Presonus Firestudio Mobile OR Focusrite Saffire PRO 24

[jjvr]

Hi everybody. This is my second post (I used the first one to introduce myself). I'm about to buy a firewire interface. I've been researching for quite some time and I've narrowed my options to two interfaces:

PreSonus FireStudio Mobile OR Focusrite Saffire PRO 24

They are both very similar and their price is almost the same on Amazon.
I cannot decide which one to buy.

I know that Tweak has recommended the Presonus all over the website more than enough for anybody to understand that it's his top choice. But, I don't know how long ago the Saffire was released so maybe the comparisons and reviews on the website are not including the Saffire as one of the options...

I'm a beginner when it comes to recording so any help would be really appreciated. My laptop is running on Intel i5, 6 GB RAM and Windows 7 64 bit.

Once again, any help and guidance is appreciated. If there is anything else you need to know in order to give me more detailed help or information, just let me know..!



Peace..!

[TKMJ Productions]

Hi everybody. This is my second post (I used the first one to introduce myself). I'm about to buy a firewire interface. I've been researching for quite some time and I've narrowed my options to two interfaces:

PreSonus FireStudio Mobile OR Focusrite Saffire PRO 24

They are both very similar and their price is almost the same on Amazon.
I cannot decide which one to buy.

I know that Tweak has recommended the Presonus all over the website more than enough for anybody to understand that it's his top choice. But, I don't know how long ago the Saffire was released so maybe the comparisons and reviews on the website are not including the Saffire as one of the options...

I'm a beginner when it comes to recording so any help would be really appreciated. My laptop is running on Intel i5, 6 GB RAM and Windows 7 64 bit.

Once again, any help and guidance is appreciated. If there is anything else you need to know in order to give me more detailed help or information, just let me know..!



Peace..!

Both units are great units. The choice is yours. The only thing that would conecrn me and you need to look at this is the firewire chipset in your laptop. If the firewire chipset is made by Texas Instruments you not going to have a problem. If it is not..... you better check the AI manufacturers websites to see what firewire chipsets are on their lists as approved and tested. Not all firewire interfaces will work with all the firewire chipsets out there. There may be communication issues.

[ditto]

A couple of years ago, I was faced with the same choice and opted for the Firestudio unit, which I really like. However, the issue that cropped up afterward (there's always at least one issue that crops up afterward, right? ) is that the Firestudio has only 2 outs. Recently, I decided that I wanted more than one pair of studio monitors so that I can A/B stuff when mixing, so I'm having to get a monitor controller. If I had more outs on the Firestudio, I wouldn't have to buy a controller. Having said that, I'm thinking that I'll be able to do the A/B stuff way faster with the controller than I ever could with the Firestudio mixer software.

[jjvr]

Hi everybody. This is my second post (I used the first one to introduce myself). I'm about to buy a firewire interface. I've been researching for quite some time and I've narrowed my options to two interfaces:

PreSonus FireStudio Mobile OR Focusrite Saffire PRO 24

They are both very similar and their price is almost the same on Amazon.
I cannot decide which one to buy.

I know that Tweak has recommended the Presonus all over the website more than enough for anybody to understand that it's his top choice. But, I don't know how long ago the Saffire was released so maybe the comparisons and reviews on the website are not including the Saffire as one of the options...

I'm a beginner when it comes to recording so any help would be really appreciated. My laptop is running on Intel i5, 6 GB RAM and Windows 7 64 bit.

Once again, any help and guidance is appreciated. If there is anything else you need to know in order to give me more detailed help or information, just let me know..!



Peace..!

Both units are great units. The choice is yours. The only thing that would conecrn me and you need to look at this is the firewire chipset in your laptop. If the firewire chipset is made by Texas Instruments you not going to have a problem. If it is not..... you better check the AI manufacturers websites to see what firewire chipsets are on their lists as approved and tested. Not all firewire interfaces will work with all the firewire chipsets out there. There may be communication issues.

Thank you very much for your answer. That's very interesting. I've never thought of that, I will have to check then. I'll let you know of anything..!

[jjvr]

My laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad t520. I've been trying to find on the Device Manager which firewire chipset it uses, but it only says it's an Intel 6 Series/c200 chipset. I've browsed on several forums and apparently the chipset is Ricoh, and worst of all, it seems like the Ricoh is not good at all for firewire interfaces.

What do you think???

