best baby monitor reviews uk image
Joe
hi, i'm looking to buy an external audio interface. which one should i get?
the main reason is to get the best sound quality i can out of my monitors (KRK Rokit 6s)
however it'd be good to be able to plug an instrument or mic or two in as well.
my budget is about £150 roughly (or around $230 for you Americans)
i also need help with the cabling. i think XLR is what i want, but the KRKs also have TRS (and unbalanced RCA). any advice about the different cabling would be much appreciated too.
interfaces i've been looking at already are the M-Audio Fast Track Pro or variations of and the Presonus Audiobox... any other suggestions are welcome.
Thanks!
also, it needs to be able to work with my Windows 7 (64 bit) PC and a MAC laptop i'm getting shortly
Answer
One of the things that you need to be cautious about is the stability of drivers. There are a lot of audio interfaces out there that do the job in terms of hardware and features. But their compatibility with software is horrible due to faulty drivers. Especially since you plan to use that on a 64-bit Windows 7 for a while, driver stability is all the more important.
I would advise you to buy the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. It is available on Amazon UK for exactly £150. It has 2 microphone/instrument inputs with phantom power. And apart from RCA outputs, it has 1/4'' Phono outputs too(which is exactly the same thing as TRS. This baby's drivers are SO solid that it responds well to anything I throw at it. For my last song, it ran 24 tracks of audio with three plugins on each track! It is built like a tank, so it'll last a while too.
Now in comparison to the M-Audio Fast Track, this is far far better. My friend has the M-Audio, so I have hands on experience with both these interfaces. The pre-amps in the M-Audio are just not as good and the output is a bit muddier. The build quality is not as good, and there are a few latency issues. And more importantly, the drivers are a hit and a miss. So I would advise you to stay away from M-Audio Interfaces. Their keyboards and monitors are great. Interfaces, not so much.
I am not sure about the Presonus as I haven't used it. But this is what I found from a review. And if you are a guitar player this might effect you:
"I tried the PreSonus AudioBox recently and was extremely disappointed with it. I didn't try it with a microphone since I'm usually recording guitars direct, but the preamps are designed to ALWAYS have 20 db of gain being applied even with the input turned all the way down. I looked this up on their official forums, and it is intentional. Because of this, I was never able to get a signal that wouldn't clip when palm muting (even with passive pickups). They don't have any kind of software mixer either, so you have to buy an attenuator pad or find some other workaround.
There's also a knob that you use to blend the mix between the hardware direct monitoring signal and the regular output. Even with the knob turned all the way to the regular output side, you still get some "leak" from the direct signal coming through the monitors. This can cause feedback problems, give you inaccurate monitoring (in my situation, because I'm hearing dry/clean guitar signal at the same time as amp sim VSTs), and is just a general pain in the ass.
And just to add icing on the cake...I also discovered that the output starts digitally clipping with the output knob at only 9 O'CLOCK! Ridiculous."
So in conclusion. I will hands down recommend the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. And if it is of any good, it is an English company based in High Wycombe (looked up wikipedia). So it is always good to work with a local company as support is far more available. M-Audio support is terrible. Enjoy!
One of the things that you need to be cautious about is the stability of drivers. There are a lot of audio interfaces out there that do the job in terms of hardware and features. But their compatibility with software is horrible due to faulty drivers. Especially since you plan to use that on a 64-bit Windows 7 for a while, driver stability is all the more important.
I would advise you to buy the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. It is available on Amazon UK for exactly £150. It has 2 microphone/instrument inputs with phantom power. And apart from RCA outputs, it has 1/4'' Phono outputs too(which is exactly the same thing as TRS. This baby's drivers are SO solid that it responds well to anything I throw at it. For my last song, it ran 24 tracks of audio with three plugins on each track! It is built like a tank, so it'll last a while too.
Now in comparison to the M-Audio Fast Track, this is far far better. My friend has the M-Audio, so I have hands on experience with both these interfaces. The pre-amps in the M-Audio are just not as good and the output is a bit muddier. The build quality is not as good, and there are a few latency issues. And more importantly, the drivers are a hit and a miss. So I would advise you to stay away from M-Audio Interfaces. Their keyboards and monitors are great. Interfaces, not so much.
