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Capturing Multi-Track Raw Audio?
afex asks: "I've been in and out of bands, and my current one is ready to sit down and put out a nice sounding Promo CD. In the past, I've used a horrible mess of equipment to get this job done. I won't go into detail on what all the microphones were for, but I had 4 going into an analog mixer, mixed down to 2 channels - as well as four other microphones that were unmixed. This left me with 6 separate tracks, which I am now outgrowing. I'd now like to start capturing 8 (or more) channels of raw (delivered via XLR cables from mics) audio. As for quality: 44.1K/16bit is fine. The editing can be done later via software, but my main quest is to get a single piece of hardware (either for my PC or a standalone box) that will ONLY capture the audio - no EQ's, no FX, no mixing, nothing, since that is all done later, on the PC. Got any ideas, Slashdot?"
"I used to record it all using 2 stereo USB capture devices (Edirol UA-1A & M-Audio MobilePre USB), as well as the PC's soundcard (left and right). I recorded and mixed with Cool Edit Pro, which is now Adobe Audition. This method has been very buggy, and its time for a change. I don't want to add more USB/FireWire capture cards to the mix, and I don't want to pay a heap for a digital 8-track recorder such as Yamaha's AW16G. What can I do?"
--
So who is hotter? Ali or Ali's sister?
They both make good multichannel audio interfaces at a good value for the price. I've gone with Echo Audio in the past, and not been entirely happy with the drivers, stability, and support. Interfaces are available as either PCI cards with connectors/cables, pci cards with a breakout box, or (my recommendation) an external box with firewire connectivity. It's the most flexible, you can position the unit away from the PC to avoid RF interference, and in my experience works at least as well as those with dedicated PCI cards.
take a look for these :
7 410403504QQcategoryZ23792QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem )
BEHRINGER ADA8000 (eg : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BEHRINGER-ADA8000_W0QQitemZ
a soundcard with an ADAT interface (dont know any makes / models)
some audio editing software - cubase, pro logic (not sure if cool wave will be sufficient)
boom. quality raw audio to be mixed / processed in software
That's what I reckon.
I recommend just about anything from Mark of the Unicorn. Good hardware, good support, good bundled software, and compatibility with apps other than their own (unlike Avid/Digidesign). And they have a wide range of stuff for any size job.
And while you say you're not interested in more gear, we all know you're lying. You named too many specific items that you've tried (and likely bought). That makes you a gearslut. You're only here for the gear. Just accept that and move on.
It's good to know that other people have had good experiences with MOTU.
Mine has been pretty lackluster. All I can remember is being really pissed off that I had to log-in to their website to download updated drivers. (See for yourself: http://www.motu.com/download/)
If that wasn't bad enough, it took HOURS for the aproval email to arrive in my inbox. Meh.
This is the piece that I just picked up and I can't tell you how happy with it I am so far.
r /products_detail.php?product_id=139
http://210.243.85.5/partner/modules/product_explo
http://www.phonic.com/
The Phonic Helix Firewire 18. It sends the signal pre any EQ or mixer, the only control is the gain. Up to 16 Channels into your computer. Works like a charm, and the price is great for what you are getting. I picked mine up for a little over $500 (Canadian) and it also functions as a standalone mixer.
I'd post a link to some tunes that we've recorded with it, but they are not ready for general consumption yet. You can check out some of our previous stuff at http://www.tractorgrease.com/main/thedirt/
MOTU does indeed make interfaces that do just what you ask: LOTS of inputs, no required card, a pure A/D converter with niceties like built-in mixer and bundled software. However, their products are on the expensive side. MOTU 828mkII: $749 on Musician's friend PreSonus manufactures a competetive product (8 mic pre's, bundled Cubase LE, good support) called the FirePod ($599 on MF) that i've really heard great things about. I've been experimenting with digital multitracking as well, and the small two or four channel boxes are not going to cut it when you need to track the full band, or more. As with everything in the audio world, the more you pay, usually the better/more-featured product you will get. Good luck.
