Help with Altering My Audio Setup

[Tim Polster]

Hello,

Let me start by saying audio is very important to me. I don't need the exotic high-end stuff, but would prefer to stay above the lower level.

I shoot & edit my own projects along with live events, so I am not working with Spielberg!

I have been using a Firewire 410 for many years with my computer setup (PC) and it has been fine. For some reason it has started clicking & poping randomly. (tried everyhting under the sun, decided to move on, please withold any tech support!) So I am looking for a new USB audio interface.

Here are my priorities:

1) Great D/A conversion audio quality
2) 1/4" outputs for 2.1 speaker setup
3) USB
4) Preamps (see below)

I would only need Pre-amps to record VO once and a while and I have a 4-channel Mackie mixer which could be used for the mic.

What would be your opinion - Mixer preamps vs Sound Card Preamps?

If the mixer is equal or better than many audio interface preamps that would eliminate the need for any XLRs on the sound card. I also run two channels of audio from my Canopus NX video editing card to the M-Audio right now, so that would favor the external mixer setup as well.

So my main focus is audio quality during playback and editing. I would like to improve from the Firewire 410 if possible although it has been fine.

Thanks for your input!

[Rick Reineke]

The Firewire 410 is decent, the popping and clicking noises are likely a settings/driver/PC issue,. Have you tried uninstalling and re-installing the 410s latest drivers?
Without spending a lot of $, I would recommend the new SD MixPre-D which has great pre-amps and supports USB, though it may not be the best answer for studio based desktop I/O.

[Seth Bloombaum]

Agreeing with Rick, there's nothing wrong with a FW 410, it's very worth the time to get it going again. There's no guarantee you won't see pops, clicks, etc. with a new interface!

In addition to driver updates, or perhaps rolling back Win7 to the legacy firewire driver (a known issue, search for it), increasing buffer sizes in the M-Audio controls and/or your favorite editing program may be all that's needed.

Sorry for the unwanted tech support, but when you ask people's advice, you're gonna' get what *they* think you need!

I'm using Echo Mia cards in a couple desktop builds, stereo in/out at line-level balanced, which interfaces with pro audio equipment very well. For a "walk-around" interface, I use an M-Audio MobilePre usb box, it does fine, and the preamp is OK, but I've never benchmarked it against my analog gear. It's inexpensive, and M-Audio has newer models, too.

[Tim Polster]

Thanks for your replies. I am thinking the pops are firewire related, so switching to a USB interface would solve any issues. So far I have:

-unsintalled/resintalled drivers
-installed a new beta driver
-tried the firewire on three different 1394 ports/cards
-adjusted buffers/latency etc...
-Windows 7 firewire drivers, legacy etc...

I see USB as a better choice going forward as Windows has left Firewire in the dust imho. Especially since USB 3.0 is here.

Any opinions on the Mackie external mixer vs internal preamp?

[Rick Reineke]

I have a Mackie 1640 Onyx with the FW option, but it takes up a lot of desk space.
Like Seth I normally I use an internal Echo Mia, The Mia sounds good, is very stable and switchable -10 / +4dB I/O via 1/4" TS or TRS balanced.

[Paul R Johnson]

After being an internal card person for years - I now use Tascam multitrack A/D, and for my laptop - a Lexicon Omega. I can't praise either enough. I used to use a 16 in 16 out Soundscape which had PCI cards, external audio units and lots of ribbon cables - but the two modern ones are so much quieter. Turning levels up on all the internal devices I have had reveals digital noise - mostly bus noise, so my outside devices win hands down!