I am going to record my 4 piece acoustic band. I am using Sonar X1; have a 4 gb ram on my 3 year dual core old PC. We want to record the 4 instruments live, but currently I use a 2 channel  M-Audio Fast Track Pro. I need a 4 channel input. I was going to get an Akai Professional audio interface, but read in a review it is not compatible with Sonar X1. 
I would love some ideas and help in recommending what will work for under $250. 
Thanks.
Tom in Tulsa

Who sez the Akai is not compatible w/ X1?  Just X1 sez it is an old review.  I would get some newer comments and see if the problem is still around.  Try looking at the forum for Akai.
 
I'm not sure how low you can go for 4 channel input.  My first thought is focusrite.  They should have something cheap and good, or Roland (hard to go wrong w/ the mother company).
 
@

As a second thought, will Sonar X1 recognize 2 M-Audio Fast track Pro devices?
 Can a Roland Audio device( UA 25EX)  be used  along with an M Audio device to total 4 channels? This would be great if X1 will recognize 2 input devices.

You can't mix interfaces, unless the product says so, with drivers support, but generally applies to high end interface of the same brand / model.
 
If you're mostly recording audio live, check out the affordable Alesis Multimix - since it's a mixer plus interface, there is no latency at all, even if you set the buffer higher.
 
Depends on how many mic pre amps you need, the Focusrite 6 ins may fit your bill too.
 
Go for slightly more channels than your current max.
 
edit : btw, the Roland Quad, out of the box, is only a 2 channel interface, unless you have another spdif audio device for 2 more inputs.

I'm gonna say a Focusrite 8i6. When I was looking for interfaces they had the best reviews for the best price. I got the model up from the 8i6 (the 18i6) and it's been nothing but rock solid. The pres sound great as is and it was extremely easy to install and it's easy to configure the settings. I think the 8i6 is around $250 (the 18i6 is $300). I don't know if the 8i6 has an optical in for daisychaining units but the 18i6 does (gives an extra 8 inputs at 44.1 and 4 channels at higher samplerates up to 96 I believe).
 
Basically anything I found in that price range had FAR less channels and didn't necessarily have better reviews (sometimes they were a lot worse). The support guys are awesome (email them before buying with your system specs and any questions and they'll reply very quickly). I also got a bunch of Focusrite plugins, Ableton Live Lite and Novation Bass Station software for free but I don't know what comes with the package now (it has changed). I haven't tried any of those freebies yet but the plugins look cool and I'm interested in playing around with Ableton just for fun.
 
The only other company that seems to come close in price, features and reliability are the Pre Sonus units. I personally didn't like the looks of them and there wasn't as much fanfare online about them but quite a few people here have said their boxes are quite good and do the job.
 
Anything else and you are either going to either pay more, get less or experience problems. I personally would love to get a MOTU but they are pricey. I'd be more interested in the Roland stuff but they seem to have problems keeping their hardware drivers up to date as people upgrade their computers. They may have gotten better though.
 
Cheers.

Thanks, Tomixornot. By saying that I cannot mix interfaces, do you mean that I can't use  Roland and M Audio devices at the same time in X1? Has anyone successfully used 2 M Audio input devices?
 
I will look at the the Alexis and all suggestions. Remember, we do not use or need midi, just raw recording, as i will farm out the effects, mixing  and mastering.  

If they have optical in/outs then in theory you can use two devices chained together. One unit will act as the interface and the other as an expansion box. You can also try switching from ASIO driver mode to one of the others and have two hooked up at the same time but ASIO is better and less problematic. If you are gonna try that do your research to make sure everything is compatible.
 
Take a look at Focusrite and Pre Sonus boxes though. Seriously they are in your price range and will do what you want in ASIO mode.

I use a PreSonues FireStudio Project - 8 mic channels. I like it but haven't used anything else. It is FireWire so you must have that or you must get a FireWire card. I've been looking for a second unit and have seen them used for under $200 at Guitar Center, which also gives you a 30 day warranty (in-store credit) on used gear. You may have to order it from a remote Guitar Center but I've done that on other gear without issue.
 
Hope this helps your decision making process!

Mando Hoss
Thanks, Tomixornot. By saying that I cannot mix interfaces, do you mean that I can't use  Roland and M Audio devices at the same time in X1? Has anyone successfully used 2 M Audio input devices?
 
I will look at the the Alexis and all suggestions. Remember, we do not use or need midi, just raw recording, as i will farm out the effects, mixing  and mastering.  

This article explains using multiple interfaces (M-Audio Delta range was mentioned).
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb06/articles/pcmusician.htm
 
Mixing different brands of interfaces is not possible in Windows - unless it's via ADAT (which is hardware support anyway).
 
The Alesis latest FX multimix (marked 'new' at the website) seems to offered only 2 channels support, which seems backward, and will not be suitable for your use. The older none-FX series (Multimix 16, 8 or 4) is the correct choice.
 

I just recently bought a zoom r24. it has 8 mic pres and it is also a recorder/all-in-one type deal.  so you can double mic the guitars if youre into that.
I was a bit skep[tical about how it would be as an audio interface, but ive been really happy with it.  Its just as solid as my roland quad capture.  The preamps are also quite nice, zoom has come a long way in terms of quality, in my opinion.
 
for 500 its a great deal.