Echo Indigo DJ or M-Audio Firewire Audiophile?

FlameBoy

FlameBoy

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I'm looking for a 4 channel souncard to use with Traktor (so number of inputs is not really an issue) and my Apple Powerbook (so have 6-pin powered Firewire bus). I want something that requires no external powersupply and is preferably firewire or PCMCIA (so that I have USB ports spare for external harddisks etc.) and have basically narrowed it down to these two:


1) Echo Indigo DJ (PCMCIA)
http://www.nusystems.co.uk/product/Echo.Indigo.DJ

2) M-Audio Firewire
http://www.nusystems.co.uk/product/M-Audio.Firewire.Audiophile

I can't decide between them, though - I like the compactness of the Echo Indigo DJ, but am perhaps worried its not robust enough for DJing, I've also heard it can be difficult to setup. Does anyone have any experience of either or both of these two soundcards and Traktor? Thanks
 
Echo Indigo DJ is great!
Very easy to use, and sounds brilliant.
i have had no problems at all with it, and have been using it for about 18 months.
i was also concerned about its robustness, but i have not managed to break it yet. :Wink3:
i think it sounds better the M-Audio device.
 
Monkey Do said:
Everyone I know who has the audiophile for DJ-ing loves it, none of them are using Traktor though.
Click to expand...

There's one going cheap on eBay, which is why I was tempted by the Audiophile:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7357775829&ssPageName=ADME:B:WN:UK:17

It is one more item of kit to lug about though... have just bought this MIDI controller to use with Traktor: http://www.kontrol-dj.com/html_eng/index.html
so already have on extra thing to cart about.

Still undecided...
 
At the moment a I use the 410 Maudio firewire with Traktor, obviously I also needed the input busses for recoding. It's really good, no complaints. In your case I would recommend the Indigo DJ, it seems to be very portable, barely visible once you insert it into the card slot so it will save you space while you are gigging. I have also heard it sounds great.
Good luck!
 
Obviously if you found a good priced Maudio card you might as well go for it, the Indigo is great for portability...
 
ive got an m-audio audiophile external for my laptop and it seems ok - it is the usb version though
 
i've got the firewire audiophile and it sounds great for live playback..have some problems using it with sequencers (clicks & pops) but maybe that's got something to do with my laptop settings or its a hardware conflict..
 
Colin OOOD said:
Andrew used to use the Indigo but had loads of problems with it and is now very happy with his Firewire Audiophile... all our live tracks come off it and it sounds great.
Click to expand...

What kind of problems was he having with the Indigo?
 
i know that andrew was using the same P4 laptop as me back then - and has had fewer problems since changing to a centrino PM.
i think its more a matter of portability - with the maudio youve got an extra box with extra psu and cable. the echo is so easy to use and setup....though it outputs through a 1/8 headphone jack so i wasnt too convinced of the sound quality... (perhaps plank can enlighten us on the technical cons of a 1/8 stereo output?) but it sounded good from my bedroom perhaps a liitle less crisp and detailed than the maudio but def warmer and rounder.
the maudio connects through a firewire port so youll have to make sure that you dont knock it - with mine only the slightest touch made it drop out, after which i had to reboot every time.....but again this was perhaps more to do with the laptop and the design of the firewire port on my laptop case (for some reason the firewire port was positioned at the front of the case (!?!?!?!) )
 
well i sounds like everyone has already told u everything that happened to me flame boy -

I've been thru loads of soundcards for my mobile studio / live set up and the one I've come back to (had before and if it died would just buy another one) is the m-audio. It's the perfect mobile sound card for me.

The echo card was the first one i got with the old p4 hairdryer (so named coz of the loudness of the fan) and in the end i needed inputs, spdif and midi that it didn't have. that's why i replaced, with an audiophille, but which lead me into trouble coz the hoover's firewire port was at the front. fucked for live sets, especially outdoors, you'd bump the cable and down goes the live set. So then i got an usb audiophille which was buggy and pretty useless. eventually got rid of the old banger swapped her for a slick centrino, bought another firewire audio phille and am living happily ever after.

traktor is no worries on it of course.

Andrew
 
nik said:
i know that andrew was using the same P4 laptop as me back then - and has had fewer problems since changing to a centrino PM.
i think its more a matter of portability - with the maudio youve got an extra box with extra psu
Click to expand...

