Recording Interfaces for OS X that are supported/work well?

Question

For os x, I would like to know what other audio production/music recording interface type products people have found to work well with os x? I do not want to know about stuff that only works. I want to know about solid products that work well and are supported well by the company when issues arise. I for example have a M-Audio Firewire Solo recording interface. I have found M-Audio to be a company with great mac support for their products and they integrate well with os x features and apple software.

Clarification: I am wondering about the recording interfaces themselves, as in the hardware, that are compatible with os x and supported/work/integrate well.

Answer 1

I heartily recommend the Edirol FA-66 and FA-101. They've worked perfectly for me, can handle low latency at high bitrates, and, under OS X, no drivers are necessary (unlike every M-Audio interface I've fought with..).

Also they're bus-powered, which is very handy for traveling.

Answer 2

I have been completely happy with the Presonus Firebox. Lots of inputs; proper midi support; good preamp; zero-latency recording; works out of the box with Garageband, Logic, and Reason. My only complaint is that there's no on/off switch. They have a complete line of firewire-based audio interfaces that should suit any need, unless you have one of the new macbooks that dropped the firewire port.

Answer 3

I have a MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn) Ultralite firewire interface that works great, both with GarageBand and Logic. It has 8 ins and 8 outs, along with 2 mic pre-amps. I especially like that it's bus-powered, because it makes for a great interface for portable and field recording projects.

Answer 4

I have a Miglia HarmonyAudio box, with 2 ins, 8 outs and a headphone monitor although you can stack the boxes together. It's got a firewire connection, and doesn't need any drivers because it just works with the OS X Core Audio system.

I use the thing for recording electric instruments and with a Shure microphone for doing violin and vocals, all into Garage Band.

Answer 5

Actually I was going to suggest going with M-Audio. I have had great luck with their products in the past. As far as I know most of their products work cross-platform as well which is really handy in a pinch. I used one M-Audio USB card that did not eve require drivers on the Mac which was exceptionally useful when on the road in a pinch. The DigiDesign MBox is also a killer product. Since it is made by DigiDesign is also comes with a limited version of ProTools which is excellent audio editing software. I'm sure there are more out there, but these are the ones I have experience with. Good luck!

Answer 6

Having no personal experience in the area, the best I can do at the moment is recommend, for best integration, Apple's Pro apps, like Logic Studio.

Answer 7

I am using an M-Audio firewire 410 with Logic Pro and I have had minimal problems. The only issues that I have come across is when there is an upgrade to the OS.

M-Audio are quite good at keeping up with the driver updates, though I wouldn't upgrade the OS during any important project.

I also prefer using firewire as I have had drop outs with USB. I find it much more reliable in critical recording situations.

One thing to be mindful of is that M-Audio products (in my experience and to my knowledge) are not able to daisy chain their devices. I know that some other companies have products that do. So what you buy won't be able to be expanded by firewire daisy chaining. Not something that you would probably need often, but good to know never the less.

All the best and happy recording.