Sound:
Clean, Very Clean, Not coloured in any way so may be a bit sterile for some tastes. This is a great unit for monitoring, paired with some Dynaudios or Mackies as you can hear inside your tracks for artefacts, clicks, hums etc. Mic preamps work well and are also uncoloured - if you want warm tone for vocals or acoustic, I would stick an Avalon (or similar) preamp on the front end - the characteristics will go through this box unchanged. No issues for electric guitars plugged in direct.
Feature:
Does Everything you could want from a compact audio interface. This is no control surface for 3rd party software, but that is clearly not its job. The single rotary encoder on the front is the only control. With this you can: adjust input and output levels, link together output pairs for unified volume control (by pressing on the rotary encoder knob for a few seconds when in the channel mode). Other features like HiZ/Instrument vs Line level (Line 3 & 4 only), phantom power (line 1 & 2), pads (line 3&4), gain and clock speed are only controlled in the settings software using your computer. Once you set up your settings, they remain stored and are recalled when the FF400 is turned on, independent of your computer. So you can use without connecting to a computer (however you wont be able to change the above settings, only the levels).
Although each analogue input is limited in function (eg only 1&2 have phantom power), the channels are independently selectable. There are 2 lights on the front of the unit that indicate phantom power is on for these channels.
There is only 1 phones out (1/4") and this is also controlled by the same. rotary encoder.
There really isn't any room for the extra buttons, so if you need them on hand, get a bigger interface (this will save you lugging your computer around (eg. if you dont know what mics you will be using).
In the software (FF Matrix) you can configure the routing of every input to every output.
No 3rd party DAW software comes with the unit.
There is no on/off switch - I think this should be mandatory on firewire devices to reduce risk of you hot plugging. However I have had no problems and have disconected and connected the unit while switched on.
Ease of Use:
Figuring out the encoder took a while, but it is actually quite intuitive.
The same goes for the matrix.
Matrix and settings windows launch on connection/powerup.
Quality:
I give this 8 for 2 reasons. The power supply doesnt inspire confidence, and there is a definite leak of current to the unit casing and to my computer via the firewire cable - I am essentially earthing it while I type (I use a metal unibody mac), and get small electric shocks in my wrists. I took the unit back to the shop when I first got it to get this checked out and they gave it back saying there was nothing wrong.
This stray current does make me a bit nervous for the safety of my hard drive, and chip set, but my computer hasn't died yet (3 years of use) and it isn't effecting the sound quality.
If your monitors are on, you'll jump when you switch the unit on
Value:
I cant comment as I have had limited experience with other units.
It is well featured for ins and outs including word clock, SPDIF, ADAT and MIDI.
It has excellent sound quality.
Manufacturer Support:
I Emailed about some initial confusion with setup, and they replied within 2 days.
The Wow Factor:
It looks pretty serious
Overall:
I expect to keep this unit and build around it in the future. It makes a good compact hub for your home studio. If I was to replace/upgrade it wold be to the Apogee Ensemble (Macs only) (but this is not really a portable option and it is also dependent on the computer for setting up.
I think you need to ask yourself:
Do I want 3rd party software? Yes - dont buy this
Do I want a control surface? Yes - dont buy this
Do I want 2 headphone outputs? Yes - dont buy this
Do I want more than 2 phantom powered XLR inputs? yes - dont buy this
Do I need to switch on pad or phantom power when away from my comp? Yes - dont buy this
Do I need, a compact unit that has SPDIF or ADAT (expansion) and Word Clock (syncing), and clear uncoloured sound, that is latency free? Yes - This is your unit.
Alternatives: V-Studio 100 - for software and surface control - I probably would have bought this if it existed when I got the FF400. There are many other alternatives and choice will depend on system and software you like. eg Protools --> MBox.
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Sound:
Really good sound quality! Haven't used the preamps too much yet but they have done the job ok. If you are serious about vocal/instrument recording I'd get a dedicated preamp(this goes for any audio interface really, not just the fireface400.) On the AD DA side I couldn't hear any difference between this one and the fireface 800. I think the preamps are alittle bit better on the fireface 800, but not by much so it really doesn't matter. The only reason to get the ff800 must be the extra I/O etc.
