Looking for a specific audio interface

[thomasdf]

Hi all

I am looking for an audio interface, with the following specs :
- Will be used on a Mac computer and Protools
- USB or Firewire
- Dual mic pre, decent quality but nothing fantastic is needed
- AES EBU input

without breaking the bank... The interface will be used to record live shows on tour. So digital output from the console, and a pair of mic for the ambiance / room. It can also be a dual input AES EBU interface, and I'll use the console's mic pre.

MOTU 8D might be the thing, but it has more I/O than what I'll need. Any pointers welcome, I am not very familiar with what's going on today in the audio interface market

cheers

thomas

 

[Whoops]

Hi all

I am looking for an audio interface, with the following specs :
- Will be used on a Mac computer and Protools
- USB or Firewire
- Dual mic pre, decent quality but nothing fantastic is needed
- AES EBU input

without breaking the bank... The interface will be used to record live shows on tour. So digital output from the console, and a pair of mic for the ambiance / room. It can also be a dual input AES EBU interface, and I'll use the console's mic pre.

MOTU 8D might be the thing, but it has more I/O than what I'll need. Any pointers welcome, I am not very familiar with what's going on today in the audio interface market

cheers

thomas

I have a soundcard that I use exactly for the same duties that you describe,
I use the AES out of the console for the FOH mix and connect a pair of condenser mics for Ambient/room mics from the mixing position.

Just be aware you don't need a soundcard with AES EBU input, SPDIF is enough.
I just did a cable with a simple 4 resistor network to convert AES to SPDIF.
This is the circuit:


A soundcard with 2 Mic Pres plus AES EBU input will be rare and expensive,
while a soundcard with 2 Mic Pres plus SPDIF will be much more common and cheap.

I use the Lexicon Omega, it has 4 simultaneous inputs, so 1-2 are be the SPDIF IN and 3-4 are the Mic1 and Mic2 inputs.
It was very affordable and always worked very well

 

[thomasdf]

Wow, thanks a lot for the info ! I didn't know AES/EBU could be converted to SPDIF that easily ! Great bang for the buck !

 

[Whoops]

Wow, thanks a lot for the info ! I didn't know AES/EBU could be converted to SPDIF that easily ! Great bang for the buck !

yes, it’s very easy and works great for this application.