Which soundcard to get ?

[Shepherd_of_Anu]

I see a lot of good advice in this thread and references to equipment I have not tried so I can not speak against any of it but I can only speak for my experience.

I have a Presonus Firebox and it has brought me great joy. The sound input and output is great. It has XLR inputs as well as line TRS. The sound is solid. No complaints. I think the wide variance in monitor ranges would become a issue before this audio interface. I have never had any issues related to latency or anything of the sort. In fact I used to have a USB device which exhibited noticeable lag. The Firebox had nothing of the sort. If there was a lag between the strike of a finger and a sound it was not noticeable by humans.

If I had a complaint it would be about the lack of control over the line outputs although I understand that a line output is supposed to be a stable output. Still I think it would be nice to have trim capabilities. This audio interface can double as a DJ interface if you fuss around with stuff. It has two sets of outputs plus the main outputs. I have a three channel Vestax mixer (had it for like 12 years or so) so it is perfect for me. If you want to do some digital mixing you can send two via the line outs and one more via the main out. Even at the same time you can record the rec output from your mixer to the same computer without hiccups or anything as long as your computer is up to the task.

I have heard a couple audio interfaces which are ranked as "better" but to be honest I think that at a certain point the exercise for purity in sound becomes a useless exercise because the sound is only as good as the system of deliver for the listener.

I lucked out and bought this interface off a hip hop producer who was "upgrading" to a better system. I only paid $100 which is a fraction of the retail price of $450 at the time CDN.

My solid dislike is that my (like most) new laptop(s) often do not have Firewire which I think sucks ass. Firewire was great. I don't know why USB became the favourite... strange to me.

[fragment]

totally happy Ultralite user here - rocksolid on mac´s, plenty of ins/outs, very robust build quality, good sound quality.

I know how brilliant a FF800 or a Ensemble sounds - but if you are on a bit tighter budged and your room isnt perfectly treated i would consider them overkill. I compared the sound of my Ultralite to the other 2 far more expensive interfaces and the difference wasnt really striking.

On the other hand, a high end interface like a RME or a Apogee are a investment for the future - so if the price doesnt scare you off, i would go for a RME, otherwise the MOTU´s are also fine *g*