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mezkal « Excellent value for money »
Published on 11/12/10 at 19:57
Value For Money :
Excellent
The environment of the interface:
Connected to a Mac Mini (core2duo, 2GB) and a pair of monitors, most often in Logic Pro. I use half of the analog inputs to record the "send" on my console and the other half to plug microphones. A multitrack digital ADAT is connected.
The main features that made me choose this interface:
- Focusrite's reputation, including the quality of their preamps (despite their relative inexperience in the field of i / f audio)
- The price: I had a relatively limited budget (read: not the means for a RME or Apogee). I have long hesitated between Pro 40 and 56 of the Liquid brand, MOTU 828mk3 and a M-Audio ProFire 2626. The 828 seemed to be poorly designed (even if I know the reputation of MOTU on i / f audio) and expensive in terms of its functionality; regarding ProFire I tried it in store and I ' had the feeling of a good "cheap". Remained the Liquid 56, whose function preamp convolution "m'alléchait much, but after careful consideration, I told myself that 250 € more for a function that I could actually enjoy with microphones well above that I have is money I could use smarter (which I did).
- And also some technical features: particularly the outputs "Monitor" dedicated in addition to 8 analog outputs normal, with front volume control and mute button as well as another, "Sun", which reduces the volume of its kind - 12dB (I say anything) that I find very useful when eg. we do not want to listen actively but we need to know what happens, the two independent headphone outputs * * the main mix, also very handy when doing the sound;
also the fact that there are two analog inputs on the front, it avoids plunging with the headlamp in the mess behind the rack when we just want to record a microphone or a guitar.
UTILIZATION
This interface was a fairly bad reputation because of its output drivers bugged to the bone. I personally have had * no * concern, and apparently (according to the forums) any problems encountered by first-time users have been resolved to the release of version 2.0 of "MixControl" which is now a marvel of stability.
About "MixControl": hence the name of both the driver and software mixing / routing, and I was pleasantly surprised by the possibilities it offers. We are not at a "TotalMix", but the routing options are complete enough to do pretty much what you want, for example where a soft style of recording type which falls within AudioMulch Logic by internal bus, with a synth that comes out of a jack of the / if to be processed by an external effect, which comes in Logic and then a singer who made a decision to punch in / out, all this does not pose problem either in terms of latency.
Note the presence of two buses "loopback" which allow you to route audio streams of an app to another hard, without having to type Soundflower tools.
Obviously these are valid assertions of a point of view "home studio" and little training I've never tried to record 16 musicians at the same time (and anyway it is not the expected use of a material in this price range). However I think for 500 €, one could hardly do better.
GETTING STARTED
No problem at the facility: the driver is installed, the computer is turned off, one branch is on again and everything is settled.
The app owner MixControl is pretty straightforward, and the GUI is very nice, but it's subjective.
The Pro 40 itself is the same bill, clearly and logically designed, whether the front or rear panel.
It goes without saying that to make the best use, you must have some basis in audio, including calibrating levels depending on the hardware being used, otherwise it may be very disappointed, so know a basic rule: not to daisy-chain ", ie do not connect the i / f on the firewire bus, and nothing else, especially no hard drive. But these tips are equally valid for all audio interfaces.
OVERALL OPINION
I bought seven months ago, in April 2010. She purrs and since then I've never had to complain.
I am particularly pleased with preamps, which are very clear, do not blow or little (less than push the knobs to 11) and have good headroom.
The overall impression was that competition in the same range, offers more features (DSP, I / O further ...) but that Focusrite is banking on quality than quantity.
As the title says, the price / quality ratio is excellent. I say again, this view is seen in the context of using home / project studio: as with any audio, you get the quality we are willing to pay (although this is not always true) . But having already experienced far more expensive equipment and specialized, I can testify that within a relatively modest use, the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 is capable of delivering an outcome worthy of my working hours.
I would do it without hesitating one second choice.
Connected to a Mac Mini (core2duo, 2GB) and a pair of monitors, most often in Logic Pro. I use half of the analog inputs to record the "send" on my console and the other half to plug microphones. A multitrack digital ADAT is connected.
The main features that made me choose this interface:
- Focusrite's reputation, including the quality of their preamps (despite their relative inexperience in the field of i / f audio)
- The price: I had a relatively limited budget (read: not the means for a RME or Apogee). I have long hesitated between Pro 40 and 56 of the Liquid brand, MOTU 828mk3 and a M-Audio ProFire 2626. The 828 seemed to be poorly designed (even if I know the reputation of MOTU on i / f audio) and expensive in terms of its functionality; regarding ProFire I tried it in store and I ' had the feeling of a good "cheap". Remained the Liquid 56, whose function preamp convolution "m'alléchait much, but after careful consideration, I told myself that 250 € more for a function that I could actually enjoy with microphones well above that I have is money I could use smarter (which I did).
- And also some technical features: particularly the outputs "Monitor" dedicated in addition to 8 analog outputs normal, with front volume control and mute button as well as another, "Sun", which reduces the volume of its kind - 12dB (I say anything) that I find very useful when eg. we do not want to listen actively but we need to know what happens, the two independent headphone outputs * * the main mix, also very handy when doing the sound;
also the fact that there are two analog inputs on the front, it avoids plunging with the headlamp in the mess behind the rack when we just want to record a microphone or a guitar.
UTILIZATION
This interface was a fairly bad reputation because of its output drivers bugged to the bone. I personally have had * no * concern, and apparently (according to the forums) any problems encountered by first-time users have been resolved to the release of version 2.0 of "MixControl" which is now a marvel of stability.
About "MixControl": hence the name of both the driver and software mixing / routing, and I was pleasantly surprised by the possibilities it offers. We are not at a "TotalMix", but the routing options are complete enough to do pretty much what you want, for example where a soft style of recording type which falls within AudioMulch Logic by internal bus, with a synth that comes out of a jack of the / if to be processed by an external effect, which comes in Logic and then a singer who made a decision to punch in / out, all this does not pose problem either in terms of latency.
Note the presence of two buses "loopback" which allow you to route audio streams of an app to another hard, without having to type Soundflower tools.
Obviously these are valid assertions of a point of view "home studio" and little training I've never tried to record 16 musicians at the same time (and anyway it is not the expected use of a material in this price range). However I think for 500 €, one could hardly do better.
GETTING STARTED
No problem at the facility: the driver is installed, the computer is turned off, one branch is on again and everything is settled.
The app owner MixControl is pretty straightforward, and the GUI is very nice, but it's subjective.
The Pro 40 itself is the same bill, clearly and logically designed, whether the front or rear panel.
It goes without saying that to make the best use, you must have some basis in audio, including calibrating levels depending on the hardware being used, otherwise it may be very disappointed, so know a basic rule: not to daisy-chain ", ie do not connect the i / f on the firewire bus, and nothing else, especially no hard drive. But these tips are equally valid for all audio interfaces.
OVERALL OPINION
I bought seven months ago, in April 2010. She purrs and since then I've never had to complain.
I am particularly pleased with preamps, which are very clear, do not blow or little (less than push the knobs to 11) and have good headroom.
The overall impression was that competition in the same range, offers more features (DSP, I / O further ...) but that Focusrite is banking on quality than quantity.
As the title says, the price / quality ratio is excellent. I say again, this view is seen in the context of using home / project studio: as with any audio, you get the quality we are willing to pay (although this is not always true) . But having already experienced far more expensive equipment and specialized, I can testify that within a relatively modest use, the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 is capable of delivering an outcome worthy of my working hours.
I would do it without hesitating one second choice.