Thunderbolt interfaces

[chitz]

I've been busy building a rack for recording and other stuff I plan to do in the future and I'm needing a new interface.
I need a new laptop too because this one is 8 years old and limping along.

For my laptop I'm going with a macbook pro 15. This should suffice for 8 more years. (I hope)

I've been shopping these rackmount thunderbolt interfaces and WOW! These thing are what I consider pricey! Many are upward of $2k!

Am I missing some lower priced units? Is the price going to drop like all new tech does?
I'm not trying to be a cheapskate, but I don't want to buy more than I need for some basic 2-3 track recordings.

Recommendations please.

[clintj]

Smallest I see in a full width rackmount Thunderbolt interface is something like the Focusrite Clarett series, but that's still a grand. It looks like they assume if you're going rack mounted, you must be into serious multichannel recording so you get 8 preamps. I've got a Scarlett with 8 preamps, and find that I use the extra inputs and outputs for routing to and from other rack gear more than actually recording 8 track audio (although I have done it before).

I do see prices dropping as it becomes more common.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by chitz

I've been busy building a rack for recording and other stuff I plan to do in the future and I'm needing a new interface.
I need a new laptop too because this one is 8 years old and limping along.

For my laptop I'm going with a macbook pro 15. This should suffice for 8 more years. (I hope)

I've been shopping these rackmount thunderbolt interfaces and WOW! These thing are what I consider pricey! Many are upward of $2k!

Am I missing some lower priced units? Is the price going to drop like all new tech does?
I'm not trying to be a cheapskate, but I don't want to buy more than I need for some basic 2-3 track recordings.

Recommendations please.

Firewire interfaces can connect to T-Bolt with an appropriate cable, and there are USB interfaces which don't use T-Bolt at all. Either can handle much more traffic than you intend to generate. In short, T-Bolt is not necessary for you.

[dcn]

Have you considered the Apollo Twin? There are two versions - Solo and Duo - for $700 or $900, respectively. Great reviews and significant plugin processing power, but two pres only.

Out of curiosity, are you waiting for the rumored Macbook Pro release later this year or purchasing now?

[ChuckS]

Motu has a line of thunderbolt/usb interfaces. Price range from 650 to 1500.

[RayCJ]

Just a couple thoughts here...

T-Bird is capable of 10Gbps. That kind of transfer speed lends itself to video file transfers and subsequent processing. The problem though, is that no laptop comes anywhere near the CPU performance level that could process that much video. 10Gbps is approaching the top-end speed of the PCI buss and Laptop PCI busses are usually crippled quite a bit to conserve power.

Desktop computers always have much better performance ratings than a laptop because they don't "dumb-down" (i.e. de-rate) the CPU and buss speeds to minimize power utilization. So, the way I see it, putting 10Gbps interface on a laptop is like getting all dressed up with nowhere to go.

If you're only going to process audio files, USB 3 (which is 5Gbps) will transfer the largest raw audio like a hot knife through butter.


Ray

[chitz]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Firewire interfaces can connect to T-Bolt with an appropriate cable, and there are USB interfaces which don't use T-Bolt at all. Either can handle much more traffic than you intend to generate. In short, T-Bolt is not necessary for you.

Thank you for that!

Originally Posted by dcn

Have you considered the Apollo Twin? There are two versions - Solo and Duo - for $700 or $900, respectively. Great reviews and significant plugin processing power, but two pres only.

Out of curiosity, are you waiting for the rumored Macbook Pro release later this year or purchasing now?

I'm prepared to purchase now, but can wait for the "new release"? When is that?

Originally Posted by RayCJ

Just a couple thoughts here...

T-Bird is capable of 10Gbps. That kind of transfer speed lends itself to video file transfers and subsequent processing. The problem though, is that no laptop comes anywhere near the CPU performance level that could process that much video. 10Gbps is approaching the top-end speed of the PCI buss and Laptop PCI busses are usually crippled quite a bit to conserve power.

Desktop computers always have much better performance ratings than a laptop because they don't "dumb-down" (i.e. de-rate) the CPU and buss speeds to minimize power utilization. So, the way I see it, putting 10Gbps interface on a laptop is like getting all dressed up with nowhere to go.

