I guess OP does not plug RayDat to notebook (I expect he uses notebook, not PC...). But Digiface USB would do roughly similar job.

Just..... It does not have WC so, 12Mic would have to be the Master clock..... May be OK, may be inconvenience. Or, if OP will use also UCX II, WC could go from UCX to 12Mic and DF USB would be synchonized by ADAT from 12Mic

UFX lll or UFX ll are one box units

UCX ll is the one with lightest weight ,for your 2 mics use case.
UFX ll plus 12Mic via Adat connection
UFX lll plus 12Mic via Madi connection.

Downside, the UFXs have no DC power connection. Mobile kit with power banks for 8 mics is not possible.
But may be the mobility on the 12Mic side with a long Madi cable is enough ?
The UFX somewhere with power connection and the rest is mobile in certain range...

Maybe think about a specialized portable 8 mic input recorder.

Thank you all. When recording to a DAW, it runs on a Macbook M1 Max.

I have Sound Devices MixPre-10ii (and MixPre-6ii for 2-4ch) but am unhappy with the preamp and headphone amp. I love Babyface Pro's headphone amp and figured all-RME would be an improvement, but it is clear (from needing DC-out batteries, 100-file USB limit, etc.) that RME's offerings aren't really meant for my use case.

That said, if the mic preamp quality should at least be a step up, I'd still like to try to envision a setup that would work for me. 8 mic inputs is the most I need; 6 is actually most common. I guess ideally I'd find a half-rack RME interface with MADI in, 2 mic preamps, 2 headphone amps, and DURec, to pair with 12Mic for larger applications. Since that doesn't exist, I could use:

1. UFX III: twice the size and weighs 3.3x more than UCX II
2. MADIface XT: can't record to USB. Does anyone make a tiny dedicated USB-host recording device I could attach?
3. UCX II: with a bunch of patch cables from 12Mic??

For 6-channel use cases (my most common!) I guess UFX III + UCX II is ideal? And for 8ch (my rarest use case), is there some box with 2 mic inputs that could double as a very good DAC for my hifi?

Other options I'm missing?

Thanks for your help.

I already own 12Mic + Babyface Pro but am happy to sell anything for the most weight- and space-optimized setup. In option 3 I meant "maybe I could connect 12Mic to UCX II with patch cables."

My most common use cases, in order, are:

1. 2 mic inputs
2. 6 mic inputs
3. 8 mic inputs (quite rare)

If I bought UCX II and UFX III, I could use them together for #1-2. For #3, is there some box with 2 mic inputs that could double as a very good DAC for my hifi? So I'd bring 3 little boxes to the very rare 8ch gigs, 2 boxes for the 6-mic-input gigs, and 1 half-rack box to the 2-channel gigs?

Lastly, I've heard that Babyface Pro's mic preamps are not better than UCX II or UFX III. Is that true?

>> 12Mic to UCX II
> There is nothing to patch / switch.

I see that now, thank you.

The space goal is to fit any of these setups in a carryon suitcase with 18.5cm interior length. The goal of the 2-mic setup is to fit it into a backpack with lots of room to spare.

For 6 mic inputs, could I buy QuadMic and send its outputs to UCX II one at a time? This would give me 6 mic inputs and DURec in only 1U, I think? And add Babyface Pro for the rare 8-mic case?

I see what you're saying, though: With UFX III + 12Mic, I'd just connect one MADI cable. It's just that on my 2-mic-input gigs, I typically am on location with just a backpack, so I really wanted UCX II to be part of the 8-channel equation…

Thank you again for your continued guidance.

UFX III ± 12Mic is clearly best, but I really don't want to travel with 2U of such heavy equipment just to get 6 inputs instead of 4 - or, worse, a 1U 3kg box just to get 2 inputs. And I don't really want to fiddle with all the analog connections if I got QuadMic.

I guess I am stuck buying UCX II, UFX III, 12Mic, and ADI-2 Pro FS, just to be able to record 2, 6, or 8 mics in a reasonably-sized package. Almost seems simpler to buy DAD AX32 for the 6-8ch use case.

Has anyone switched from Sound Devices recorders to RME? Does RME at least sound better?

