May 30, 2006 12:25 pm a lot of folks seem to have trouble with the firepod.
interfaces
Posted on May 30, 2006 12:22 pm
peppyisadog
Member Since: Jan 01, 2006
I think ive finally started to narrow down what my future set up is going to be, I just need to make some final decisions. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the Pre Sonus Firepod, M-Audio Delta 1010 or ESI ESP 1010. I think im going to stay away from the M-Audio because it seems like pro tools may just be a headache down the road. Ive been leaning towards the firepod and then updating to cubase sx if thats an option as far as money. After this i still need to find the right computer though. I know im going to need alot of RAM and idealy two hard drives, but thats all i really know. How does this sound? Anything im missing or should/shouldnt do?
Thanks Again
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May 30, 2006 12:25 pm a lot of folks seem to have trouble with the firepod.
May 30, 2006 12:28 pm i've never used any of the aformentioned interfaces, but they all seem fine to me, your computer will be fine with a gig of ram and one harddrive, unless you get into higher track counts (24+)...but i would buy the computer before the interface. das just me tho.
May 30, 2006 12:30 pm Maybe I'm miss understanding this but to use M-Audio products you don't have to use ProTools but it is compatible.
May 30, 2006 12:31 pm I'd stick with the PCI interface, if you're planning on more than 2 or so tracks, like you're going to track all 8 at a time.
I've had the 1010lt, and now have the esp1010. The delta doesn't have to use protools, you can use cubase, or whatever, pretty much. Also the esp1010, use whatever normal program for multitracking you want.
May 30, 2006 12:34 pm Yeah, ProTools M-Powered is an option, but not a requirement.
May 30, 2006 12:59 pm Yea im going to be recording mostly full bands with a drummer, so im going to need atleast 8 tracks at once...And I didnt realize the M-Audio could run other software. So out of the three which is my best bet for pro quality, or is there another one out there I dont know of?
Thanks for the help guys
May 30, 2006 01:03 pm I'd say the M-Audio or the ESI...the Firepod just gives me the heebeejeebies cuz of all the problem reports I have seen on this forum and others.
May 30, 2006 01:48 pm I think both of them are pretty close as far as quality goes. There's bells and whistles that are apart from each other, but you wouldn't be in a bad way with either one, I'd think.
Another aspect: you'll need preamps for these 8 inputs. The ESP1010 has 2 preamps built into the breakout box, whereas the delta doesn't. But you'd still need preamps for the other line ins. I'm using a mixer for my preamps (yamaha mg16/4) and tapping signal out from my insert points.
Others here do this as well, plus others use boards with direct outs.
Or, you could use a standalone preamp device, which there's 8 preamps (xlr inputs) on it, then 8 outputs. I like the mixer solution, as it adds routing functionality to the project, to which I use as a monitoring solution.
May 30, 2006 11:16 pm I'm using the firebox and it works great. I can't imagine the firepod would be any worse, but I suppose if they're known to be flaky that's not too great. It seems like it fits the bill, and at the right price.
May 31, 2006 06:30 am yea this is the first negative things ive heard about the firepod.
May 31, 2006 07:33 am Peppy, I just wanted to make sure you weren't confusing M-Audio with the M-box.
M-Audio is a company that makes hardware interfaces.
M-box is a hardware interface made by Digidesign (Digidesign makes ProTools).
May 31, 2006 11:50 am ya mean m-audio dosn't make the m-box?
i always thought they did~
May 31, 2006 12:03 pm I suppose it's possible that M-Audio manufactures the M-box for Digidesign but the Delta 1010 was mentioned above and it is not related to Digidesign or Protools. When I read the original post on this thread it appeared to me that Peppy was confusing the Delta 1010 with the M-box.
May 31, 2006 02:19 pm FirePod is great, I use one, I love it...there really isn't anything in its price range that has 8 preamps...quality preamps. They are however of the clean variety so if you want colour you will need to go with external pres.
The only problem I (or any other FP users I have spoken with) have encountered was with stability on Windows XP SP2 (a very well documented problem with all Firewire devices), and I can't really blame Presonus for this as they state in the manual to use SP1. On Sp1, this thing is rock solid and sounds great. There are probably new drivers and patches that will play nice with SP2 by now but I don't surf the net on my studio PC so I just stuck with SP1.
If you don't need the portability, go with PCI for more bandwidth...although I regularily mix 30 - 40 tracks w/ CPU hog plugs at 4 msec latency and have no issues. I fyou are interested in the FirePod I would hold out and get the FireStudio when it gets released...shes got ADAT as well.
CHEERZ
May 31, 2006 05:57 pm M-Audio does make the M-box and almost all the related interfaces now except those specifially stating they are Digidesign hardware.
Digidesign bought M-Audio to try and capture a bigger chunk of the market out there.
As far as the Firepod goes, it is just that their firmware is picky on the hardware of the PC it seems to work with. I am sure in the end it will all be ironed out, but for now I myself am steering clear of all firewire interfaces.
Jun 01, 2006 10:45 am Noize, can you elaborate on that firmware quote, I am a little confused as to what you mean. I have talked to pretty much everyone that I can find on any recording forums who have the FirePod/FireBox and have never heard of a firmware conflict with PC hardware, 95% of the people I've spoken with had it running flawlessly out of the box in less than 10 minutes. I'm not trying to start an argument, I just don't want people to see people shy away from these boxes for no reason...great bang for buck!
Jun 01, 2006 11:21 am yeah i'm guilty as charged on this one aswell...i've stayed away from FW interfaces for no tangible reason. my old roomate had a 002 and yes it did have a few glitches every session. nothin' too serious, and at worst a reboot fixed it. but i'm sure most FW interfaces have gotten the kinks worked out by now, i just havn't been in the market for one in about 3 years now so i'm outta the loop....
i still prefer pci
Jun 01, 2006 09:39 pm The box has its own controls seperate from the PC itself. That is the part that runs its internal mixer and the like. In some cases the boxes were not registering themselves on a users PC or laptop because of the firewire interface not playing nice with the boxes themselves. In other words, not communicating.
Updated firmware, which updates the chip that controls the inner workings of the boxes was in the works to solve some of the problems that were being had by many users of the boxes. As driver and software updates for the boxes were done that too may take care of the problem. I know of 2 recent local cases in which this was the case. The boxes simply would not function at all. And dealing with tech support yielded the answer of the fireware interface itself being part of the problem.
Now in my eyes, you should be able to buy a piece of hardware and not have to worry about some odd bit of hardware throwing it a curve. IF this is the case, then it needs to be clearly stated right there on the carton containing said device. Or it should at the very least be readily available for the buyer to view when researching their purchase.
I do agree that they are a great unit, and well within the price range they should be. What I am warning about is the fact that the future buyer needs to be very carefull and dig deeply when looking into firewire and USB connected devices, because they are still in their infancy and can wreak havok on a new user beating his head against the wall trying to figure out why it doesnt work the way the advertisements say it should.
And it isnt just Presonus having these issue's, it is top of the line guys like MOTU and M-Audio and the like as well.
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