Recording Help!

[dragonxking]

http://i17.tinypic.com/2ewkv1c.jpg
here's what i want to do. my synth is a motif es8 and it has 1/4" outputs(L and R). most turntables are rca, but through some dj mixers, they can become line. i want to have both my motifes8 and a turntable plugged into a firewire interface. as the picture shows above, i have no idea what firewire interface to get, or which outputs and inputs to use. most important to me is sound quality. i noticed some interfaces have 192khz while others have 96khz. is there a big difference? in what situation would i want 192? my budget is 300, but i'm willing to go 400 if i have to.

i know thats alot of questions and yes i am a completely new to computer recording, but i would appreciate it if someone could help me out. thanks

[tech1]

See this thread about your sample rate question. Both sides present good arguments as to when and why you need to go above 48 kHz: http://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14573

As far as an interface goes, there are dozens that fit what you need. Call and talk to a rep at (8000 222-4700 to get personal help in choosing what's best. I personally think the Ultralite, Saffire or FireBox would be perfect, but that's just me....

[Rad]

For the price range you list it's hard to get somethng that will do everything and have a super-high audio quality. However, one box that might do the job AND have all inputs you say you need is the Edirol FA-66, at $279, because it has both true MIDI inputs and an RCA input specifically for DJ mixer / turntable. (You don't get RCA inputs with the Presonus Firebox, for example.) This is important, since the turntable likely needs a RIAA correction. CHances are that if this box has a phono input, it has the correction as well. Also it has plenty of extras, like sample rate up to 192kHz, optical in/outs, and you can select if you want to power it from the PC bus through the firewire cable or through an external power supply. That being said, I've never used it so you should do some more research.
Regarding sample rates, the question needs to be answered because there is a LOT of confusion even among professionals. Higher sample rate like 192k does not give you any better accuracy in capturing the waveform than 44.1k. This is a fundamental result in sampling theory, so the only reason 2 recordings made at different sample rates can sound different is just one: poor A/D D/A converters. More often than not the problem comes from non-transparent anti-aliasing filters. For more info, Sweetwater has an excellent book by Nika Aldrich: search for item "Nikabook".

[dragonxking]

For the price range you list it's hard to get somethng that will do everything and have a super-high audio quality. However, one box that might do the job AND have all inputs you say you need is the Edirol FA-66, at $279, because it has both true MIDI inputs and an RCA input specifically for DJ mixer / turntable. (You don't get RCA inputs with the Presonus Firebox, for example.) This is important, since the turntable likely needs a RIAA correction. CHances are that if this box has a phono input, it has the correction as well. Also it has plenty of extras, like sample rate up to 192kHz, optical in/outs, and you can select if you want to power it from the PC bus through the firewire cable or through an external power supply. That being said, I've never used it so you should do some more research.
Regarding sample rates, the question needs to be answered because there is a LOT of confusion even among professionals. Higher sample rate like 192k does not give you any better accuracy in capturing the waveform than 44.1k. This is a fundamental result in sampling theory, so the only reason 2 recordings made at different sample rates can sound different is just one: poor A/D D/A converters. More often than not the problem comes from non-transparent anti-aliasing filters. For more info, Sweetwater has an excellent book by Nika Aldrich: search for item "Nikabook".

dood the Edirol FA-66 sounds really good. especially for that price. and it has sample rate up to 192. nice find man. seriously nice find, thanks

[Rad]

No problem. Although I'd say the sample rate is the last thing you should be looking at. If the converters are decent, it doesn't make any difference whatsoever.