AudioFire Pre8

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Features

The Audiofire Pre8 is a single-height, rack mountable unit with 8 universal inputs with mic preamps, optical ADAT I/O (with S/MUX for 96 kHz support), S/PDIF I/O and MIDI I/O. 8 balanced 1/4 inch analog outputs and 2 stereo headphone outputs with volume knob, main output volume knob. The AudioFire Pre8 supports 24-bit 96 kHz playback and recording and ships with low-latency drivers supporting nearly all major pro audio software.

The AudioFire Pre8 has eight auto-sensing universal inputs featuring Echo proprietary Brilliant™ mic preamps for low distortion, crystal clear sound and transparency. The premium inputs, 1 and 2, are located on the front of the unit with phase reversal, low impedance, direct input, 80Hz roll off and pad. There are two channel inserts for inputs 1 and 2 located on the back of the unit for additional effects, such as compressor, EQ, Reverb etc. The six remaining universal inputs are also located on the back of the unit. All eight inputs have self detected phantom power. Total I/Os: 16 in & 16 out.

The AudioFire Pre8 is fully compatible with Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8 (both 32 bit and 64 bit versions) and Mac OS X (10.4 or later). It works with any desktop or notebook computer with a FireWire port. Daisy-chain two Pre8s for more I/O. The AudioFire Pre8 is the perfect Firewire digital audio recording interface for any entry level or professional recording studio, whether it be at home or on the road.

Hardware Features

  • FireWire (IEEE 1394a) interface with 15' cable
  • Brilliant™ Mic Preamps
    • THAT Corp Silicon
      • Isolation of discretes
      • Matching of monolithics
      • HIgh slew rate
    • Low noise (-130 dBu EIN)
    • Crystal clear transparency
  • 2 Full featured mic/line/instrument Inputs
    • Mic phase, impedance, pad, hi-pass
    • Input trim with 4-level LED meters
    • Individual +48v phantom power
    • ¼" balanced line inputs (TRS)
    • Direct Input high impedance switch
    • ¼" channel inserts
  • 6 Mic/Line inputs
    • Input trim with 4-level LED meters
    • 48v phantom power
    • ¼" balanced line inputs (TRS)
  • S/PDIF I/O (coax and optical) at 24-bit/96 kHz
  • ADAT I/O
  • MIDI I/O
  • Sync via word clock, ADAT, or S/PDIF
  • 2 stereo headphone outputs with volume knob
  • Single rack space
  • Near zero latency hardware monitoring

Software Features

  • Software console controls mixing and monitoring
  • Low latency drivers support all major pro audio software:
    • Windows: ASIO 2.0, DirectX and WASAPI
    • Mac OS X: CoreAudio & CoreMIDI

System Requirements

  • PC System requirements:
    • Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 (32 or 64 bit)
    • 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended)
    • 400 Mbps FireWire port (IEEE 1394a)
  • Mac System Requirements
    • Mac OS X (10.4 or later)
    • Intel processor
    • 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended)
    • 400 Mbps FireWire port (IEEE 1394a or 1394b with adapter cable)

Product Specifications

Echo Digital Audio uses only specifications of production units. While other companies quote specs of their converters alone in laboratory settings, the numbers you see on this page represent the actual unit in your hands. Since people often rely heavily on specs when deciding what gear to buy, we like to bring you numbers that really mean something.

Analog Inputs

  • 8 auto-sensing Mic/Line/Hi-Z inputs
    • Echo's Brilliant™ preamp technology
    • Analog trim
    • 48v phantom power
    • 2 ¼" channel inserts
    • Accepts unbalanced signals
    • +4dBu / -10dBV nominal levels
  • Frequency response: 10Hz-20kHz, ±0.1dB
  • Dynamic range: 112dB A-weighted
  • THD+N: <0.002% A-weighted

Analog Output

  • 8 ¼" balanced outputs (TRS)
  • Frequency response: 10Hz-20kHz, ±0.1dB
  • Dynamic range: 113dB A-weighted
  • THD+N: <0.002% A-weighted
  • +4dBu / -10dBV nominal levels

General Converter Specs

  • 128x oversampling converters
  • 24 bit data resolution maintained throughout signal path
  • Multiple standard sampling rates supported: 32k, 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k

S/PDIF Digital Input/Output

  • Up to 24 bit resolution
  • Coaxial and optical connector
  • Consumer / professional switch
  • Sample rates from 32kHz to 96kHz

