Echo AudioFire 8 Firewire Audio Interface Details

Versatile and flexible

AudioFire 8 is the perfect center piece for your digital audio recording studio. It offers the same high quality hardware and software found in our popular Layla3G product with the flexibility of Firewire. It's a 24-bit 96 kHz digital audio recording interface with ultra low-latency monitoring on any Windows XP/Vista/Win 7 or Mac OS X (10.4 or later) computer with a FireWire port.

Total I/Os: 16 ins & 16 outs

AudioFire 8 has two universal inputs with mic preamps located on the front of the unit with phantom power to meet your microphone's specifications, trim knobs for volume control and two channel inserts located in the back of the unit for additional effects, such as compressor, EQ, Reverb etc. The six remaining balanced analog line inputs and eight balanced analog outputs are located on the back of the unit. In addition, ADAT I/O (8 digital audio channels), S/PDIF I/O (coaxial and optical), MIDI I/O and WordClock to sync multiple AudioFires are also all on the back of the unit. AudioFire 8 has one stereo headphone output and 2 FireWire ports so you daisy chain two Audiofire 8s for a total of 32 channels.

Echo AudioFire 8 Firewire Audio Interface Hardware Features

• FireWire (IEEE 1394a) interface with 15' cable
• 2 auto-sensing universal inputs (mic/guitar/line):
  • Meters, trim knobs, phantom power, & channel inserts
• 6 balanced ¼" analog inputs:
  • 113dB (A-weighted) dynamic range
  • +4dBu / -10dBV nominal levels
• 8 balanced ¼" analog outputs:
  • 114dB (A-weighted) dynamic range
  • +4dBu / -10dBV nominal levels
• 2 unbalanced ¼" channel inserts
  • +4dBu / -10dBV nominal levels
• S/PDIF (coaxial and optical) I/O at 24-bit/96kHz
• ADAT I/O
• MIDI I/O
• Stereo headphone output with volume knob
• Sync via word clock, S/PDIF or ADAT
• Supports full duplex 16 channel in, 16 channel out operation at 24 bit, 48 kHz sample rate or 12 channel in, 12 channel out operation at 24 bit, 96 kHz sample rate
• Rack mountable single space interface box
• Heavy-duty aluminum case
• On-board DSP processing
• Near zero latency hardware monitoring

Echo AudioFire 8 Firewire Audio Interface Software Features

• Software console for monitoring, metering, and setting levels
• Low-latency drivers support all major pro audio software:
  • Low Latency ASIO 2.0
  • WDM kernel streaming mode
  • GSIF 2.0 (Gigastudio w/ low latency MIDI) (32-bit Windows XP, Vista & Windows 7 only)
  • CoreAudio & CoreMIDI

Echo AudioFire 8 Firewire Audio Interface Specifications

Echo Digital Audio is proud to use 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 Input
  • 2 auto-sensing Mic/Line/Hi-Z inputs
    • Low noise (-128 dBu EIN) studio grade mic preamps
    • Analog trim
    • 48v phantom power
    • 2 1/4" channel inserts
  • 6 1/4" balanced inputs (TRS)
    • Accepts unbalanced signals
    • +4dBu / -10dBV nominal levels
  • Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz, ±0.1dB
  • Dynamic Range: 113dB A-weighted
  • THD+n: <0.002% A-weighted
  • Maximum Input Level: +18dBu
• Analog Output
  • 8 1/4" balanced outputs (TRS)
  • Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz, ±0.1dB
  • Dynamic Range: 114dB A-weighted
  • THD+n: <0.002% A-weighted
  • +4dBu / -10dBV nominal levels
  • Maximum Output Level: +17.2dBu
• 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 - 96kHz supported
• ADAT Digital Input/Output
  • Up to 24 bit resolution
  • Optical connector
  • Consumer/Professional Switch
  • 8 channels of ADAT at 32kHz - 48kHz sample rate
  • 4 channels of ADAT at 88.2kHz - 96kHz sample rate
• MIDI
  • MIDI input
  • MIDI output
• Digital Sync
  • WordClock in/out
  • S/PDIF coaxial I/O
  • S/PDIF optical I/O
  • ADAT I/O
• Headphone Output
  • High quality ¼” headphone jack
  • Volume control on front panel
• Dimensions
  • 14 1/2”(w) x 5 1/2”(d) x 1 1/2”(h)
  • Fits in a single rack mount space
  • Includes rack mounting brackets
• Host Interface
  • 2 1394a (FireWire) ports
• Mic Preamps
  • We spec our "studio quality" mic pres at -128 dBu EIN (equivalent input noise) and spec the A/D inputs at 112 dB dynamic range and a THDN of less than .002%, both A-weighted.

Echo AudioFire 8 Firewire Audio Interface System Requirements

• PC System requirements:
  • Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 (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)
  • G4 or better processor
  • 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended)
  • 400 Mbps FireWire port (IEEE 1394a)