INTERACT FORUM
Devices => Sound Cards, DAC's, Receivers, Speakers, and Headphones => Topic started by: natehansen66 on May 23, 2012, 06:22:56 pm
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[Split from mojave's Steinberg thread]
I didn't want to take this ot but since RC23's inbox is full here I go.......
I just got an Audiofire 12 about a week ago. I was seriously considering the Steinberg from mojave's and other's reviews but the extra channels sealed the deal. For a few weeks before I got the Echo I was using my mobo's sound (to see if I liked software eq and xo), and before that I used miniDSPs. Gotta say I'm quite happy with it; super easy to setup and I haven't had any problems that I would blame on the Audiofire. I have had a few freezes, probably due to my Wal-Mart Acer :o.
Sound quality wise I think it's pretty killer, though I haven't heard a lot of other DACs, and never a pro interface like this. Kinda took a leap of faith! I'm happier with the sound from this than I was the miniDSPs........
What really attracted me to the Echo was it's no frills, no bs. 12 channels of ADC/DAC and that's it. I don't need mic pres, SP/DIF in/out, midi, ADAT, headphone amps, etc. I don't think there's anything with this many channels out there for the price. The software is intuitive as well.
My only complaint (besides the rack ears ::)) is it has a mind of its own when I use the Windows volume control on my keyboard. Sometimes it controls all channels, sometimes just the first 2. Not a deal breaker for me though as I'd rather do the volume in MC anyways, and I just ordered a remote. I have no idea how well it would work for a multi-channel setup (just stereo here), but with MC's routing I doubt it would be a problem.
I'm spending more time listening to music since I got the Audiofire that's for sure!
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Thanks for the review. I really like the simplistic look of the Audiofire 12.
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I have read some good reviews of Audiofire 12 where it has been benched with RME Fireface and Apogee i.e. http://homerecording.com/bbs/equipment-forums/rack/echo-audiofire-12-a-273957/#post3048509
Therefore I wanted to test this soundcard in my setup... and the Audiofire 12 delivers all required channels in one soundcard to a very low prize.
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@natehansen66: Which firewire card do you use with your Audiofire 12? In gearslutz forum I read about troubles with a Texas Instrument chipset firewire card (OS Win 7 64Bit).
Not till a change to a firewire card with NEC chipset brought a stable Audiofire 12. http://www.gearslutz.com/board/7637258-post73.html
The most good reviews of Audiofire arise out of Win XP time. Are you pleased with the actual Win 7 64Bit drivers?
Here a frustrated Audiofire user with Win 7 problems: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/7678774-post26.html
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RC23, sorry I missed your last post.
I'm still quite happy with the Audiofire on my W7 machine. In my review I mentioned that I have trouble with my computer freezing every now and then, seems to do it once every few days. It just freezes up totally, can't ctl-alt-del or anything, so I have to restart it. Then it works fine. As far as I can tell this started happening after I got the AF. I'm using the onboard Firewire port on my mobo, and I have no idea if it's a compatible chipset. It seems people with Firewire problems have dropouts and connectivity issues, not freezes. My computer isn't exactly the last word on performance, either.
I'm gonna get a FW card with one of the recommended chipsets and see if it helps. Actually, I was just searching Google for recommended cards for the AF and your post came up in the search, that's how I saw it ;D
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I have a AF12 and a Ti PCIe firewire 400 card and just converted to JRiver from Win MCE. So far I like it a lot better than the old setup. I was using the built in sound card on the MB, then optical to my Emotiva DMC-1 receiver, out the received to the AF12, the firewire back to the PC running reaper to process the audio (parametric eq's per speaker) then from the AF to the AMP. I was getting some hiss through the speakers with nothing playing. Now, I've dropped most of that and just use JRiver to the AF12 via ASIO and no more hiss. The sound quality is much better as well. Now I need to re-do the pEQ's but I'll probably be getting new speakers in the next 6-7 months so I may just hold off on that.
If you have the money, I would recommend the Echo Audiofire 12.
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I have a AF12 and a Ti PCIe firewire 400 card and just converted to JRiver from Win MCE. So far I like it a lot better than the old setup. I was using the built in sound card on the MB, then optical to my Emotiva DMC-1 receiver, out the received to the AF12, the firewire back to the PC running reaper to process the audio (parametric eq's per speaker) then from the AF to the AMP. I was getting some hiss through the speakers with nothing playing. Now, I've dropped most of that and just use JRiver to the AF12 via ASIO and no more hiss. The sound quality is much better as well. Now I need to re-do the pEQ's but I'll probably be getting new speakers in the next 6-7 months so I may just hold off on that.
If you have the money, I would recommend the Echo Audiofire 12.
Holy cow! That was a seriously convoluted setup you had going! Glad you're liking the simpler setup. I'm getting a headache just reading about how you had it before.
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Yes it was a mess but with Windows MC, I didn't have another choice. Now with JRiver, I'm a happy camper. Best $$ I've spent so far on my system.