audiointerfaces - spoilt for choices

[philll]

as a bitjockey i reached the point where my echo indigo dj isnt enough for me,
i want to expand, i want to add a little bit of production and a little bit more professionalism.
i´ve going through all the posts,all the reviews and i must say : i don´t know
which audio interface should join my machine buddys

as a fan of the echo indigo, i thought about staying pcmcia,or should i go firewire,or does usb2.0 still work fine for me? (forgot to say that i have about 400 bucks to spend on a interface)
note : my laptop only got that 4 pin firewire port so i would have to carry another power plug with me (thats why i m not quite shure about switching to firewire)
please people help me i have no clue
i´ve talked to ten people ,and got ten different opinions,i am helpless

native instruments kontroll 8 dj ,rme hdsp rpm+ rme pcmcia cardbussinterface ?
or something from m-audio ? or shoud i go the local retailer and test it out,bring it back, test another one,bring it back till i´ve got something what suits my needs?
what did you do ? or , what do you use ?

[BentoSan]

You can get a pcmcia firewire 6 pin card - they still require you to carry around a wall wart, but the 4 pin firewire port is a pain in the butt because the cable can easily be knocked out.

[Flaekiface]

You can get a pcmcia firewire 6 pin card - they still require you to carry around a wall wart, but the 4 pin firewire port is a pain in the butt because the cable can easily be knocked out.

A pcmcia card doesnt supply enough power for an external souncard, unless u put a powersupply to the pcmcia and then your back where you startet.

[BentoSan]

A pcmcia card doesnt supply enough power for an external souncard, unless u put a powersupply to the pcmcia and then your back where you startet.

Your not back where you started, now you have a cable that does not fall out every 5 minutes which is a pain in the butt.

[philll]

cool idea, get myself a pcmcia firewire 6 pin card, would use that for other things too.
nice one bento

[Flaekiface]

Your not back where you started, now you have a cable that does not fall out every 5 minutes which is a pain in the butt.

Ok if that is an issue for you, it is a good idea. Then again... I woluld probably find an easier and much cheeper solution if I have a loose cable. My 4-pin FW in my Lenovo (IBM) laptop is actually very tight and never falls out.

[Flaekiface]

note : my laptop only got that 4 pin firewire port so i would have to carry another power plug with me (thats why i m not quite shure about switching to firewire)

Furthermore he wrote that the extra power supply was the reason for not switching to Firewire.

But well... Fuck it...

[philll]

by the way, nobody should f*ck with power supplys
and maybe a little bit of duct tape on the laptop to hold the cable gives the whole thing a nice weird trashy look
firewire is the thing to do, i understand..and if i go a step further its the best thing to do right now, because someday my little laptop baby needs a bigger brother with 6 pin firewire connection

[BentoSan]

a little bit of solder adding to the 4pin plug size might actually make it fit alot more snug, i still don't trust the 4 pin though so i bought a smartcard->firewire card that will be arriving in the mail any day now.