best interface under $250?

I'm thinking of getting one of these for having fun with

http://www.m-audio.com/pr...us/FastTrackUltra.html

It seems like the extra $100 will be worth every single penny

I just bought a Cakewalk UA-25EX for messing around with. Looking forward to a quick plug and play sessions when I really don't need the big guns out. Just ordered it today. Obviously I can't comment on it yet but will updat once I've fiddled about with it.


Stewart

Please take a look at M-Audio's forum before you buy anything...

I bought a ProFire 610... and if I had seen the forums before I did - I wouldn't have touched it for a quarter of the price.

Drivers more than 18 months old - with known issues. (BSOD)
Zero beta drivers within that time... etc

In the rare case that someone from M-Audio replied it would always be:
"Can't reproduce that error / bug. Must be your system"

All I know is that I'm never buying anything from M-Audio again.

ART DPS

For under $250 I'd say the best is Focusrite Saffire6 or Line 6 UX2.I just got a Line 6 UX2 and like it alot but,if you can swing $350,the Fast Track Ultra is the way to go.It has very low latency,plenty of ins and outs,dsp and,you're already familiar with M-Audio.You might also check out the Fast Track Pro if you haven't already.

I see alot of recommends for the Fast Track Ultra, and I DO like my current Fast Track well enough - are the preamps much different in the Ultra?  What about the Fast Track Pro?  It's right in my price range.  In fact, Best Buy has it on sale for $180, which makes me think it's about to be replaced.  I haven't had any drop-out issues or anything like that, and the drivers being "old" doesn't bother me as long as they continue to be problem-free.

Also, the Art DPS doesn't really fit my need because I'd also have to get something that can take the digital input.  I don't have optical or coax on my motherboard.     

If it's important to you... the Ultra versions of the FastTrack are the only ones that deliver low round-trip latency.  They yield 5.5ms round-trip latency at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size/44.1k
If you have the budget, it's easily worth the extra $100 (IMO).

no, you're not looking at it wrong.  you would need either an ADAT or SPDIF input on your system in order to get the digital signal from the DPS into sonar.  OR you'd have to use the analog outputs into your fast track.  in that case, there's no point in buying the DPS instead of the TPS which is the same unit except without the digital I/O.

IIRC batsbrew has an m-audio 2496 which SPDIF I/O on it so he can run the SPDIF out of the DSP into the 2496 for digital inputs.

I would agree with you on all counts!  I don't have the FTU, but it looks like a great interface!

i have a maudio audiophile 192 card, i upgraded to this card almost 2 years ago.

it's right there at the bottom of my sig.



 i most often use the spdif out, into the spdif in on my maudio 192 card..

but the card has analog breakout cables that includes midi in/out, analog inputs, and master outputs and monitor outputs..

and i've determined that the convertors in the 192 card sound fine...
at least as good as the digital thru the ART
 
 
if i didn't have the ART digital, i'd still use it as the preamp that it is, and i'd go into the card via 1/4" TRS, which i still do from time to time, especially with the palmer unit for direct guitar, where i don't want it colored by the preamp.

plus, you can bypass the convertor, to use it simply as a analog device, and you can bypass the analog to use it as strictly a convertor.

gotcha.
tho, with a couple of adapters, problem solved.
i was more referencing derfunken's response...

i want it to be clear what can and can't be achieved with these things.
there's no way i'd record into a mic input, but with line input, and a few choice adapters, voila.

i personally believe a pci card and a decent interface with digital out is a better way to go.
so, just putting it out there to help, no beefs!

keep in mind m audio is slow to support windows seven..and their tech support is..well lets say this...i went on the website for tech support and it said something on the lines of...if your wanting tech support in regards to windows seven compatibility..dont even bother....the only m-audio thing i own now are mics and a set of desk top monitors..which i do like alot

tascam =

I haven't replied for a while, but I'm still reading, and appreciate all the input (pun intended).  Still haven't settled on anything for sure, though now I can get a Fast Track Ultra for $300 instead of $350.  

batsbrew - yes I did look very carefully at it and I CANNOT USE IT.  I don't have digital input on anything; my plain-old Fast Track doesn't have S/PDIF.  If it did, great, I may jump on it.  It may have analog outputs but my fast track only has one (1) line input and I'm definitely not using the line input on my motherboard audio.  :)  


It just kills my budget to buy both it and an interface I can use to bring it in.  The cheapest I can find is an M-Audio 2496 and that's another $100.  That's more than the FTUltra, which up until today was out of reach.  


I don't make a living on this stuff; it's my hobby that my wife has graciously allowed me to put alot of cash into.  Now that I've delayed for a while, a bonus from work is right around the corner (early Feb each year) and I may be able to double my budget. IN which case the ART DPS + digital input for my PC could get some serious looks.  

focusrite is good equipment.  their ISA pres are some of the best (depending on the sound you want from the preamp)  the drivers for the focusrite are solid, but not as fast as the FTU (if the fastest drivers aren't as important to you then this doesn't matter, the difference is fairly small)

the pro 14 & 24 are good soundcards