Recording interfaces... Is Thunderbolt worth it???

[colejustesen]

Hey guys! I absolutely love my Steinberg MR816csx; it just has such great sound quality. That said, I really want to use my outboard gear and due to a flaw in the MR Editor software, using that interface for this reason is not very effective despite having multiple outs and ins. I have thought about just snagging the MR824, which essentially is the MR816 wrapped into a new package that sports USB 2.0 and has a better software mixer that would allow me to use my outboard gear more effectively. This brings me to my question...

I realize that FireWire is on its way out despite being an excellent choice for audio/video data transferring. I was explained that the bandwidth for each was kind of depicted like this:

FireWire
|_________| |__________|

USB
|__| |__| |__| |__| |__|

This idea is why FireWire was more effective at having lower latency and better data transfer. I imagine there is more to it than that, but the idea made sense to me. Anyway, I really like FireWire, but I don't know if it would be in my best interest to get another interface that was FireWire. I know there are companies like MOTU that has hybrid interfaces, but I seem to read a lot of negative/so-so things about their preamps, AD/DA converters, and driver stability. Would it be worth getting setup for a Thunderbolt recording system so that I can be more future proof? I would need to get a new motherboard and a Thunderbolt card to make this happen. I also realize that Thunderbolt interfaces are rather expensive! Which then pushes me back to getting something like an RME Fireface 800/802 or just going the USB Steinberg UR824 route....



Tell me GAB, what do you think would be the best direction?

Cole

[fretless]

if you want to step up sure , if you are good where you are don't bother . I have been using Lynx PCI cards for a few years . With a converter this has been the pro level approach as well but I think Thunderbolt is taking over there too as PCI is a dying thing . Even when I built my system a few years ago I had to find a MB company that still had several PCI slots on their boards as I use 2 old UAD 1's and have 2 Lynx available for a total of 32 i/o if needed . That MB company is the only one that still makes these things , Tech moves fast but my old setup is rock solid in win 7 with 2 ms latency and I could improve on this if I wanted go to ssd's and bump the cpu up bit for me I'm set .
here is my board , look at all those slots !
http://www.jetwaycomputer.com/NAF93.html

[Tortuga]

Hey look, it's like 2007 in there



I feel for ya, Cole. I hate being at the crossroads of a new (Apple-pushed) technology. Everything is so cool, but so fucking expensive.

[fretless]

and in here



but these Lynx cards and outboard interface are pro , even though it's old it's still very high quality and rock solid . You can has your USB and firewire

[colejustesen]

Don't get me wrong, I think that the capacity of data transfer that the Thunderbolt connection offers is amazing! I was looking at the USB 3.0 interfaces hoping that it would be a step into the right direction, but the PreSonus Studio 192 has reports of having more latency than other USB 2.0 interfaces. So at the moment, even though USB 3.0 has significantly faster transfer rates the drivers that PreSonus uses are lacking. I also looked into the Zoom UAC-8, but honestly I would prefer the majority of inputs on the back panel. I used to own an M-Audio Delta 1010 back in the day that was really nice. I had to get a mixer to actually use it, but once I did it worked like a charm.

My only other concern is that my current motherboard, which is fairly new, uses a the Z97 chipset. It makes me wonder if stepping up to the latest chipset would be wise; however that would require me to buy a whole new CPU and RAM... I think that it would be wise to at least update my board to able to use TB 2 and USB 3.1.

So right now I am looking at getting either a Steinberg UR824 or a used RME Fireface 800 (which is fully supported under Linux too with FFADO ). I would love to get a Universal Audio interface, but damn!!! I imagine the sound quality is amazing, but I really want to make sure that I am not going backwards. The MR816csx is an incredible interface other that my one caveat. For those who don't want to use outboard gear, this might not matter to them.

Thanks guys!

Cole

[ibenhad]

I don't know if it's worth it but it would seem at least future bit for awhile. I know my Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 fully is fully supported by Thunderbolt with a simple adapter. Might not get the same speeds and what not but at least it isn't going obsolete any time soon. I am using it with a PC.

[RIFF]

Without reading heavily...
I have a firewire setup... Alesis IO26, sounds NOTICEABLY better than some other cheap usb units I owned. I had to find the right firewire interface card, which newholland helped guide me towards. Firewire vs USB, firewire is bi directional streaming vs USB flipping back & forth. Thats no biggy untill you start pushing tracks & resolution, except USB is gonna have a little more CPU use.

Either way, I kinda feel that sticking to the basics of good preamps, solid coverters, & solid OPamps, is going to be the wisest. IMO the scarlet 2i2 sounded BLAP flat, with no headroom. Behringers little xenyx x302 had bad pre's. Before those, I was using Zoom 1608 & just tranfering that to computer. THAT sounded fine too.

I wouldnt even upgrage if youre satisfied with you current unit; but if youre ready to upgrade, then MY 1st choice would be Thunderbolt, & then USB 3. But to ME, its funny how few USB3 units are to be found. Could be that USB shit is finalized or oraganized a little slower than the other.

[colejustesen]

I seriously love my Steinberg MR816csx, it just isn't the best for using outboard gear. The master volume controls the volume of all the outputs at once. So if I want to run my compressor and mic preamp as an outboard setup, I can't adjust the volume of my monitors as it affects the signal being sent from my DAW to those pieces of gear. As long as I don't touch the volume knob to adjust my monitor volume then I can get it to work. The new Steinberg UR824 allows me to turn off the outputs that I don't want the master volume to adjust through the dspMixFx software. The UR824 seems like a smart choice, but there is more latency than the MR unit. I was looking into getting an Universal Audio Apollo FireWire, but I worry about its stability under Windows 10. Do you think a monitor control device would be worth looking into? I don't want to move from the MR816csx, but I feel like it might be imminent...

Cole