good audio interface for mac?

[dishwater]

anyone got a good one that works with a macbook pro? tips for things to pay attention to?

i was looking at the Tascam 122-mkII (the new black box, not the blue/grey plastic one), as i understand the issues it had with mac drivers have been solved, but this is only something i gathered from some forums.

the tascam is USB-powered, so no external power source which saves me a wall plug.

i was wondering what is the best way to go, USB or Firewire? I like to keep my few USB ports free, and Firewire has higher speeds/lower latency, right? then again, maybe firewire will be dropped from future macs. I don't even know if i have a firewire port on my (old) pc, have to crawl back there to see.

any other tips appreciated

[dman5000]

usb 2.0 is faster than firewire. firewire has already been dropped from the newer macs of the last year at least. i dont know if this is a fact but id assume an interface that plugs into the wall might be better because it will draw less power from your cpu. i have an alesis usb 2.0 mixer ive been pleased with, no problems or driver issues. im told apogee makes good products and i know a few people with a presonus interface that love em.

[Nothingless1987]

i got the edirol/now cakewalk ua-25 ex. bus powered, rugged and portable. would highly recomend one unless you need lots of inputs etc. no driver issues, just plug it in and go. give us a shout if you want any more info.

[dishwater]

usb 2.0 is faster than firewire. firewire has already been dropped from the newer macs of the last year at least. i dont know if this is a fact but id assume an interface that plugs into the wall might be better because it will draw less power from your cpu. i have an alesis usb 2.0 mixer ive been pleased with, no problems or driver issues. im told apogee makes good products and i know a few people with a presonus interface that love em.

it's still in my macbook pro 13", so i think they either put it back or i still have an older model (i bought it earlier this year)... but you're right, for the future, maybe it's better to go for usb, with usb 3 coming firewire will probably bite the dust some time soon

thanks for both your suggestions, will check those out

[V-F!]

I would suggest the apogee duet. Good price, apogee is pure quality. USB 2.0 is not faster than firewire in practice. This is a fact. Another great interface is the MBOX 2 Pro (I have it) great quality, just enough ins and outs and it firewire so you dont have to worry about latency. With a regualr usb mbox they have a knob called the mix knob, this is so you can compensate for latency by listening to the output(with delay) the input(so no recorded sounds) or a blend of both(what you would use for overdubs). This sucks bad and the only solution is to get a firewire interface. New macbook pros only have firewire 800 so you would have to get an 800 to 400 adaptor for the apogee(would be well worth it)if you were to use an older macbook.

[dishwater]

anyone know if the old blue-grey plasticky tascam 122 works on a mac? i just found a second hand one for 60 euros

the ones you guys are suggesting are a bit costly, then again maybe it's worth it to lay down 400 for... i'd still rather not

[V-F!]

anyone know if the old blue-grey plasticky tascam 122 works on a mac? i just found a second hand one for 60 euros

the ones you guys are suggesting are a bit costly, then again maybe it's worth it to lay down 400 for... i'd still rather not

Ya man, I'd really suggest saving up and getting something good thats going to last you a long time and you wont have to worry about. Check out the motu ultralite and the m audio firewire 410 for a bit cheaper solution. You song is only as good as the recording of it!

[IIIII]

alesis just came out with this cheap recording interface. simple and affordable
http://www.turntablelab.com/daily/632/2764/86206.html

[LoneStar]

usb 2.0 is faster than firewire.

That's wrong. If you compare the numbers, you'll see that Firewire 400 is 400 Mbit/s and USB 2.0 is 480 Mbit/s, yes. BUT the practical throughput of firewire is higher because of the protocol. USB 2.0 isn't really suited for realtime transfer compared, that's why. Not to speak of Firewire 800.

But of course you're right to say firewire support is generally declining. But then, what stops you from putting a firewire card into your pc? Oh right, the not-present expansion capabilities of macs, especially the laptops

[dishwater]

hah, i'm so stupid... i just got off the phone with mac support. turns out the macbook i have does have an analog line in after all (this is 5 months after i got it). On the specs it said digital line in, so i'm assuming that means digital only, not analog. All i had to do was switch one option in the sound prefs... stuuuuupid...

i guess that means i can look around a bit longer for something good, because (forgot to mention this in my first post) i am looking for an audio as well as MIDI interface, so i can also use it to sequence the SP...

in any case thanks for your suggestions!

[Boston Luca]

m box 2 from digidesign, and pro tools

[dman5000]

usb 2.0 is faster than firewire.

That's wrong. If you compare the numbers, you'll see that Firewire 400 is 400 Mbit/s and USB 2.0 is 480 Mbit/s, yes. BUT the practical throughput of firewire is higher because of the protocol. USB 2.0 isn't really suited for realtime transfer compared, that's why. Not to speak of Firewire 800.

But of course you're right to say firewire support is generally declining. But then, what stops you from putting a firewire card into your pc? Oh right, the not-present expansion capabilities of macs, especially the laptops

hmm... just relaying what i heard at guitar center and from a homie that films and edits video(which is a huge firewire using field)... guess you cant always go by the numbers tho//// but anyway if firewire is actually faster- why are less and less products using it and why isnt it on newer computers?

[Rabot]

Simply cause most people don't need it, most people have USB devices and doesn't need firewire.

It doesn't mean that it sucks.

In the DV days (miniDV camera), every decent cam transfered via firewire and not USB (even tho USB 2 was out). Now, most cams will use SD card / harddrive witch don't require constant speed to be capturer/transfered and that's why more camera transfer via USB now.


(sorry for camera exemple, I just know more in that domain than audio devices.)

[dishwater]

i read too that firewire is as fast, or faster in practice, and that is probably not taking into account that a lot of times, you will have multiple usb devices connected. that was my reason for thinking i might prefer firewire.

[jetson]

Firewire has a better sustained data rate than USB. Maybe USB 3.0 will be the death of FW?

Sorry to drag up an old post!