Sound f/x Firewire or USB Audio interface with dual XLR out

g15

Member
Does anybody make a reasonably priced (sub $400) Firewire or audio interface that has XLR outputs on it to go straight into a board? Something like a reverse Firewire Solo or Fast Track Pro. I know they both have 1/4" out but I would really like XLR as our M7 only has XLR in. I googled around for a while and couldn't find anything. Thanks.
 
Yes, but the name is not coming to mind, will have a think.

You could always use a jack-male XLR cable to do the job with the equipment you referred to, just make sure not to feed Phantom power to the sound card.
 
Whether it is physically XLR or 1/4" TRS outputs, the major factor would seem to be that it is balanced, +4dBu nominal outputs, perhaps along with considering the maximum output levels. You could use adapters or 1/4" TRS to XLRM cables for the actual connections, I do this with my EASERA Gateway (a Presonus Firebox modified specifically for measurement use).
 
The only company I know of that makes interfaces with XLR outs is MOTU.

And with the money your saving buying an M-AUDIO or Edirol, investing in some adapters would be wise.
 
I'm no audio tech, but why not just get a MiniPhono to Dual RCA out, you get them everywhere that sells cables, and XLR to RCA adapters? It will cost you about $20. Not $400
Nick
 
Thanks everbody. I will most likely end up using 1/4" to XLR adapters. The main reason that I was looking for a direct XLR out was because our adapters tend to "disappear" as opposed to just XLR which we always have plenty of. We currently use 1/8" to dual RCA to XLR but the soundcards in a lot of our laptops really suck.
 
You'll be hard pressed to find anything in the sub-400 market with XLR outs. Mostly because these interfaces don't have room for them on the back, I'd assume - for instance, you could have six TRS connectors in the same space as two XLR connectors.

If you are going to end up using adapters, I'd go with an Echo Audiofire if you're using it mainly for sound effects and music playback. The Audiofire 2 is a perfect little unit for this - and it patches easily in to both qlab and SFX.

EDIT: another idea - if this is just for laptop audio, have you tried putting a PCDI in between the computer and the mixer? This can help a ton.
 
I'm no audio tech, but why not just get a MiniPhono to Dual RCA out, you get them everywhere that sells cables, and XLR to RCA adapters? It will cost you about $20. Not $400
Nick

When you use the soundcard on a laptop, especially when the power is plugged in you get a lot of noise on the line. Using an external soundcard helps significantly with this problem.


Echo Audiofire was the one I was thinking of, good catch soundlight. Friend has the Audiofire4, which has 4 outputs as 1/4 jacks. Works great.
 

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