List Price: $249.99
Sale Price: $159.99
Today's Bonus: 36% Off
- New 2.0 USB allows for even faster transfer speed of information
- Switchable headphone output enables you to cue up tracks
- Mic/line inputs to add external instruments or a microphone
- Three-dial monitoring and MIDI I/O
- Perfect for tracking
Click Here to Read More Reviews >>
I have been recording for 12 + years and have bought most of the interfaces in this price range....Digi 002, Mbox, Emu 0404, Centrance Mic Port Pro, Presonus Firebox....and out of all of the above the only one that played nice with Windows was the Centrance but it's only one mic channel for $150. The others had high latency, pops and clicks, crashes the Digi products being the absolute worst.I'm a songwriter and wanted to focus more on creativity than tech support and troubleshooting and with this product, I have finally found the solution. I don't write reviews but was compelled to let people know how amazing this product is.
I'm using it with Reaper ($40) and the two combined cost $250 and it's the most rock solid setup I have used yet. Literally installed the drivers, loaded up a 24 track session with plugins, and pulled the buffer slider all the way to the left...with other products that's guaranteed to stutter, drop out, pop and click, etc
And it worked....not a hitch. I couldn't believe it. It ran 24 tracks of audio with three plugins on each track for 3 1/2 minutes flawlessly.
So I plugged in a guitar and tried the same thing no pops or clicks. I recorded it against a click and played on the 2 and 4 to see if it was synching up. Perfect synch.
I also ran the Centrance latency utility on it (Google the name, it's a free download) and it reported a latency of 3.48 ms with 167 samples. In Reaper, I manually adjusted for that offset in Preferences > Audio > Recording (even though it wasn't needed no noticeable latency) and now I'm recording and monitoring in 100% real time. It's unreal.
Not to mention this also comes with the Focusrite plugin suite not your average crappy freebie throw in, they are excellent sounding quality plugins that can be used in professional productions. And a full VSTi of the Novation Bass Station.
If you want a rock solid recording setup for PC they're practically giving this interface away. Midi hookup, two amazing mic preamps, versatile monitoring options, and it runs off of USB bus power...no wall wart!
You could have an amazing setup for $250 if you combine this with Reaper. I can't recommend this highly enough. Best audio quality I've had yet and unbelievable stability. My PC is an Acer laptop running Vista bought used for $400 no megacomputer here.
Buy Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface Now
I used to use a PreSonus FIREBOX (4-in/10-out firewire interface) with my PowerBook G4; I lost the power supply and firewire bus power doesn't work with the newer laptops, so I was planning to buy the AudioBox by the same company. Instead I decided to try this one out. I haven't done a thorough comparison of the preamps, but already I like it a lot more:* The knobs have a much more sensible layout, and unlike the knobs on the PreSonus they turn freely instead of in increments. This is a big deal for the headphone output; my earbuds get very loud so I'm usually making fine adjustments. With the FIREBOX I basically had "a little too loud" and "almost too quiet" because of the way the increments were chosen.
* Everything feels durable. It's a little bigger than the FIREBOX, but not much heavier.
* There's a simple knob on the front to mix direct input with output from the computer; with the FIREBOX you have to use their mixer software to get this functionality.
* There are LEDs next to each input that show the input level; the FIREBOX has an LED that shows when it's clipping, but that's not nearly as useful by itself.
* The bus power is very convenient, there's no extra power supply to lose or break
* My setup is far from ideal, but from what I can tell the sound quality is flawless.
There's only one thing that bugs me: I have the outputs going directly to my speakers, and every time I plug the Saffire unit into the computer it makes a popping noise. When I unplug it it makes an even louder noise. I don't remember the FIREBOX ever doing that.
Read Best Reviews of Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface Here
First, let me say that before purchasing this box I looked at and considered MANY other brands and models. M-Audio, Lexicon, Presonus, Tascam, E-Mu, DigiDesign, etc. My main criteria was that I wanted a box that was dependable, easy to setup and use, has two XLR / instrument inputs as well as a midi in and out jack. It's amazing how many of these boxes have no midi inputs but we all have different needs.The professional studio, of which I'm a partner in, owns several pieces of Focusrite RED equipment. The RED line is fairly expensive, completely hand-built and kicks serious butt. So when I saw the Focusrite name it brought my immediate interest. No, it's not hand built but it's also not expensive. A respected brand earns that reputation and seeks to maintain or excel in their market position.
