Buying Audio Device :) feedback would be appreciated.

[Analog-X64]

As luck would have it, I got invited to a focus group and was paid $225 to sit and listen and give feedback.

Since its money I didnt have and was saving for an audio device. Thats what I'm doing.

I"m thinking to get one of these... what do you think?
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackPro.html

I'm going to try and do this on a Laptop.. and if I find that I dont like the laptop, since
its an external usb device I can move it back to PC.

So what do you guys think? any feedback would be appreciated.

I'll probably buy it this Saturday.

List of things still to buy.

- Sennheiser Headphones or maybe AKG? To do my studio work on, don't want to disturb the wife with
my crazy noise making.
- Latest version of Fruity Loops
- A Four or 6-Core PC for my Graphics Making / Rendering right now its painfull.

[Analog-X64]

Ok I need to go and play the lottery seems I'm on a luck streak.

Today I attended a BlackBerry conference and they were talking about the new BlackBerry torch.

I entered the raffle and won a brand new BlackBerry torch.

I think I'm going to sell it on ebay and buy me new headphones and FL Studio with the money.

What do you think?

[NecroPolo]

I've never used the audio interface product line from M-Audio but I have some other gear by them and all are simple, reliable, straightforward devices that work pretty fine for what they are for. Nice price/quality ratio. Their quality is quite okay, far more than enough to make a great track. I'd say, go for it.

Considering headphones there are many good options. Personally I prefer AKGs because I tend to detect/fix mixing and recording anomalies with them the best and they come with a good price/quality ratio. I've worked with different models, my straight winner is the K240. Also, the cost-effective Audio-Technica M40 is worth mentioning because it is also great for detecting problems in the mix and has a very strong construction, offering much for the money.

Lucky Blueberry traded for music production tools - sounds to be a good investment

[Analog-X64]

Thanks for your input, it is appreciated. Looks like I can get the AKG K240 MK II - Headphones for $189 Canadian from a local music shop, I guess I can
shop around for a lower price. What about headphone amps? They are supposed to help drive the headphones better.

[vurtX]

Hi, about headphones I use the Sennheiser HD 280 PRO studio monitoring phones and I'd recommend them for these reasons >

- the sound quality and frequency range is excellent, and I can crank up the volume without any distortion at all.

- they completely block out any external noise from the 2 PCs that I use while mixing (this is crucial as the total number of fans in the PCs is 6) they also block out the noise of kids, wife, neighbours, dogs , the phone, people knocking on the door (not sure if this is a good or bad thing to you LOL)

- they are very comfortable and I can wear them for hours without any discomfort.

the prices seem to vary wildly on the net so shop around, I got mine for 85 EU which is around $121 Canadian I believe

[Analog-X64]

Cool.. another great advice. I was using low-end Sennheiser HD 433 they've been good for simple listening pleasure.

We have a large music chain here called Long and McQuade, they've been around since the 80's I'll go in and see what they have instock and prices.

I'm going to sell the phone I won today for $800 so I'll have a bit of room to buy stuff.

I've listening to a hardware podcast and they talked about headphone s amps and driving them with an amp improves the way they work etc.. So I'll ask the people at the music store and see with they have to say. I'm seeing price of $65-$80 for the amps.

I'll have to think about if I want Open or Closed headphones. Open ones will allow me to hear my wife, dogs etc.. and closed ones will give me some privacy but I'm also concerned about my hearing and ears and dont want to kill my hearing, I know their not what they used to be and as I age they will worsen, but I can still try to preserve them somewhat

[NecroPolo]

The Fast Track has a built-in headphone amp (I guess it's quite decent). Probably the planned $70-80 being spent on a separate headphone amp probably will not bring the improvement you would suspect. Burn it on a better headphone will better do it

Opened and closed backs have advantages and disadvantages. If transparent sound is important, go with open-backs. If noise separation is an issue, closed-backs are to choose. When buying, bring some music that you know inside-outside and test all the possible units. Choose the headphone that reveals new details

You don't have to worry about your ears until you start to use high volume.

[beyond]

André and I have one each which we use for all the PPOT recordings - so it's all over our new album. Highly recommended even though the drivers are a little bit flaky when it comes to hibernating the system.

[NecroPolo]

Highly recommended even though the drivers are a little bit flaky when it comes to hibernating the system.

Okay, but... Why would you hybernate the system during recording?

[beyond]

Well, when not recording I need to close the lid to my laptop - to save power, for instance - and then sometimes the driver crashes... sometimes the system doesn't come back up...

[Dumper]

Ha-ha!

 

Even your Laptop is ignoring you.

[Analog-X64]

Even your Laptop is ignoring you.

hahahah We love you dumper

Ok... so its sounds like I'm on the right track (no pun intended)

I'll pick up the m-audio and like NecroPolo suggested, I'll take some music with me that I've been listening on my Sennheisers so I will be able to hear the difference when I test some headphones

So the laptop that I saved from the bin and repaired now has 4GB of ram. Picked up a 2nd hard drive adapter kit from eBay for $4

as the Primary O/S drive I'm installing a WD Scorpio Black 160 GB, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM its a high end Laptop harddrive that performs like a desktop hard drive. The 2nd drive will be a 250GB WD Drive that will be used to store all the projects and samples etc..

I cant wait to get all this up and running.

The next big purchase will be a Quad or 6-core desktop just for 3d rendering.

Time to step up the game a bit

[NecroPolo]

Well, when not recording I need to close the lid to my laptop - to save power, for instance - and then sometimes the driver crashes... sometimes the system doesn't come back up...

Okay, that's clear that way.

I've been a lifelong desktop fighter (so far) that's why at the first glance I could not see the point your comment

[Analog-X64]

I've been a lifelong desktop fighter (so far) that's why at the first glance I could not see the point your comment

Thats the reason I want to get an external device like the M-Audio, incase I decide I dont like working with the laptop, I can always switch back to a desktop.

[Analog-X64]

I went to the music store on Saturday. Didnt purchase anything and the store was busy so I didnt get a chance to ask anyone questions.

I saw the M-Audio used fro $225 Canadian. I also saw the Sennheiser HD280 for $119.00 which is close to the price listed in this thread.

I also saw the The AKG 271 MK II for $219.00

I'm not sure what makes the AKG more expensive then the Sennheiser.