Alesis io26 and io14 Interfaces

[mikews99]

I just did some MP3 excerpts at 320kbps, and while they’re not as detailed as I’d like

 

Awesome! Thanks!

 

Yeah, the MP3 format is not so good. I've seen some others use Rapidshare to host bigger files. That might be helpful if you want to present the original, uncompressed files.

 

 

However, it's important to note that none of these preamps have the option to match the input impedance to the mic.

 

What about going direct in from the source to the pre's? Then you wouldn't have to worry about impedance matching as much and we still would get to hear the character of the pre's.

 

 

For example, when recording a really bright acoustic guitar

 

Ooh, ooh -- pretty please? Especially if you could find a sterling recording of just female voice and acoustic guitar and go direct. I've found that it's easiest to tell the difference in any digital audio gear with that particular type of source material.

 

Thanks for all the effort on your part. It really helps make the buying decision easier.

 

- Mike

[huffcw]

Have you tested or compared any of these with the Focusrite Saffire (LE or original)? I really like the Saffire preamps, but would be interested in hearing your take on how they compare.

Out of all the firewire audio interfaces I have tried so far, the Saffire really seems to shine through to me. And, they have addressed the issue with the bus powering from Macbook Pro, which was something I was looking for. (When I contacted Alesis support about this, they said... maybe it will work, maybe not. If it doesn't you can always use the power adapter. A very dissapointing response since I obviously was specifically interested in confirming I would be able to use it bus powered. It sounds to me like they have not addressed the issue or tested with the new Macbook pros.)

[Anderton]

Have you tested or compared any of these with the Focusrite Saffire (LE or original)? I really like the Saffire preamps, but would be interested in hearing your take on how they compare.

 

 

Sorry, I don't have any Focusrite gear here for comparison.

 

As to MacBook Pros, there are a lot of issues with that particular computer and Firewire...check out the Konnekt 24D thread. The io26 is a piece of gear with a lot of circuitry inside, so it wouldn't surprise me that it presents some fairly hefty requirements to the Firewire bus. But at least kudos to Focusrite for coming up with a solution for their gear.

[Anderton]

For this test, I took the outputs of the Alesis Masterlink and went directly into the line inputs of each of the three interfaces. I recorded a snippet from Angelique Kidjo’s CD “Oyaya!” because, well, I like it.

I then recorded into Peak 5.2 (as I had with all the other examples), cropped to 9 seconds, and normalized to 0 so that there perceived levels would be the same. And listened really carefully.

I couldn’t hear any significant difference. In fact I’m not sure I heard any difference at all. I then converted them all to mono 320kbps MP3 files, and couldn’t hear any difference there either.

By going into the line ins, I assume this bypasses the mic pres altogether, and therefore the only variable in play is the A/D converter. Based on that, all I can say is, if you can hear any difference among these three files…let me know! I’m not hearing anything, even with the full-res files.

[Anderton]

We're not done yet, as I need to check out the Windows side of things. But so far, I'd say that the io26 mic pres are definitely good quality. I do think the Onyx pres have a tiny bit more of lower midrange definition, but they do have a particular "sound" that some people like and some don't.

 

Compared to the E-Mu 0404 USB, I'd say the E-Mu has slightly higher-grade pres, at least on paper (specs etc.). Sonic differences are minor, though, except at very high-gain settings, where the E-Mu seems a bit quieter. The noise of both was small enough to make it impossible to measure, so this is a subjective call. But as to price, the 0404 USB has two pres for about $300 list, and the io26, eight pres for about $600 list (about $200 and $400 street, respectively). Now obviously, there's more to these than just preamps, but when you consider that the io26 has dual ADAT ins, phono in, and really good construction, I gotta say this one cost-effective package...you're getting a huge bang for the buck.

 

(In the interest of completeness, the 0404 USB has a universal adapter with snap-on plugs that literally let you use the thing anywhere in the world; it also comes with a large amount of bundled software, and the headphone out is a Class A amp that sounds excellent. Just though you oughta know about the price differential. As to the Satellite, it basically has only two ins but it has a unique design where you can lift out the "guts" as a mobile interface, while leaving it patched into your desktop studio configuration.)

[Anderton]

I'm hoping someone from Alesis can comment on the price issues with the io26. It's obvious that this box represents tremendous value; I'm not seeing where the corners are being cut. My assumption is that between the FireWire mixers and various interfaces, the company is buying a ton of mic preamp and FireWire chips, as well as connectors, and are getting huge quantity breaks.

Any comments, without of course resorting to marketing-speak or divulging trade secrets? How [do] you keep the price down on this?

