Interface shopping- Dead Motu, ideas?

[brian.only]

Hello All,
Been I while since I posted here, nice to see some of the old faces around.

The new year brought the death of my venerable firewire Motu 828.
Its been pretty reliable over the years and only glitched on me a few times luckily in the studio and not on stage.
I'm looking for something comparable in the <$500 range.

I'm mostly looking for a solid A/D converter and a couple of good pre's.
Two headphone outs would be nice too.

I've had some lower/mid range Tascams and M-Audios and was not very impressed, but am still open otherwise.
It's been a while since I've been shopping but I'm thinking of either a used 828mk11 or mk3.
Any new tech I might have overlooked?
I'm curious about the Alesis Mulitmix but the price seems a bit low for 'quality'.
The only other interface I've had eye-teeth for is the RME Fireface but have'nt found much on the used market.
I also prefer a rack to desktop.

I'm running on mac OSX so firewire or usb is fine.

Cheers!

[cornutt]

I've also got the original 828. When it does, I'll probably get a Mk2 or 3, and send it off to Black Lion to let them do their mods on it. From what I've read, that will really get you a quality interface.

[pflosi]

I use a 828 III and it serves me very well. The mic pre's are not the best, but they're ok (and I don't use mics a lot anyway).

I love the Cuemix FX software, it's great. I have the EQ on the mic pre's set up to act like a phono preamp for my turntable and it's great for live acts without computer - mix it all in your studio, add some EQ, Comp and Reverb, and just take it with you (it remembers all the settings).

And of course there is volta... MOTU really is great IMO.

but it's over 500$... As are quite all middle range quality (i.e. acceptable quality) interfaces with more than 2 In- / Outputs i think...? guess you have to spend a little more or wait for 2nd hand...

that black lion mods look very tempting

I also like the FFT / spectrograph / oscilloscope a lot. it's always running on my 2nd screen, measuring everything that goes out my main outs (also stuff like movies etc. ). Here is a minimoog saw:

[brian.only]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I'm looking forward to cuemix and the software synth.

Anyone have thoughts on the Apogee Duet?
Haven't found many reviews of this kit, the cable connectors look rather wimpy; e.g. small gauge wires, but otherwise I've had good experience w/ other apogee products in the past.

Still looking.

[cornutt]

Reviews that I've seen of the Duet on Gearslutz have been mostly positive. Sound quality is doubtless superior to an unmodified 828. But it seems to be a very basic interface. I share the concern about its physical durability, and besides, I need at least four channels.

[pflosi]

I'm looking forward to cuemix and the software synth.

what soft synth?

apogee stuff gets very good reviews indeed (it better will for that $).

[IllElectro]

I just got a Echo Audiofire 12 and it sounds AMAZING ! 12 I\o at full 24\192 for $550 Downside is it has no mic pres but the sound is very very crisp

[Stab Frenzy]

The Echo Audiofire 8 also sounds really good by all reports and has two mic pres, I'd be looking at that over anything by Presonus, Tascam or M-Audio. Apogee is a step up in price, but also quality.

[Malik]

Try the TC Konnekt 48 or 24D.

They once got a bad rap from OSX users to due driver instablility, but with the release of the most recent OS, the drivers are as stable as ever.

I've had mine (Konnekt 48) for a little over 2 months and have been VERY happy with the quality of the conversion. It is natural-sounding and liquid, and the pres add lots of clean, character-less gain. Bonuses thrown in- you get a nice software package, including their reverbs, compressors, and analyzer tools. I got mine on ebay through proaudiostar for 720.00 shipped, including the remote.

I'ver heard the Apogee Duet. It definitely imparts a nice, rounded sound to the signal, but the difference between that and the Konnekt is marginal at best.

The interface for the Konnekt is pretty easy to work with, and you can toggle three different speaker setups.

On the other hand, my old Motu 828 mk2 really limited the air and space my sounds had coming into the Mac. I listen to older recordings done with the MK2 vs. newer ones with the Konnekt and get a great smile on my face.

;->