* Audio Interface * Echo vs. Edirol

[bigbonthabeat]

In December, I'm going to build a desktop PC for music production. I've heard it's a good idea to start with buying the Audio Interface to avoid headaches in the future. I've done some research and here is what I've narrowed down my options to:

- Echo AudioFire 2
- Echo AudioFire 4
- Edirol UA25
- Edirol FA-66
- Edirol FA101
- Edirol UA101

I want to know if anyone has experience with these and if you can recommend one over the other. (good things, bad things, any problems ? )

Also, are there any IMMOBILE options (ex. PCI) that are cheaper? I really don't need it to be portable.

thanks!

[dbijoux]

I wouldn't necessarily include price in that decision. Most important are the number/type of inputs you'll need or foresee in the future, followed by sample rate and features that are important to you. Building a new desktop, I'd seriously take a look at the Motu PCI/Rackmount cards - tho PCI is comparably more expensive across the board I think.

You've probably read about some incompatibilities with firewire. Generally, you'll be good with firewire using a TI chipset. As for comparisons, really, at the consumer level you are not going to see much difference in terms of quality.

[PauloF]

I have some experience with the UA-25EX A from Edirol that I use as audio Capture, together with my mixer and DAW.
It as a very versatile and easy to use Audio Capture/USB Audio card, with DIGITAL I/O and Monitoring features.
Due to it's 2 Input limitation (unlike the UA-101 / FA101), I use the 2nd BUS of my Main mixer as the INPUT(S) for the UA-25EX.
It surely does the job, and costs less than any other alternatives presented here.

[aha00]

Hi! I use Echo AudioFire 2. This card has very low latency. I like it.