recomended stereo AD mic pre to Apple

[DaleRoyce]

Hi to all..
A question from a friend in vic.
Any suggestions re a stereo AD mic pre DA that connects to the mac..

I think he wants to record Bass/ Piano and Vox.

Please help me look intelligent..


(all credit received for good advice is .. well... good credit)

[DaleRoyce]

Interface... That was the word

[Sammas]

Can spare a penny: Metric Halo ULN-2.
Can't spare a penny: Apogee Duet 2.

If it weren't for the additional digital I/O, I'd say the duet is quite a piece of gear! Decent preamps & conversion... and mac intergration. The volume keys on apple keyboards control the apogee! It also has independent speaker & headphone outputs (essentially 2 AD/4 DA).

[nado1969]

Can spare a penny: Metric Halo ULN-2.
Can't spare a penny: Apogee Duet 2.

If it weren't for the additional digital I/O, I'd say the duet is quite a piece of gear! Decent preamps & conversion... and mac intergration. The volume keys on apple keyboards control the apogee! It also has independent speaker & headphone outputs (essentially 2 AD/4 DA).

+2. Had a ULN-2 for some time before upgrading to the ULN-8 - great unit and company. But there's a lot to like about the Duet as well! Although I have had a mate with buzzing or zipper type noises from his Duet that he couldn't get rid of. Apparently it was a known issue, perhaps it's been resolved with currect firmware, not sure if he sorted it out. Also, have heard of some issues with driver stability with the Apogee. Metric Halo stuff is rock solid and future proof.

[DaleRoyce]

Thanks guys, most helpful.

Anyone got feedback on the entry level Focusrite interfaces..

[ChrisW]

I borrowed a Duet 1 from Turramurra Music for a while. Couldn't fault it.
For the price, the Duet 2 seems like a great buy.

[lonearranger]

The focusrite stuff seems to be getting good reviews in SOS and tapeop of late. At less than half the price of the apogee stuff it would seem to be worth checking out. Perhaps discuss with a good retailer who would be willing to return/upgrade to the apogee if there were issues. There would be certain resellers who would push the apogee products because there may be less support and better margins. Also worth looking at the m-audio/rme babyface and steinberg/yamaha products.
One of my friends is using the apogee uno and it is a nice product and has had no issues, so it really depends on how the priority between reliability and price is to your mate, but again if you have the option to return then you can proabaly decide the reliability in a week, esp if it is for your home studio and you dont have paying clients coming thru the door.

Cheers

[DaleRoyce]

Thanks Michael.
Good advice. Cheers

[Sammas]

I used a duet for quite a while with no issues whatsoever.

[mylesgm]

I haven't used any of the interfaces mentioned so far but I can really recommend the RME stuff for small portable rigs. I used a multiface with the pcmcia card on g3 500 laptop and the support, drivers etc as well as the sound quality and hardware build was superb. It kept its resale value and after 4 years I sold it and a little over half what I paid. When I upgraded to a macbook I went with the fireface 800 and I've used it regularly for the last 6 years. That has stood me in good stead through many other upgrades (software and hardware), several international tours, untold live recordings, sound art installations, live performances etc etc. Excellent and well though out design, good sounding and rock solid performance without glitches etc. I'me sure that if you are looking for something like the babyface that the build and sound qualities will be excellent and it will survive years of hardwork. Like I said I don't know any of the options but my experience with RME strictly as a user has been nothing but stellar and if I was looking for a small converter whatever they offered would be something I considered for carefully.
M

[mylesgm]

1 other thing. depending on the macbook you have you may already have a digital input/output on your computer. My 17" macbook pro does and I have used a stereo mic pre with a converter like the apogee minime? (I think it was that model but I can't remember) straight into the lightpipe input of the macbook and made a few excellent location recordings that way. Might suit what you are doing and then you could get a decent dac for the monitoring. just a thought.

[DaleRoyce]

Gentlemen,

Thank you all..

All this good advice is being passed on.

And..... i promise i am not taking all the credit

[Suburban Studios]

Another vote for the RME gear in general. Although I do not use one, the Babyface would be worth taking a look at. It was me who actually bought Miles' Multiface a few years back and I have subsequently upgraded to an RME Madi setup since then. Throughout my time with them, RME have been completely problem free; excellent, stable drivers and I have received excellent support from the local Aussie reps/distributors, well beyond the call of duty. I have had faulty cards tested and replaced overnight, in addition to instant feedback from the head designer of my gear in Germany when I had setup issues with a new card. These are things that really count and are often not taken into account when purchasing. Also, the low latency monitoring and mixing software (TotalMix), plus a handy metering & simple recording utility (Digicheck) that comes with all of their cards is best in class. Check out their website for more details.

Can't speak to the Apogee's & Metric-Halo, but I've heard nothing but great things in regards to the ULN series, apparently great pre's and solid drivers, and once again an excellent and responsive support network. They are apparently the go-to units for Macs if you have the cash.

Good luck.

Cheers,
George