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Post by Ward on Dec 14, 2020 6:26:15 GMT -6
Say you just wanted an easy interface for mixing on your macbook pro on headphones, at home when you're too tired to sit in front of the studio monitors? So lying in bed, hove off on the couch, sot in a comfy chair . . . capiche?
You know you don't really need much, say 2-4 ins and outs, and midi possibly but not required. Even if you were just doing drum edits, vocal comps, tuning etc . . . and yes, on
Pro Tools.
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Post by nick8801 on Dec 14, 2020 6:35:11 GMT -6
Say you just wanted an easy interface for mixing on your macbook pro on headphones, at home when you're too tired to sit in front of the studio monitors? So lying in bed, hove off on the couch, sot in a comfy chair . . . capiche? You know you don't really need much, say 2-4 ins and outs, and midi possibly but not required. Even if you were just doing drum edits, vocal comps, tuning etc . . . and yes, on Pro Tools. What lol?? I still track. I want 8 inputs. I don’t use a MacBook. I have monitors. I don’t use protools.
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Post by phantom on Dec 14, 2020 6:40:05 GMT -6
Say you just wanted an easy interface for mixing on your macbook pro on headphones, at home when you're too tired to sit in front of the studio monitors? So lying in bed, hove off on the couch, sot in a comfy chair . . . capiche? You know you don't really need much, say 2-4 ins and outs, and midi possibly but not required. Even if you were just doing drum edits, vocal comps, tuning etc . . . and yes, on Pro Tools.
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Post by Ward on Dec 14, 2020 6:52:26 GMT -6
nick8801 phantom come on guys, I'm not trying to derail anyone or the discussion here . . . just rather than start a new thread, asking a simple MOBILE interface question! If you can't help a fellow gearhead out, it's ok.
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Post by nick8801 on Dec 14, 2020 7:06:56 GMT -6
Didn’t realize you were asking for yourself. I dunno, anything buss powered would probably be cool for that. Less cables to deal with.
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Post by reddirt on Dec 14, 2020 7:09:17 GMT -6
The Apollo 4 would be good in that it's small enough for your initial needs but also big enough if you get a mobile gig recording a duo or similar, you don't have to schlep all the main studio gear. it's tech specs are close to the rack mount apollos as well. Cheers, Ross
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Post by swafford on Dec 14, 2020 7:12:51 GMT -6
Pretty happy with my Metric Halo interfaces. Been a customer for 15+ years, hard to knock a piece of gear you don't have to replace every 5 years.
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Post by phantom on Dec 14, 2020 7:25:03 GMT -6
nick8801 phantom come on guys, I'm not trying to derail anyone or the discussion here . . . just rather than start a new thread, asking a simple MOBILE interface question! If you can't help a fellow gearhead out, it's ok. Sorry, I thought you were talking about the op question. But yeah, something bus powered for sure. I would choose between these 3: Babyface Pro (FS) - This is a great piece of gear. Small, sturdy, 2 Mic/Line Ins, 2 Inst Ins, 2 Outs, 2 HP Outs. Best drive for USB, like usual with RME, sound wise it's on par with the bigger RME interfaces. MIDI, ADAT. Very good overall. Totally bus powered SSL 2+ - Never heard, but a lot of people say it sounds great. 2 Ins, 2 TRS Out, 2 RCA Out, MIDI, 2 HP Outs. Totally bus powered. Audient iD14 - Sound great as well. Same mic pre as Audient Consoles. 2 Ins, 2 Outs, 1 Inst In. No Midi. Bus Powered if not using Phantom Power.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Dec 14, 2020 7:54:50 GMT -6
nick8801 phantom come on guys, I'm not trying to derail anyone or the discussion here . . . just rather than start a new thread, asking a simple MOBILE interface question! If you can't help a fellow gearhead out, it's ok. Editing and stuff, just use the built in soundcard. I use the headphone out on my MBP all the time. Even for mixing fairly often.
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Post by nick8801 on Dec 14, 2020 8:15:33 GMT -6
Yup. If you really wanna get fancy, you could get one of the many usb headphone DAC’s. But that would probably suffice.
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Post by phantom on Dec 14, 2020 8:44:51 GMT -6
Sure, there are no bigger portability than no interface.