I am not sure about the Presonus as I haven't used it. But this is what I found from a review. And if you are a guitar player this might effect you:
"I tried the PreSonus AudioBox recently and was extremely disappointed with it. I didn't try it with a microphone since I'm usually recording guitars direct, but the preamps are designed to ALWAYS have 20 db of gain being applied even with the input turned all the way down. I looked this up on their official forums, and it is intentional. Because of this, I was never able to get a signal that wouldn't clip when palm muting (even with passive pickups). They don't have any kind of software mixer either, so you have to buy an attenuator pad or find some other workaround.
There's also a knob that you use to blend the mix between the hardware direct monitoring signal and the regular output. Even with the knob turned all the way to the regular output side, you still get some "leak" from the direct signal coming through the monitors. This can cause feedback problems, give you inaccurate monitoring (in my situation, because I'm hearing dry/clean guitar signal at the same time as amp sim VSTs), and is just a general pain in the ass.
And just to add icing on the cake...I also discovered that the output starts digitally clipping with the output knob at only 9 O'CLOCK! Ridiculous."
So in conclusion. I will hands down recommend the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. And if it is of any good, it is an English company based in High Wycombe (looked up wikipedia). So it is always good to work with a local company as support is far more available. M-Audio support is terrible. Enjoy!
First time mom here, just registered for my shower yesterday & wondering what products are the best?
Q. Im almost 19 weeks pregnant & had a gender ultrasound yesterday & found out that Im expecting a GIRL! So, we registered right after my appointment at Target & since Im a first time mom we werent sure on a few things to put on the registry. Im wondering if any moms can give me advice & recommendations on the following items that worked best for you & are useful.
The following are things we didnt add to the registry, but are planning to today after getting some reviews on the best ones at Target.
1) Bottles, I have no clue what types are good for newborns. Im not going to breastfeed because Im taking blood pressure meds & dont want to pass to baby, so just bottle feeding
2) Bottle sterilization - which is better, steam or microwave? And which brands?
3) Monitors - This is a very hard one for me. Is video really better? Digital? Analog? Im so clueless on this one
4) Bassinette - We plan on having baby in one in our room the first couple of months. Should I go with something neutral as we are planning to have another child in the future & dont want to have to get another if we get a girly one now & then end up having a boy later. Any certain types better than others?
5) Humidifier - There are cute animals ones at Target (I like the frog) is that a good one, or a Vicks?
6) Sling - Do babies really like these? They look uncomfortable the ones that curve across the body, like babys neck is being strained. And which brand, kind?
**** Thanks ladies, Im a first time mom & just want to get the right stuff not to waste other peoples money & have things that are useful. Baby stuff is so expensive!! Any other tips, advice on anything I forgot is helpful! ****
The following are things we didnt add to the registry, but are planning to today after getting some reviews on the best ones at Target.
1) Bottles, I have no clue what types are good for newborns. Im not going to breastfeed because Im taking blood pressure meds & dont want to pass to baby, so just bottle feeding
2) Bottle sterilization - which is better, steam or microwave? And which brands?
3) Monitors - This is a very hard one for me. Is video really better? Digital? Analog? Im so clueless on this one
4) Bassinette - We plan on having baby in one in our room the first couple of months. Should I go with something neutral as we are planning to have another child in the future & dont want to have to get another if we get a girly one now & then end up having a boy later. Any certain types better than others?
5) Humidifier - There are cute animals ones at Target (I like the frog) is that a good one, or a Vicks?
6) Sling - Do babies really like these? They look uncomfortable the ones that curve across the body, like babys neck is being strained. And which brand, kind?
**** Thanks ladies, Im a first time mom & just want to get the right stuff not to waste other peoples money & have things that are useful. Baby stuff is so expensive!! Any other tips, advice on anything I forgot is helpful! ****
Answer
1) VERY Hard to choose before the baby is born. Skip adding this and just purchase 2-4 bottles yourself of your choosing, Dr Browns is a good choice but expensive or Avent or similar or also good. Once you know she will definately drink out of them then go out and buy more. If she doesn't like them you'll have wasted a lot of money having to replace them for other ones. Just keep some money aside under your mattress for when the time comes!
2)Microwave!!!! Soooo much quicker and easier. Takes like 4 mins for 4 bottles! Steam is overrated and waaay to expensive compared to the microwave one.
