Thanks
Manolo,
Yorolpal, and
AlexOostHoek,
The USB ff UC boasts better than the ff 400 ... but I wouldn't pay 1/2 the asking price ($1300) for that ... also, USB 2.0 peripherals may be rushing into extinction just like 400 and 800 firewire ...
Frankly, RME makes no sen$e to me!
Sorry
MatsonMusicBox, even if my FF400 worked sweetly, I doubt my ears could ever discriminate any differences in double-blind studies. What is really so great about my FF 400, "period" anyway? Please, I detect histeria and/or 'expectation bias' may be the rea$on for the ridiculous RME hype that abounds on these forums.
Also, your/my next DAW, Lord-willing, will contain USB 3.0 peripherals (3-6 months from now?).
This makes some sen$e:
The
M-Audio Fast Track Ultra: $284 (street) or Ultra 8R for $130 more.
Konnekt 24D:
firewire at $400 street ... but may be extinct soon (it is extinct on laptops). At least its not $1500.
Desktop Konnekt 6 Firewire: $189 street ... performance oriented with
desktop knobs ... but not enough inputs (I need guitar, mic, and MIDI-Synth inputs).
Delta 44: $129 ... but its a PCI soundcard that may or may not fit my Alienware.
V-Studio 700 Rack + Fantom synths: Special Order: $1800 without the generic sliders. usb 2.0 ... but alas
... I already own a Fantom-8 workstation with nearly as many obsolete patches.
... IOWs, my Fantom patches don't compare (AT ALL) to BiaB audiophiile edition patches (
1.2 terabytes at $680) nor
EWQL samplers ($700 for composer edition, now IIRC)
... sorry Roland, your Fantom patches are ridiculously obsolete for my home studio.
And fortunately, BiaB plug-in mode (32 bit) works fine above 64 bit Sonar... dropping MIDIs and CD quality wave files into Sonar, seemlessly. (another topic)
In sum, for me, the
v studio 700 is a no buy, period.
cw VS 100: $600. with desktop performance controls ... and a seperate portable stereo recorder (with SD card memory)! ... IIRC, humble EQ and compression, FWIW.
That means I can unplug it and record the choir, etc.
Its buggish, IIRC, having "controller" issues I'm afraid:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tt.aspx?forumid=47 But,
WHYZ (above) validates his interface.
UA-101 Pro: $500, with 5 stereo inputs (whole band) ... which I'm assuming is 64bit also.
MOTU UltraLite MK3 Firewire USB Hybrid $549, Wow!