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Under Construction, writing and categorizing like crazy!
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Every once in a while something
comes along that just does a great job, and the audio it passes is exceptional
even at a low price. The MicPort Pro wowed me from the first moment I plugged
it in (and it functioned flawlessly with no drivers on an XP PC!) with its
simple design and features. The MicPort Pro is a mic preamp with switchable phantom
power and a headphone amp with an 1/8 output. It uses USB to connect and
requires no driver install on any modern PC or MAC.
The preamp is very clean and quiet,
and the detail really took me back with this unit. Way more sound was coming out
of it than I ever expected any item that could almost be considered a convenience
item like this. The headphone amp on it absolutely cranks, I never found a
situation where it wasnt ready to overdrive the cans if needed either. It
offers about +40dB of gain which is plenty with a condenser mic, and seemed
suitable for most dynamic mics I plugged in also. For singer songwriters who
want to record to a laptop or desktop computer and only monitor with headphones
on, the MicPort Pro is sent straight from heaven. Grab a free software program
off the web and for super low dough, couple the MicPort with a decent condenser
mic and make music. Podcasters are snapping these units up, for good reason
also: most use headphones and this thing is just too easy.
Conclusion: The only limitation is
it only has a headphone level output, I admit I have not tried to plug into a
line level monitor controller but its certainly not optimized for a proper
speaker monitor setup. However, for interviews and even foley sound with a
laptop I think this is the perfect product. For podcasters it is a very high
quality delivery if you have a good mic.
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I have had the pleasure of gigging out with the Audiofire series converters
several times, ranging from live jazz recordings to theatrical performances. Ive
also used the Audiofire in my studio at times and been able to compare it to
comparably price converters and can tell you that ECHO has a real winner on
their hands when it comes to clean, unhyped conversion with nice detail and
depth. They have long been known to deliver a quality product at a low price,
but for firewire recording I feel a real barrier has been broken here in the this
only costs what? range.
The full metering in and out (its a
limited LED meter but very helpful) is very much welcomed by me (Audiofire12).
Most units do not give you any confirmation of levels whatsoever, even much
more expensive ones. The all TRS balanced connections allow a lot of ins and
outs and still keep the unit in a single rack space. The fact that it will do
192kHz 24 bit is very nice, no real limitations here. I was able to easily use
the Audiofire12 with an inexpensive laptop at higher sample rates with no pops
or glitches, and very low latency. The internal software mixer is so simple its
ridiculous, very easy to dial in headphone mixes etc with virtually no latency
(I mean really no noticeable latency!). Takes just a few seconds to wrap your
head around it, and it all just makes sense.
Conclusion: The sound of these
converters is top notch, and Ive heard nothing else in this price range that
touches it. You will find very few firewire DAW interfaces on this website for
sale, the ECHO Audiofire is a stand out in sound, function and stability.
Highly recommended (or you could spend your whole life searching the web for
everybodys opinion on a million things!).
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When I took a look around for a
PC-for-Audio company to do business with, only one struck me as worthwhile:
Rain Recording. The biggest reasons were that not only would they answer the
phone when I would call and were 100% ready to help me, but the remote support
they offer is priceless as well. Im not a tech or geeky computer guy, I
understand what I have to for DAW and other uses. The good people at Rain
provide all the geeky knowledge me or my customers will ever need.
Ive been using an Element series
Rain Recording PC for a while now and have never had a glitch with the machine.
It is quiet (I dont quite agree with saying you can just put your mic next to
it and record, but it is very quiet by any standards) and reliable. The build
quality is superb, tight wiring going on in there and the case is stunningly
beautiful (the glow and the aluminum case get a lot of comments from local
studio clients of mine). You really get your choice of components, and we can
check with Rain before hand to be sure something you want to do doesnt have
any obvious issues with a particular setup. I went with Intel on Intel just
based on good history with that combo, but the AMD systems are very powerful
and Ive run AMD setups in the past again with no issues.
Conclusion: Remote support via the
web, great service before and after the sale and superb build quality are all
reasons why I choose Rain Recording PCs in the ZenPro studio. I am proud to be
an authorized Rain Recording dealer.
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I have used RME PCI cards and
breakout boxes and converters over the years, and have never seen an issue with
reliability or stability. Overall I think the most stable PC drivers in the
industry would have to have RME among them: I mean this stuff just worksand
worksand works. As Vince from Sham-Wow says, you know the Germans make good
stuff. In this case I would certainly say it is proven true.
