What would be a good audio interface with 8 inputs, low latency and a decent price?

if latency is #1 worry then you need to go for RME, but that's way over your price range if the Octa-Capture is already too steep

mind you, latency is also dependent on how much load your DAW can handle i.e. how low you can go with ASIO buffer settings before you get drop-outs. what's your current DAW giving you in that respect? you might want to post your specs, ASIO buffer size and the round trip latency times you get a the moment. that may help others to propose an interface that's better than your current one ...

Why not wait a bit and save up for the octa-capture? i use it and love. it got lots of good features: 8 high quality mic preamps, 8 out, 2 digital in/out, low latency ... plus not to forget: 4 independent DSP monitor mixes which don't put any strain on your DAW CPU ... and the option to expand later with a 2nd unit to double I/O; especially the last option may save you going through the same upgrade process a year from now when 8 ins are no longer sufficient ...

I have an Octa-Capture.  I had a (cheaper) Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 before, but it died.  I get better latency (and more features) with the Octa-Capture.    I have an MAudio Fastrack Ultra 8R, which is less $$ but it too does not have all the features of the Octa-Capture. 

Bottom line, you generally get what you pay for.  I didn't want to pay the price for the Octa-Capture, but after trying several other less $$ units I bit the bullet and got the Octa-Capture.  I'm happy I did.

tascam drivers are "iffy"

some folks don't have problems with them, others do.

Thanks a lot.

I like the saffire pro 40 myself and it does hardware monitoring (virtually zero latency)

If low round-trip latency is a major priority... and budget is a concern... checkout the Presonus 1818-VSL.
Less than 5ms total round-trip latency at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size/44.1k (which is excellent).

Anyone knows something about the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20??


It looks very good but I have no experience with Focusrite or USB audio interfaces, I' am looking for one for myself. 

MF says it's in stock and ready to ship but sweetwater says  is expected to be available by May...

That's great news!!

Actually I'am going to using it on both desktop and laptop, My Firestudio Project works great but my new laptop doesn't have a FW input so I have to use an express card and don't like that.
Also, I've seen a tendency to USB instead of FW so I think my next audio interface will be USB.

How is the latency on the 18i6?? I' am very used to monitoring with fx while tracking and rehearsing so latency is important for me.

Sonico - you can set the latency to 2ms on the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 - which is like zero latency for recording.

FWIW, That 2m is just for the ASIO output buffer.
If you're monitoring thru software, round-trip latency is the sum of the following:

• ASIO input buffer
• ASIO output buffer
• Latency of the A/D and D/A converters
• The driver's hidden safety-buffer

The unit's round-trip latency is thus significantly higher than 2ms.
About the best you'll find (from any unit) is ~5ms total round-trip latency at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size/44.1k

The Focusrite's forte' is quality of sound for the $
If you're looking for the lowest possible round-trip latency, there are units that go lower (RME, MOTU, Presonus VSL to name a few).

So Jim, Overall which one do you think is better between a Focusrite 18i20 and a VSL1818. I understand that at round trip latency VSL1818 wins, but what about drivers, preamps, features, etc. I own a Firestudio Project and I' am very happy with it but I've heard that the VSL1818 has a problem with the preamps easily overloading and difficult to set without clipping??

I'd give a slight edge (slight) to the Focusrite on fidelity.
1818-VSL has the edge regarding round-trip latency.
Given those two choices, I'd take the 1818-VSL

The VSL preamps are similar (if not identical) to those used in Presonus VSL digital mixers.
These units are used in a lot of live venues to mix/record simultaneously.
We have a club/client in Nashville doing this... 

Rain - I have the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 and set at 2ms I can't perceive latency at all. Sounds to my ear like zero latency.