Tascam Dyna works with 12V DC  - probably not 'RME grade' preamps but not bad at all.

Also my opinion

Where did he wrote that?

Let’s be honest: six to eight channels with top preamps (MixPre are really good imo), battery power, no involved computer … not easy to find such equipment.

Indeed - 96kHz, interested in what's better than my current MixPre 6ii and 10ii. Sonosax and Merging are other brands that come to mind, and an engineer friend recommended Zoom F8n Pro. But I have never been able to find any back-to-back recording - only people saying "I own x and like it." Do you know of any comparisons?

Ah right, sorry, I overlooked post #6.
Some users prefer Zoom F series over SD MixPre, for some it’s the other way round.

Personally I like the idea ramses came up with: UCX II + Quadmic (+ Babyface pro for two further mic inputs). But yes, these are two or three separate units which need to be powered …

Thanks so much. I really wish I could hear comparison recordings to judge. Moving from Sound Devices to RME would be heavier, bigger, and harder to power by battery - so I really would want it to sound better. But I can hardly even find demo recordings made with Fireface UFX or 12Mic, let alone comparisons of RME vs Sound Devices vs Zoom. If there's no audio quality difference, then I guess I should stay with Sound Devices for my most portable (2ch) use case and RME for the larger ones.

In terms of RME hardware, I have been thinking about this a lot. I am usually recording chamber music: voice/piano, voice/organ/violin, voice/gamba/harpsichord/violin. I can probably get by with 6 channels for all these. For voice/piano I sometimes want to be able to have 2 channels just to record room reverb, but in that case, I wouldn't mind spending the time attaching 2 patch cables.

I'd go with MADIface Pro + 12Mic, if only MADIface Pro had direct-to-USB recording. MADIface Pro would be perfect for the more formal recording sessions and give me all the channels I could ever want. Otherwise, UCX II + 12Mic would at least be fewer boxes to juggle, and would still let me do direct-to-USB with the simple 2-channel use case.

By the way, is there any difference in the A/D conversion between MADIface and UCX II (and whatever 12Mic does internally before the analog outs)?

Let me know if I'm missing anything....thank you again.

Actually, I'm realizing that what I want is DURec, 8 channels, recording @ 96kHz -- and a 2-channel 96kHz DURec that's smaller. But I think you've shown that this is not possible from RME.

I'm on a Macbook so only Digiface USB is an option.

Connecting things like QuadMic via analog patch cables seems doable but increases weight and setup time.

It's really too bad RME doesn't have an audio interface with 8 mic inputs... Perhaps Merging or another high-end provider has something?

Thanks for your continued help.

What exactly don’t you like?

> MADIface XT II is now a MADI option.

I don't get your point, MADIface XT had always MADI, in fact three MADI buses.
Can you please be more verbose, so that it is possible to understand what you say?
Also, above in another posting you only say "channels", but do not say whether you mean analog or mic channels.
By this it is a little bit tricky to follow your thread over a longer period of time.
Thanks.

> MADIface XT II is now a MADI option. I would lose DURec and just use MixPre when I need standalone.
> The THD+N isn't as good as UCX/UFX but with this option I'd have 12 channels,
> which is by far enough. Is it even for sale in the US yet?

Where does the MADIface XT II have 12 channels and again, which channels do you mean?
The MADIface XT II has a lot of channels ... but aren't you out to get Mic channels?
Are we back at the topic that I told you already, that a combination of MADI capable recording interface, with DURec and a preamp with MADI support could make sense?

> I still wish there were some RME option for 8 inputs of 96kHz into USB.

Only while you are at it: if a recording interface has 8 analog channels (no matter which type), then it has those at any sample-rate.

Look at the used market, Octamic XTC could be of interest to you. Can be used in Class Compliant mode, 8 channels for Windows, iPAD and should also work for a Mac (but for the latter I am not 100% sure).

> Lastly, now that I have been using 12Mic (just 4 channels into Babyface), I do find the config UI is a bit annoying to use.

Auxdevice support is not there, but you can use RME connector. Do you know this application? Works either over LAN or over MIDI over MADI if you would have a MADI capable recording interface.