Will anything other than the Fast Track Ultra suit my needs?

[robsox128]

Hi everybody, I've been doing a lot of research to find a new audio interface for my setup but have been having a hard time finding something that suits my needs completely. Right now, it looks like the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8x8 is the closest I can find but wanted to make sure I am not missing anything before I pull the trigger.

Basically, I need to simultaneously record on 7 tracks (3 mics, 3 acoustic guitars and MIDI keyboard).
Also the unit :
* has to be portable
* Mac/PC compatible
* USB 2.0 (Worried about 1.1 latency and Firewire is unfortunately not an option on our PC laptop)
* should be bus powered (this is the issue with the Fast Track, only partially bus powered)

Any thoughts on other units I should check out would be greatly appreciated,
Rob

[mindundermatter]

What's your price range?

[robsox128]

I was thinking around $400(us) but could go a bit higher for the right unit.

[mindundermatter]

Check out the Tascam US-1641 for $100 less. Take the $100 and get some good cables or another mic or something.

[robsox128]

Thanks, I'll have a look at that before I pull the trigger.

[jaykayess]

IMPORTANT: Just remember that with the Fast Track Ultra, if you use only bus power, you get only 2 mic inputs. To get all 4 mic inputs to work, you need to use a wall outlet.

Check out the Alesis MultiMix 8USB 2.0 (not to be confused with the Multimix 8USB - note the missing suffix). It looks like it has everything you need, and as a bonus, the sound card is 24-bit/96kHz. Drawback: It is not as portable as the Fast Track.

I don't think you can get anything that meets ALL your specs. You may need to trade off between your first and last requirements.

[Joe Gilder]

M-Audio has some pretty solid PC drivers.

However, have you thought about getting a firewire card for your PC? Do you have a CardBus or ExpressCard slot? If so, you could get a card for $50-100, which would open you up to a lot more options.

If this isn't possible. I'd say stick with the M-Audio.