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Post by svart on Dec 14, 2020 9:07:00 GMT -6
I saw someone mention USB latency. Typically I would agree that ANY peripheral system is non-realtime and can have higher latency than desired but with the MOTU 828es that has not been the case for me. I think I mentioned in my MOTU thread that I had planned on a convoluted way to get very low latency headphone outputs by routing the input streams from my 24ai into the MOTU mixer and outputting that to a dedicated AVB stream to the 828es to me mixed with the monitoring streams from the DAW to output from the 828es analog outputs for headphone streams which would bypass the DAW during live takes to remove the DAW latency from the equation.
It turns out that just the normal routing and monitoring through the DAW has latency that's so low that I don't even notice it. That's from the 24ai through AVB to the 828es through USB to the computer, through the DAW, back to the 828es through USB and out through the 828es analog outputs. That's a lot of changing protocols and such and I don't even notice it.
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Post by Ward on Dec 14, 2020 9:09:08 GMT -6
nick8801 phantom come on guys, I'm not trying to derail anyone or the discussion here . . . just rather than start a new thread, asking a simple MOBILE interface question! If you can't help a fellow gearhead out, it's ok. Editing and stuff, just use the built in soundcard. I use the headphone out on my MBP all the time. Even for mixing fairly often. I appreciate you, brother. And yes, I could just do that . . . was hoping for something better than the built-in headphone amp and it's notorious 10-12k skitter. Yup. If you really wanna get fancy, you could get one of the many usb headphone DAC’s. But that would probably suffice. indeed, a good thought! Recommendation? Say $500-1000 Sure, there are no bigger portability than no interface. This is true. But I don't mind a little bit of lugging, as it'll just be in the house and somewhat stationary - meaning I'll probably build a pillow and blanket fort on my bed. LOL
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,976
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Post by ericn on Dec 14, 2020 10:32:41 GMT -6
Stabile decent sound Mac based, Metric Halo. All of them.
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Post by gwlee7 on Dec 14, 2020 13:25:14 GMT -6
I saw someone mention USB latency. Typically I would agree that ANY peripheral system is non-realtime and can have higher latency than desired but with the MOTU 828es that has not been the case for me. I think I mentioned in my MOTU thread that I had planned on a convoluted way to get very low latency headphone outputs by routing the input streams from my 24ai into the MOTU mixer and outputting that to a dedicated AVB stream to the 828es to me mixed with the monitoring streams from the DAW to output from the 828es analog outputs for headphone streams which would bypass the DAW during live takes to remove the DAW latency from the equation. It turns out that just the normal routing and monitoring through the DAW has latency that's so low that I don't even notice it. That's from the 24ai through AVB to the 828es through USB to the computer, through the DAW, back to the 828es through USB and out through the 828es analog outputs. That's a lot of changing protocols and such and I don't even notice it. I am with svart here. I haven't noticed any latency at all using my 828es either with the internal mixer or when in straight interface mode and doing my monitoring through my DAW (Studio One v 5). In fact, I am seriously considering using the MOTU in interface mode all the time as that does simplify some of the routing grid.
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Post by the other mark williams on Dec 14, 2020 14:21:25 GMT -6
I saw someone mention USB latency. Typically I would agree that ANY peripheral system is non-realtime and can have higher latency than desired but with the MOTU 828es that has not been the case for me. I think I mentioned in my MOTU thread that I had planned on a convoluted way to get very low latency headphone outputs by routing the input streams from my 24ai into the MOTU mixer and outputting that to a dedicated AVB stream to the 828es to me mixed with the monitoring streams from the DAW to output from the 828es analog outputs for headphone streams which would bypass the DAW during live takes to remove the DAW latency from the equation. It turns out that just the normal routing and monitoring through the DAW has latency that's so low that I don't even notice it. That's from the 24ai through AVB to the 828es through USB to the computer, through the DAW, back to the 828es through USB and out through the 828es analog outputs. That's a lot of changing protocols and such and I don't even notice it. I am with svart here. I haven't noticed any latency at all using my 828es either with the internal mixer or when in straight interface mode and doing my monitoring through my DAW (Studio One v 5). In fact, I am seriously considering using the MOTU in interface mode all the time as that does simplify some of the routing grid. Wow! For real?! What kind of RTL numbers are you guys getting monitoring fully through the DAW?
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Post by Bob Olhsson on Dec 14, 2020 14:33:52 GMT -6
It's a matter of interface design more than format. Every format has a delay but if it's aligned to the playback and input monitoring is routed in the interface, it's a non-issue. USB-1 was never designed to handle more than a keyboard and mouse, so it got a bad reputation. USB-2, 3 and 3.1 are fast enough to handle a monster interface.