[TKMJ Productions]

My laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad t520. I've been trying to find on the Device Manager which firewire chipset it uses, but it only says it's an Intel 6 Series/c200 chipset. I've browsed on several forums and apparently the chipset is Ricoh, and worst of all, it seems like the Ricoh is not good at all for firewire interfaces.

What do you think???

Maybe you should start looking at USB audio interfaces. That's what I think.

[jjvr]

Can you tell me the cons of using USB 2.0 instead of Firewire? I've read many posts here talking about the stability of Firewire but theses posts were written like 5 years ago. How is the USB 2.0 technologies on audio interfaces nowadays?

Thanks..!

[TKMJ Productions]

Can you tell me the cons of using USB 2.0 instead of Firewire? I've read many posts here talking about the stability of Firewire but theses posts were written like 5 years ago. How is the USB 2.0 technologies on audio interfaces nowadays?

Thanks..!

USB and firewire are about the same until you start exceeding around 12 simultaneous tracks being recorded at the same time. As far as tracks being mixed after tracking, shouldn't make any real difference. Firewire even at 400mbps seems a bit faster then USB at 480mbps.

[jjvr]

Can you tell me the cons of using USB 2.0 instead of Firewire? I've read many posts here talking about the stability of Firewire but theses posts were written like 5 years ago. How is the USB 2.0 technologies on audio interfaces nowadays?

Thanks..!

USB and firewire are about the same until you start exceeding around 12 simultaneous tracks being recorded at the same time. As far as tracks being mixed after tracking, shouldn't make any real difference. Firewire even at 400mbps seems a bit faster then USB at 480mbps.

What about the sound quality? Is it affected or downgraded???

In that case, which interface do you recommend??? The best i can buy for no more that $250 dollars?? My priority is sound quality against multiple track recordings. I don't think I'll ever need to record more than two tracks at the same time..!

[TKMJ Productions]

Can you tell me the cons of using USB 2.0 instead of Firewire? I've read many posts here talking about the stability of Firewire but theses posts were written like 5 years ago. How is the USB 2.0 technologies on audio interfaces nowadays?

Thanks..!

USB and firewire are about the same until you start exceeding around 12 simultaneous tracks being recorded at the same time. As far as tracks being mixed after tracking, shouldn't make any real difference. Firewire even at 400mbps seems a bit faster then USB at 480mbps.

What about the sound quality? Is it affected or downgraded???

In that case, which interface do you recommend??? The best i can buy for no more that $250 dollars?? My priority is sound quality against multiple track recordings. I don't think I'll ever need to record more than two tracks at the same time..!

In the lower dollar stuff (your range) most AI's are about the same. The difference is really going to show through in the preamp section of the AI. I would look at something without preamps if possible and get a stand alone preamp. However if you really want an "all in one" unit, this works well....... http://www.zzounds.com/item--FOCSAF6USB

[aww-de-oh]

Pretty much everything in that price range will be similar sound-wise, whether USB or Firewire or PCI.
Get one with the features you need, and that has drivers available for your OS.

[aww-de-oh]

A couple of years ago, I was faced with the same choice and opted for the Firestudio unit, which I really like. However, the issue that cropped up afterward (there's always at least one issue that crops up afterward, right? ) is that the Firestudio has only 2 outs. Recently, I decided that I wanted more than one pair of studio monitors so that I can A/B stuff when mixing, so I'm having to get a monitor controller. If I had more outs on the Firestudio, I wouldn't have to buy a controller. Having said that, I'm thinking that I'll be able to do the A/B stuff way faster with the controller than I ever could with the Firestudio mixer software.

Actually, using a monitor controller is benifitial in more ways than just being able to switch monitors.
Get one with a mono sum button!

By using a monitor controller, you can leave your AI's output gain at unity and attenuate using the monitor controller. Doing it this way you're gaining the full digital resolution, rather than attenuating in digital.. which degrades the sound.

[jjvr]

In the lower dollar stuff (your range) most AI's are about the same. The difference is really going to show through in the preamp section of the AI. I would look at something without preamps if possible and get a stand alone preamp. However if you really want an "all in one" unit, this works well....... http://www.zzounds.com/item--FOCSAF6USB

I went to the Focusrite wbesite. In the comparison chart it says that the Saffire 6 is USB and all the Scarlett AI are USB 2.0. Since there is not much difference in the price I think is better to buy an AI that is USB 2.0 against an USB AI. What do you think???
Are the preamps on the Focusrite good?
Do they use the same preamps on all the AI on the $200-$300 price range?

