Interfaces for pc recording....

Hey Guys...I have been researching this like crazy so I thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone else knows...Does any company build a USB 2.0 interface that is strictly balanced ins/outs with no mic pre's? All the units I see have at least two pre's..I have great pre's (my MILA can smoke just about anything out there!)..the last thing I want is some inferior, chip based junk messing with my sound on the way in...Most of the units I see have 2 pre's, 4 balanced ins and a s/pdif for the last 2 for a total of 8...be nice to have 8 ins or at minimum 6 and a s/pdif...any ideas?

Cheers,
Ray

MOTU UltraLite mk3 fits the bill.    USB2/FW400.  8 TRS analog i/o + 2 XLR + 1 SPDIF

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite-mk3/images/ul-mk3_large_r.jpg/image_view_fullscreen

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite-mk3/body.html

I'm in the same situation; i need to upgrade my interface to something good.

I'm steering towards an 8-16 channel adat type thing...utilizing Apogee convertors, Lavry, etc.
Or...may just go with a Radar.

I have the MOTU 24IO and its faultes, just a bank of 24 mono jack ins and 24 mono jack outs.
It works with the PICe424 card, but I would assume they will do something similar for USB.
I see abouve someone else reccomended MOTU, I really cant sing their praises enough!

Thanks..that motu looks like the ticket..now I just have to sell some gear...save a little dough

Ray

sometimes you can find MOTU 828Mk2 with USB2.0 as the connector.    I picked up a FW version of that box for 375 on ebay recently.  the Optical ADAT lets you add a behringer ADA8000 for $300 and get another 8 channels of analog i/o very easily.    I've only heard high marks about that ADA8000, which is odd considering the normal stigma surrounding Behringer products.

Hey guys,
I picked up an ESI ESU1808 a couple of months back to run 16in and 8 out on a Cubase 5 system here at home. It is awesome and only has two preamps to ignore  ;D

Actually I was surprised at the quality of the pres in this thing also - but they still dont get any love (too many preamp choices).
the best thing compared to many other interfaces I have owned in the sub 1k market is that this one actually has a realiable and stable software package too.

It is handy to have 8 inputs and outputs permanently patched up to outboard rack gear, and still leaves the front panel inputs for patching in a home studio setup.

http://www.esi-audio.com/products/esu1808/

It does me for now....

It's firewire rather than USB2, but you could do worse than Audiofire 12 depending on your budget.  I tested a load of stuff before buying, and if you don't need digital I/O or mic pres, then IMO this is by far the best price / quality compromise.

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireWire/AudioFire12/index.php

I've found my Audiofire 12 suffers from inconsistent latency, which is a severe and frustrating problem that cannot be compensated for. See this thread I started at Gearslutz: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/509388-inconsistent-latency-audiofire-12-a.html  In addition, the latency that it reports to my daw is much less than the actual latency of the system. I am getting rid of mine.

Best, Ben

http://www.tcelectronic.com/audiointerfaces.asp
probably the best vallue for money