If you own a dishwasher, wash the bottles in hot soapy water, rinse in hot water (what you have to do before using any steriliser anyway), and throw them in the washer instead.
3) I chose just a regular one without all the bells and whistles. I only need to hear my baby and that is it. All those extra bits and pieces is just a marketing ploy. Just use a regular one with good sound clarity. Mine is a basic fisher price sound and lights monitor and it works just perfectly. Its not like I can see my baby when I'm sleeping anyway and thats really when you need it. It does have a little night light on it which I do recommend though. This is it and is great.
http://www.viewpoints.com/images/review/2009/126/4/1241601168-90347_full.jpg
4) Def get a neutral one. Dont get a pink or blue. I do like the idea of the arms reach co sleeper that the other person said but only if its on wheels and the side that juts up to the parents bed can actually be closed off so you can utilise it in other areas of the house. if you don't know what they are heres a link
http://www.totscorner.co.uk/images/Universal_CoSleeper.jpg
otherwise a normal, neutral coloured one is great. Nothing too fancy with music, vibrating, rocking or anything like that. Its a complete waste of the extra money and those functions will not get used especially as its only for the first couple of months when a newborn could care less about it lol
5) Def get the vicks one. It will last, the novelty ones will not
6) I tried slings and carriers. Gave me such a sore back and were uncomfortable and I felt less than agile and more cumbersome than when I was pregnant, if thats even possible! but others swear by them, its personal preference. I'd rather put my baby in his or her pram/stroller to be honest. It was okay when they were less than 12 weeks old but after that it just made me way too sore.
Apparently the contoured slings are fine for them because when you think about it they are all scrunched up in the womb so being in those slings is apprently no different. I wouldn't use one personally
Hope that helps! Good Luck!!
1) VERY Hard to choose before the baby is born. Skip adding this and just purchase 2-4 bottles yourself of your choosing, Dr Browns is a good choice but expensive or Avent or similar or also good. Once you know she will definately drink out of them then go out and buy more. If she doesn't like them you'll have wasted a lot of money having to replace them for other ones. Just keep some money aside under your mattress for when the time comes!
2)Microwave!!!! Soooo much quicker and easier. Takes like 4 mins for 4 bottles! Steam is overrated and waaay to expensive compared to the microwave one.
If you own a dishwasher, wash the bottles in hot soapy water, rinse in hot water (what you have to do before using any steriliser anyway), and throw them in the washer instead.
3) I chose just a regular one without all the bells and whistles. I only need to hear my baby and that is it. All those extra bits and pieces is just a marketing ploy. Just use a regular one with good sound clarity. Mine is a basic fisher price sound and lights monitor and it works just perfectly. Its not like I can see my baby when I'm sleeping anyway and thats really when you need it. It does have a little night light on it which I do recommend though. This is it and is great.
http://www.viewpoints.com/images/review/2009/126/4/1241601168-90347_full.jpg
4) Def get a neutral one. Dont get a pink or blue. I do like the idea of the arms reach co sleeper that the other person said but only if its on wheels and the side that juts up to the parents bed can actually be closed off so you can utilise it in other areas of the house. if you don't know what they are heres a link
http://www.totscorner.co.uk/images/Universal_CoSleeper.jpg
otherwise a normal, neutral coloured one is great. Nothing too fancy with music, vibrating, rocking or anything like that. Its a complete waste of the extra money and those functions will not get used especially as its only for the first couple of months when a newborn could care less about it lol
5) Def get the vicks one. It will last, the novelty ones will not
6) I tried slings and carriers. Gave me such a sore back and were uncomfortable and I felt less than agile and more cumbersome than when I was pregnant, if thats even possible! but others swear by them, its personal preference. I'd rather put my baby in his or her pram/stroller to be honest. It was okay when they were less than 12 weeks old but after that it just made me way too sore.
Apparently the contoured slings are fine for them because when you think about it they are all scrunched up in the womb so being in those slings is apprently no different. I wouldn't use one personally
Hope that helps! Good Luck!!
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Title Post: >>> External Audio Interface help <<<?
Rating: 96% based on 987 ratings. 4,3 user reviews.
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Rating: 96% based on 987 ratings. 4,3 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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