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Post by svart on Dec 14, 2020 14:53:00 GMT -6
I am with svart here. I haven't noticed any latency at all using my 828es either with the internal mixer or when in straight interface mode and doing my monitoring through my DAW (Studio One v 5). In fact, I am seriously considering using the MOTU in interface mode all the time as that does simplify some of the routing grid. Wow! For real?! What kind of RTL numbers are you guys getting monitoring fully through the DAW? No idea. With my SSL setup I was getting about 2-5ms (hardware reported) when bypassing the daw for monitoring and I could only barely perceive a slight delay. With the Motu it's less than that.
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Post by gwlee7 on Dec 14, 2020 14:53:33 GMT -6
I am with svart here. I haven't noticed any latency at all using my 828es either with the internal mixer or when in straight interface mode and doing my monitoring through my DAW (Studio One v 5). In fact, I am seriously considering using the MOTU in interface mode all the time as that does simplify some of the routing grid. Wow! For real?! What kind of RTL numbers are you guys getting monitoring fully through the DAW? I wouldn't even begin to know how to measure that. LOL
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Post by nick8801 on Dec 14, 2020 15:13:24 GMT -6
Lots of these posts have me leaning Motu....thanks for all the input. No one has yet to say whether Lynx is 3 times better sounding than Motu. Decent amount of votes for Lynx though. No love at all for Prism! I’m not surprised. It’s a very expensive box that has a lot of mixed opinions.
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Post by Guitar on Dec 14, 2020 15:23:36 GMT -6
I'll put my personal voice in for the Presonus Quantum, that hasn't been tipped. Other than turning it on, I don't touch it. Just does its job. I have a fully modular system here so the only thing the interface does is line level inputs and outputs, at very fast latencies. Track "to tape" in Cubase with Softube Tape across every input channel. Can monitor any guitar amp, keyboard, drum instrument just fine through the DAW. No direct monitoring, I use a small Midas mixer for that.
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Post by Guitar on Dec 14, 2020 15:26:47 GMT -6
nick8801 phantom come on guys, I'm not trying to derail anyone or the discussion here . . . just rather than start a new thread, asking a simple MOBILE interface question! If you can't help a fellow gearhead out, it's ok. SSL2+ and Motu M4 are my current leading contenders. I have the SSL coming this week and I'll make a post about it somewhere once its tested. The MOTU has four inputs, which would be better for some tracking. I've been shopping around and these are left floating at the top of my list. I had the M4 for a day or two and it's definitely fine and good. I'm hoping the SSL will be a little more heavy duty in build quality. Some people talk about the Dragonfly DAC if you just want to plug your headphones into a little USB stick thing, I haven't tried it personally.
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Post by m03 on Dec 14, 2020 15:48:51 GMT -6
I wouldn't even begin to know how to measure that. LOL
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Post by the other mark williams on Dec 14, 2020 16:12:13 GMT -6
It's a matter of interface design more than format. Every format has a delay but if it's aligned to the playback and input monitoring is routed in the interface, it's a non-issue. USB-1 was never designed to handle more than a keyboard and mouse, so it got a bad reputation. USB-2, 3 and 3.1 are fast enough to handle a monster interface. (emphasis mine) Exactly. But I was referring to the times when input monitoring is not routed in the interface. That's what I meant by RTL through the DAW. If svart and gwlee7 really can't hear the latency, then they're either monitoring through MOTU's DSP mixer, or their buffer setting is at like 32. At least that's my guess. (Apologies if you were referring to someone else's post, Bob.)
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Post by nick8801 on Dec 14, 2020 16:42:00 GMT -6
I'll put my personal voice in for the Presonus Quantum, that hasn't been tipped. Other than turning it on, I don't touch it. Just does its job. I have a fully modular system here so the only thing the interface does is line level inputs and outputs, at very fast latencies. Track "to tape" in Cubase with Softube Tape across every input channel. Can monitor any guitar amp, keyboard, drum instrument just fine through the DAW. No direct monitoring, I use a small Midas mixer for that. I have mixed feelings about Presonus. I had the sceptres a few years back. They were good monitors but had issues. Mine hissed like a snake and one of the drivers kept coming loose. A friend had one of their digital mixers. It sounded great as well but 2 channels died. Presonus support was a sloooooow process. One email back and forth a day. I’m sure the quantum is awesome, but I can’t bring myself to go back down that road.
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