Hi!

I like the look of the Alesis io-14 firewire audio interface but I can't find a review of the thing ANYWHERE!

http://www.alesis.com/product.php?id=95

Has anybody used/heard about/read about them?

>Kate_W_Bush

LOL!

//

eh ... sorry no nuffin about the Alesis box except they're very new, possibly not quite on the shelves yet even.

Jim

--------------------
Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

Hello -

Not used it or heard of it, but i have a alesis firemix with 14 ins and 2 outs and 4 mic preamps - also a quite new product. - guess the new box will be based on the same chipset...

Been happy with it for the price. Drivers not as good as some - MOTU, Metric Halo and Edirol drivers (other cards i use regularly) much better. When i say not as good - they're fine in normal use, but don't like running more than one audio app, and get a bit choosy if you have the software open before the soundcard etc.. - nothing chronic, just you get used to great drivers and...
Subjective sound quality is ok, about the same as edirol and my old MOTU 828 MKI to my ears, obviously not a patch on the Metric Halo.
Lot of bang for your buck and fairly well made.

I have been curious about those too. I especially liked the Alesis i/o 26. Firewire,two,yes thats two adat in and outs and for not many clams. I suspect the mike preamps are from the alesis mixers and they are ok. The mike jacks are also instrument jacks so you could use you own preamps.
I seen sweetwater had on their site an update that the 26 i/o should be on their shelves in OCT. thats any day now.
How do they do it? 8 analog, spdif,two adat i/o and more for $399.00? I suppose alesis can offer adat cheaper than the others because it is their technology.
Not the least is also the great tabletop formfactor. I love this,it would work very well on my desktop type of studio setup!!
My biggest concern would be the jitter from the A/D converters,how is it?
Noone else even comes close on the price to feature ratio.

--------------------
Starise Studios-Engineer/Musician Tim Smith

Cheers,

I've seem them available to buy online for a couple of months now but still no reviews.

I might just take the plunge and buy one anyhow- the spec seems really good for the price.

It looks good too.

Right, off to get my clams out!

W

Did you get one?

--------------------
Andi, www.thedustbowl.net Mixing, Mastering, Audio Editing at The Dustbowl Audio

There's a good review thread on the IO26 at Harmony Central and I understand that there was a good review in SOS recently. The IO14 is effectively half of an IO26 so most of the comments relating to the 26 should apply to the 14 too.

Cheers

James.

--------------------
JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

Quote Kate_W_Bush:

---

Has anybody used/heard about/read about them?

---

I had one, an IO26, and it went back after a week as, bizarrely, it over-heated and started to malfunction. I returned it to DV and they said they've already have several returned with the same problem.

Regards

I have one and I think it's great. Installation (OSX) was painless and straighforward and it sounds just fine so far (only had it a week). I am currently only using it as an audio out from and a MIDI in to the Mac but those inputs with the insert points look tempting and will certainly be coming into service soon. But yeah -seems fine (though I have nothing to compare it with). It is also built very sturdily and is good and chunky.

BTW, I happen to know on good authority that the pre-amps are NOT the same as those in the MultiMix, etc. - they were designed specifically for these IOs and are significantly improved.

I have to declare that I do have an affiliation with Alesis (Fusion sound library programming) but the IO14 is not my area with them at all - I just needed an audio/MIDI IO and it seemed logical to get something from them and so far, purely as a punter, it seems fine. And in true Alesis style, it does seem a lot of bang for the buck!

--------------------
Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Quote g18llo:

---

Quote Kate_W_Bush:

---

Has anybody used/heard about/read about them?

---

I had one, an IO26, and it went back after a week as, bizarrely, it over-heated and started to malfunction. I returned it to DV and they said they've already have several returned with the same problem.

---

Hi g18llo, Im (unfortunately) glad to see your entry here, because I've had one for a week and it has me stressed out! (And the fact my own thread on this is getting no replies!) How did the malfunctioning on your unit manifest itself? My problem is clipping-like distortion which occurs frequently and at any volume level, regardless of the meter readings. This can then only be solved by calling up the Control Panel (or "Alesis 1394 Settings" as it appears on my i-Mac) and either temporarily disabling the device or reselecting the "machine type" (is this the same as Buffer Mode, anyone?).
One manifestation of this which may be telling to the electronically minded is when I am listening to i-Tunes: while one track may play fine, the gap between songs seems to trigger the distortion. And I have seen some threads here stating that only an idiot would use the same computer for DAW work AND listening to music on...heh heh! Sure while I'm pulling all that money out of my ass, I'll magic up enough for a third (turd?) mac just for checking my e-mails!!...Plus a bit more to put the world to rights....

Mick - check out the review thread at Harmony Central because there seems to be a known problem when listening to iTunes while doing other normal computer tasks. Apparently it affects other interfaces that use the same chipset and the third party company that writes the drivers for a number of different manufacturers is working on it.

Cheers

James.

--------------------
JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

Cheers James, I've just spent the last few hours browsing those...Lordy, there seems to be an awful lot of duff Alesis interfaces about. For anyone who's interested, see http://bigbluelounge.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35587&postdays=0&postorder =asc&start=0
And it now seems Alesis are holding off until OS 10.5 is released to deal with the difficulties mac owners are experiencing.....
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?p=22633464#post22633464
That really is a farce! I would advice anyone to steer clear of these until these problems are well and truly sorted, because at the moment it seems complete luck of the draw whether you'll get a functioning unit or something to throw at stray cats.

Quote starise:

---

I have been curious about those too. I especially liked the Alesis i/o 26. Firewire,two,yes thats two adat in and outs and for not many clams. I suspect the mike preamps are from the alesis mixers and they are ok. The mike jacks are also instrument jacks so you could use you own preamps.
I seen sweetwater had on their site an update that the 26 i/o should be on their shelves in OCT. thats any day now.
How do they do it? 8 analog, spdif,two adat i/o and more for $399.00? I suppose alesis can offer adat cheaper than the others because it is their technology.
Not the least is also the great tabletop formfactor. I love this,it would work very well on my desktop type of studio setup!!
My biggest concern would be the jitter from the A/D converters,how is it?
Noone else even comes close on the price to feature ratio.

---

Correct me if I'm wrong but thats two adat ins and NO adat outs on the alesis units! Unlike the focusrite 26 pro / Presonus firestudio ect... However the alesis is cheaper.

--------------------
Baby we were born to run

Regarding the ADAT connections on the iO26, it is two in and no out. At 44.1 and 48 khz rates you get 16 ADAT channels in, but at higher rates the second ADAT connection is disabled so you get only four.

That aside, it’s a great little unit. There is a very positive review in this month’s SOS magazine.

I’ve had one for about a month for use as a portable unit when dragging out the 65 lb rack with the FF800/Octamic is impractical. I’ve been very pleased in nearly all respects with the unit – it sounds good, it’s quiet, and it’s functionally very flexible. The only quibbles I have are the four channel ADAT limitation at higher sampling rates, the driver toggling the unit out of and back into service every time I use the command line in Reaper (this may be a Reaper issue), and the metering lights on Channel 5 going dead after four weeks. (This last issue is resulting in a return of the unit for a replacement, but I’m not hesitating getting a new one.)

As noted in the SOS review, for the money the iO26 is hard to beat.