Before attempting to load the software from the enclosed disc, visit the Focusrite site and download their newest Saffire 6 USB software. In fact I wouldn't bother opening the software disc that comes in the box. The first time I installed it was on an older Mac G5Power PC running Leopard 10.5.8. When I turned it on everything was momentarily fine. Then, everything that was plugged into the box came out distorted and down about 3 semitones. I then tried installing it in a newer Intel iMac, again with 10.5.8. The results were crystal clear sound. I then tried installing it on a third iMac very similar to the 2nd one I mentioned. Again beautiful, quiet, clear sound burst forth. I'm still trying to find out what happened with the first install but at this time I choose to view the problem as an older computer, not the Saffire box.
I'll update my post as I attempt to suss out the problem with the older Mac.
UPDATE I believe the older Mac / software was the issue. This box has been running fine on my newer iMac's. Terrific piece of equipment.
Want Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface Discount?
Let me preface this review by saying that in the last month and a half I've had to return an Alesis MultiMix8 USB and a Mackie PROFx8 due to electronics defects.I swore by those brands, but after these recent fiascoes I no longer see them as trustworthy PRO gear -at least not for the entry level product lines. Focusrites weren't even on my top-5 list.Now, as for this product, I am literally flabbergasted. Amazing, noise-less, clean, smooth mic inputs. My AT2020 condenser mic (phantom powered) comes through beautiful and wispy. Zero noise. I mean that: zero pre-amp noise (which was a HUGE problem with both the Alesis and the Mackie). Voices come pristine and fresh ready for mixing/mastering. Mic pad switch works wonders if you have someone with strong spikes or overall big voices.
Instrument Hi-Z input, again, amazing. Distortionless, noiseless and smooth. Tried both a keyboard and a guitar. Both went through superbly.
Headphones and monitor outputs work as promised. Nothing to complain about.
MIDI: I'm currently testing this function and will update this review once I finish testing.
A nice little feature is the fader to have input or playback to the monitors/headphones. Comes pretty handy if you are overdubbing.
Latency: now this is the heart of any self-respecting ADC/DAC interface. I personally found the latency to be, by all intents and purposes, damn close to zero. I was able to overdub about 8 concurrent tracks with no problems whatsoever.
I cannot comment on the software provided since I have only installed the driver to make it work under both Win7 32 and 64 bit since I already have Reaper, Cubase and Audacity install which is all I need for my recordings right now.
In short, Focusrite got this right -period. They "nailed it". If and when it's time to grow my studio you can be sure Focusrite will be the first brand I'm going to be looking at. If you are looking for a solid, inexpensive, pro-quality interface, honestly, don't waste your time looking for more features at this price range. This is one is unbeatable at this price.
Solution: Get Focusrite's newer Scarlett series instead, it works great:
http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-2i2-USB-Recording-Interface/dp/B005OZE9SA/
http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Interface-Featuring-Preamps/dp/B004W6KR7E/
Unless you only have USB 1.1 on your computer, I don't believe there's any reason to buy this legacy interface instead of their newer Scarlett series. The end.
Here's the long version: This Saffire 6 didn't work on my PC and didn't work on either of 2 brand-new laptops I purchased and then returned, believing it was the laptops' fault instead of the Saffire 6.
The problem: From what I've seen, most PCs/laptops don't have their USB devices connected directly to the USB root. Under device manager, they look like this:
USB Root / Generic Hub / USB Device
USB Root / UMBus Numerator / USB Device
...If your computer connects something like the above, you'll have driver problems with the Saffire 6, latency popping, etc. And even if your current computer doesn't have the above issue of not connecting directly to the USB root, what about your next computer? Just get the newer Scarlett and you won't have to worry about it. Get a Scarlett.
0 comments:
Post a Comment