Motu or other interface recommendations for Sonar X1

I'm running i7/12Gb Ram/Win7 64-bit/Sonar X1c Producer.  

I upgraded my 896 Mk I to the latest drivers as of 8/18/11.  But I'm still having some issues with the unit losing connection with my CPU from time to time and I have to reboot the MOTU to reconnect.  Very annoying.  Sometimes at boot up, I get the dreaded blue screen and have to reboot my entire system.   I never experienced this until I upgraded my system from 32 to 64 bit.  Also I used to run XP.  The fact is a lot has changed in my set since I upgraded my CPU to a new unit so the root causes could be many. 


Although I'm not sure if the issue is Windows 7 or Motu driver related,  I have been considering an upgrade of my audio interface since I feel I've really gotten my money's worth out of my 896 mk I but would like to capitalize on the benefits of some of the latest technologies. 


So, my question is...  should I consider upgrading to the 896 Mk III or are some other interfaces in the same price point better options?  Also I may consider spending more with interfaces such as the RME Fireface 800 if it means noticeable improvement in sound quality and stability.  Otherwise, I believe at the $1K price point there are many viable options these days. 

Does anyone have experience with some of the newer interfaces on the market and would recommend a specific one that works well with Sonar X1?  

Thanks 

As always, it depends upon your needs and pocketbook.  Do you need 8+ ins/outs?  That's the biggest determining factor.  For $1000 bucks you could get an RME - maybe (tho the little USB interface is less than that).  You could get a TC Konnekt 48, a lynx 4x4 + ADAT on PCI, a stienberg/yamaha N8 or MR 816.  Any of those should be better than MOTU and all have solid drivers.  If you don't need 8 ins/outs try the TCK 6 or twin, focusrite etc.  for half that price.

@

FWIW, RME dropped support on my card (Hammerfall 9652). It is allegedly usable on Win7 32 but not 64bit. 
Not too happy about that. So, I'm looking elsewhere.

Thanks for the feedback folks.  

I see mention of some units I hadn't considered before.  I'll continue to do my homework with the recommendations you've made.  

What I need sometimes differs from what I want but in general I know that a rack mountable form-factor is what I'm looking for.  I have room for up to a 4U but would be happy to go from the 4U that is my MOTU896 down to a 2U like a FF800.  I do need 8 inputs because of the convenience they lend to my set up.    

@Jim, I'll check on the chipset and report back.  I don't know off hand and I'm not near the workstation now.  If it is a TI and I place it legacy mode, is this potentially a workaround/solution to the interruptions I'm experiencing with the connectivity between my CPU/Host and the MOTU?  If so, would this reduce the throughput of the FW port or negatively impact my latency?  

Thanks again.

Hello Jim,

Thanks for the clarification.  I can confirm that it has a TI 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller.  Whether that means it has a TI chipset or not, I don't know.

I found instructions on the web on how to revert to the legacy drivers.  I'm trying to follow those now to test it out but my PC was a custom build and the legacy drivers aren't in the system folder so I'll have to download it from the web somewhere.  And of course the TI site is convoluted; hard to find the driver there.  I'll keep trying and report back.

Thanks

Thanks Tom,

I see what you mean now.  The folder lookup defaults to wherever the original driver location is; or so it seems.   So clicking on "Let me pick from a list of device drivers...." was the key to listing the certificate for the legacy driver.

Thanks to your step by step instructions, I was able to revert to the legacy Host Controller.  

I'm going to put it through it's paces tonight and tomorrow.  I'm going to be testing under heavy loads to see if performance improves or not  (I used to get an occasional click/pop out of nowhere), test for shut off/on to make sure I don't get the dreaded blue screen.  And finally, only over time I'll know if connectivity to/from CPU and audio interface is interrupted as that issue was intermittent as well.

Thanks again folks.  I'll report back soon.

One final note on this topic... My MOTU 896 finally died on me.  A suppose some of the problems I had been experiencing may have been hardware related.   However I must note that I never again saw the dreaded blue screen after I reverted to the legacy firewire drivers.  So I highly recommend users try the same if they ever experience the connectivity and CPU crash issues as I did with.

I contacted MOTU for support and they did all they could via telephone to find a root cause so I'll have to send it in for repair/refurbishment.  I finally broke down and bought the RME UFX.  From what I've read, users are very happy with the results they are getting with that device and it lends itself to many different configurations/needs.  I hope I'm not setting my expectations too high, but I hope to notice a noticeable improvement in sound quality over the 896.