This is a product a friend uses and should do what you need and works well with cubase. There is only a 6 channel version for what i can see, im pretty sure his was 8. Possibly discontinued? http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/PCI/ Specs: Layla3G is the third generation of our flagship PCI based multitrack digital recorder. The original Layla premiered seven years ago to critical acclaim, including a TEC award nomination. Since then we've been perfecting the art of making high quality recording products at affordable prices. Now you can get all of the features of the Layla24 for a new low price, and with dual mic preamps!! Layla3G is the perfect center for any professional studio. It has 2 universal inputs with mic preamps, 6 balanced analog inputs, 8 balanced analog outputs, and a stereo headphone output. ADAT lightpipe, optical and coaxial S/PDIF, and MIDI are included as well. Layla3G comes with a 15' cable and PCI card that connects to the audio interface. Layla3G is compatible with PCI-X (3.3 or 5 volt) motherboards and Power Mac G5 computers, as well as older systems.
Those who can, do. Those who cannot, sue.
The problem is that either you have to buy a new USB/Firewire box or you have to get a multitrack recorder unless you want to pay thousands of dollars for a multitrack DAT.
;).
Listen to everyone else and get an MOTU (or equivalent from Behringer if you're broke
Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
RME :-))
Ardour (New website!
you didn't specify how much you wanted to spend, but I highly recomend the presonus firepod 8 channels of xlr (or 1/4 inch) and it will sound much better than behringer or some ultra cheap POS. resonably priced at $600 street. a comparitively price motu unit (the ultralite) has 10 ins but only two are xlr you could of course spend a lot more...
This adspace for sale! Inquire within!
If you buy one good multi-io card you can skip the mixer, skip any extra mic-preamps and drop the extra sound cards. With one card and a suitable recording software you'll get perfect multitrack recording.
Unfortunately only a few audio interfaces support 2 or more mic inputs, but this one from Alesis seems to have 8 http://www.alesis.com/product.php?id=94
National Instruments makes a series of d/a cards that can be used with Labview.
The cards aren't cheap but there's huge support for Labview. You should be able to find people to help you at the local university and, of course, on line. If you can get into a lab with some of these, you can even experiment for free.
The cards can also supply data to Matlab. Again, the support is huge. There are many many canned routines to do almost any kind of signal processing that you can imagine.
The bottom line is that you should be able to put together a totally awesome system that you couldn't even think about buying.
Why are you asking a question about digital recording on Slashdot when there are so many better places to ask?
p hp
Just a few links:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/ (my favorite)
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/
http://gearslutz.com/
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/index.
this is the absolute best way to do this.
s /digi002
you get GREAT hardware with excelent A/D converters,
and great software to mix it down.. (and prob some effects included in the bundle I guess)
http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?body=/product
and its not TO expensive..
The new firewire line from Mackie is also very promising (didn't get my hands in one of these yet). Check them out at http://www.mackie.com/products/onyxfirewire/ the analog audio section from Mackie is excellent. Wolf
The only down side is that it only has two XLR inputs. If you need more then you should look at the 896HD which has eight XLR ins and outs. You can chain more 896's together to get more channels. I don't own one of these so I don't know how it compares to the 828.
Slashdot: Failed Car Analogies. Amateur Lawyering. Anecdote Battles.
I don't recall what OS you wanted to run, but the Apogee Ensemble is supposed to be "the stuff" I've heard.
ST Audio has very reasonably priced stuff that will do what you want.
Check out the DSP3000 M-Port, for instance.
A lot of the various sound cards come with an adat interface (or multiple) that you can use, what you need to do is get a preamp, the first one that comes to mind is http://mackie.com/products/800r/index.html this, you can get them cheaper, but with audio gear a lot of times you get what you pay for, and mackie is good stuff, so you get a soundcard (your choice of interface) with many adat inputs, and add preamps as needed
I know some M-Audio cards have some Linux support...any others?
ttyl
Farrell
CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
Take a look at RME audio and their soundcards. They have stuff up to 56 channels at reasonable prices.
Depending on what OS and software you're working with, and the degree of portability you need, the Tascam FW1884 is a nice audio I/O system with a built in mixing board w/moving faders and fun control-surface-y stuff. The audio editing system my university's theater department teaches on is built around it, and it's pretty nice to work with in most circumstances. The good: Works pretty well once set up, has 8 XLR / 1/4" TRS inputs with mic preamps and phantom power; nice moving faders, good native integration with Digital Performer; decent integration with ProTools via Mackie control surface protocol emulation. The bad: It is pretty bulky -- about 2.5' square, and 6" deep. Tascam tech support is more or less nonexistant. I've only used it on a mac; I'm not sure what the Windows/Linux driver situation is like. Based on what other people are reccomending, its probably overkill, but if you need the feature-set, it ain't a bad little board. Certainly more cost-effective than an M-Audio 002, and more compatible..