[Anderton]

All right, that's it for the io26 for today, time to update some of the other Pro Reviews. I'm thinking of what kind of tests to run next...Windows and MIDI, of course. I also want to get into the direct monitoring applet a little more, I mentioned it a bit earlier but there's a lot more going on with it than I covered. See you later!

[ViLo]

 

All right, that's it for the io26 for today, time to update some of the other Pro Reviews. I'm thinking of what kind of tests to run next...Windows and MIDI, of course. I also want to get into the direct monitoring applet a little more, I mentioned it a bit earlier but there's a lot more going on with it than I covered. See you later!

 

 

U...... R........ Da Man!!! GRACIAS!!

[jimnorman]

Craig,

Our approach on the IO 14 and 26 was to go back to the old Alesis formula of offering more bang for the buck. Since these products were developed from our initial involvement with the DICE II chip we worked to make the design cost effective as well as offer high quality. When you start from scratch and develop new designs you can look for more affordable parts to go into the design.

It’s important to realize that we didn’t cut any corners on quality however. With years of manufacturing under our belt we have ways of saving cost and passing it on to the customers.

The nice thing to realize is that while the price of the IO's are pretty aggressive we are using real, high quality parts like Neutrik connectors and audiophile Cirrus ADC’s. We also created brand new Mic Pre’s for these products instead of borrowing from past designs. We were able to save cost as well offer the best Pre’s we have made yet.

Jim

you keep the price down on this?

 

[ViLo]

Craig, Our approach on the IO 14 and 26 was to go back to the old Alesis formula of offering more bang for the buck. Since these products were developed from our initial involvement with the DICE II chip we worked to make the design cost effective as well as offer high quality. When you start from scratch and develop new designs you can look for more affordable parts to go into the design. It’s important to realize that we didn’t cut any corners on quality however. With years of manufacturing under our belt we have ways of saving cost and passing it on to the customers. The nice thing to realize is that while the price of the IO's are pretty aggressive we are using real, high quality parts like Neutrik connectors and audiophile Cirrus ADC’s. We also created brand new Mic Pre’s for these products instead of borrowing from past designs. We were able to save cost as well offer the best Pre’s we have made yet. Jim

Hi! Jim!! Thanks for your reply and info.'m looking forward to the driver improvement for the io26!

I like it a lot, it's working well with my laptop, but not with my desktop.

Thanks again! for being here

[ViLo]

I getting Drop outs with Sonar Home Studio 4 in my laptop now...sigh!

[huffcw]

Hello Jim,

Maybe you can provide a better answer than I received from support regarding the bus power on these. Have they been tested at all with Macbooks to see if they can be properly powered from the firewire ports on these laptops?

[ViLo]

I getting Drop outs with Sonar Home Studio 4 in my laptop now...sigh!

The io26 It's working fine with Reaper, so far............

[coolrahool]

I ve had the io 14 for about a week, sounds great, records nice clean audio, however i too have the same problem that a lot of people are reporting: audio drop outs when playing back music or recorded audio, and when opening other media type programs i get gliches too.

Like Vilo i have a PC with 1 gb RAM and a asus MB w/on-board firewire port. So i seen in some previos threads that this seems to be the case for mostly mac users we'll evidently the problem exists for PC users as well. I contacted Alesis to notify the prob and hopefully they can release a driver to fix the prob i think everyone woth this issue should do the same. I did see what Jim from Alesis had posted about workin on this for mac users i hope they recognize that it is the same for PC's too...

[ViLo]

I ve had the io 14 for about a week, sounds great, records nice clean audio, however i too have the same problem that a lot of people are reporting: audio drop outs when playing back music or recorded audio, and when opening other media type programs i get gliches too. Like Vilo i have a PC with 1 gb RAM and a asus MB w/on-board firewire port. So i seen in some previos threads that this seems to be the case for mostly mac users we'll evidently the problem exists for PC users as well. I contacted Alesis to notify the prob and hopefully they can release a driver to fix the prob i think everyone woth this issue should do the same. I did see what Jim from Alesis had posted about workin on this for mac users i hope they recognize that it is the same for PC's too...

