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Choosing the right Echo DIgital Audio interface for your needsWhat type of computer are you planning to use with your Echo Digital Audio interface?How do you plan to connect your Echo Digital Audio interface to your computer? How many analog inputs and outputs do you really need? Do you need digital inputs and outputs (SPDIF I/O and/or ADAT I/O)? Resolution (bit rate and sample rate) Do you need MIDI I/O? Do you need Word clock? Do you need surround sound? Playback routing Do you need to use multiple applications at the same time (Multi-client Audio)? Recording software Intro Making the decision to purchase a new audio interface can be very confusing. There are a number of variables that may factor into your decision. Hopefully, this worksheet will make that decision easier for you. What type of computer are you planning to use with your Echo Digital Audio interface?All our audio interfaces are PC (Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 — both 32-bit and 64-bit) and Mac compatible (Mac OS X 10.4 or later). How do you plan to connect your Echo DIgital Audio Interface to your computer?Our audio interfaces connect via PCI, ExpressCard and PCMCIA slots and FireWire. For desktop computers with PCI and PCI-X slots, check out our PCI digital audio recording interfaces: Layla3G, Gina3G and MiaMIDI. For laptops and desktops with FireWire ports (1394a) check out our FireWire digital audio recording interfaces: AudioFire 2, AudioFire 4, AudioFire 8, AudioFire 12, and AudioFire Pre8. If you don't have FireWire, you can add a FireWire adapter card if you have a PCI, PCI-e, PCMCIA, or ExpressCard slot. For laptops with ExpressCard slots or desktops with ExpressCard adaptors, check out our ExpressCard products: Indigo DJx and Indigo IOx. For laptops with PCMCIA slots or desktops with PCMCIA adapters, check out our PCMCIA products: Indigo dj and Indigo io. How many analog inputs and outputs do you really need?This depends on what kind of playback/recording needs you have. For instance if you are a DJ, check out our Indigo dj or Indigo DJx or even our AudioFire 2. If you need lots of inputs and outputs check out our AudioFire 12. If you need preamps for microphones, check out our AudioFire 4, AudioFire 8, AudioFire 12, AudioFire Pre8, Gina3G and Layla3G. All of our mic preamps have phanton power if you need it. For a complete comparison of our products check out our Product Comparison page. Do you need digital inputs and outputs (SPDIF I/O and/or ADAT I/O)?If you need digital audio input via S/PDIF or ADAT or if you need to sync to another digital audio device, check out these interfaces: Coaxial S/PDIF: MiaMIDI, Gina3G, Layla3G, AudioFire 2, AudioFire 4, AudioFire 8, AudioFire Pre8. Optical S/PDIFor ADAT: Gina3G, Layla3G, AudioFire 8, AudioFire Pre8. Are you planning to expand (more I/O) your Digital Audio Workstation ( DAW)? If yes, choose an Echo Digital Audio interface with SPDIF I/O so you can sync multiple Echo interfaces or transfer stereo audio files digitally. Select an interface with ADAT I/O if you have another device with ADAT I/O. (For more discussion of S/PDIF and ADAT see Digital 101.) Resolution (bit rate and sample rate)All our current audio interfaces are 24-bit and full duplex from 32 kHz through 96 kHz sample rates. Our AudioFire 12 goes up to 192 kHz (specs). (For more discussion on this see Digital 101.) Do you need MIDI I/O?Do you have Midi devices (Midi controller, drum machine, Synthesizer etc...) that you would like to use with your Echo Digital Audio interface? Then check out our FireWire product line and PCI product line. Do you need WordClock?Do you need WordClock I/O to sync multiple audio interfaces or other devices with WordClock I/O? Check out our Layla3G, AudioFire8, AudioFire 12 and AudioFire Pre8. For more discsussion of WordClock see Digital 101.) Do you need surround sound?Do you need surround sound capabilities? For 5.1 surround check out our Gina3G. For 7.1 check out our Layla3G, AudioFire 8, AudioFire Pre8, and our AudioFire 12. Playback routingDo you need to play your audio on multiple outputs at the same time? The AudioFire 2 and AudioFire 4 support routing playback from the computer to different physical outputs. Audio applications see the AudioFire’s outputs listed as "Playback 1" through "Playback 6". Using the console, you can then route the playback channels to either the analog outputs, headphones (AudioFire2 only), or digital outputs. Each playback pair can be independently routed to any of the outputs. You can also duplicate playback pairs so the same audio goes to more than one set of outputs. Do you need to use multiple applications at the same time (Multi-client Audio)?All Digital Echo Audio interfaces have multi-client capabilities. Multi-client audio allows multiple apps to record and playback at the same time. When using multi-client audio, be sure that all your audio applications are set to the same sample rate. You may wish to use the sample rate lock feature on the console; this prevents applications from automatically changing the sample rate. Audio inputs are shared; any number of applications may record from the same audio input at the same time. Different applications must use different audio outputs; you will need to configure each individual audio application accordingly. Recording softwareAll our audio interfaces are compatible with most popular recording software packages on the market today (too many to list!). If you're just starting out, you might want to look some of these free third-party software programs listed here: Free Software. Still can't find the right audio interface for your needs? Email us your suggestions at: techsupport@echoaudio.com |
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