RME Fireface 800

1U rackmount unit. Metering is minimal, with clip LEDs only for the mic preamps. There is a dedicated instrument input with a limiter, which in use can add some sustain to instrument tracks. Aside from the software controlled mixing features, there is no onboard DSP for effects. The case is bulletproof, using an aluminum faceplate and steel chassis. The mic preamp jacks are Neutrik locking type (great), the 1/4 jacks are plastic, with metal ring/sleeve (OK). The mic preamp gain is set by front panel pots, the headphone amp the same.

The only unit built to be FW800 from the ground up. There are two FW800 ports, one 400 port. RME claims that three of these can be chained together. I suspect the only real advantage of 800 speed would be when doing lots of a/d and d/a at 192 kHz.

FWIW, Xp has some issues with FW800. Of course RME is on top of that, and the website has great info to get things ironed out. I am using an Adaptec FW800 card with the FF800 with no issues now....

The unit has tons of i/o, one of the main selling points. In my modest home studio, it serves well as the hub for patching in everything. No outboard mixer needed. 4 x mic pre, 8 x line in, 8 x line out, 2 x adat, s/pdif (coax), 1 x midi, headphone amp. The TotalMix application allows for practically infinite routing in and out of the FF, hence no external mixer necessary.

The FF800 has a dedicated instrument input, apparently designed for guitar and bass. It has a "drive" circuit, as well as a limiter and speaker simulator, to achieve a "mind blowing" sound, according to the well-written manual. I haven't used it too much, as I have dedicated amps and outboard gear for guit/bass. From what I have heard, it sounds a little better than a typical sterile direct-inject sound, of which I am not a fan.... useable in a very tight pinch, perhaps.

The mic pres are very clean and quiet. IMHO, they do not sound great with hyped mics (Chinese condensers, specifically). I have had good results using Crown CM700s on acoustic, and Cascade Fathead and Kel HM-1 on el guit. At 60 dB gain, the pres have just enough to make ribbons useable. None of the mic pres have send/returns, which is understandable, as there is only so much room in a 1U package, still, inserting a comp or EQ is sometimes useful. Again, with the flexibility of TotalMix, any ins/outs can be assigned as a mic pre send/receive, but you will be using an a/d/a conversion cycle. The phantom power is only configured through software, which I don't really like. In their defense, at least it is assignable PER MIC, instead of "in banks" of two or four.

The headphone amp is pretty loud and very clean, and has the same sweet converters and s/n as the other line outs. Sounds awesome with my K240Ms.

The unit can be bus powered if necessary. I haven't run it this way, as I use condenser mics often, and don't trust the step-up to 48V. I guess I could bus power it and measure the voltage. Knowing RME, they found a way to get a full 48V from the firewire bus. Would probably be a good drain on a laptop, though. The mains power will accept anything from 110-240 VAC, though, which makes portability a little easier.

The unit will do 192KHz a/d and d/a. You have to have a pretty smoking machine (especially hard drives) to do a lot of tracks at that rate. The adat i/o supports SMUX, so you can go beyond 48kHz if need be.

As far as drivers go, RME stands alone. They are simply THE BEST when it comes to driver support. ASIO and WDM are available, as well as Mac support. If I could, I'd give them a 20 out of 10.

Direct monitoring is done through the TotalMix app, which has a whopping 0.4 ms lag when monitoring direct signals (this includes an entire a/d/a cycle to the anaolg outs). Fantastic.

No much to say here, really. The unit can function as a stand-alone unit, and it remembers the last configuration set up in TotalMix, which is a nice feature. There is no bundled software with the package, just a kick-ass piece of hardware with the best driver support on the planet.

It is much easier to go from designing computer hardware (digital audio cards and converters) and writing drivers to making audio interfaces, as RME has done. It is much harder to go from designing great audio gear to making computer interfaces (like presonus, Mackie, Focusrite, etc....).

Let me say this. I am a die-hard Presonus fan. I have had an MP-20 (modded, of course) forever, and think it is a great piece. So are their compressors. So is the VXP, so is the Eureka. I REALLY wanted to buy a Firestudio out of support for the company. The Firestudio, along with the Focusrite Pro 26 and Mackie Onyx, are the only other pieces in competition with the Fireface.

However, Presonus has learned the hard way about jumping into the computer audio interface market. Yes, I bought a Firesation. Anyone remember that piece? I didn't think so. Presonus did a great job of burying all the bad press that unit deserved. Great concept and sonics, HORRIBLE driver support. They left scores of users like me holding the bag. I have had lots of conversations with Rick Naqvi of Presonus about that piece and other stuff in general - he is a great guy, and works hard to make customers happy. Unfortunately, the Firestudio is still having major growing pains due to driver issues. Not that it won't be a great piece eventually - but I don't buy gear to be *eventually* good. I feel for Presonus. They make excellent gear for the dough, but they should stick with what they are very good at - audio gear.

At the end of the day, you could spend more money for Apogee, Lynx, or whatever, but you will be gaining very little in sonics. For me, the flexiblity, great sound, and best support in the business make this piece a easy call to make.

Rack mount, Fire wire 8 analog I/O w/2 ADAT Optical Intrfce. Ports.
4 Mic Pres incl. (w/48v Ph. pwr.) Hd. Phone amp.
All metal case. Extremely sturdy. Built like a brick shithouse.
FPGA controlled unit. Includes Total Mix Software, for tracking/monitor mix controller.

3 units can be connected daisy chain FW ports. Good hardware throughout. ADAT Optic cable included/Firewire 400 cable included.
Will function at FW800 std. as well. Could NOT be easier to use.
8 An. ins/8 An. outs. 1/4" TRS Balanced all the way through.
Takes virtually any audio level you can throw at it, or from it.

Preamps are clean as the proverbial whistle. W/controls.
Has spdif as well. Word clock BNC ports, Great instrument inputs,
AES connections as well.

THIS BABY ROCKS!

A.C Powered w an IEC-320 detachable input connection.
120V/240V selectable

ASIO Direct monitoring, Res. will climb to 192K at 24bits if'n ya likes. The unit really shines in this area. Specs too numerous to list

Total Mix program allows control of everything in a snap.
Great monitoring/tracking tool.

Put's a MOTU to shame. Pristine sound, excellent separation, rock solid clocking, great phasing and bandwidth. SUPER SOLID PERFORMER!
Right up there with the Apogees. Great Company support as well.
Made in Germany. Excellent craftsmanship.

BUY IT. YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY!!!