[andrej33]

Has anyone used the IO/26 With cubase 4 yet. Mac or pc. I just upgraded to Cubase 4 and want to buy a new computer and sound card. I'm used to Cubase so i decided to stick with it , but am curious about the performance.
Thanks,
Andre

[budalash]

Craig, Our approach on the IO 14 and 26 was to go back to the old Alesis formula of offering more bang for the buck. Since these products were developed from our initial involvement with the DICE II chip we worked to make the design cost effective as well as offer high quality. When you start from scratch and develop new designs you can look for more affordable parts to go into the design. It’s important to realize that we didn’t cut any corners on quality however. With years of manufacturing under our belt we have ways of saving cost and passing it on to the customers. The nice thing to realize is that while the price of the IO's are pretty aggressive we are using real, high quality parts like Neutrik connectors and audiophile Cirrus ADC’s. We also created brand new Mic Pre’s for these products instead of borrowing from past designs. We were able to save cost as well offer the best Pre’s we have made yet. Jim

Hi Jim, thanks for your input
You haven just sold another unit
I have always been a fan of Alesis stuff. It's somehow cool, your products have a quality of their own and a certain character.
I have been waiting for this unit for some time and they still don't have it in Europe. Mind you, I have just received a brochure from my dealer in Rotterdam which lists the price, but I am afraid it's still not in stock. www.thomann.de says the delivery time is the end of April. Does this go only for Germany or for other European countries as well?

And of course, a big thanks to Craig for his efforts..

[Edge100]

Well, I wouldn't be too hard on them. I presume that Alesis just isolated the problem, as Jim Norman emailed me only yesterday. People are always going to make guesses as to what the problem is until they find out for sure.

 

 

I can totally understand that it takes time to find problems. And I really do appreciate that Alesis was up front once the issue had been (widely) reported. But their initial claim that this type of thing is "normal" leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Kudos to them for doing something about this issue, and for participating in this review in the first place. Your (very positive) review of the pres and conversion, along with Alesis' pledge to do something about the driver issue on Intel Macs (which I happen to have), put the io26 squarely at the top of my list.

 

With this type of value coming in the new breed of FW interfaces, it'll be interesting to see how the other players (who have been in the FW game longer) react...I'm speaking of companies like MOTU.

[jimnorman]

Thanks for all your questions. I have to leave for Frankfurt Messe soon so I apologize for not being available much for the next week.

To answer a few questions.

IO's should be in Europe this coming April.

If you are having Windows audio drop out issues please contact our Product Support guys, either by phone or email. I'm not sure you are necessarily having driver issues. We haven't seen that here on our Windows machines. There can be so many variables with interfacing audio products to computers. If you report the issue and the Product Support guys can't solve the problem it will go to us in Engineering and we'll investigate the issue further. Please let us know what you are seeing. Naturally we'll need all your details and going to support first is the best step for us to sort things out.

As far as testing all the MacBook Pro's for bus power. No we haven't tested them all. The ones we have checked have been fine, but I have found that Mac's vary in Firewire bus power. My little G4 Powerbook works fine, but my iMac G5 doesn't. Go figure.

Thanks,

Jim

[Vibroluxman]

I'm pleased so far with the product . Its had a couple of glitches but nothing huge. Very well built, and sound quality is great. I'm planning on picking up the io26 soon as well. I should be able to hook the io14 into the 26 via the adat or spdif right?

Thanks

Eric

[I was The Funk]

Can anyone comment on preamp quality (especially in terms of stacking) of the IO26 vs the M-audio dmp3 or omnistudio pres?

I like the Omnistudio pre's alot especially because they have a ton of gain to use with ribbons and dynamics.

[ViLo]

Can anyone comment on preamp quality (especially in terms of stacking) of the IO26 vs the M-audio dmp3 or omnistudio pres? I like the Omnistudio pre's alot especially because they have a ton of gain to use with ribbons and dynamics.

 

I think you answer it's on page 5

[Anderton]

I'm pleased so far with the product . Its had a couple of glitches but nothing huge. Very well built, and sound quality is great. I'm planning on picking up the io26 soon as well. I should be able to hook the io14 into the 26 via the adat or spdif right? Thanks Eric

 

 

The ADAT connections are inputs only. Also, getting two Firewire interfaces to perform as a team is an iffy proposition; a company called CEntrance has a driver designed to support multiple interfaces, but for Alesis, only the Multimix is currently supported. You would probably be better off getting an analog line mixer and mixing down to two ins on the interface.

[Anderton]

While visiting the CEntrance site to get the info in the previous post, I stumbled on a link to a possible solution to gapping, clicks, and other audio problems. Check it out...

[Anderton]

QUICK QUESTION: I will be at the Frankfurt Messe next week, as will Jim Norman. I will not be bringing the interface with me, and Jim will obviously be doing his Alesis thing 24/7. Would y'all prefer that I close the thread until I get back, or leave it open so you can continue discussing the io amongst yourselves? I will be able to check in, I just won't be able to add new material or answer questions that require having the unit nearby.