TomG
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Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
Hi all
Firslty, my thanks to Jim and the other posters in my " what to buy thread ".
I decided to go with the FireFace UC.
One word ...... WOW !!
I upgraded from an EchoAudio Layla 3G - a very excellent sounding unit with awesome drivers and industry-best low latency.
Quite honestly, I didnt really expect to " hear " much of a difference from the Layla to the FFUC - boy was I wrong !!
I loaded up several [ huge ] major projects - from the second I hit play I heard low and hi frequencies I had never heard before - cymbals were crisp and zingy - not at all muddy - bass drum and bass lines much tighter and deeper - guitars dont have that artificial mid-range honk - vox are just gorgeous.
Even more obvious was the " space " and " separation " between the sounds - everything sounds so open and airy and spread-out. I kid you not, its like my ears are much more " in the sounds " rather than just having the sounds projected out to me.
I know I'm babbling - and I am having trouble describing the improvements - I thought going from my old Delta 66 to the Layla was a huge jump, but going from the Layla to the FFUC is another quantum leap again.
What about latency ? WOW again !
48 Sample Buffer reults in a CEntrance Real World Round Trip Loop Back latency of 4.88ms and everything is absolutly rock-solid.
Been running projects with >%80 cpu load at 48 Samples - not a pop or click or glitch anywhere - I'm even trying to cause a drop-out - no go
I loaded up a " test project " I made up - 100 Tracks running 500 plugin instances of 5 different plugs with all tracks live input monitored on and all 500 efx engaged - CPU sits around %81 and systems is smooth as silk !!!!!!!
RME have built a USB 2 unit that for all intents and purposes runs virtually as efficiently both in terms of load and low latency, as a PCI-E unit.
Anyway ..... I'll go now.
All I can say is if you are fortunate enough to have the money to buy this unit and if it suits your I/O needs, just buy it - dont even think about it.
It's been a long time since I bought a piece of gear that made me smile from the first moment I began using it.
TomG - FireFaceUC X64 - Windows 7 X64 - Intel 4.2gig i7 DAW - Sonar 8.5.3 X64 - No Bit-Bridging or J-Bridging of anything
post edited by TomG - 2010/08/19 08:00:12
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AT
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2010/08/19 10:11:41
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Cool news, not that I'm in the market or nothing. Glad to hear it is working for you.
@
https://soundcloud.com/a-pleasure-dome
http://www.bnoir-film.com/ there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
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lavoll
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2010/08/19 12:44:33
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fun :) I was concidering this unit but ended up with a lynx aurora instead :) I had a similar experience when upgrading from a saffire 56, I expected it to sound a little better... but wow!! :)
sonar x1b, win 7, 12gig ram, 6gb ssd, i7 Hexa Processor i7-970, lynx aurora
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strikinglyhandsome1
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2010/08/19 12:54:18
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We don't like threads saying how good new things are. It makes our wallets very twitchy indeed. So la la la I can't hear you.
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SFSonarBoy
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2010/08/19 15:43:30
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Thanks for posting this - I'm looking to upgrade from my MOTU828mkii and the FireFace UC is a leading contender.
Cheers,
SteveE
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Genghis
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2010/08/19 19:39:30
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Congrats on your choice. I think you got the best in your price range.
I'm using the FireFace 400 and I too noticed a big difference in the sound between that and the Mackie Onyx 400 that I replaced. RME really makes some great sounding stuff... and the latency and stability was a huge improvement as well. I'm really glad I upgraded my interface.
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lapieuvre
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2010/08/19 21:27:56
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Same here... I rented a Fireface 800 for a project... It was then impossible to bring it back :/
The difference was exactly like you described it.
Win 7 64 bits, Intel core2 quad Q9550 (2.83ghz) Fireface 800, Sonar X1 Producer Live 8 Suite, Kontakt 4
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Jose7822
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2010/08/19 23:03:36
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I heard the same thing when I went from a Delta44 to the FF400, a night and day difference in sound quality. RME products are just excellent with great drivers. If I upgrade, it'll probably be another RME product. I've NEVER been disappointed by them, it just works! Another thing people don't realize is that RME's converters are not hyped. They are transparent, which is what I personally prefer. If I want color then I put something in front of the chain to give it. But anyways, congrats on your purchase Tom!
Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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montezuma
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Re:Sonar 8.5.3 + FireFace UC = the best $1300 I ever spent !!
2011/09/30 15:40:12
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48 samples and 4.88 round trip latency?
48 samples? Does that mean 48hz? You're not talking about buffers are you? Or what?
I have a PC with similar, but more powerful specs than yours and when I set the buffer to 256 I get a round trip of 14.3 latency.
I only just bought the FFUC...very good it is
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