suggested FireWire i/o interfaces??

[squarewave]

Anyone have any serious recommendations??

 

I am not a hardcore DAW guy as of yet.

 

Honestly, I am really looking to use it as a preamp for music file playback right now. Yeah, I know it's overkill, but that;s how I roll.

The inputs, DSP, plug-ins, etc would LIKELY be used later as I choose some software and assemble a project DAW.

 

That said, please feel free to include system specific pros/cons of the interfaces with DAW software like Cubase.

 

Based on a very quick (and I will admit, purely superficial) glance at the available products, I am leaning toward a TC Electronics Konnekt product or the Focusrite Saffire w/ DSP.

 

I know and respect these brands for their other electronics, but I am not sure of they are the right choice for this type of product.

$300-400 street price would be the max budget for a purchase like this.

 

TIA.

[a.miller]

I would go with an Mbox by digidesign. I have one and have been super pleased. You get Pro Tools recording software, which is awesome, and a portable, versatile recording and playback interface.

[TCP]

If you want the Mbox and firewire then you have to get the mbox2 pro (which is out of your price range). The normal mbox2, as wonderful as it is, is USB. But if you don't want protools (use logic, logic studio was just released for the same price as protools and is much much better), there are much better i/o interfaces out there for the same price.

[rileykill]

I use a MOTU 8Pre an love it ... but it's a little higher than $400 and you probably don't need 8 preamps. Still, it's a really nice unit IMO.