Digital connectivity is never easier
than choosing the right RME product, from ADAT to SPDIF to AES to TOSLINK to
MADI to Wordclock, they really have it all. Latency is virtually non-existent
thanks to ultra low latency drivers and on board DSP power that takes the load
off your computer. Totalmix, RMEs internal routing matrix is INCREDIBLE. It
took me a while to wrap my brain around it but once I did, I realized I can
send anything anywhere at anytime with no noticeable latency at all. Multiple
headphone mixes and splits? No problem, RME is on it with Totalmix.
The Steadyclock wordclock
technology is also just awesome stuff. I have witnessed this clock snap those 1s
and 0s in line on many a device and it always made an improvement when it was
the master. Many RME devices have Steadyclock as standard, it can make a real
difference. The A/D and D/A conversion of RME is clean and neutral for the most
part, not huge or small or anywhere in between, but pretty true to the source
overall. An RME converter will never get in the way of a good recording.
Conclusion: No matter the connection
you need to make, RME has it covered. My personal experience has been glitch
free and for that reason I am proud to be an authorized RME dealer.
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AX = ADAT version, SX = AES version.
Solid
State Logic (SSL) has been building unique consoles for decades, and now that
the market is changing and getting more compact (like everything is!) SSL have
been rolling out products that continue to impress me not only in build quality
and sound, but in price point. Considering its all still built right there in
Oxford it makes it even a
bit more amazing to me. When it comes to the Alpha Link range of converters
and DAW interfaces I have to say, they are well deserving of the name SSL and
deserve serious consideration for any studio.
First of all, these converters sound
fantastic. Such a natural, detailed and extended sound which gives you all the
boom on the bottom and air on the top, in a very linear fashion. I do not hear
them accenting one part of the range over another, it sounds like what I hear
coming off my mixer or preamps. I know some companies incorporate a sound to
their converters but sorry, Id rather achieve that with other gear. The fact
that you get 24 in and out in a single box is astounding, nevermind the
additional 24 digital in and out onboard (AES or ADAT). All 24 analog channels
will operate at 96k / 24 bit without being halved in channel count as well. The
onboard metering is simple (single multi colored LEDs for each channel
switchable between AD and DA) but effective enough for my uses. When you look
at the pricing it is absolutely a stunning deal, so do not let the low price
fool you; this is SSL quality through and through.
I have used the PCI Mixpander
cards and now own the latest generation of MADI PCIe cards and use them daily
here at ZenPro Audio. Very simple and straight forward stuff to operate, my
Rain Recording PC and Nuendo setup enjoy a 100% stable relationship with the
SSL MADIExtreme card. I have seriously never had a glitch with interfacing, and
I have owned two systems on two PCs thus far. Reliability is so important, so
I can testify that it is delivered here as well when it comes to a strong and
stable connection.
Conclusion: The pinnacle of tape
machine recording has been 24 track, I find that having 24 analog in and out
available for my DAW setup is never a limitation when producing rock and pop
recordings. SSL has not only hit the nail on the head with features and sound,
but knocked one out of the park on pricing. As a daily user of the Alpha Link system
I highly recommend SSL for any serious recordist or studio owner.
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The PCIe MADIExtreme cards are
extremely simple and powerful in use. Compatible with PC and MAC systems, they
can be used with SSL Alpha Link MADI converters or other brands as well. The
card is sturdy physically, and small in size. You can run 6 if needed in one
system according to SSL (I run one), and it has all popular driver interface
formats on board. The 64 handles 64 channels of MADI audio, the 128 handles 128
of course.
The card is seemingly very fast.
Round trip latency even at 44.1 in my XP Rain Recording PC and Nuendo rig =
2.04ms including conversion on my Alpha Link MADI AX. Once the card was
installed I simply configured the clock and other settings and away I went.
There is no slick interface, there is no internal digital mixer to handle
routing. The MADIExtreme is an efficient in and out device that provides 64 streams
of audio to and from your DAW. Once setup and the correct driver is installed,
youre done and off to make music. I have never had a glitch with my SSL
system, not one, and the latency isnt noticeable by anyone (me or the artists
I record). Installation was slightly tricky, but again once settled it just
works.
Conclusion: The MADI Extreme cards
are simple and effective, I can think of no better and easier way to route my
I/O from the Alpha Link system to my PC rig. The newer MX4 card has built in
DSP, routing and effects that is incredible, but I chose the keep my I/O on
one card, and effects on another by adding Duende PCIe separately.
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