Subject:Can u stand another newbie que? M-Audio 410

Posted by: MrDirt

Date:6/4/2008 10:11:19 AM

So I'm in the market for my first Firewire Interface and I've read some endorsements of this M-Audio product on this site. I guess I understand it can handle multiple inputs (2 analog + 2 digital) but how exactly does that translate to track recording in Acid Pro 6? With 4 inputs, would 4 individual acid tracks be recognized and recorded to through the firewire interface?

And with a budget of about $400, is the M-Audio 410 the best bang for the buck?

Thank you!

Paul

Subject:RE: Can u stand another newbie que? M-Audio 4

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:6/5/2008 12:02:58 PM

Someone mentioned they had the M-Audio 410 and loved it.

Yes, since the 410 has 4 inputs, you would be allowed to record 4 individual mono tracks if you wanted to. (You could also, for example, record 2 stereo tracks.)

$400 sounds pretty good to me.

Iacobus

Subject:RE: Can u stand another newbie que? M-Audio 4

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:6/5/2008 9:01:41 PM

> I guess I understand it can handle multiple inputs (2 analog + 2 digital) but how exactly does that translate to track recording in Acid Pro 6?

It's not what you would expect. The digital I/O is S/PDIF so unless you have a digital source to record via S/PDIF cable it's really not 4x10 but rather 2x8. So you can only record two analog tracks at a time plus two digital tracks via S/PDIF. If you need more than this, you might want to look into the PreSonus FireStudio which is true 8x8 analog + S/PDIF. It cost $499 so it may be more than you wan to spend and you might not need simultaneous 8 tracks.

Having said that, I have the M-Audio FW-410 and I'm very happy with it because, being a solo artist, I rarely record more than one track at a time.

> ...is the M-Audio 410 the best bang for the buck?

It's a nice unit but it doesn't play well with others. If you have other firewire devices on the same bus they may not work. I know I can't use an analog video capture device and the FW-410 at the same time. I have to unplug the 410 when capturing analog video. On the other hand I daisy chain a firewire hard drive off of the 410 and it works great. (go figure)

Overall I'm very happy with it and would recommend it. For $299 it can't be beat and the sound is excellent (and that's what it's really all about).

~jr

Subject:RE: Can u stand another newbie que? M-Audio 4

Reply by: tascolas

Date:6/8/2008 11:50:02 AM

Firestudio is better than 410 in anything , more ins/outs , stable driver,better pre-amps,better output but the price tag is different. I read posts from ppl saying 410 is gr8, 410 this ,410 that. I don't want to b rude but the truth about the 410 is that all it is ,is politely a POS. I 've had 2 of them.The first didn't work at all.The 2nd one when hooked to a laptop it would randomly forget there was a driver installed and every now and then ,when starting windows it would start the "found new device" procedure. The main audio output compared to the Edirol FA66 i also have is like -8db and sounds dim and not crystal clear. Occasionally when run straight from the firewire and not plugged in powerplug,it would produce hum noise and ground noise as well. It is also reported to be incompatible with various Texas Instruments firewire controllers (most common in laptops) as i also had the misfortune to find out .I got rid of it and went for the bigger brother 1814.Same s*it ,more ins/outs lol. So plz , stop your blaggering 'bout this crappy piece of equipment called 410.I ve tested it on 3desktop and 3 laptops.Truth imo 'bout M-Audio is they haven't produced a single good card since the PCI Deltas (i 've tested all external M-audio cards except the new Profire and they 're all at least buggy) and anyone sane enough wanting to buy a new card for a desktop pc will go for a pci card and not for a firewire or usb. A Delta66 @USD 239.95 is the best bang for the buck 4in/out card that has a solid driver .MrDirt ,don't let the fancy looks fool u m8.Forget everything and buy something that's been used and trusted by thousands and works with no quirks at all. If it has to be firewire be very careful. Presonus Firebox worx stable,Edirol FA66 too. I would recomend the MOTU Ultralite as it's the best from all these cards, more ins/outs and the best preamps and most stable driver by far but @499 euros it carries a more hefty price. Also i heard the Focusrite Saffire LE as some friend recently got it. We recorded a couple of tracks in his studio,it incorporates 2 focusrite micpres and they sound quite nice for a 320euro card. Dunno how stable this card will prove to be but it has 6 ins and they maybe prove useful at a smaller price than the Motu.

Subject:RE: Can u stand another newbie que? M-Audio 4

Reply by: MrDirt

Date:6/10/2008 12:57:10 PM

mD, JohnnyRoy, and tascolas, thank you for spending the time to write me such thoughtful replies. I appreciate it, as I do all your opinions and recommendations.

I asked about the 410 because I'd seen it mentioned favorably in several threads. Being new to PC recording, I was thinking that if I purchased a product that others here have used successfully with AP6, I'd at least not have to worry about compatibility issues.

Tascolas, some of the other products you mention are a bit too pricey for me, and since i hope to record with both a desktop and a laptop, PCI cards are out. But at the same time I was looking at the 410, I was also considering the Edirol 66 and 101. So I'm happy to hear you've used Edirol 66 with AP6 with no problems. Right?

Thanks folks!

Subject:RE: Can u stand another newbie que? M-Audio 4

Reply by: tascolas

Date:6/12/2008 7:17:16 PM

Yeah the Edirol 66 has a superior sound overall on the analog output when compared to the 410. Stable too. On the live side i saw it a couple of times bitching if i may say. Current is very peculiar on the various live stages and cards that rely solely on a pc laptop's firewire port are out to give u a hard time for sure. This means that some cards may produce sound artifacts that arent there or even cause audio hiccups,or even refuse to start playing at all. This isn't the case with Mac laptops as i have found,since they boast a normal firewire port and not a mini firewire. The pc laptop majority has mini firewire ports and somehow they all fail to let enough voltage to be fed to the cards sometimes. This behaviour would have ruined mine and many friends' of mine live shows if we hadn't a trusted hd recorder/player as a back up choice. My close friend ,member of well known,top selling Greek electronic band has changed 6 pc laptops in 2 yrs and still found no remedy for this in the pc world. When the card decides to funk up u done for. So if u r looking to play live ,only stable in 20 gigs so far is MOTU. i know its more expensive but its money well spent. All the others matched with a pc laptop had a 20% failure which is far from acceptable imo. Of course the other solution is to buy an Intel Mac and run windows on which is what me m8 is doing right now. Hope this was enlightening,cheers dude.