new audio interface, any suggestions?

[lem]

My pc had firewire, it worked fine?

[AK]

Firewire isn't an option as I haven't got it so I have no purpose myself in debating how good it is or isn't. I have to settle with usb 2, I don't have a choice unless there's a way of adding firewire to my pc but there's only 1 slot on the mobo which looks like its for a graphic card.

If usb was bad, companies simply wouldn't be making products that use it, high end stuff too, I'm not sure where this information you are saying is coming from but what I have just been reading seems to indicate the opposite of what you're saying. I know very little on the subject though as I have been using a pci card for yrs and usb 1, firewire, usb 2 etc etc has never been something I have even looked at until now.

What about pci vs firewire/usb? Am I improving on my old 24/96 card or downgrading by going usb? I'm kinda worried.

[AK]

yeah theres a reason most PC's don't have firewire. it doesn't work.

if you do want to get it working, use a texas instruments based interface, makes a huge difference.

as for high noise floors on the usb; could be because your usb hub is damaged inside. for example on my old macbook i've used a emu midi usb that had a long plug. i've pushed the usb a bit too hard with that plug acting as a lever. you could move a connected usb plug a few millimeters to the left and right afterwards. the noise floor like tripled or something...

it's either the mixers usb or the lead. There was noise on my old pc, got this new one yesterday and the noise is the same. The fault is external, I don't have another cable at hand to try but it's definitely that or the mixer.

[AK]

What about something like the Focusrite Scarlett 8i6? 8 in 6 out, it has midi in/out and is around £200
Then there's the The Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Interface?

I dunno!

Or should I look for more inputs and bypass the sh!t alesis mixer?

[Rein]

Firewire isn't an option as I haven't got it so I have no purpose myself in debating how good it is or isn't. I have to settle with usb 2, I don't have a choice unless there's a way of adding firewire to my pc but there's only 1 slot on the mobo which looks like its for a graphic card.

If usb was bad, companies simply wouldn't be making products that use it, high end stuff too, I'm not sure where this information you are saying is coming from but what I have just been reading seems to indicate the opposite of what you're saying. I know very little on the subject though as I have been using a pci card for yrs and usb 1, firewire, usb 2 etc etc has never been something I have even looked at until now.

What about pci vs firewire/usb? Am I improving on my old 24/96 card or downgrading by going usb? I'm kinda worried.

usb has a high theoretical speed, but fails to maintain peak transfer for longer periods of time. firewire on the other hand is much more stable. i've had several problems with audio recordings in the past through various usb ports... never had something similar with firewire.

[spire]

Why doesn't it have MIDI? How are you getting midi in and out?

I don't have any external synths/fx so I don't really need MIDI in/out. The UR28M does have SPDIF and ADAT though.

As far as USB 2.0 and how well it works with audio interfaces, mine seems to work fine. I did notice that when I first installed the UR that it had a lot of noise coming out of the right speaker. I switched the right/left XLRs and the noise swtiched to the left speaker. I bought a new cable and this solved the noise issue. So basically, I don't think USB 2.0 has any issues with noise from what I can tell, though I could be wrong.

I haven't really had a chance to test out what recording is like with it yet. I would imagine I won't be having any problems recording a single mono channel. My old E-MU 0404 had no problems when it came to recording one microphone input. Never had any stuttering or anything like that. So from my experience with simple recording environments where you're only dealing with only a few inputs, USB should suffice.

So in my humble opinion, USB 2.0 is good. :]

[AK]

I'm tempted to go with Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 Interface. I use a mixer for taking care of stuff with multiple outs so don't need a load of ins/outs on the interface itself. What I do want is sound quality and low latency and after reading about this on GS, it has nothing but solid performance reviews in both sound and pretty much zero latency. Also seems to be built like a tank which is always good to hear. A lot of the other stuff is bundled with DSP and lite versions of DAW apps that are adding to the cost and I just wouldn't use them. This thing though comes with Komplete elements, so I would be getting a pile of new software that I'd actually make use of.

Anyone used it?

[lem]

I'm tempted to go with Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 Interface. I use a mixer for taking care of stuff with multiple outs so don't need a load of ins/outs on the interface itself. What I do want is sound quality and low latency and after reading about this on GS, it has nothing but solid performance reviews in both sound and pretty much zero latency. Also seems to be built like a tank which is always good to hear. A lot of the other stuff is bundled with DSP and lite versions of DAW apps that are adding to the cost and I just wouldn't use them. This thing though comes with Komplete elements, so I would be getting a pile of new software that I'd actually make use of.

Anyone used it?

There was a period where my only production computer was a laptop with usb. I had to use my audio 8. I'm pretty sure I had midi clock issues with my tr909, like it would slowly fall out of time. I didn't put in too much effort to rectify it, I think I just used cubase to sequence it.
I also didn't like the phono inputs with no gain controls. You have a mixer so I guess you get around it, but 'I' wouldn't use a DJ soundcard as a studio soundcard again. My setup uses too much outboard.

Sorry if this doesn't help