Echo has announced the release of the AudioFire Pre8, a new 16 in/16 out Firewire audio interface.

The AudioFire Pre8 offers the same high quality hardware and software found in our AudioFire line, but with the added convenience of 8 auto-sensing universal inputs featuring Echo’s Brilliant™ preamp technology. With the AudioFire Pre8 you can record 24-bit 96 kHz audio with low latency monitoring on any Windows XP/Vista/7 or Mac OS X computer (desktop or notebook) with a FireWire port.

Echo AudioFire Pre8

The AudioFire Pre8 is the perfect center for any professional studio, whether at home or on the road. In addition to the 8 universal inputs with Brilliant™ mic preamps, the AudioFire Pre8 features 8 balanced ¼ inch analog outputs, 2 channel inserts, phantom power, 2 stereo headphone outputs with volume knob, main output volume knob, ADAT (with S/MUX for 96 kHz support), S/PDIF and MIDI I/O. Inputs 1 and 2 feature premium preamps with options for phase reversal, low impedance, direct input, 80 Hz rolloff and pad. It is a single height, rack mountable unit. The AudioFire Pre8 supports 24/96 kHz playback and recording and ships with low-latency drivers supporting all major pro audio software. The AudioFire Pre8 is fully ASIO, WDM, WaveRT compatible with support for Windows XP/Vista/7 (both 32 bit and 64 bit versions) and Mac OS X (10.3.9 or later).

AudioFire Pre8 features

  • 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
      • 1/4″ Balanced Line inputs (TRS)
      • Direct Input high impedance switch
      • 1/4″ channel inserts
    • 6 Mic/Line inputs
      • Input Trim with 4-level LED meters
      • 48v phantom power
      • 1/4″ 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, ADAT, or S/PDIF
    • 2 Stereo headphone outputs with volume knob
    • Single rack space
    • Near zero latence hardware monitoring
  • Software features
    • Software console controls mixing and monitoring
    • Supports all major pro audio software:
      • Low Latency ASIO 2.0
      • CoreAudio & CoreMIDI

More information: Echo