what type of external sound cards are yall using. i want to look into a fire wire external sound device. if any of yall are using any of these please let me know your input on yours and how you like it.

i will be using mine with reason 3.0, ableton live, and cubase.

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireWire/

Check out those products.

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quote:

Originally posted by Benjamin_D what type of external sound cards are yall using.

I'm using an Echo AudioFire12. I had some problems during installation (due to XP SP2 crap) and the Echo Audio support was surprisingly bad.

Since that time I've not had any major issues with my sound device, however sometimes (very rarely) I seem to "lose contact" with the device and have to restart the application in order to regain contact. I've tried other devices on the same setup without any problems, so it might be the drivers for the Echo AudioFire. However, this is really not an issue since it happens rarely.

Another BIG problem is lousy midi timing when controlling external devices (i.e. my JV-2080 and CS6R) from my sequencer application. Notes are drifting big time and it's actually a problem for rhythmic parts (percussion, bass etc.) However, various posts on the net suggest that this problem has nothing to do with the sound device but rather is a major problem related to Cubase (Logic users seem to be more lucky in this area...). But be aware if you plan to control external synths.


Besides from that the sound device seems to work fine and sounds very nice.

A word of advice is to define your requirements (i.e. how many analogue ins and outs, midi ins outs etc.) and then try to fine some solutions from that specification. After narrowing the search to a couple of possible devices you should look into reviews etc. on the net.

Regards
Lars

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_palm i got my audiofire12 today but havent installed it yet as i need a firewire card first. i realy hope its good. it looks pretty pro atleast.

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
Just wanna give you the heads up on what was a big problem for me during installation. It has to do with the new firewire cards (fw800) in combination with SP2. The problem is not related to the AudioFire in particular, but you need to be aware of this in order to get the AudioFire up and running without problems. (Otherwise it will only work sporadically).

Read the information on RME website (yes, I know, but it DOES apply to the AudioFire as well):

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/techinfo/fw800sp2.htm

The easiest way to fix the issue is to just apply the MS patch (as described in the section "MS Patch available for FireWire 800 and SP2".

It took me forever to find this info (and EchoAudio were not helpful in any way). Anyway, after applying the patch you'll be fine.

Regards
Lars

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RiValMan

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My beloved MacBook Pro, Logic Pro X, UAD hardware and software and tons of plug-ins...

quote:

Originally posted by dj_palm superthanx, but for now i use windows XP and im goin to buy a FireWire card, any suggestions for card? i want cheap ones as im goin to get new comp soon anyway.

Well, even though you're getting a new computer, you could just take the card with you from the old one and move it to the new.
But to be honest, I can't really recommend any. My guess is that they are more or less the same, so just go for the cheapest or something close... I'm using the onboard fw and it works fine.

quote:

whats SP2 btw? ah forget it, service pack 2 LOL

Yeah, and the AudioFire includes a release note from EchoAudio stating that you MUST have the SP2 upgrade from Microsoft, even though, in fact, SP2 is the very cause of the before-mentioned problems relating to Firewire devices... But still, I guess you do need the SP2 (as they claim so) - but then you also need the patch I told about before to get it all working.

Oh, and one last thing: Be aware of the new beta-drivers to the AudioFire12 posted on the EchoAudio website. I recently upgraded and has since then experienced BOSD, sound drop outs and a sporadic strange behaviour... I guess the "beta"-thing wasn't just a disclaimer, afterall

Regards
Lars

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RiValMan

- Pumping the bits using:
My beloved MacBook Pro, Logic Pro X, UAD hardware and software and tons of plug-ins...