Topic: usb or pcmia interface

[ropscot]

I just recieved my gateway laptop in the mail, so now im looking for a recording device for it, I need something that I can record from the soundboard and my mics at the same time, can someone recomend a interface
thanks
Ron

[jpschust]

how about the ua-5?  pretty good option and matrixing is totally possible with this unit.  usb in :-)

[ropscot]

does it require ac power? also how is the sound quality
thanks
Ron

[nic]

pcmcia is the better interface.  you can also get a firewire pcmcia card if the laptop doesnt have a firewire port...though most firewire interfaces are usually a bit bigger(ie, meant for racks), though, units such as M-Audios Firewire 410 is small and gives you the mic pres and inputs for matrixing...this unit can pull power from the firewire bus.

[ropscot]

yea I have a pcmcia slot, so man this is such a tough decision on what to get
thanks
Ron

[jpschust]

luvean, i disagree about pcmcia always being better, usb2.0 is just as fast and is way less a pain in the ass to be honest.  there are many ua-5 tapes out there and they sound great.  also it is powerable in the field.

[nic]

usb2 is no where close to the bus speed of pcmcia!
another issue to consider is that MOST usb2 controllers do not run at its highest speed.
did you know that there are 3 speeds for usb2? 1.5mbs, 11mbs,  and 480mbs. they are labeled as low, full and high speed respectively...most of them(controllers and devices) are NOT "high speed". also even the highest speed of usb2 is only a theoretical peak speed...standard firewire has a higher _average_ throughput than the fastest usb2's _average_ throughput.

not saying usb/usb2 is bad, it isn't, but its more marketing than actual proven performance.
pcmcia is even faster and more stable than firewire400/firewire800....external scsi drives for laptops are based on the pcmcia interface

[ropscot]

ok so what do you recomend I found the firewire 410 for $330 or should I go with something like the echo layla and use a external mixer
thanks
Ron

[nic]

sorry about above...

pretty much any interface from the Edirol UA-5 to the Firewire 410 are good for what you will be doing. the MAudio unit is pretty new so the full field testing isnt in quite yet.
you will get the best results by mixing on the computer(you have more fine tune control) instead of a external mixer w/ headphones...for mixing on the pc, you want the interface to sent the audio channels seperately instead of mixing in the unit and sending a stereo signal to the system that you cant mix down later.

it really depends on your budget and how much gear you want to carry around.
my rig is mainly for archiving, I carry a 6U rack case(not exactly portable for the average show) and mixdown in post after the show

[ropscot]

sounds great to me I htink I will probally go with the firewire 410

[F.O.Bean]

good info luvean, +T bro...

[Simp-Dawg]

another option is the rme multiset, has 8 (i believe) analog inputs and spdif in/out as well.  if you already have any outboard gear (pre, a/d) this may be a good option for you.
another option is the usbpre which i use to go straight from my mics to the laptop, does the pre and a/d all in one box and sounds great.  downsides are it only goes up to 24bit/48khz and there's no digital outs while recording to your laptop, and the only analog outs while recording are the headphone monitors.  but that's only a problem for patchers, although it ends up working out nice for the md'ers

[jpschust]

the multiset is a good unit but expensive.  also the analog inputs overload like a mofo so you really have to watch the amount of gain you give them

[tungstengruvsten]

... also the analog inputs overload like a mofo so you really have to watch the amount of gain you give them

hmmm with a measured 110dB of dynamic range, i'd say you aren't gain staging properly.  I've recorded 2 albums and many demos with these and used every pre from ART to Neve....never had a problem.  must be a settings problem or whatever the piece of gear before it in the chain.

also, USB does not give a true 24 bits.   hate to break it to ya folks but it's been proven.  marketing lies go a long way unfortunately.

[MattD]

Technically, nothing I know exists that gives a "true" 24 bits. Our 24-bit A/Ds probably top out at 21-22 under the most favorible real world conditions.

I am curious as to what you mean by that statement, though. Do you mean that USB introduces noise in the lowest bit(s)?