mrjason « Small latency issues with Macbook »
Published on 03/07/13 at 00:10The Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 comes with a very good price tag on it for the features. The preamps are very good, there are 8 of them in total and it also comes with some very good plug ins. There are some small latency issues with it comes to using it with Mac computers because of Apples FireWire drivers which I have had many issues with in the past. This interface is very portable though and gets its power from the computer.
UTILIZATION
Setting up this interface does not take long, it comes with manual to walk you through the process and it comes with all of the proper drivers for both Mac and Windows systems. I used this with my MacBook and had it sitting underneath of my laptop on the desk so it didn’t take up much room. It is a “long” interface in width and it cannot be racked.
GETTING STARTED
I have used the original Saffire that came out years ago from Focusrite and it is almost the same to me as far as quality goes but this version looks a lot better. The EQ and compression that comes with it is very good but I am more impressed with the amp simulation. Using the phantom power is easy, but there is not an actual switch on the unit, you will need to control the phantom power from within the software. You can control the phantom power for the microphone channels from channel 1 to channel four easily.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall, I do like this interface but I am on the fence about it and if I could do it all over again I am not 100 percent sure if I would get it again. The latency issues on my MacBook gave me plenty of problems to deal with and that really is more Apples problem than it is a problem on Focusrite’s hands.
UTILIZATION
Setting up this interface does not take long, it comes with manual to walk you through the process and it comes with all of the proper drivers for both Mac and Windows systems. I used this with my MacBook and had it sitting underneath of my laptop on the desk so it didn’t take up much room. It is a “long” interface in width and it cannot be racked.
GETTING STARTED
I have used the original Saffire that came out years ago from Focusrite and it is almost the same to me as far as quality goes but this version looks a lot better. The EQ and compression that comes with it is very good but I am more impressed with the amp simulation. Using the phantom power is easy, but there is not an actual switch on the unit, you will need to control the phantom power from within the software. You can control the phantom power for the microphone channels from channel 1 to channel four easily.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall, I do like this interface but I am on the fence about it and if I could do it all over again I am not 100 percent sure if I would get it again. The latency issues on my MacBook gave me plenty of problems to deal with and that really is more Apples problem than it is a problem on Focusrite’s hands.