Capturing To External Hdd - Fast Enough? Options

[fiddler100]

Hi Folks

I still haven't quite made it into the Mac World but have nearly settled on the following setup:

- Intel iMac 20"
- 2GB RAM
- Vantec NexStar2 Firewire enclosure + 300GB HDD
- PreSonus Firebox audio interface w/ 2x XLR inputs
- Edirol MA-15D monitors

I intended to use the external firewire HDD as my primary audio capture disk as this would leave the iMac HDD free for OS/application read/writes. Since I've never used an external Firewire HDD before, I'm unsure if it will be fast enough to capture my audio. I'm pretty sure it will be but I thought it best to check. I've only ever used PCs in the past and have always used the HDDs installed in the machine rather than external disks.

In fact, now I come to think of it, the iMac HDD is SATA. The NexStar2 HDD enclosure I was looking at uses PATA HDDs. Do you think I'd be better capturing directly to the internal HDD in the iMac or using the external for capture?

Your comments on this (and my proposed setup) would be really appreciated.

Cheers,
Fiddler.

This post has been edited by fiddler100: Sun 19 Feb 2006, 06:46

[fiddler100]

Thanks guys for your comments so far - much appreciated!

I guess I should have told you a bit more about the kind of audio I'll be recording. I'll mainly be working with acoustic fiddle and guitar and won't really need any more than 6-8 tracks at a time (if that!). I can't see that being much of a problem for my proposed system. Yes, I'll be using the odd effect here and there (mainly reverb) but won't be dumping loads on!

Now to your specific comments ...

Wilko - I'm interested in your point about warming things up. Since I haven't used the Firebox before I don't have any experience with their pre-amps. All the reviews I've read said they are very good (as do you) but you also say they sound very digital. I've done some reading on the Art MP pre-amp and the groove tube stuff. Am I right in thinking that to warm things up I should purchase an Art MP mic pre-amp (like this) and then physically install a new tube into it (like one of the ones listed here)? Wow! An impressive piece of advice and I'm all for it if it'll warm the sound of my instruments up! Doesn't this mean that the pre-amps in the Firebox are now superfluous? If so, shouldn't I look at a cheaper interface that has just line level inputs and use this in combination with two Art pre-amps? I dunno. You've given me some good advice but I'm now a bit more confused!

Oh, there's no need to envy my 2GB RAM as I don't actually own this system yet! And I won't be using Cubase LE. Thought I'd play with GarageBand for a while until I need to upgrade. I may find it is plenty for the kind of music I'm working with.

lepetitmartien - I've read good things about the Edirols. My budget is not high so I thought they would be a good compromise. At the moment I'm using a very crappy, muddy sounding set of Creative 2.1s so ANYTHING will be an improvement! I realise they aren't serious studio monitors but I think for my needs they will fit the bill. Alternatives, if you've got some, will be considered though!

Thanks again guys!