Choosing the Right Audio Interface!

[MixerDJ]

Hello,

I am Using the FL Studio, and Want to Upgrade from my MBOX2 (I use to use Protools heavily, but just find FL much easier to use).

I want to use an Audio interface for my Mic/Guitar recording but few quick questions....

Is it really necessary to record Mic's at 192 KHZ? Or would 96 KHZ recordings sound fine? I ask because most units in my range go up to 96 KHZ, and also would these work with FL Studio fine?

I was look at the Focusrite Pro 24 DSP (firewire - $399), Presonus Firestudio (firewire), and the Roland Quad Capture which is the only 192 KHZ one...I also saw the EIE Pro as well...

Does it really matter or are these good decent units too? I want some awesome quality for recording Mics, but want to stay within the affordability range, I was checking out the Focusrite primarily for its features, on board DSP, VRM, and dual headphones..

My Computer is fairly powerful too, I7 Core, Tons of memory,

Thanks,

[Andrew_Malloy]

Honestly, a good recording at 44.1 will sound better any day of the week to a bad recording at 96k or 192k.

As for the interfaces, I would actually recommend the new M Box. They work really well with Pro Tools, but they have been written with a universal driver that works really well with any ASIO software (FL Studio included) unlike the old M Boxes. The bonus here is the new M Box sound quality of the electronics are on the level of things like the Apogee Duet and some other higher end interfaces.

[TimOBrien]

Unless you have a bazillion-dollar studio (professionally treated, ultra-high-end monitors, trained ears, etc) then forget about 96khz, let alone 192khz.

Lock everything down on 24bit/44.1k and worry about more important things...

[Andrew_Malloy]

That too.

Reminds me of what Chris Lord Alge said in response to someone complaining that he isn't mixing in 192. "Dude, your [stuff] isn't even good enough for 44.1."

[MixerDJ]

This is awesome, Thanks Guys! good to know I dont have to put too much emphasis on the recording hertz! make choosing a little easier,

But would the Focusrite still be pretty decent? I was looking at the MBOX Firewire, and the midrange ones as well, And I assume these would all safely work with FL studio as well (focusrite, personus etc..)

Thanks!

[TimOBrien]

Yes, the problem of soundcard-to-program compatibility was worked out a dozen years ago.

Any of them will work.


Now note if you are on a Windows box, firewire has some compatibility problems. You usually cannot use the built-in firewire ports as they put in cheap chips that dont work with most audio interfaces. You need to have Texas Instruments firewire chips. You can see what you have installed in the System Control Panel>Hardware Manager>IEE1394 tab. If it doesn't say Texas Instruments you may need to get a Siig or Belkin firewire card with TI chips.

[ACB]

Unless you have a bazillion-dollar studio (professionally treated, ultra-high-end monitors, trained ears, etc) then forget about 96khz, let alone 192khz.

Lock everything down on 24bit/44.1k and worry about more important things...

Actually, I'd make that 16 bit/ 44.1k, because I read something recently that stated that 16/44.1 was more "universal" when it came to converting to different formats, like mp3, FLAC and the such. Your original recording wouldn't take as big of a "hit", quality-wise, as something in 24/96, because there wouldn't be as much to compress. Craig Anderton also suggested 16/44.1 in an article that I have to find, because he gave a very good reason for keeping things there, quality and/or "translation wise".

I believe that 24/192 is more of a marketing thing, because, hey! You can eat up some bigtime storage if you go with this 24/7! Redbook CD quality is good enough for me, because I don't have the ears of Clark Kent!

[williemyers]

Honestly, a good recording at 44.1 will sound better any day of the week to a bad recording at 96k or 192k.

As for the interfaces, I would actually recommend the new M Box. They work really well with Pro Tools, but they have been written with a universal driver that works really well with any ASIO software (FL Studio included) unlike the old M Boxes. The bonus here is the new M Box sound quality of the electronics are on the level of things like the Apogee Duet and some other higher end interfaces.

Andrew, speaking of choosing a new interface, you guys used to have a great "comparison" chart/page (all interfaces & their features on a single page) in the catalog. Seems it's gone in the latest version. Does it exist online?

[Andrew_Malloy]

We used to, but it changes so fast that it was hard to keep up with it.