Though my Apple Powerbook has a 6-pin firewire port, so should be able to power an M-Audio Firewire without an external PSU, although as you say there is still a (quite large) extra box and cable, and space is sometimes at a premium in DJ booths AND its one more thing to lug about and setup.

nik said:
and cable. the echo is so easy to use and setup....though it outputs through a 1/8 headphone jack so i wasnt too convinced of the sound quality... (perhaps plank can enlighten us on the technical cons of a 1/8 stereo output?) but it sounded good from my bedroom perhaps a liitle less crisp and detailed than the maudio but def warmer and rounder.
the maudio connects through a firewire port so youll have to make sure that you dont knock it - with mine only the slightest touch made it drop out, after which i had to reboot every time.....but again this was perhaps more to do with the laptop and the design of the firewire port on my laptop case (for some reason the firewire port was positioned at the front of the case (!?!?!?!) )
Click to expand...

Unpowered 4-pin Firewire sockets (which most PC laptops have) are much more prone to having the plug falling out than the larger powered 6-pin firewire sockets on most Macs, I think (also on my Powerbook the firewire port is on the side, not the front).
 
andrew said:
The echo card was the first one i got with the old p4 hairdryer (so named coz of the loudness of the fan) and in the end i needed inputs, spdif and midi that it didn't have. that's why i replaced
Click to expand...

So, if I'm understanding correctly, you didn't actually have any problems with the Echo Indigo DJ, it just didn't have the other features you needed (inputs, spdiff, midi etc.)? I don't think I need MIDI ports (if I do, there are some on my Edirol keyboard), and I can deal with a single stereo input if needed using my current soundcard (which I might keep), an M-Audio Transit.
 
aha you have a mac. so what is the onboard souncard like on those things? i think that alot of djs/live acts run straight from their mac soundcard - i think Dynamic did this when i saw him play...
 
nik said:
aha you have a mac. so what is the onboard souncard like on those things? i think that alot of djs/live acts run straight from their mac soundcard - i think Dynamic did this when i saw him play...
Click to expand...

Its not bad, latency is much lower than on PC laptop built-in soundcard and the quality isn't bad. My current Traktor setup uses an "aggregated" Core Audio device comprised of the internal soundcard and a 2-channel M-Audio Transit USB soundcard. I use the internal soundcard for headphone monitoring and the Transit for the main output. Its not an ideal solution, though, I think a "real" 4-channel soundcard would work better
 
nik said:
i know that andrew was using the same P4 laptop as me back then - and has had fewer problems since changing to a centrino PM.
i think its more a matter of portability - with the maudio youve got an extra box with extra psu and cable. the echo is so easy to use and setup....though it outputs through a 1/8 headphone jack so i wasnt too convinced of the sound quality...
Click to expand...

One potential problem I can see with the 1/8" ports is that I would want to be able to plug my Sennheiser HD 25-SP headphones (which only have a 1/4" jack) into the headphone socket of the Echo (as I intend to use the internal mixer in Traktor mostly, rather than an external one, as my MIDI controller, a Kontrol DJ unit, has mixer controls). True I could get a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor plug, but I wouldn't want to plug this direct into the Echo (think it would put too much pressure on it), which would probably mean having to plug it into some kind of extension cable, which is not ideal either... I guess the best solution would be to have a short cable with a 1/8" plug at one end and a 1/4" socket at the other, but I'm not sure where I could this from, Maplin don't seem to do this...
 
if you go into a record/disco or electrical shop they should be able to make you up the little cable you need.
 
FlameBoy said:
Sennheiser HD 25-SP headphones (which only have a 1/4" jack)
Click to expand...

Sure? My HD570s 1/4" jack is actually a converter which pulls off and there's a 1/8" underneath

FlameBoy said:
I guess the best solution would be to have a short cable with a 1/8" plug at one end and a 1/4" socket at the other, but I'm not sure where I could this from, Maplin don't seem to do this...
Click to expand...

Buy the bits from maplin, and a soldering iron :ibiggrin: or send me the bits and I'll solder it.
 
Continuum said:
Sure? My HD570s 1/4" jack is actually a converter which pulls off and there's a 1/8" underneath
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure mine doesn't have the converter, unfortunately, but I will double check when I get home!

Continuum said:
Buy the bits from maplin, and a soldering iron :ibiggrin: or send me the bits and I'll solder it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer! :ibiggrin: I think what i might do is get the bits from Maplin and ask my housemate to make me up a cable, he's pretty handy with a soldering iron
 
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