Product: RME Fireface 400
Price Paid: USD 999
Submitted
08/11/2007
at
05:37pm
by
Chris
General
:
10
Excellent unit. Rackmount, 2 pre's, 8 audio in's and more. Obviously, read up the full stats at the RME website. If you are looking at this review, you probably have a good idea of what it is!
Connectivity
:
10
FireWire/IEEE-1394
I/O
:
10
Excellent preamps - extremely clean, no noise whatsoever. Very transparent which I love. If I want color, I will add what is needed later down in the chain.
Has MIDI, S/PDIF and more. I have used it almost exclusively to record drums via the eight channels, coupled with a Precision 8 bank of pre's (another amazing piece of gear but that is for another review!).
Power
:
10
Can be bus-powered or AC-powered. Will run bus on all desktops but not all laptops (this is due to laptop limitation not the unit). Through my Mac Powerbook yes. Through my PC notebook, no. But, you can use AC or bus, so you are good to go one way or another.
Has phantom power that is true +48v.
Technical specs
:
10
Supports all sample rates up to 192. It's ASIO drivers are ROCK solid. Have not had any issues in over a year. Direct monitoring as well.
Other
:
10
Has a built-in mixer matrix - very powerful. An intuitive interface but needs a bit of learning because it has so much flexibility. Put it this way, it can route the signal however you want, in a multitude of ways.
Overall
:
10
OK, this is what it comes down to. I will make it simple through an analogy. And, I speak from experience here because I have owned all of the pieces I describe.
If you want to drive a Hyundai or Kia because you want to save money, don't need to impress anyone, and don't really want any performance, get a Presonus Firewire interface like the Firepod. It will do the job, but it won't really do it well. It will likely break down (I had two Firepods and both broke and needed to be repaired in Louisiana). These are all made in China so if you enjoy poor workmanship (or poisoned food or toothpaste with anti-freeze in it), then go for it. You will save money up front, but never be happy and most likely frustrated when the unit goes down. But, if you can only afford $500, the Firepod is for you.
If you want to drive a Ford or GM car, get a MOTU 896. Better than the Firepod, more stable, better build for sure. But, nothing that will really blow the doors off anything. For a grand, a good unit, just not a lot of "wow" factor to it.
Now, if you are the type who wants to drive a BMW or Mercedes, then the Fireface (either the 400 or 800) is the one you want. Rock-solid construction, German engineered and built, a true piece of gear. It will do all you want and then still have more left in surprise. I cannot think of any lesson I have learned more than YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. This is certainly the case with the Fireface. Reliable, intuitive, productive, and powerful. Again, if you want the best, you have to pay a bit more. But, the experience and lifetime of service more than pays this bit more you pay for.
So, get a Presonus if you have no dough and just need to get into the game. Get a MOTU if you want to play the game a bit more competitively. But, get a Fireface if you want to dominate and play the game like it is supposed to be played.