That's not bad at all: I didn't realize initially that you had to get the mixer separately, but that's not bad, since I suppose you could move the digital module up if you upgraded mixers in the future.
... is it a Core Audio device, or can you only access it from within specific, vendor-suppored applications? (I see Mackie bundles their products with Traction, for example, and I can only assume there's a ProTools plugin.)
Still it ends up costing you a little more than the competition; a Mackie 1220 runs $530, that's the lowest-end mixer you can put the Onyx Firewire card into, and then the card is $400. For $930 I think I'd probably do a separate analog mixer and a basic ADC box. Or in the case of this guy's actual question, where he doesn't want to have a mixer at the frontend at all, just go straight into the DAC, I think it's a little bit of overkill.
A question I have though, for you or anybody else who has experience and wants to answer: what format do these FW audio interfaces use for transporting the audio streams over FW? Is there a standard format / specification for transport, like there is for DV? So basically, any multichannel audio interface will work with whatever software you want? Or is it proprietary and you have to get device-specific drivers? And what does the device "look like" to the computer (I use a Mac)
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Get the Broadcast Supply West (er, Worldwide) catalog. bswusa.com. All sorts of trick stuff.
Or just find an old JH-110 on ebay.
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
I've been in and out of relationships, and my current one is ready to sit down and put a pounding...
Nearly everyone is mentioning MOTU. I'd have to mention a specific model. I'm researching it for my own purchase. It's the MOTU Traveler. It's about the size of a laptop and has excellent reviews. It costs a little more than the FirePod previously mentioned, but it truly is an amazing piece of machinary from what I'm reading. Haven't seen a poor review yet.
The other poster pointing out that you need to login to MOTU's site in order to download drivers or anything was right.
As for software, I use Digital Performer, also by MOTU. I haven't tried Ardour out yet, going to soon, but I've heard ravings about that. If you're willing to pay for your software, there's bound to be some other ones that could be better.
"Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
I've been using a MOTU 2408mkII as my main audio capture device for similar purposes. The one thing I've found is that it's worth putting a decent mixer in front of it to get all the signals up to a line level. The on-board level adjustment in the MOTU appears to be all software controlled (think digital zoom on a camera) and it was difficult to get consistent signals from the various mics and direct boxes I used. I use the inserts on the Mackie to send the signal to the inputs on the MOTU.
The different in raw sound quality is noticable. Without "cleaning" the signals first, I rarely had enough of a signal to work with and the MOTU algortihms for adjusting the level just weren''t good enough for poor signals.
-Chris
Mackie ONYX 800R
Perfect sounding. Has 8 variable impedance mic preamp channels at 24/192 kHz, includes a Mid-Side decoder which can come handy.
http://www.mackie.com/products/800r/index.html
€ 1229 (sorry too lazy to check for US price)
PreSonus Firepod
Good sounding, 8 channels @ 24bits/96 kHz.
$ 800
Behringer BCA2000 (or any soundcard with 8-channel ADAT input support) + second hand ADAT converter
ADAT converter examples : PreSonus DigiMax @ $200 on eBay, PreSonus DigiMax LT
Ok, this one is in two parts, but the BCA2000 (which I own) is a very nice portable 4in 8out 24/96 + 3xMIDI soundcard, and it works with USB2. I used to avoid USB interfaces, but this one works perfectly and can be used on computers without FireWire, such as older notebooks.
around € 220 + starting at $ 200 on eBay, usually around € 450
Grrr..
There are (at least) three ways to do what you want. One is to get a cheap multitrack recorder, then manually transfer pairs of tracks to your PC. If you look hard enough, you can find a used multitrack for 300$ or so, or maybe just rent one for the weekend if you're really strapped for cash.
You can also get a cheap PCI sound card like a M-Audio Delta 1010LT, but then you'll need lots of mic preamps because it only comes with 2 mic inputs, the other 6 are just crappy old RCA. The card is 250, the preamps will run you at least 50 each so total cost is around 550$.
