don't think theres a 'general' problem with usb regarding soundcards, i'm using the presonus firebox (firewire) and love it, definately the best value for your money in terms of professional recording. if you don't have a firewire port (i didn't) you can go to your local computer store and for like 20-30 bucks you can get a pci card that has 4 slots on it)

i must admit i had problems connecting my midi controller with usb, and just opted for the standard midi (it wasn't connecting properly and would cut out, may of been the cable, but didn't bother checking)but i dont want to rag on usb. I'm not a huge fan of m-audio cards though, so that may be a factor, other then the 2496 card, i'm not to impressed.

does pci card connects through usb ? do they work on laptops ? can you show me an image of an example of wut i need. and ya im hopefully getting the presonus firebox, they look reliable and i heared good things about them.

Im using a laptop that only has one pcmcia slot and no firewire but i think ill get a firewire pcmcia card and the presonus firebox. Plently of I/O for djing and producing and its from presonus who seem serious about making quality products.

We're talking about a laptop right? coz I think few folks above missed the point.

Anywho... yes, you can buy FW PCMCIA card and connect any firewire recording interface. I use Motu 828 MK2, connected through PCMCIA Firewire - when I need to record external audio.

edit: Keep in mind that many Firewire interfaces are bus-powered. This means that you have to get the card with the "big" - aka "6 pin" connector. 4 pin connector does not provide bus power, so, so you'll have to use external powers supply to power your device.

Oh, and another thing - if you have a bus powered interface, you'll definitely want to keep your laptop plugged in. Otherwise your battery will be drained in about 30 minutes (being fully charged).
----end of edit----

If you don't need optical interface (most peole don't.. and if you don't know - the answer is: you don't need it)- get MOTU UltraLite - IS UNBELIEVABLE. And it is not that expensive. Converters, stability, (and resale value) make it a much better buy than Firebox, better than Focusrite (never fit in laptop bag) or other M-Audio or E-MU crap.

Now, E-Mu makes a 1616m - I tested it and did not like it. Even though it has great A/D converters, the overall setup and system instability made it unattractive. My system kept crashing, software could not be uninstalled without hardware being connected, all kinds of issues - stay away from 1616m - it's very buggy.

If you plan to do software only, with some limited external recording capability and no direct MIDI - for about $50 SoundBlaster Audigy ZS. It even supports ASIO. I was using it on my laptop for stuff like Live and Reason and some Cubase Editing - IT FRIGGIN ROCKED! Besides, ASIO support for $50???? hewlll yaaw!

enjoy

quote:

Originally posted by DJ 00 Tommy Im using a laptop that only has one pcmcia slot and no firewire but i think ill get a firewire pcmcia card and the presonus firebox. Plently of I/O for djing and producing and its from presonus who seem serious about making quality products.

hate to be negative, but after the nightmare that was "Firestation" and other crappy products that never worked right - I am never buying presonus stuff again. I know I should not have been the pioneer of hardware but back then, I must have spent 4 days on the phone with support, exchanged 3 units - and did not manage to get the friggin thing to stay up for more than 1 hour without crashing.

Thanks, but my sanity is worth spending few extra bucks to get a quality product. I switched to RME and MOTU and never looked back... but from a price standpoint - it's ok. Now, if you don't mind spending extra $50 - I'd get Motu UltraLite.

hmm MOTU, ya for sure ill look up to that one. so i see now. can i get a cheap pc card with the firewire ports to connect to the interface, or quality of it also does matter ? and im only gona need one firewire port am i right

PCMCIA is far superior to firewire, but you pay for it.

Simple.

Yes, USB is shit house.

Thanks for the insite mce its always good to hear as many stories as possible. I guess i will still go for the presonus because it is already pushing my budget since my bidget is quite tight already. I might look into the other brands again but motu was way out of my range. Especialy being in Aus everything cost more.

I think your poll is a little bias without USB in it.

huh?

how can that be?!?
The guy specifically asked what is a better option other than usb

I wouldn't include answers I don't need in my poll either, it would be biased if I did just that!

quote:

Originally posted by messytechie I think your poll is a little bias without USB in it.

the thread was about me hating USB, what do u think im gona let ppl vote for it so i can buy it again.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm PCMCIA is far superior to firewire, but you pay for it. Simple. Yes, USB is shit house.

A bit of clarification, if I may... By PCMCIA - I think you are reffering to a "split system", if you will? E.G. RME interfaces? Those are split because you have to have both - PCMCIA (or PCI) card and a separate break out box? If so, RME is based on a modified FireWire connection. It even uses Firewire cable. PCMCIA is just a name of a slot. Firewire is a name of a connection. You can purchase a FireWire adapter card that would be installed into PCMCIA slot. I am not really sure what you meant.

There are few devices that are pure PCMCIA, one of them being SoundBlaster Audigy ZS. There are split systems like RME and few other like Echo Layla and possibly E-Mu 1616M. Though, EMU is a semi-split system, unlike Layla or RME where you have to have both the card and box connected. With EMU you can leave your break out box not connected and use DSP chip inside your PCMCIA card for "computer only" editing. Or to get both, you can connect both with a cable.

Straight up FireWire adapter cards will run you about 15-30 bucks, depending on how many ports you need. You can then connect any FireWire-based interface to it. I'd suggest looking into what kind of firewire chips they are using. VIA Chipset is pretty common and is good. There are others, like SGI and some other brand I can't remember right now. I got one at Best Buy for $30 - works like a champ. Also, it depends on some other factors, such as the shape of the card. Most PCMCIA cards are shaped to accomodate direct cable connection. what sucks about it is that due to card's shape, I can only use 1 card at the time.

I need to find a Firewire card that will be thin but will have a break-out cable connection, this way I can use both slots - one for my Verizon Wireless connection and the wifi card would sit underneath. Right now it's not possible to have both in at the same time.

Definitely check out Motu Ultra Lite - you can probably find one for about $499 - it has everything you'll ever need, aside from optical interface. You even have terrific mic-pre's with phantom power!

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