Host Interface

  • 2 1394a (FireWire) ports

ADAT Digital Input/Output

  • Up to 24 bit resolution
  • Optical connector
  • 8 channels of ADAT at 32kHz - 48kHz sample rate
  • 4 channels of ADAT at 88.2kHz - 96kHz sample rate with S/MUX format

Input Impedance (to ground for each + and - input)

  • Mic inputs 1 - 2: 1.50K (normal)
  • Mic inputs 1 - 2: 500 ohms (LoZ switch on)
  • Mic inputs 3 - 8: 1.47K
  • Line inputs 1 - 2: 11.7K
  • Line inputs 3 - 8: 10K

MIDI

  • MIDI input
  • MIDI output

Digital Sync

  • Word clock I/O
  • S/PDIF coaxial I/O
  • S/PDIF optical I/O
  • ADAT I/O

Headphone Output & Main Output Volume Knob

  • 2 high quality ¼" headphone jack
  • Headphone volume control on front panel
  • Main output volume control on front panel

Dimensions

  • 19"(w) x 7"(d) x 1¾"(h)
  • Fits in a single rack mount space

Drivers

Windows Drivers

Operating System Driver File Size Date Posted Documentation
Windows XP-SP2, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 5.8 download 4.3 MB 01/28/2013 Readme
Windows XP-SP2, Vista, Windows 7 5.7.6 download 4.25 MB 02/01/2012 Readme
Windows XP-SP2, Vista, Windows 7 5.7 download 4.10 MB 10/17/2011 Readme
Windows XP-SP2, Vista, Windows 7 5.5 download 4.00 MB 12/14/2009 Readme
Windows XP-SP2, Vista 4.8 download 1.41 MB 05/05/2008 Readme

Mac OS X Software

Operating System Driver File Size Date Posted Documentation
Mac OS X (10.7 or later) 5.7.6 download 2.96 MB 01/31/2012 Readme
Mac OS X (10.4 or later) 5.7.1 download 2.84 MB 11/02/2011 Readme
Mac OS X (10.4 or later) 4.8 download 2.67 MB 05/27/2008 Readme
Mac OS X (10.4 or later) 4.6 download 2.61 MB 01/14/2008 Readme

Manuals

Operating System Version File Size Date Posted
Windows 2.2 download 1.32 MB 09/25/2009
Macintosh 2.2 download 1.45 MB 09/25/2009

Reviews

Product Comparison

Specification Echo 2 AudioFire Pre8 AudioFire 4 AudioFire 12 Layla3g Mia Midi

*Universal inputs support mic, guitar, & line level signals over XLR or 1/4" (balanced TRS or unbalanced TS) cables. Meters, trim knobs, & phantom power switch are provided.

**Analog inputs for the AudioFire Pre8 feature Mic phase, Impedance, Pad, Hi-Pass, Direct Input and separate Phantom Power buttons.

All cards have output levels for analog outputs and monitors that can route from any input to any output.
All cards support internal input clock.

Specifications subject to change without notice.
Analog Inputs 2 universal* 8 universal* 2 universal*,
2 ¼" (TRS)		 12 ¼" (TRS) 2 universal* 2 ¼" (TRS)
Analog Outputs 2 ¼" (TRS), 1 ⅛" (TRS) 8 ¼" (TRS) 4 ¼" (TRS) 12 ¼" (TRS) 8 ¼" (TRS) 2 ¼" (TRS, 8 virtual)
Microphone Preamps 2 Digital Trim, EZ Trim 2 Analog Trim 2 Analog Trim 2 Analog Trim
Selectable +4 dBu -10 dBV
Digital Interface ADAT, S/PDIF S/PDIF ADAT, S/PDIF S/PDIF
Sync Word, S/PDIF & ADAT S/PDIF Word Word, S/PDIF, ADAT & MTC S/PDIF
Midi
Sample Rates Up to 192 kHz Up to 96 kHz Up to 96 kHz Up to 192 kHz Up to 96 kHz Up to 96 kHz
Dynamic Range 115dB in, 113dB out; (A-weighted) 112dB in, 113dB out; (A-weighted) 112dB in, 114dB out; (A-weighted) 113dB in, 114dB out; (A-weighted) 113dB in, 114dB out; (A-weighted) 106dB (A-weighted)
Other Independent headphone output; stand-alone operation 2 headphone outputs, main volume control headphone output; bus power supported 12 channels full duplex 192kHz headphone output 8 virtual outputs
Interface USB 2.0 or 3.0, iPad via Apple's camera connection kit FireWire FireWire FireWire PCI PCI
Price $399.00 $599.95 $599.00 $499.00 $299.00