Feature:
Its really portable. Everything is controlled through the software which I really don't mind. It is possible to link the left and right faders in the software, so that you can control the overall output/monitor volum through a rotary knob at the front of the device, and its possible to assign a midi controller to the faders for more hands on control.
Ease of Use:
Must say, I did have some problems installing the drivers. (In Vista mind you). Everytime I tried to install the newest drivers, my pc(Again, Duh!) would give me a nasty bluescreen. But then I tried a little older driver, from like 2 or 3 updates ago, and everything just worked! I can work with 64 or 48 samples without any problems. It works perfectly in Vista(At least for me), XP and on the mac.
Quality:
Really well built device. Looks professional and everything works perfectly.
Value:
Best thing you can get for a 1000 grand. Great converters, really good drivers for the pc and the mac. If your not looking for a portable device you should get the Fireface 800, which has more I/O's and more hands on control.
Manufacturer Support:
They answer emails quickly and they have a great forum where you can get help or answers quickly.
Overall:
Really satisfied with the ff400. As I said, can't hear any difference between the ff400 and the ff800. I only bought the ff400 because I needed a portable FireWire soundcard. I had already tried and used the fireface 800 in a studio and really liked the sound.
10 of 11 people
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Sound:
This thing sounds so awesome and clean.... it's almost like it's turned up louder but it's not. Before this, I went through two Presonus Firestudios and couldn't stand the digital noise and crappy D to A. It sounds a little better than my previous card, the EMU 1820m, as well.
Feature:
Most of the stuff is controlled only via software. This isn't a problem with me as I have external pres and a separate volume for my monitors.
HOWEVER, it has basically every other feature you could ever want.
Ease of Use:
Very powerful, and thus a little confusing. The owner's manual is like a novel. For a geek like me, it's awesome, but I dunno about the layperson.
Quality:
THIS is why I like the product. It is THE best quality in every respect for this type of unit (2 mic, 6 line, adat, half rack types). EVERYTHING is top notch.... MADE IN GERMANY by the way (like neumann, sennheiser, BMW, and anything else worth having) so it's really sturdy. The clock is high-end, the ad/da is better than motu (not quite as good as Apogee) and blows everything else (at least on this website, except for the fireface 800 of course) out of the water. It is really fast too by the way - it has the lowest latencies of any comparable firewire interface, and is almost PCI-like. Excellent drivers and software control - no gimmicks and fancy-shmancy stuff, just plain, powerful, and professional.
Value:
Very expensive for the features.... but you get what you pay for. You're getting quality over quantity in this unit. If you want more I/O, just buy another pre strip like I did (despite my bad experiences with the two Firestudios I tried, the digimax fs actually worked out great!).
Manufacturer Support:
I haven't had any problems, but they have been releasing drivers (both firmware and software) pretty consistently, and I'd say that counts for something. As I said before, the manual is VERY in depth and could be used as a textbook pretty much.
The Wow Factor:
For its size it's cool/retro looking.
Overall:
It'd be nice to have an easier time with the headphone volume control... but, I'm sticking with this for a while :)
30 of 31 people
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Sound:
The sound quality is german engineering, nothing less. The converters are AKM AK4620A codecs, state of the art in digital audio conversion. No coloring in the mid frequencies compared to Apogee. The drivers are very reliable for mac and the "total mix" is an amazing tool. The pre-amps are a bite digital sounding so if you want to record something like a voice or an acoustic guitar I recommend you to use a dedicated analog pre-amp. I don´t give it the 10 points in sound because I have heard the Lynx Aurora and thats about as good as it gets.
Feature:
Everything you need for the road and much more.
Ease of Use:
Plug and play, despite the bible that comes as manual.
Quality:
As a Panzer tank or an M3...
Value:
Excellent value if you compare it in the top range where it belongs (Apogee, Lynx, SSL, Prism, etc.)
Manufacturer Support:
No problems yet.
The Wow Factor:
I have one.
Overall:
Nothing better for the road or even the studio. Pro from tip to end.
10 of 11 people
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