The 21st century way is to blow around 1500$ and get an M-Audio Firewire 1814 interface and an Octane 8-way preamp. The beauty of this system is you get ADAT Lightpipe support so you can grow your studio without replacing the PC interface. You will end up with 10 mic inputs, 8 1/4" inputs (guitars, synths, drum machines), four 1/4" outs and a few digital outs.
Note that I mentioned M-Audio.. I'm not trying to start any holy wars here, feel free to substitute your favorite brand. I know M-Audio, I just don't know the other companies well enough to make recommendations.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Won't Garageband do this?
c ording.html> ...or is it not up to snuff?
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/features/re
Max.
I've used M-Audio and Cubase and had no problems... mixing 64 channels present 0 troubles. Crazy amount of plugins, drum machines, software synths also exist (if you're into that) and hardware support (for various I/O devices and cards) has been very good. (Only pro tools and its extremely costly software/hardware solutions seem to work better)
I didn't really think cool edit was meant for multi track editing.
Look at http://www.echoaudio.com./ I've been using thier products for 10 years (I've produced some CDs with them), and I've always been pleased with the level of support.
These guys understand recording.
Yes, it's true. This man has no dick.
I have used the (two input only) Echo Mia Midi card on Demudi Linux with Ardour. Setting up the driver was an ordeal (and not for the technically dis-inclined), but once installed and working, it performed flawlessly.
I have wondered if it were possible to install several such cards to get a more-than-two input configuration, but I have not tried it, nor am I convinced that Jack would do the right thing.
For now, iterative overdubbing works fine. To hear some of the results, check here [Disclaimer: Music is religious].
Oh, and just for the "record", I use a Roland VS-2480 CD unit. Costs a few thousand dollars. Hard to use. Great sound. Very powerful. I recorded an entire album on it (the usual drums/guitar/bass/keys/vocals) and I can compare the results favorably against much higher-budget albums.
You can't beat the price/features for it. No, I don't work for Roland. Many years ago, I worked in a 24-track recording studio with the 2-inch tape and the works. This thing sounds better than that old studio could dream of, and for a very small fraction of the price.
would be to get an Audigy or two. Anyone who thinks recording multi-track audio is an expensive thing to do these days obviously doesn't hang around computers enough.
It's OK Bender, there's no such thing as 2.
I've used quite a few options, including gear from Echo, MOTU, M-Audio, RME, and Digidesign.
Easily the most robust hardware for me has been the Presonus Firepod. 24/96 8-in/8-out with on my crappy Dell Inspiron 700m with a 4200 RPM hard drive in Vegas. Their drivers may not have a bunch of shiny bells and whistles, but, when it comes to the business of actually laying down audio to disk, they just work.
On top of that, the pre-amps are really good, leaving you with a device with good sound quality and robust operation at a low price. Pointing out that you can run three together for 24-channel goodness almost seems like rubbing it in.
If you're looking to record your audio without headaches, grab a Firepod and get to it.
Here's the corrected link: http://www.echoaudio.com/
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
I'm a big fan of ardour; as a software mixing console, it's hard to beat.
But, if you just want to grab raw audio and dump it to file, there may be simpler (and more robust) alternatives.
My own favorite is ecasound. It's pretty light on resources and easily handles any real time recording task. And, it can be run entirely from the command line (and thus from the scripting language of your choice) and has a console client, both of which are convenient if you want to leave it running on a dedicated machine without having to be physically present. (I suppose you could try running ardour through a vnc.)
Ardour doesn't crash much these days, but compared to ecasound or less featurefull alternatives, it's a serious resource hog and a pain to set up if you're just recording raw data.
A band I'm in just finished up releasing a CD, and the total bill came to over $4k. We weren't happy with one studio, and it was $1k down the drain. Another studio was great, but that was $2k or so for 2.5 days of recording, mixing, and mastering. Manufacturing was another >$1k.
I recently purchased a MOTU Ultralight, and it's fantastic. I record up to 8 channels of Audio in, and I have a lot of flexibility. The recorded audio sounds clean and I have not faced any glitches that negatively effected sound quality. No hums, clicks, buzzes, or anything else... The included software is alright, but you'll probably want to buy a better package.
