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RME dead. Interface for Mac Pro 2010 El Cap?

motomuso

Just another onion head
I just got a call from Advanced Audio Electronics here in Los Angeles. My RME Fireface 800 is badly corroded and would cost more to repair than to replace. I don't know what was eating that interface as I have had other items in the same rack for years with no corrosion problems.

Anyway, I am in a jam since I'm not ready to upgrade to a new Mac but now must buy an interface for a computer whose days are numbered. It's a computer which has been up to any job I've asked it to do.

Would that there was a future-proof interface, say with FW800 and USB3 and T'Bolt 2,3, or whatever. Any suggestions? I can get by with 2 - 4 inputs.
 
Firewire seems to be going the way of the Dodo.

Depending on budget an RME Fireface UFX+ would be futureproof being USB 3.0.

Nothing wrong with a Babyface - ive got one for my school laptop and it is great. Only has 2 physical inputs but is expandable via ADAT.
 
Weird! You might want to ask RME if that's a common issue? I went from the UC (FF 400 with USB) to the BFP and love it. I looked at the Antelope Zen Tour and UAD lineup, but it came down to simplicity and reliability.

FWIW The connection type adds bandwidth, but not speed. You'll likely never fill the bandwidth so USB 2/3 is fine.
 
I'm using the Fireface UC and it's great. I don't need any of the DSP from the UCX. I've heard that the headphone amp on the Babyface isn't as good as on their other interfaces.

USB 2 is fine and there's no need to go with 3. In some cases 2 performs better for audio. At the rate which TB keeps changing, I'd stay away from it or get one that also has USB. The newer interfaces with ethernet might also be a good option for future-proofing.
 
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USB 2 is fine and there's no need to go with 3. In some cases 2 performs better for audio. At the rate which TB keeps changing, I'd stay away from it or get one that also has USB. The newer interfaces with ethernet might also be a good option for future-proofing.

I'm concerned that previous sessions using FW800 won't be fast enough with USB 2.0, which is what my Mid 2010 has for USB. I have considered getting a USB 3 card such as a Sonnet to allow this computer to use the faster USB.

Ethernet seems a bit complicated; unless I have it wrong and one simply plugs the ethernet interface into the ethernet port on the interface?
 
I'm concerned that previous sessions using FW800 won't be fast enough with USB 2.0, which is what my Mid 2010 has for USB. I have considered getting a USB 3 card such as a Sonnet to allow this computer to use the faster USB.

Ethernet seems a bit complicated; unless I have it wrong and one simply plugs the ethernet interface into the ethernet port on the interface?

Like I said, USB 2 often performs better than 3 for audio. You'll most likely get the same performance with any RME interface. The exception is with some PCIe interfaces as they can perform better but are awful if they have any sort of analog audio.
 
I went from a Ff800 to a UCX,its a nice I/O.Like others mentioned USB2 works well with RME products,according to SynthAx it's actually preferable over FireWire or USB 3.
IMO the UCX sounds better than the Ff800 and there's no internal power supply to worry about(this caused most of the FF800 problems).
Good luck
 
I went from a Ff800 to a UCX,its a nice I/O.Like others mentioned USB2 works well with RME products,according to SynthAx it's actually preferable over FireWire or USB 3.
IMO the UCX sounds better than the Ff800 and there's no internal power supply to worry about(this caused most of the FF800 problems).
Good luck

Interesting. The power supply was one of the things the tech said needed replacing which was a surprise to me since I was only having issues with the FW connector and headphone connectors falling into the case. Well, that and some cruddy audio connectors.
 
Weird! You might want to ask RME if that's a common issue? I went from the UC (FF 400 with USB) to the BFP and love it. I looked at the Antelope Zen Tour and UAD lineup, but it came down to simplicity and reliability.

FWIW The connection type adds bandwidth, but not speed. You'll likely never fill the bandwidth so USB 2/3 is fine.

Thanks to you bjderganc and the others for your helpful replies. I have learned a lot about USB today. I did email RME but they are on holiday until January 7. Just when I'm about to take advantage of the big Spitfire wish list smorgasbord I find I'm now looking instead at decidedly un-sexy interfaces!
 
I don't need any of the DSP from the UCX.

I have a question regarding this topic. I´m not quite sure if I understand correctly but does DSP in this case mean that I can let the soundcard process all of my plugins to free up my cpu load? Or does the RME interface process ONLY its own, internal plugins that come with the hardware?
 
Firewire seems to be going the way of the Dodo.

It isn't on new Macs, but FireWire going away doesn't matter if you have a Metric Halo interface with updated drivers for it. My 2882 has been going strong for over 15 years. You just need a $29 Thunderbolt->FireWire adapter to use it on a Mac that doesn't have FW.

By the way, the dodo was a man-made extinction. :)

motomuso:

Anyway, I am in a jam since I'm not ready to upgrade to a new Mac but now must buy an interface for a computer whose days are numbered. It's a computer which has been up to any job I've asked it to do.

