DMX 6Fire USB review

From the product homepage:

High end USB 2.0 audio system
With high demands on sound quality the DMX 6Fire USB is the perfect external audio system for musicians, DJs and gamers. This unofficial successor to the DMX 6Fire 24/96 has been completely reworked and has reached new heights: Instead of a PCI expansion card, it is now equipped with a USB 2.0 jack. Instead of 24 bits / 96 kHz, its engines now hum at 24 bits / 192 kHz.

The retail price is €199.

Specifications

This was the first soundcard I found when I realized that I needed something more than the built-in sound card. This card has:

• USB 2.0 audio system
• 1 microphone input with gain control (combo XLR / 6.3 mm jack)
• 48V phantom power
• 20 dB pad switch
• 1 instrument input with gain control (6.3 mm jack)
• 4 analogue inputs (cinch)
• 1 phono input (RCA cinch) with RIAA equalizer and gain control
• 6 analogue outputs (cinch)
• Stereo to 5.1 Surround Expander
• 1 headphone jack (6.3 mm) with separate volume controller
• 1 optical digital input/output (TOS Link)
• 1 coaxial digital input/output (cinch)
• 1 MIDI interface In/Out (5-pin DIN)
• 24 bit / 192 kHz A/D converter with 114 dB (A) SNR* (input 1/2)
• 24 bit / 192 kHz A/D converter with 105 dB (A) SNR* (input 3/4)
• 24 bit / 192 kHz D/A converter with 114 dB (A) SNR* (outputs 1-6)

Sound

This sound card sounds great. I have a little problem with hum when recording on my laptop, but that is not related to the sound card. I have played and recorded sound in churches and at home and the sound card performs quite well.

The software can be configured to give you tree set of stereo outputs or one surround output. You can also use this sound card as a mixer - that is you can send what you receive out again after mixing the inputs together.

Conclusion

This sound card works great if you have the right computer for it. It is easy to use and easy to configure.