Overall, I think that we could have done better by spending the $1k necessary for recording hardware and software, another $1k on mics and other recording equipment, and done it all ourselves. Next time, I'll have all the gear and I'll just rent a mountain cabin for 3 days at a time and try to turn it into a big uninterrupted recording session. It would still be cheaper than going the studio route again.
You may also want to look at the Presonus Firepod as well.
Cheers!
Unless all your audio data will unfortunatly end on audio CDs, go for 96KHz.
(check the two first
search results from 96KHz)
factor 966971: 966971
The Firepod by Presonus is a very good piece of gear.
Combined with Apple's Garageband, which can record 8 tracks simultaneously, you'd have a simple, clean and good recording setup with low latency.
J
... and the rest at home.
Face it, the only aspect of recording that usually can't be done at home with basic equipment is recording drums. And unless you're serious about doing this kind of thing more often, ask yourself if it is worth the investment.
In the past, I went to a studio with the drummer, recorded all the drums for the tracks in 1 day on their equipment. (We did 6 tracks in 1 day), and take these recording home. Jammed in all into cubase, and recorded all bass, guitars and vocals through my soundcard. Worked like a charm.
And depending on the sound quality you're after (and the way your drummer uses his toms), you might even record your drumkit by placing 2 overhead mics over it, and maybe an extra mic for the kick and the snare. That requires only 4 tracks, and leaves you with enough flexibility to get a decent sounding mix out of it.
And while you're busy: It greatly helps to use some compression when recording drums. It gives you a much better signal to work with in your software. Behringer has a few decent, low-budget compressors for instance, which will keep the snarelevels in check (it's allways the last hit in the song that will send it into the red...)
HTH
get the firepod http://www.presonus.com/firepod.html and be done with it. if you need midi then go for a motu.
firewire or bust
http://www.audioforums.com/
Telltale Games: Bone, Sam and Max
3 stereo devices - that adds up to 6 input channels. You want 8 channels. 8 into 6 doesn't go, that's just how counting works.
my main quest is to get a single piece of hardware (either for my PC or a standalone box) that will ONLY capture the audio - no EQ's, no FX, no mixing, nothing, since that is all done later, on the PC.
Yes... that's what's known as a soundcard. And you want 8 channels, so buy a soundcard with 8 inputs. Try the M-audio Delta 1010 for example.
Coming out with this "I need to record 8 channels but I refuse to buy an 8-input soundcard and want to use some budget USB input stages and an unspecified PC soundcard (probably onboard sound with the world's worst ADCs) which simply don't add up to 8" is really absolute nonsense.
I might as well "Ask Slashdot":
"I want to program a high performance hugely distributed 3D game environment but I don't know how to program. C and Java are both out, but I wrote some VBA macros once, can I do it with Windows Script Host? I refuse to buy or download any compilers or libraries I don't already have"
You can imagine the response I'd get. Well, that's your question as it reads to a regular record-bands-on-my-PC bedroom-studio-geek.
How about a soundcard with ADAT in- and output and a 8-channel ADC + DAC?
I don't know how well these work, and the web site is a little sparse on whether or not it has even been released, but it sounds like what you are looking for. http://www.alesis.com/product.php?id=96
I'd recommend a Zoom standalone box, record directly to a hard drive. The files are easy to transfer to your PC/Mac and best of all Zooms are the easiest multitrack recorders to use.
Alex.
Buck up fella,
Don't cut corners building a DAW.
make it a dedicated computer.
Find the MOBO of your dreams,fill it with RAM,Fast Processor,1 NIC card,1 video card,Fill the rest with Soundcards.Run DeMuDi(Debian Multimedia Distribution) with preemptive and realtime kernel patches.Use a fast filesystem.RAID if you can.
jus a lil advise from ol uncle flyneye
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
Two M-audio delta-44s or delta-66s.
I'm a hobbyist recording engineer and have done a few demos and live multitrack recordings over the past few years. The MOTU 896HD works great and is super easy to use. 8 preamps via XLR or 1/4" plus additional flexibility of S/PDIF I/O, MIDI, ADAT(via lightpipe) and you can chain up to 4 of them togethor.
