Help choosing interface under $500. Thoughts...

P

Pengh

New member
Any recommendations?

I'm pretty happy with my set-up other than I want a new interface.

Right now I use an 8 year old, M-Audio Audiophile USB (box) It basically only has 2 inputs and no XLR.

I probably would never track more than 3 guys at the same time. There might be a situation where we would learn how to mic up a drum kit -- but that's down the line.

I also like having extra headphone outputs.

Should I go Firewire or USB?

I use Ableton Live mostly as my DAW on a homemade PC. I record using my hardware Keys, Bass, Guitars, Mics (i have two standalone entry-level preamps). My room acoustics are pretty well treated.

I just applied and got access to a Sweetwater credit card for $500 (trying to build credit)

Any input would be great. Thanks
 
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The Focusrite Scarlett is popular for a reason. I made a fool of myself and got an Akai EIE Pro, which is the biggest turd purchase I've made musically. Steer away from that and you'll be fine. One year on the market and they still haven't made drivers that deliver the correct bitrate and sampling rate as promised on the box. Well, they did make one set of drivers that did, but that one uses 10%-15% of processor power on IDLE with a beast computer, and breaks several functions in Windows 7 and 8.
 
I was gonna recommend the Focusrites as well - either the new Scarlett 18i20 (USB) or the Saffire Pro 40 (FireWire). Both have what you're asking for (and then some) & fit within the budget. I'm using the latter, no complaints really...
 
You can't go wrong with Focusride interfaces. The connection of the interface depends on your computer. If you have an older Mac you should use Firewire because they do not have USB 3 support and you are stuck with USB 1-2 speeds. PCs don't support Firewire so USB would be your only option. Also keep in mind that Firewire connectors are not included in many of the newer Mac Notebooks so USB 3 support is a must.
 
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