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  #1  
Old 02-02-2021, 09:54 PM
johnnydobbers johnnydobbers is offline
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Default Where does REM Babyface First Gen fall into todays interfaces?

Looking for the best price/performance interface for my situation. I've read that RME products are supported almost forever, have the best drivers, and low latency. There is one used by me for sale for around 300 dollars.

I also need microphones, ideally a matched pair or sweet sounding ones to capture the wonderful tones of my vintage acoustics. Those 4050's and Gefell 300's have been on my radar.

Recording in a 14x12 bedroom. I will be recording acoustic guitar solo tracks in stereo, or mono tracks to be used in conjunction with a musical partner who lives far away. VERY occasional vocals.... I will be acoustically treating my room with DYI acoustic panels.

I already have a Schiit Modi DAC, and a Schiit Vali2+ headphone amp, and will be recording with closed back headphones, most likely ATHM50X. Will be mixing with Seinheisser HD6XX open back headphones. Not sure which "DAC" is better, the Schiit or the RME, however have heard the first gen RME headphone amp is lame, thus why I mentioned my Vali2+.

Suppose you had a budget of $1500 in my situation, how would you spread that out between an interface and microphones? Keep in mind I like things that keep their value over time, and am willing to spend a tad more if that helps....

Thank you in advance.
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Old 02-02-2021, 10:40 PM
Gordon Currie Gordon Currie is offline
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RME is top shelf gear. I have never used the BabyFace (I have a Fireface) but I no longer lust after interfaces AT ALL.

I think the BabyFace would be great for your use.
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  #3  
Old 02-02-2021, 11:02 PM
johnnydobbers johnnydobbers is offline
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The interface I am referring is almost a decade old however....
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Old 02-02-2021, 11:45 PM
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I don't know. A ten year old interface would not excite me. I'm no expert, but it seems like a lot of progress has been made in converters since then. If it was a vintage preamp, or mic.. But maybe someone else with more expertise will chime in on the value of a ten year old interface.
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Old 02-03-2021, 11:25 AM
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I have a RME Babyface Pro, so its the 2nd Gen, and a pair of Gefell M300's. I love both.

I got the Pro to avoid the breakout box/wires that I think the first one has.

Yea from what I understand RME's driver support is great. I also like their Total Mix virtual mixer software, it is straight forward and easy to use.

Occasionally i will feel the need for more inputs or something fancier. The various Apogee units look very nice. But I have always ended up sticking with my Babyface for now.

I like that it is USB powered, and has a physical knob for adjusting the volume and a few other things. It is my main sound card as well, I use it and my studio monitors to listen to music while working. Some of the other interfaces have no physical knobs, if that matters to you.

It has 2 additional 1/4" line inputs, so I could always hookup another stereo pre and get four inputs total.

You can hear it and my Gefells in this video.



Those are my thoughts, there are alot of great interfaces out there.
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Old 02-09-2021, 02:55 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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In my house I still have a 1st gen Babyface, and it runs effortlessly and sounds great. That's comparing it to my more recent RME UCX running an ADI8DS. All of my recording computers though run Windows 7 Ultimate. They run perfectly so no need to upgrade for me, and I don't use those computers for anything but recording. There are Windows 10 drivers for the original Babyface,
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Old 02-09-2021, 03:21 PM
DukeX DukeX is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by min7b5 View Post
I don't know. A ten year old interface would not excite me. I'm no expert, but it seems like a lot of progress has been made in converters since then. If it was a vintage preamp, or mic.. But maybe someone else with more expertise will chime in on the value of a ten year old interface.
It depends on the equipment. I'm still using a 15 year old EMU1212M PCI card. It still rocks. If I can't make excellent recordings it's not because of the converters. There's nothing on the market at $300 I'd even think about replacing it with.
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Old 02-09-2021, 04:34 PM
johnnydobbers johnnydobbers is offline
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thanks guys...please keep the replies coming
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Old 02-09-2021, 11:47 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anton View Post

"Occasionally i will feel the need for more inputs or something fancier. The various Apogee units look very nice. But I have always ended up sticking with my Babyface for now."

"It has 2 additional 1/4" line inputs, so I could always hookup another stereo pre and get four inputs total."
it also as an ADAT in and you can expand it to 10 mic inputs with one of these...

https://reverb.com/item/38323678-rme...MaAuUbEALw_wcB

or cheaper...

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-...ge.rr1|ClickCP

or cheaper yet (and surprisingly good)...

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-...ge.rr1|ClickCP
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  #10  
Old 02-12-2021, 02:19 PM
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Oh yea I forgot about the ADAT. Dang, I should just go buy one of those units you suggested. One can never have enough inputs/pres
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  #11  
Old 02-12-2021, 03:04 PM
sdelsolray sdelsolray is offline
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Interfaces connect to computers via computer-device protocols, i.e., USBx, Firewire, Thunderbolt, Ethernet.

Interfaces function with a computer's operating system and its applications with proper software "drivers".

If your computer is compatible, the interface will work.
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  #12  
Old 02-12-2021, 03:55 PM
johnnydobbers johnnydobbers is offline
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Just recieved the first gen babyface...will report back once i get my microphones....
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Old 04-05-2021, 08:57 PM
johnnydobbers johnnydobbers is offline
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I've had some time to form an opinion on the 1st gen babyface...

It's amazing!

It is so clear sounding, and my latency issues are gone. I finally get "it", since I've only ever had pretty cheap interfaces in the past. Might be the best used piece of equipment I have ever purchased. Working seamlessly with my brand new midi setup and 5 year old gaming PC. Plugging a guitar in is so easy and again, no latency while tracking. Microphone inputs are dead quiet and even in my untreated room I can tell the interface is the boss.

Was plug and play too. No weird install. No noticable latency!!!!

Cheers!
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Old 04-06-2021, 12:23 AM
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rick-slo rick-slo is offline
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Congrats. Looking forward to some sound clips.
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Old 04-06-2021, 03:18 AM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnydobbers View Post
I've had some time to form an opinion on the 1st gen babyface...

It's amazing!

It is so clear sounding, and my latency issues are gone. I finally get "it", since I've only ever had pretty cheap interfaces in the past. Might be the best used piece of equipment I have ever purchased. Working seamlessly with my brand new midi setup and 5 year old gaming PC. Plugging a guitar in is so easy and again, no latency while tracking. Microphone inputs are dead quiet and even in my untreated room I can tell the interface is the boss.

Was plug and play too. No weird install. No noticable latency!!!!

Cheers!
Fantastic, as I said in my post above they are great interfaces! I'm glad you decided to get it!
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