Would that there was a future-proof interface, say with FW800 and USB3 and T'Bolt 2,3, or whatever. Any suggestions? I can get by with 2 - 4 inputs.

First, don't feel bullied into your computer's days being numbered! The 5,1 is one of the best Macs ever made.

But it's not just the interface itself that's future-proof, it's whether the company writes drivers for it. That's why I'm a Metric Halo fan. But their interfaces aren't budget ones. In that range I like iConnectivity's interfaces, even though I'm not on retainer with the company anymore (I used to do writing for them - manuals, product boxes, etc.).

iConnectivity's interfaces are USB Class-Compliant, meaning they use the USB driver built into the OS for audio.
 
By the way, the dodo was a man-made extinction. :)
As will be the FW extinction once the latest version of TB no longer supports it :)

I have a question regarding this topic. I´m not quite sure if I understand correctly but does DSP in this case mean that I can let the soundcard process all of my plugins to free up my cpu load? Or does the RME interface process ONLY its own, internal plugins that come with the hardware?
The plugins built into the Totalmix which IMO are useless unless you're doing some sort of live work with it.
 
It's probably not a significant difference but I went with the UCX instead of the UC because the converters are supposedly better. I don't use the effects but overall the UCX imo is a better I/O than the FF.
As far as drivers go either Metric Halo or RME are both very good and they are both great companies.
 
I've heard that the headphone amp on the Babyface isn't as good as on their other interfaces.

Are you referring to the output power on the original Babyface? If so, that issue was fixed on the Babyface Pro.

@motomuso The main question is probably I/O. The RME lineup should have identical latency specs. With their tech, they can push an insane number of channels through USB 2. A point was made about USB 2 being better than 3 in some cases. That's because 2 doesn't require any drivers to run on PC. Probably nothing worth losing sleep over though.

Also, FWIW, I asked RME about the converters and pres in the BFP versus their other interfaces. They hinted that the BFP was on par with the UCX and UFX, and better than the UC/400/800/etc. due to much newer tech.
 
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Are you referring to the output power on the original Babyface? If so, that issue was fixed on the Babyface Pro.

@motomuso
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Also, FWIW, I asked RME about the converters and pres in the BFP versus their other interfaces. They hinted that the BFP was on par with the UCX and UFX, and better than the UC/400/800/etc. due to much newer tech. Generally agree with others about the DSP, but onboard dynamics/compression (not available in BFP) might be nice for recording. Far from being a dealbreaker IHMO.

I was leaning heavily toward the UCX. But if I'm honest about what I really need in an interface I'd say that I never record more than 2 live ins at a time, usually acoustic guitar, vocals, or percussion inst's. I am 99% MIDI anyway; the usual composer with the virtual inst's - lots of orchestral stuff. So the Babyface could make sense.

Unless I'm missing something, dynamics and EQ are handled in Logic anyway so I don't see the need for it in the interface. $750 vs $1600 - That's a big difference.
 
heh! I just deleted that last part :)

I would say then that the UCX (36 I/Os) is overkill. You could expand the BFP via the optical input with an outboard preamp. It may be possible to split 4 channels from an outboard preamp to the BFP XLR pres and the line in channels (3/4).

Though the pres on the BFP are XLR only, as opposed to the combo XLR/TRS jacks. I wonder if there are any pitfalls with that approach...
 
I had been running 8 stereo outs from the RME Fireface 800 out to a Dangerous 2Bus to sum out of the box. Channels 1-8 are analog out and I have an Alesis AI3 which takes channels 9-16 to the 2 bus as analog. Then I would re-record it all back into Logic for a stereo master.

I have pretty much abandoned "out of the box" summing though. It has been a bit noisy - maybe due to the corrosion issues with the Fireface, maybe due to the extra conversions. Anyway, I do have the AI3 as an option for expansion.
 
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motomuso:

First, don't feel bullied into your computer's days being numbered! The 5,1 is one of the best Macs ever made.
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This is very good to hear. I need to look into getting another and learning the ins and outs of VE Pro, or if it's viable.
 
If the tech is mentioning power supply problems and corrosion, I would guess leaky electrolytic capacitors which can and will cause a mess to the circuit board and components physically near them. I do not know if this is a problem with RME, so this is just EE guess here. As for replacing the unit, latency is going to be your number one factor. I am assuming you are using VSTi here and not so much real instrument recording. RME is pretty much king of the hill with reliable round trip latency, especially under load. Other contenders are the MOTU AVB units, the new stuff not the older units. Don't get concerned with USB2 vs USB3, because USB2 has plenty of bandwidth. I wouldn't buy another FW device though because that is a dead end IMHO. Again, look for a device with solid RTL (round trip latency) and especially under load. There is a list over on GS with ratings. Make sure you are looking at the latest tables. https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mus...erface-low-latency-performance-data-base.html
 
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