Has anyone here A/B tested reasonably portable interfaces in the $500 -600 range. I am looking at something that can handle at least 4 mics prefereably with some channels preamped to do mobile recording into macbook G4 1.67GHz with protools. Recording is acoustic music with minimal if any percussion.

Currently I am leaning toward the M-Audio 1814 firewire interface however my search for info is still a ways from being done.

Any thoughts or opinions appreciated.

The Audio Fire 8 would be my personal preference.

The sound is in the ballpark of the many of the current pro models.

Oz - have you or do you know someone who has experience using the Audiofire with Protools 7.3? Are there any compatibility or other issues? I take it from you comment that the sound would be noticeably better.

Are there pro models that would be a better choice for not way more money? If so what? AS a relative newbie to digital recording all advice is gratefully received.

AFAIK Digi is closed-system: you can use Digi hardware or M-Audio if you get the M-Powered PT software.

Bear

I actually like the Digi Pro Tools LE systems from the Digi 002 on. I am not an M-Audio fan. How long have they been making the Delta 1010? I think their betters came out with their upgrade units over three years ago.

I might be putting up a review of the Digi 003 soon FWIW.

Somehow I overlooked the Pro Tools requirement in the original post. If you got to go with Pro Tools, then go with the M-Audio firewire unit that closely fits your needs.

Sorry for not paying total attention.

Hmmm after looking at all the info on M Audio I realized that the projectmix is an AD interface..... while it is quite a bit more money at around $1500 plus software it appears to give a lot more features and it means I can use faders (which I am used to) as opposed to mousing them. I think it might be wise however to wait until the review of the digi 003 comes out. I gather from the comments that if one is going protools either digi or M0-Audio are the viable options.

I really do appreciate the advice gentlemen (I hope I am not being too loose with the term) and while my head is still spinning ... at least there is some focus provided by the comments.

I haven't looked hard, but in your consideration you should probably factor in the LE vs. M-Powered differences in terms of functions/features and track count as well as hardware differences. To trick out the hardware issue, consider the Black Lion Audio mods, with standard mods available for both M-Audio and Digi LE hardware.

Bear