Fireface400 alternatives?

[Telstar]

OK, I'm here again because I decided to get an audio interface that will replace the internal dmx6fire of my studio "music" PC.

0) Must be firewire. 400 or 800 doesnt matter (my workstation has 400 only onboard and I'm not buying a dedicated controller)

1) Have SQ comparable to the Fireface when used as digital (spdif out) transport only. I need this to compare the SQ of my modded Teac with the Computer transport, using 16/44.1 sources and the NOS TwinDAC+.

2) Use exclusive mode with xxhighend.

3) Costs less than 300€ and have decent SQ on its own for being left to the studio pc (vista workstation with Tannoy Reveal 5s acrtive speakers) when I'll find the ultimate high-res dac.

4) Must be available in Europe.

I was considering:

-ESI Duafire (not sure of the SQ)
-Something from m-audio (but i dont trust much their quality)
-A used FF400, but they go to 400-500€ at least.
-Apogee duet does NOT work under Vista, thanks to those i*iots that think only about mac
-Something from EMU maybe?
-Something else?

[GerardA]

Hi Telstar,

I'm using a terratec phase 24FW, costed 175€.
All I could find on the internet about it was very positive. But most in German, I guess Italians can read German??
Just my 10 cents.

[Telstar]

Hi Telstar,

I'm using a terratec phase 24FW, costed 175€.
All I could find on the internet about it was very positive. But most in German, I guess Italians can read German??
Just my 10 cents.

No, we don't normally learn German at school
Terratec eh? My dmx6 fire is a Terratec one, an excellent value, lasted for 10 years, but now it is time to upgrade and i DO WANT to use the exclusive mode of xxhe on my studio pc.

Where did you buy it for 175€? Does it have good drivers for Vista? Do you use XXHE model #3 in exclusive mode, don't u?

[GerardA]

With SP1 there is a good chance of using exclusive mode, but not now because it needs/wants/.. 24 bits.
I bought it at a internetshop in Holland, I don't know if a can name it here but it was komplett.nl.
I use engine #3 and it sounds better then my modified Rotel RCD990 cd-player (with XXHE of course)
I hope with the new XXHE revolutionary version it will sound better than my tubed recordplayer