Do i need an audio interface?

[helloitsmeagain]

Stupid question time.

All my production is done on a macbook pro.

I'm currently living in a flat so even though I have monitors, i never use them.

I have a keyboard and a behringer bcr2000 but to my 1 year old that's like a big furry magnet with eyes on it, so i hardly ever play with them these days, expect to occasionally slap a xylophone in a stem and let her jump on the keys till she's distracted by the lights moving on the monitor and makes a b-line for the laptop...

so, right now i'm not recording any signal from an external source and not sending audio anywhere except to a pretty decent set of earphones.

I'm guessing a AI would be a waste of cash at this point. Right?

[strawMan]

Not necessarily... The upgrade in sound quality from a decent interface will be significant, especially through decent headphones.
You may also find that you can run more plugs without crackling at a given latency.

Just generalising here - I don't use a Mac, so could be wrong...

What may be a better investment at this point is a pair of reference head/earphones to monitor through..?

[Esh]

you know ive been thinking the same thing......for different reasons.
also have a mac.

do i save more money and buy the APC40 or do I buy the xone K2 because it has integrated soundcard?......

[helloitsmeagain]

You may also find that you can run more plugs without crackling at a given latency.

Can anyone confirm this would be the case? If so, that would be a real benefit...

What may be a better investment at this point is a pair of reference head/earphones to monitor through..?

ok, not opposed to this thought, but this term "reference headphones", i'm a bit suspect of it. check here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/503481/what-ar ... headphones

any more detail to be had here? I'm actually on a pair of technics RP- DJ1200s right now.

EDIT: actually the RP- DJ1200 cost like $179 at amazon, so if i was to step up, i'd have to think to spend $250. Surely for less, i could get a decent AI... It would be worth it to reduce the latency in system, if it would do that...

[strawMan]

Technoist;

Depends entirely on whether you'd get more benefit from an Ableton specific controller or a generic one.
Will it be geared toward studio production or live work?

[strawMan]

helloitsmeagain - by reference, I mean monitors for your ears, basically. They're engineered for a linear response like monitors should be.
Many consumer level headphones, or DJ headphones have accented frequencies to sound good, yet these may impair mixing choices.

I use these, they're excellent, and well reviewed.
http://www.dv247.com/headphones/beyerdy ... ohm--51622

Quite an astonishing step up from Senn' HD280 pros that I loved previously (and still use daily)

These are also well regarded
http://www.dv247.com/headphones/sennhei ... nes--19557
http://www.dv247.com/headphones/akg-k-7 ... nes--60698

All the above (apart from the Senns) are open backed. These really do sound excellent compared to closed back, but they (obviously) let a lot of extraneous sound in. If you need isolation, HD280 pro, or Audio Technica M50s I've both heard and sound great.

Also consider in ear monitors for ultimate isolation - Head-Fi is an excellent resource for all this stuff...

Hope some of this is useful

[strawMan]

EDIT: actually the RP- DJ1200 cost like $179 at amazon, so if i was to step up, i'd have to think to spend $250. Surely for less, i could get a decent AI... It would be worth it to reduce the latency in system, if it would do that...

An AI would definitely decrease latency. I think you have to weigh the best use of your money for the maximum gain for your studio.
I'd say given your situation, headphones might be more important than an interface. Decent interface just for audio out needn't be very expensive though -

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx

These run at £20 or so, and have tested well in an audiophile blog (I'll try to find the link). Something like this should improve your latency and sound in the short term, while being cheap enough to upgrade from when your situation allows.

I use a MOTU Ultralite in the studio, and have used previously M Audio, and a small Numark DJ interface, and a Creative X-Fi gaming card. While the MOTU sounds superb, and appreciably better than any of my other gear, the difference between my two pairs of good headphones is much greater.

Regarding the more expensive to upgrade comment, not necessarily - just get something designed for the task at hand - a studio oriented headphone rather than a DJ one. (Senn HD280 pro are about £120, AT M50 £150 or so - should work out less in $)

[helloitsmeagain]

cool man, thanks for all the input. i got some research to do!

[strawMan]

My pleasure - good luck with your choice

[strawMan]

helloitsmeagain - I found that link if you or anyone else is interested - may save someone some money, if that's all that's needed.

http://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/b ... eview.html

Seems great bang for buck

[AxeD]

Interface is nice. Better quality + you can plug in some mics etc.. of course.

I run everything from daw to youtube through my interface, which is also my timecode system.

[Esh]

Technoist;

Depends entirely on whether you'd get more benefit from an Ableton specific controller or a generic one.
Will it be geared toward studio production or live work?

Both?

[Headband]

Having an interface is nice but if you don't plan on recording any external sources than I don't think it'd benefit your set-up all that much.

[mjudge]

The Macbook's built-in audio + headphones are good enough for putting tunes together. If money's tight it seems like you could hold off until you need to do some serious mixing. This is coming from an acknowledged cheapskate, though...

[msl]

Yeah a mac's internal soundcard is alright for mucking about, but if your serious about your music and you really don't need to record any external sources get a dedicated dac ...

like http://www.beresford.me/products/dac.html

The quality difference with good headphones like the ones listed above Senn/AKG etc will be immense. My greatest advances in mixing came when I upgraded to good monitors and a proper interface.

You can't mix what you can't hear...

[Patriek]

The Macbook's built-in audio + headphones are good enough for putting tunes together. If money's tight it seems like you could hold off until you need to do some serious mixing. This is coming from an acknowledged cheapskate, though...

Pretty sure you got dutch blood running trough your vains i feel so proud right now!