[alladir]

Originally Posted by mrlizard

Usually when you are recording you have a seperate headphone mix for the performer. One way of doing this is having a seperate set of outputs controlled by the recording software, so you can have a totally separate mix, like an auxilary send from each channel in the software.

Rather than allowing you that option, the audiophile lets you to mix input signals with the output signal from the software via the soundcards monitor mixer. So you still have the same mix you are playing back, only you can mix in whatever is plugged into the audiophiles inputs with zero latency. This kind of limits what you can do with it a little.
It depends how you are recording, if you are doing it all yourself with headphones on, you wont need another mix. If you are recording other people playing and you want to hear a different mix from them then you could use the monitor mixer but it's not ideal, it wouldn't give you control over individual elements on playback, only the input volume.

So both outputs will play the same thing, except one output has the input mixed in?

Originally Posted by mrlizard

Use the headphones when you're recording by all means, but i'd suggest mixing on the monitors or you'll get a funny idea of phase and how much bass you're putting on things.

I'd love to but for this year, for reasons beyond my control headphones with occasional monitor checks are the only option.

Originally Posted by mrlizard

You mentioned mic's earlier in the thread. The soundcard you've chosen doesn't have mic pre's in it, you couldn't plug a mic into it unless you ran it through a mixer/preamp first.

You'd also need a headphone amplifier and some sort of master section. I really wouldn't recommend just plugging the monitor 1's into the audiophile, if something goes wrong and you get a spike through them/ something plays back full blast unexpectedly you'll see why. Everytime you turn your computer off its going to go BANG!!!!

Is this for reasons of convenience (to avoid loud noises) or to avoid actual damage to the equipment? I suppose I was mislead slightly by the diagram on the M-Audio site (http://www.m-audio.com/images/en/con...ophile_192.gif) which indicate a direct connection to the moniters. Would getting a passive model with a seperate amp avoid this problem? And if I chose this option, could that same amp be used for headphones or do they require their own?

Originally Posted by mrlizard

You'll notice earlier in the thread i suggested looking at an interface like the motu 8 pre, this would do all these things just fine, perhaps a tad on the expensive side, there are other cheaper ones. but you're really looking for an interface with at least 2 mic pre's, line inputs, headphone output and an analog master volume control so you don't blow up your ears/monitors.

Thanks for all your advice. It's really helpful since my budget means I have to buy correctly first time. As regards the interface (for mic pres, line out etc.), I'm willing to get a cheaper one with fewer inputs but I don't want to compromise on audio quality so much. In your experience, does such a thing exist or do they usually bundle quality with having many inputs (like they generally seem to with sound cards)?