I sent an email to the sales folks at Echo last month. They responded and said to watch the website for the announcement sometime this month. They also said they expect to be shipping in late Jan/early Feb.

I'm holding off until I see what they put on the market. Someone on the forum (Spot I believe) mentioned he had seen one or knew something about them and stated they were pretty nice.

Maybe they will pull back the curtain soon....

No, MyST, you're right. I've yet to record anything. It'd be nice to have the capability, but the Revolution is probably perfect for me in reality. The only audio I work with is in Vegas from my miniDV, and some puttering in Acid. Still ... I am somewhat of a techno snob ...

Still curious about any theoretical advantages a Firewire audio setup might have.

In your position Tattoo I would go the PCI route. I find firewire in general to be less stable and a lot more trouble, although most of my bad experience derives from external hard drives. Plus Microsoft never seem to get their IEEE1394 drivers right. There was a recent patch to fix a **** up in SP2. I avoid firewire whenever possible, and for sure if there's a PCI alternative, I'll take it.

I don't know if I can add much to the PCI v Firewire soundcard issue.
My Firewire 410 sometimes doesn;t play nicely with some of the very old Sony kit but I think that's the fault of the VCR rather than the 410.
At the same time going 1394 avoids the issue of interrupt conflicts.
The one thing I saw in favour of an external box was getting the low level audio away from all the EMI inside the PC enclosure.
Good points both ways, your guess is probably as good as mine, try flipping a coin!
Bob.

The advantage to a firewire system is its portability; as long as you've got a firewire port, you can use the unit. That said, for a multitrack recorder I think the greater bandwidth provided by a PCI interface will always make for a more reliable connection.

I'm interested to see what Echo comes up with, though, because they've got a great reputation for stability. And in my recent quest for a laptop card for my Layla24, I was told by the Echo rep that one of the upcoming firewire products (can't remember the name, sorry) will essentially match the capabilities of the Layla3G.

Actually, here's the statement I received by email:

"...we will be introducing our AudioFire 8 FireWire interface that will be similar to the Layla 3G and will ship in February. Specifications and pricing will be available later this month on our website."

Keep in mind that Echo designed the Firewire aspects of the Mackie Onyx system with 12 channels of Firewire....pretty impressive.

Gameplay was mentioned, so I suggested the Rev 5.1.
My Firewire 410 only plays back in stereo when in games, no surround.
Bummer when playing Unreal.
However, for audio work, it's excellent. MIDI playback with Asio is instant, front mounted gain for inputs, headphone out with volume adjustments. I love it.

Mario

The Gina3G appears to have 5.1 support. I don't know if that requires some type of workaround, or if it makes playing games a little more difficult (special setups, etc.).

Anyone with the Gina3G play games with 5.1?

And, other than a $280 difference in price (gulp!), does anyone know of any *downside* to getting the Gina3G versus something like a Revolution 5.1? I know it's more than I need, since I currently don't record anything, but it'd be nice to have the option.

I appreciate everyone's remarks. So much nicer to get real-world feedback rather than just manufacturer's specs and promises. Unfortunately, the Echo web site seems a little sparse on information.

The firewire 410 is capable of 7.1.
It's just that it doesn't have the decoder to playback the games in surround. I would think the Gina is the same.
I can mix in surround in Acid/Vegas with the 410, and the Gina will do the same, but they aren't meant to play games in surround, so there is no buillt-in decoder.
If somebody has found a way to use the 410 for this, I'd love to find out how.

Here's a possible workaround. Does your onboard soundcard have surround capabilities? If so, have the cables for it connected to the soundcard, and running to the sub. When you want to play games, unplug the cables going to your high-end soundcard from the sub, and plug in your cables from your onboard soundcard. Before starting gameplay, in Windows, change your soundcard preferences from your high-end card to your onboard card, an play away.
Back to Vegas? Switch cables and preferences and you're back in business with a Pro level card.

Mario

Hmmmm, a little bit of a pain. Perhaps I should just get the Revolution 5.1 for now, and add a high end card/firewire when I require it? I'd love to have the high end card, but I don't want my real-world everyday use to be a pain for some theoretical, may-never-happen, benefit.

You want to be impressed with your sound? I'd suggest the Revolution 5.1 (better card for audio than Creative) matched with M-Audio LX 5.1 monitoring speakers.
I once heard an onboard soundcard matched to Tannoy Reveal active monitors...WOW!!

Mario

A good idea, no doubt, but one that will fail the Spousal Test in this house. She really likes our current slim and sleak computer speakers, and is still bitter that I didn't get the Bose cubes for our stereo. "Good enough" quality and "out of sight" are quick to roll off her tongue.

Dang, I need a bigger house (and a LOT more money) so I can make a "man room" for me and my toys!

If you want "cheap" Chaintech came out with a model "710" which uses the same chip as the M-audio revolution 7.1 but sells for $39 Canadian. U.S.prices are around $20. because of more competition.

Reviews were good.

The M-audio 24/96 justed dropped to the same price as the Revolution 7.1 so the prices should be dropping for the lesser cards.

There is no end to this.

consumer pci sound cards have headers to plug in the audio out of your cd-rom. Im courious how this would work with an external sound card. Also my pro sound card (M audio Delta 1010} does not have a audio header on the pci card, so no simple cd play.

Pro soundcards don't usually have analog connectors. This is not a problem however as WMP/WinAmp/Sonic Foundry SIREN have digital functionality. This is much more efficient.

I can vouch for this in the PCI realm, whether it works via firewire/USB I can't support.

MJ