Firewire audio interface recommendations

[Nick <ParadoxQuine@gmail.com>]

Hi everyone,

I have ascertained that I need to get a firewire audio interface, but I haven't found any knowledgeable local music stores nearby, and I want it mainly for looping and loop-related things so I want to hear your opinions.

I'm looking for a firewire (400) audio interface, preferably in the $250-350 range. It must have at least one set of stereo ins and two sets of stereo outs (so i can send my sound to comp>interface>kaoss pad>interface>comp and then switch ableton live to send it out speakers when its ready). I assume it needs a headphone jack too so I can listen to the full mix before switching new tracks on for output to the speakers. If possible without drastically increasing the price, 2 ins/3 outs would be very nice, in case i want to hook one more device up later to process things and send them back to the comp.

Also, how do i connect a 1/4th inch connection to two rca style stereo ones? I'm not entirely sure if theres any downside to that or if I just need some kind of cable. I noticed most of the audio interfaces use that connection but my kaoss pad uses red/white stereo cable and my speakers and imac use 1/8th inch headphone size.

I am willing to spend more if there's a significant difference in audio quality, so that little or not quality is lost going from comp to kaoss back to comp, so an audio loop can be sent through that device series multiple times without significant degredation if necessary. Full coreaudio compatibillity is also a must, and I was informed that there should be no latency difference, so I'm assuming I won't need to worry about that.

Sorry for my complete lack of experience with this! Any/all suggestions are welcome and very appreciated.


Thanks,
Quine