I'm about to order an audio interface for recording. It's either gonna be the:

http://www.thomann.de/es/presonus_inspire.htm
(Firewire, for 180 bucks).

or the

http://www.thomann.de/es/maudio_fast_track_pro.htm

(USB, 210 bucks).

I'm running Windows XP home, Pentium 4 at 2.53Ghz, 512MB RAM. I generally record only 1 track at once(occasionally 2 but rarely). I need to know which is the most optimal for me, given that I hear Firewire interfaces consume a lot more resources on the computer. I'm leaning towards the M-Audio Fasttrack Pro USB because that model has a good reputation, and I don't record 6 tracks at once.

Which out of these 2 should I get?

Not really gonna pony up for a Firebox or Mbox cause I just don't need all those features(plus they're a bit costly for me).

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Soeru,

I own the Firepod and it sounds awesome man. Preosnus are very well known for their microphone preamps so your getting some damn good quality stuff. But honestly, if you can wait and put down an extra $100 go with the Firebox. You might think the extra bell's and whistles arent needed but you'll appreciate them if they are there. and limit yourself off the bat? It's always a good thing to have extra options so when your ready to grow into something bigger you might not need to change unit right away. And the Firebox also comes with Cubase LE (aint sure about the Inspire?)

Also, word of advice, It's always a good idea to use an external firewire card thats got a Texas Instrument chip on it. I've heard that some units (M-Audio and Presonus) had small issues with onboard firecard cards and card that didnt have the TI chip. You can contact Presonus about this and they can email you a list of cards that have them. I picked up a Belkin 3 port firewire card for $15 on ebay.

If it came down to the 2 choices you gave out... I'd stick with Presonus. And one more thing, an increase in ram would be a great thing... 1gig of ram should be a minimum.

4x12

The problem is I don't have the $ for a more expensive interface available right now, and I need to buy a new cab very soon(selling off my 4x12 for a Framus 2x12 with v30s) which I'm ordering alongside the audio interface. Don't wanna order em seperately cuz they'll charge me more in customs taxes and shipping.

I wouldn't use Cubase anyway. I use Sonar and CEP. Plus if I ever needed Cubase I could just download it.

Btw, my comp's RAM sockets are all taken up I think, so an upgrade aint really an option. But that doesn't matter cause every interface I've read suggests 256mb minimum, or 512MB for optimal performance.

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no experiences with the interfaces but i freakin love sonar!

i wish i truly understood how to use it

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Well if your getting in more gear in at the same time and can't wait because of shipping issues then I'd say go with the Inspire. Presonus makes good stuff and I doubt youd regret it.

BTW, the Inspire system does include Cusabe LE + other stuff, so your still getting a good software bundle with it IN CASE YOU SHOULD NEED IT. But honestly dude, the extra RAM isn't something you'll regret. They suggest a BARE MINIMUM of 256mb and they recommend you use 512mb (being safe) but anyone whos got a decent home recording system going on will have at least 1gig of ram. Your systems resources can be used up pretty fast! and at the price ram is oging at right now it's worth the investment!

Remember Faster CPUs are better, Bigger Hard drives are better, More memory is better!

check out www.tweakheadz.com for more info.

4x12

Yeah ok dude, but I'm not building a pro home studio, just need something that will give me a little more than half-assed recording quality for my own music. So I'm not about to spend 500$+ on mic pre's, studio monitors, mixers, etc. I could get Cubase off emule for free too. Thx for the help I'll look more into the Inspire, but I hear their drivers are really really shitty and give loads of performance problems even on decent computers, meanwhile the FSPro has a good reputation of working well on any computer.

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