Mid-range Firewire Interface

Hey guys, One of my friends is looking for a mid-range Firewire interface ($200-$300ish). His needs are like this: 1. 2-4 1/4" analog inputs 2. MIDI in / out 3. XLR ports w/ phantom power He has a mac laptop and mostly intends to primarily use guitar with Garage band (I'm slowly turning him to Reaper). I was looking at the Sapphire Focusrite LE at $250. I'm also looking at the TC Electronic Konnekt 8. Any thoughts? I have a USB interface myself (sigh), so I'm not too well-informed on the Firewire front. Thanks for the tips guys!

Tascam FireOne. Works also as controller in Reaper. I have buy it for 129 euro, that is under 100 dollar.

another is firebox, a good solid piece of kit with neutral preamps, and some additional input options. however, not in the same price range. (200-300) very stable unit. errm, and NOT a controller like the fireone. nice unit, that.

Echo Audiofire

I have an Edirol FA-66 which i quite like....1xlr input, 1 hi Z input, 4 1/4 outs and a pair of SPDIF outs....

Thanks for the tips all. Not sure how I missed the Firebox and Audiofire 4, but they'll probably go to the top of my recommendation list. I'm also checking out the other suggestions too. Muchas gracias!

just one more that i'm "researching" at the moment: m-audio profire 610. seems to be the first thing of m-audio that earns respect from a lot of seasoned people, too; some comapre it to rme stuff (see the gearslutz threads about it). ah, and then there is of course also the saffire LE from focusrite as well as the konnekt 6 and 8 from tc electronics. all these seem to have pretty good converters and preamps. man, the plethora of possibilities available nowadays can be daunting.. good luck anyway! :-)

i've had a firebox for over 18 months now and i have to say i would definitely not recommend it. it can be very unstable under windows with really poor drivers written for it. it seemed fine for me on osx when i used it briefly though. their support is terrible as well.

Must agree with you even if I didn't test any other interface. I got one since 3 years and it can be really unstable on some PCs ...

looks quite good at ~$250. analog 4 in/6 out + spdif. 2 mic pres. review . anyone used one of these with Reaper?