actually, I've just been steered in the direction of the RME fireface 800...

it's loads more expensive, but the comments about the 1010 AD converters being 'not bad, ok' etc... don't fill me with confidence...

whereas all the reviews I've read of the fireface have been gushing over how amazing it is... I find it hard not to want to wait for the best stuff... the reason I'm on this forum in the first place :)

If you have the money for the fireface I would say go for it.

Ive read nothing but good reviews on this unit, and it seems the converter quality is unquestionable.

56 simultaneous channels! its insane! just in case the local symphony decides to drop in i spose :wink:

cheers

blay

That's the thing isn't it - Money! Like I said, for the money maudio can't be beat. Going up to RME creates a different discussion though. :wink:

Let us know what you end up going with pseudonym.

Good choice Pseudo.......I would'nt buy M-Audio gear personally, cos I dont imagine their gear to be any more than budget project studio gear. I admit, I use the MOTU 2408mkIII, which you could say also is Project Studio gear, but it is more towards that higher end.

One day I will have those apogee converters.... :roll:

I hear great things about RME stuff too.....

The converters in the 1010 are excellant man.....and its leaps and bounds better than most modern shite. True, the 1010 came out quite a few years back....but unless your gonna go down the Pro-Tool digi002 route....your not going to find anything with better subjective sound quality than the 1010.

DS

Listen to some tracks recorded on the 1010 here >>> http://www.nukleon.com/Homewrecker.mp3

DS

The converters on the 002's are nothing to write home about....pretty standard for today. Nothing special, they do the job.

If the 1010 is beaten by the 002's....then they must be pretty standard.

Also worth a mention.....have a look at all the posts regarding Sound Diver, and most of the time the users had M-Audio interfaces (MIDI). Who owns M-Audio nowadays???? Is it Focusrite, or other way around???

I never had any probs with the Virus and 1010's. Although some people have had probs with M-audios USB cards...or something lol.

The important take home message is....dont let 192khz and all that type of marketing spule delude you into thinking better specs = better sounds. It doesnt. Get a solid, tied and tested sound card with decent converters and use that instead. Oh, and btw the digi 002 is perfectly fine you know....

DS

I reckon most of the soundcards these days, aimed at the project studio market will be pretty much on par with one another....it's only when you start spending big bucks that you would really notice a huge difference

The problem is that the price jump is huge! Specially considering the extra quality.

As far as quality goes, I don't think most of us could hear a huge difference with the electronic music that we are doing. If you are recording a heap of accoustical instruments, it may be a different story.

Maybe once/if we cross that barrier from demo creators to pros, then it's worth stepping up. It's just not worth the cash for hobbiests.