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My Firepod seems to have died last night (new interface suggestions).

7K views 59 replies 15 participants last post by  Drew 
#1 ·
I know, I know, not like I ever use the thing, right? I had been doing a bit of recording the other day, and was looking forward to doing some more today, but when I logged onto my computer this morning I noticed that the front panel light was dark - no blue to signify it was connected, or red to signify that it wasn't. Power switch is still on, it's still plugged in, and the power strip it's plugged into is the one powering the rest of my computer, which is (clearly) running just fine.

Do I have an 8-input paperweight on my hands, or do you guys have any suggestions?
 
#4 ·
What's the turnaround time like, Mike?

Chris - ITE Power Supply
Model: U150200AA4
Input: 120VAC 60hz 0.4A
Output: 15VAC 2000mA
 
#5 ·
And I guess as a secondary question, I'm wondering if maybe I should just consider upgrading the fucking thing, especially if it's a lengthy process to have it repaired.

I was always pretty happy with my old M-Audio interface, barring the number of inputs - anyone have any experience with this?

Buy M-Audio ProFire 2626 | Audio Interfaces & Convertors | Audio Interfaces | Musician's Friend

Also, Chris, you use one of these, right?

Buy MOTU 8pre 16x12 FireWire Audio Interface | Audio Interfaces & Convertors | Audio Interfaces | Musician's Friend
 
#8 ·
I'm actually fairly happy with my recorded tone these days, but better quality preamps (not that the Firepods aren't pretty good) do seem to make a pretty big difference.

I'm thinking of just sucking it up and grabbing something else by the end of today, then trying to get the Firepod repaired and selling it or giving it to my dad to work with. I'm leaning towards that M-Audio simply because the Firewire 410 I used to own was really pretty solid. Anyone have any experience with something else comparably priced I should look at instead?
 
#9 ·
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The new preamps in the firestudio project are great fwiw. If you really wanna spring for nice, Allen and Heath Makes a sweet 42 channel mixer with USB lol
 
#13 ·
Ok, so the consensus is spending more for something with better pres would be a waste of time unless I'm prepared to drop a LOT of cash?



That's about what a Firepod goes for, and the fact it doesn't have 8 pres is kind of a dealbreaker.

EDIT - though, what worries me is this is the second relatively major issue I've had with the thing in 2-3 years, and one channel of my BlueTube pre seems to have gone all staticy on me, too. Is durability/reliability kind of a concern with Presonus stuff?
 
#14 ·
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Yep. I like the firestudio mobile over the fo10 though as you get more routing control. Theres an open box on mf for like 380 or something
 
#17 ·
...and, having done some more reading around here, seems there's a lot of dissatisfaction with M-Audio drivers.

So, the Firestudio Project can be daisy-chained with a Firepod, right? And it's had a preamp upgrade since the Firepod... Maybe I should just grab one of those, get the FP fixed, and then I'd have access to 16 tracks at a time, down the road... :shrug:
 
#18 ·
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Yep. Go for it.
 
#19 ·
I upgraded from presonus to mackie and heard a difference. though i also when from a firepod to the 1640i. Its a full analogue mixer with the digital converters at the end. has eq built in, is pretty big. it sounds awesome though. my new vocal chain is the best i've ever gotten vocals to sound.

sm7 - la610 - mackie 1640i - computer.

vocal chain sex.

i find the presonus pres to be lacking in the high end, they seem a little brittle when you compare them. It's a fairly subtle difference unless you're looking for it probably.
 
#31 ·
Ended up grabbing a M-Audio ProFire 2626 a few minutes ago from the local GC (sorry Chris!), where they were selling them for $599 vs $699 everywhere else. Near as I can tell, reviews on the Octane pres are split between "on par with anything else in this range" and "these things fucking rule," and they have a fair bit more gain than the Presonus. I'm a little iffy on Presonus reliability after this the second issue I've had with the Firepod, and my old Firewire410 was a great little unit that's still in service for an uncle of mine these days. Besides, it's matte black, which is pimp as fuck. So, for an extra $100, hopefully it's a pretty solid upgrade.

Not that I ever record anything, but I'll post some thoughts after I dick with it a bit. For now, though, off to work on my sunburn while "working remote" in my back yard! :woohoo:
 
#35 ·
Ended up grabbing a M-Audio ProFire 2626 a few minutes ago from the local GC (sorry Chris!), where they were selling them for $599 vs $699 everywhere else. Near as I can tell, reviews on the Octane pres are split between "on par with anything else in this range" and "these things fucking rule," and they have a fair bit more gain than the Presonus. I'm a little iffy on Presonus reliability after this the second issue I've had with the Firepod, and my old Firewire410 was a great little unit that's still in service for an uncle of mine these days. Besides, it's matte black, which is pimp as fuck. So, for an extra $100, hopefully it's a pretty solid upgrade.

Not that I ever record anything, but I'll post some thoughts after I dick with it a bit. For now, though, off to work on my sunburn while "working remote" in my back yard! :woohoo:
Woohoo! You da man. I hope I semi-partly-possibly helped influence your decision? :D

My favourite feature is the -20dB attentuator that gets activated when you pull the dial out. Makes me feel like god.

You should have no problems with it. The only issue I have with it is that audio tends to distort after a few hours use but i put that down to the fact that there isn't a supported driver for running Windows on a Mac.

Enjoy!
 
#34 ·
Just fired it up. Possibly placebo effect, possibly just that I haven't heard anything through my speakers in 48 hours, but my first impression waseven just playing stuff back everything sounded quieter and cleaner.
 
#37 ·
No man, Don't get put off by what I said. That problem is EXTREMELY specific to my setup but it can happen with any interface and the presonus ones are more prone to that sort of issue. I always have to fix it by restarting the computer or rebooting the driver.Pain in the ass but that's what I get for having a Mac :p. I emailed M-Audio Tech support about it but they won't release a driver because i'm not supported.

Everybody else I know that records with these babies has never had any issues at all! The only issue was for some XP users, their install didn't complete properly because of a system32 driver mismatch, which required them to download a driver from Vista and then replace it with the one on XP. You obviously never had that issue :D.

They can take a beating with large projects too!
 
#38 ·
Yeah, I'm mostly joking - at the very least, I haven't managed to induce issues yet, and I'm, ahem, not prone to marathon 8-hour recording sessions, exactly. :lol:
 
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