If you're only going to process audio files, USB 3 (which is 5Gbps) will transfer the largest raw audio like a hot knife through butter.


Ray

That sounds like solid advice. (bows head in humility) USB 3 is probably good for this analog guy in a digital world. Can u recommend some USB3 rackmount interfaces?

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by chitz

Thank you for that!


I'm prepared to purchase now, but can wait for the "new release"? When is that?



That sounds like solid advice. (bows head in humility) USB 3 is probably good for this analog guy in a digital world. Can u recommend some USB3 rackmount interfaces?

I have experience with only one unit which is a Scarlett 18i20. It's been rock solid for the past year. Wish I could say more but my experience level using audio interfaces is very limited.


Ray

[ChuckS]

It would be helpful to know what features you need in the interface, such as:
How many preamps? Do you want clean or colored preamps?
Do you need one or more DI?
How many line level inputs and outputs do you need?
Do you need one or more headphone amps?
Do you need digital inputs and/or outputs?
Does it need to be expandable?

I recently moved from my Scarlett 6i6 to a Motu Ultralite AVB (that Scarlett is not rack mount and the Ultralite is a 1/2 rack unit. This is subjective, but I believe there is an improvement in the quality of the A/Ds and D/As. You might want to consider the Motu 1248 AVB if it has the feature set you are looking for.

[dcn]

Originally Posted by chitz

Thank you for that!

I'm prepared to purchase now, but can wait for the "new release"? When is that?

There is no dependable forecast at this point. The "educated guessers" I've read (MacRumors, etc.) say June for the 13 inch and September for the 15 inch version.

[Andy Howell]

Originally Posted by clintj

Smallest I see in a full width rackmount Thunderbolt interface is something like the Focusrite Clarett series, but that's still a grand. It looks like they assume if you're going rack mounted, you must be into serious multichannel recording so you get 8 preamps. I've got a Scarlett with 8 preamps, and find that I use the extra inputs and outputs for routing to and from other rack gear more than actually recording 8 track audio (although I have done it before).

I do see prices dropping as it becomes more common.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I use a Focusrite Saphire which works perfectly over thunderbolt with a FireWire adaptor.

[chitz]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

It would be helpful to know what features you need in the interface, such as:
How many preamps? Do you want clean or colored preamps? 4 would suffice
Do you need one or more DI? one would probably do
How many line level inputs and outputs do you need? need 2, want 4
Do you need one or more headphone amps? one
Do you need digital inputs and/or outputs? not sure
Does it need to be expandable? No

I recently moved from my Scarlett 6i6 to a Motu Ultralite AVB (that Scarlett is not rack mount and the Ultralite is a 1/2 rack unit. This is subjective, but I believe there is an improvement in the quality of the A/Ds and D/As. You might want to consider the Motu 1248 AVB if it has the feature set you are looking for.

I'm a relative noob to recording, so I'm not 100% certain of all the specs I need or want. Some average equipment will probably fit the need.

[pieterh]

I also use Focusrite Saffire which is FireWire, and Thunderbolt compatible. As I understand it FireWire is two-way communication unlike USB which is one way at a time. I may well be wrong but either way my Firewire interface works really well.

The USB3 interfaces I looked at were also very expensive...

[chitz]

Looks like the Focusrite 18i20 & Pro 40 have great reviews and rebates this month. Leaning that way

Anyone know what the major/minor differences are? How's the learning curve?

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by chitz

Looks like the Focusrite 18i20 & Pro 40 have great reviews and rebates this month. Leaning that way

Anyone know what the major/minor differences are? How's the learning curve?

They're fundamentally the same but, the 18i20 has USB interface to the computer and the Pro 40 has Firewire connections to the computer.

If you wanted a device that could interface in all three ways (USB, Firewire and Thuderbird) it would cost more because each technology must be licensed and is supported by a different chip-set and physical connection. That adds cost to the production unit.

Ray

PS: I have the 18i20 and love it. It was no harder to learn to us than the little ones like the 6i6 etc -which is what I started-out with.