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Help me find a new interface
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| echosystm |
- USB
- Bus powered
- Headphone out
- TRS or XLR out
- Class compliant
- One preamp good enough for demo purposes (BETA 57A specifically)
- At least 96khz
I don't mind if it has ins and outs that I won't use, I just need the above as a minimum. Get on it folks. Scarlett 2i2 is the only one I have found. Audio interface market seems pretty at the moment. |
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| echosystm |
http://echoaudio.com/products/echo-2
This looks pretty ing sexual. No drivers, no software control panel, no bull. 100% controllable by hardware. Looks like I might be buying my second Echo interface! |
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| DJ RANN |
I think that about does it; that little box looks like quite the powerhouse. I'd be a little nervours of not having any spare I/O but if you know your requirements then that thing seems to be the ticket.
My Audiofire4 is still going strong so I can't imagine this not be being great.
Let us know what you think when you get it! |
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| cryophonik |
| Might want to compare it to similar portable interfaces like the MOTU Track 16, Focusrite Forte, and Agogee One/Duet (Mac only, can't recall which OS you're one), but the Echo looks like a winner. |
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| DJ RANN |
| Actually, I'd love an apogee quartet but I can't justify $1500 for 4 ins/4 outs. For that money I should be buying better monitors. |
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| echosystm |
It still blows my mind how many interface companies don't make their hardware class compliant. I have never seen a single feature in any unit that required a proprietary driver.
When I had M-Audio and Presonus interfaces, I was constantly chasing driver updates. I had to wait a year or more to have support for the latest OS, and even then they would only release it as a beta driver.
Looking at the Presonus forums, it looks like they haven't learned ; all the new Audiobox VSL units officially only support Snow Leopard! They haven't had a non-beta driver for Mountain Lion, ever. Needless to say, if you went out and bought a new Mavericks computer, you would be completely ed. If by some miracle they actually released a stable driver, the product would be discontinued soon after and you'd be left with an expensive brick that you can't even use because they don't support new operating systems. It's ridiculous!
Anyway, rant over. :gsmile: |
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| echosystm |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ RANN
My Audiofire4 is still going strong so I can't imagine this not be being great.
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Same. I'm only buying a new one because I'll be buying a new MacBook soon and I don't want to have to carry around a thunderbolt firewire converter or deal with chipset issues, now that they've removed the port.
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ RANN
Let us know what you think when you get it!
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Will do.
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
Might want to compare it to similar portable interfaces like the MOTU Track 16, Focusrite Forte, and Agogee One/Duet (Mac only, can't recall which OS you're one), but the Echo looks like a winner. |
Cheers for the suggestions!
The MOTU is total overkill for me, I think.
The Focusrite is really nice. I completely missed this one in my searches. I think the Echo still wins out though, as you can use phantom power via bus power if you have USB 3.0 and don't need an extra power pack. Unlike the other Focusrite interfaces, it also can't be switched into class compliant mode. Apparently the driver on the PC is what actually controls the screen, not the microcontrollers in the box. That's a pretty nasty shortcut if you ask me!
Apogee One only has one output, so you can't use monitors and headphones at the same time from my understanding. The output is all unbalanced too, which is a total deal breaker IMO.
If I find a reason not to buy the Echo, I'll get an Apogee Duet 2. They're not class compliant, but I figure that if they have driver issues they will get massacred by their user base, so they're a fairly safe choice. They still support the original Duet on Mavericks, so they're obviously doing a pretty good job with driver updates! |
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| eyepad |
| Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6? It's on sale and meets all your specs, I think. |
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| The Dark NINJA |
| The new prism TITAN interface looks amusing, not saying that I'd buy one but its got thunderbolt expansion not that the OP would need it, i'm saying for myself. |
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| echosystm |
| quote: | Originally posted by clay
im interested in knowing how the echo 2 works too as I dont use/have firewire on my copmuter anymore so my AF4 is not in use anymore, but still thats the best device i ever had. hopefully echo 2 will be just as good (hopefully same dacs) so maybe I can replace my lofi steinberg device. |
The SNR on ins/outs is pretty high just like the AF4 (112-115db), so I reckon they're working with the same hardware. As a small company, that obviously makes a lot of sense; they wouldn't have to go investing research into new stuff! |
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| echosystm |
| quote: | Originally posted by eyepad
Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6? It's on sale and meets all your specs, I think. |
Thanks for the suggestion dude! It does indeed meet all my requirements. However, the ADC/DAC doesn't seem so great - sub 100db SNR on both. I know that's more than adequate and there's more to it than that, but I've always found the SNR figures to be indicative of ADC/DAC quality in general. |
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| Looney4Clooney |
| like most specs , snr is useless which is generally why they use them. It tells you nothing. |
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