M-Audio Firewire 410, Echo Layla 3G, or MOTU 828 for new soundcard?

[Ashley Cooper]

I'm in the market for something to replace my sound audigy card on my 2 year old workstation and want something I can also use when I buy a new laptop in the next year.
So, what I was really looking for was:

1- something to record live dialog for VO work with the workstation and the laptop
2- possibly record live field work (indie film dialog) onto the laptop
3- to load material from my friend's DAT (a Tascam DAP1 which I borrow a lot) w/o doing an D/A transfer.
4- for use when mixing Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes with Sony Vegas & Sound Forge.
I'm chosing these models b/c they were spoken of in good regard with the Vegas people.
The Firewire 410 sells at B&H for $350 whereas the Layla 3G sells here for about $100 more:

http://www.proaudiotoys.com/store/product.aspx?prdId=163785


I'm still reading Jay Rose's books, but haven't read too much on sound cards, so please forgive me if I'm a bit green. I may be comparing apples to oranges. The MOTU 828 did seem interesting with it's ability to be used as a stand alone mixer, but I'm wondering how useful that would be without battery power and for use with my pd150.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could offer me some advice here. Thanks ahead of time for any help!

[Ray Sigmond]

Ashley:

I don't know what your budget is, but here are some others you can look at for your notebook audio card.


RME Fireface 800
http://www.rme-audio.de/english/firewire/ff800.htm

RME Multiface (PCMCIA & PCI)
http://www.rme-audio.de/english/hdsp/multifa.htm

RME Digiface (PCMCIA & PCI)
http://www.rme-audio.de/english/hdsp/digifa.htm

Apogee Mini-Me (USB)
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/minime.php

[Ashley Cooper]

Interesting stuff. One thing that would help is to know what this talk of time code and sync is all about. Can anyone give me a quick explanation of why I might want this feature?

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

First, don't worry about T/C unless you're planning on syncing with external devices, and even then, almost all cards work/input SMPTE and either pass SMPTE or pass MTC, which will control or be controlled by most any app out there.

I'm a huge fan of Echo Audio and M-Audio on the PC side, MOTU on the Mac side. Motu's driver support and tech support on the PC side are just slightly one shade brighter than suck, while Echo and M-Audio have outstanding tech support.
RME seems to be a good company, the products we tested last year in a shootout, never worked. After 2 returns to RME, we gave up. But, people seem to like their products. They use the same Cirrus chip that Echo uses, so they can't be any better than Echo, but I doubt their as good. Their tech support was marginal at the time of the testing.
Aardvark, Frontier, and many other companies make great cards too. However, the Microsoft choices, and the bigger name players in this game right now are Echo and M-Audio, and they deserve the accolades they're getting.
What app are you working with? How many simultaneous ins/outs do you need? Does your app support ASIO? WDM?

[Ashley Cooper]

Funny you should ask as I'm eagerly awaiting your new dvd, "Now Hear This". But, I really need to get to work here and can't wait until it comes out. I need to buy something in the next day or so.
So MOTU is not a great idea for PC people. Guess that cancels out any thought of using it as a field mixer.
So, you'd say go with the Layla 3G or the Firewire 410 then I guess. Don't suppose you have a preference b/t the 2?

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Both of them come with good soft mixer tools, I like the 410's pre's they're very decent for a cheap preamp. I've not worked with the lower end Layla yet. I only have the bigger 10 I.O version of the Layla, and I love it./\

[Dan Lahav]

<<<-- Originally posted by Ashley Cooper : Funny you should ask as I'm eagerly awaiting your new dvd, "Now Hear This". -->>>

What's that all about? Where and when can we buy?

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Short version:
http://www.vasst.com/dvd_products.htm

We shot, and had ready a DVD on audio for video, but one of the manufacturers whose product we used, asked us to delay because they were not only discontinuing the product, but coming up with something new and in a new branding. Since these people are pretty important to us, we've done so. We'll be releasing it soon, probably at the same time as our DV Basics series launch.

[Dan Lahav]

awsome! I'm in

[Ray Sigmond]

Hey Douglas:

I visited the website

http://www.spottedeagle.com/

and heard some of your music; OUTSTANDING is all I can say. I will be picking up some up your music as well!!

Big Ups,

Ray

[Ashley Cooper]

I'll definitely have to check out that site. But I can definitely say anything Spot makes is worth buying, so put up that dvd as soon as it comes out.
Speaking of which, now you've got me curious, Spot. I don't guess you could say if the product in question has anything to do with the question I asked, could you?
It's enough to make me want to try to borrow that DAT (always being borrowed by film makers around here, so hard to get a hold of) and wait for the dvd.

[Joe Carney]

Spot, what about the new Edirol FA-101? I've read 4 great reviews about it and a couple of reputable on-line retailers have it priced right around 500.00 US. The drivers were rated stable as well.

It has 10 in 10 out at 24/96 or 6 in/out at25/192.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

I've not gotten one of the Edirols to review, but they're sending me one. I'm sure it's quite good, knowing the Roland/Edirol team.

[Ashley Cooper]

The Edirol seems pretty good, but can you also use it to mix dolby 5.1 with Vegas?

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

The Edirol has enough I/O that you could use it to mix surround with Vegas, yes. Question is whether their drivers are stable enough to do so. Looks like, and I imagine they are. But I'd sure like to play with one first.