Primarily I use DP on a Mac, but have also used this with Vegas and Cubase on a PC with the same great results.
the card will run about $950 through places like Sam Ash or Guitar Center. You may find it cheaper online...
the MOTU 828mkii works as well, but the mixer functions and I/O settings can be a pain to work with as it is all menu driven from the LED display. Of course, with the 828mkii you are limited to 2 preamps.
I havent worked with the Presonus Firepod myself, but if it is anything like the Firebox(smaller 2 channel version) then the hardware is very good, but the driver/mixer leaves a bit to be desired.
some people say the ADC in the MOTU arent that great but I personally have heard no complaints from clients...
the history of the world
If you are in a decent band producing decent music just go out and buy a mixer. What you're doing right now is asking people how to half ass your production which in the end will cause your music to suffer. The Fostex VF160EX is an affordable ($800) mixing board with 8 inputs and a total of 24 tracks, you can easily upgrade it to a 16 input board with an ADAT lightpipe ($150). It has a built in CD burner for internal mixing or you can send each channel to a wav file for your post production needs. And its got a 40 gig hard drive which is end-user upgradable to whatever suit your needs. But in my use I rarely get close to filling it up. Its the best investment I ever made.
Presonus firepod, all the way. Check out http://www.myspace.com/theanthemband for some sounds and what you can do. (just got done recording this about a month ago using the firpod and nuendo 3.)
James Taylor
(No, I'm not related. However, I am on the no-fly list)
I looked into this exact problem recently.
First remember that if your mic'ing your going to need a preamp for every microphone you want to use otherwise it will sound like shit. The good news is that its quite easy to take a flexible inexpensive route there.
Firstly you need an ADAT compatible audio interface, you can either go PCI or usb/firewire. I opted for USB since i want to use the system with my laptop. A Behringer BCA2000 has 2 mic preamps and a hi-z input of its own and critically has an ADAT port. Price for this is about £130 in the UK.
Now the ADAT allows you to add an 8 channel preamp to get a total of 10 mic preamps and hi-Z instrument input. The Behringer Ultragain ADA8000 retails for £175 in the UK making the total solution around £300 hardwarewise.
I would then look at changing out Audition for a sequencer, fruity loops is a good budget choice with cubase being what i use for preference. Add to this some decent plugins like waves and you have a setup that is on par with most commercial studios (well comparable to the 2 i've recorded in anyway and assuming your mics are good)
Also as a bonus the behringer BCA2000 has sliders which you can assign to the mixer in your sequencer giving you a much more tactile mixing experience. Ive ordered mine but sadly they are out of stock until june!!!
With the setup of my band here a run down of how id use the inputs
Preamped inputs
1. Drums overhead 1
2. Drums overhead 2
3. Bass drum
4. Snare
5. Tom1
6. Tom2
7. Tom3
8. Tom4
9. Guitar1
10. Guitar2
Hi-z input
DI output from bass amp
Id then record the vocals separately. In a modern context you really cant beat close mic'ing the toms.
I have discovered a truly remarkable sig which this post is too small to contain.
Silentway's guide to computer audio interfaces
Covers USB, firewire, and PCI interfaces, for getting audio in and out of your machine. Two or twenty tracks at a time, in qualitites of your choice.
The Firepod's chipset (BeBoB) has a driver in the works for Linux, called FreeBoB. FreeBoB is still in early beta stages. While it does work and looks promising, there's still a lot of work to be done with it.
Firepod + Jack + Ardour is the shit!
-=/\- Jizzbug -/\=-
All that expensive equipment and he still sounds like a pure crap garage band that the neighbors all hate!
It just goes to show that; You can polish a turd but, no matter how shiny it gets, it's still a turd!
One MAJOR correction: The 800R DOES NOT have firewire connectivity. it has AES, lightpipe, and SPDIF
I will advise this--that you NOT buy another computer interface. Get a standalone hard-disk multitrack recorder instead.
.....
For the $1500 or so that a decent multitrack hard-disk recorder costs, you simply can't build a computer that will work as well for recording. Additionally, the standalone unit is easier to use, is more portable (no laptop anywhere runs fast enough!), already has the right kind of inputs (1/4" / XLR) and controls, and will not suffer system or latency issues when recording on all its possible inputs at once.
-----
You can load the separate tracks into a computer and then use it for mixing down of course, but for the actual "recording" part, desktop computers simply aren't the best choice.
~