[TKMJ Productions]

In the lower dollar stuff (your range) most AI's are about the same. The difference is really going to show through in the preamp section of the AI. I would look at something without preamps if possible and get a stand alone preamp. However if you really want an "all in one" unit, this works well....... http://www.zzounds.com/item--FOCSAF6USB

I went to the Focusrite wbesite. In the comparison chart it says that the Saffire 6 is USB and all the Scarlett AI are USB 2.0. Since there is not much difference in the price I think is better to buy an AI that is USB 2.0 against an USB AI. What do you think???
Are the preamps on the Focusrite good?
Do they use the same preamps on all the AI on the $200-$300 price range?

I've used a few lower end AIs with preamps. The Focusrite pres are about the best you can get in that price range. That is why I suggested the unit. The A/D and D/A converters are about the same as any other unit. Maybe a bit better. Anyhoo....... It's not really the AI that will make the big difference in the quality of your recordings. The difference will be made by you as the engineer and how things are tracked. Your techniques and experience will make the real difference. Rule of thumb is 20% gear and 80% engineering skills.

[jjvr]

In the lower dollar stuff (your range) most AI's are about the same. The difference is really going to show through in the preamp section of the AI. I would look at something without preamps if possible and get a stand alone preamp. However if you really want an "all in one" unit, this works well....... http://www.zzounds.com/item--FOCSAF6USB

I went to the Focusrite wbesite. In the comparison chart it says that the Saffire 6 is USB and all the Scarlett AI are USB 2.0. Since there is not much difference in the price I think is better to buy an AI that is USB 2.0 against an USB AI. What do you think???
Are the preamps on the Focusrite good?
Do they use the same preamps on all the AI on the $200-$300 price range?

I've used a few lower end AIs with preamps. The Focusrite pres are about the best you can get in that price range. That is why I suggested the unit. The A/D and D/A converters are about the same as any other unit. Maybe a bit better. Anyhoo....... It's not really the AI that will make the big difference in the quality of your recordings. The difference will be made by you as the engineer and how things are tracked. Your techniques and experience will make the real difference. Rule of thumb is 20% gear and 80% engineering skills.

Thanks for all the advice man. I think I'm gonna go with the Scarlet since it's USB 2.0. I forgot to mention one important thing though. LATENCY!!!
I'm a guitar player, and one of the reasons that i'm getting a good interface is because the one I have right now (Lexicon Alpha) is not good for using the Amplitube software. It crashes all the time and it has latency. I need an interface in which I can play through the Amplitube without any noticeable latency. I just read that is not possible with USB AI. Is that true? Can I succesfully use a software such as the Amplitube with an USB 2.0 AI?

Once again, thank you very much for all the feedback..!

[TKMJ Productions]

[

Thanks for all the advice man. I think I'm gonna go with the Scarlet since it's USB 2.0. I forgot to mention one important thing though. LATENCY!!!
I'm a guitar player, and one of the reasons that i'm getting a good interface is because the one I have right now (Lexicon Alpha) is not good for using the Amplitube software. It crashes all the time and it has latency. I need an interface in which I can play through the Amplitube without any noticeable latency. I just read that is not possible with USB AI. Is that true? Can I succesfully use a software such as the Amplitube with an USB 2.0 AI?

Once again, thank you very much for all the feedback..!

You're going to get some latency with any USB unit. If you find a difference between tracks you can't live with, you can always add a few milliseconds to the slower track at the beginning and line them up better while mixing. You may want to try that with the Lexicon unit before you make any purchase.

[ditto]

A couple of years ago, I was faced with the same choice and opted for the Firestudio unit, which I really like. However, the issue that cropped up afterward (there's always at least one issue that crops up afterward, right? ) is that the Firestudio has only 2 outs. Recently, I decided that I wanted more than one pair of studio monitors so that I can A/B stuff when mixing, so I'm having to get a monitor controller. If I had more outs on the Firestudio, I wouldn't have to buy a controller. Having said that, I'm thinking that I'll be able to do the A/B stuff way faster with the controller than I ever could with the Firestudio mixer software.

Actually, using a monitor controller is benifitial in more ways than just being able to switch monitors.
Get one with a mono sum button!

By using a monitor controller, you can leave your AI's output gain at unity and attenuate using the monitor controller. Doing it this way you're gaining the full digital resolution, rather than attenuating in digital.. which degrades the sound.

Yeah, I heard that. It'll be interesting to see if I can hear any difference. And yes, it has a mono sum button. I'm looking forward to that, too.