Premium 24-bit/192kHz A/D and D/A converters. Ultra-low noise preamps. Ultra-low latency USB 2.0 drivers. Hardware zero-latency direct monitoring.
18 People rated this product : 7 out of 10
4 People wrote reviews









10 out of 10
Feature:
There are not a lot of features on this unit, but that's not a bad thing. There are basically 4 knobs for controlling the volume of the inputs, monitor and headphone jack. But it's simplicity is what makes it so appealing.
With that said, it has the 1/4, Hi-Z, XLR, and 1/8 connections most people need for recording. The only thing missing is phantom power.
A big selling point for this box is that it is a true USB 2.0 unit. When comparing competing units in this price range, look closely at the specs...you'll find many of them SUPPORT USB 2.0, but are actually USB 1.1 units--meaning significantly less throughput.
Quality:
It's a light plastic through and through. Certainly not a road warrior, but I think it's sturdy enough for regular home use.
Value:
For a true USB 2.0 interface that offers clean sound and most connection s a home studio user would need, I think the price can't be beat.
Desirability:
There's nothing sexy about it...just a solid offering.
Sound:
I've so far been pleased with sound quality. I've plugged in a bass and electric guitar, as well as a couple of dynamic mics...it goes in clean and comes out clean.
Ease of Use:
I initially experienced a snag getting this to work, as I was uninstalling a PCI sound card first (the old card's software had a poor uninstall routine). But once I got this unit going, using it was a snap with Adobe Audition.
My only nit is that the unit's control panel software reverts the sample rate to 44.1Khz each time I reboot.
Support:
I have not contacted their support, but the documentation is very well written.
Overall:
I see no need to turn to something else soon unless I need to record more than two tracks at a time.
Submitted: 7/10/2008
Style of Music: Rock / Alternative









8 out of 10
Feature:
This unit basically has 2 mono input. Input 2 is your regular 1/4" jack, Input 1 is interesting, it's a 3 in 1 combo, a 1/8" jack + 1/4" jack + XLR, it's got a built in preamp for the XLR but no phantom power, so only dynamic mic will work. Not a problem for me, I have seperate pre amp feeding the mic. It's got 2 output, and here's where I liked the way it's design, 1 output is a stereo (2 seperate mono Left + Right 1/4" jack), this is good for monitors because that's basically what they uses. The other output is a 1/8" jack that you usually see in computer speakers, this makes it super easier to A/B your mix, frankly speaking, w/e you mix on the monitor will not likely be play through a set of monitors, it'll be play through regular speakers, this makes it easier to see what it sound like with regular speakers. The front has a headphone jack + amp. for tracking purpose, I find this pretty useful. Other wise it came with a bunch of software (experimental version), like cubase + melodyne + a bunch of other stuff, I tried out the cubase, it's alright, although it only let me uses 2 VST effect per track, not very useful IMO, and I guess it'll be the same for the other stuff it's bundle with.
Quality:
It feels nice, plastic but solid none the less. I don't think I'll have any problem keeping it as 1 piece from my light usage.
Value:
It's a really good value if you're only doing 2 tracks. It's got alot of features for the price, and it's good where it counts (ADC + DAC + features). If you're looking for something that can handle more input, this is not the unit.
Desirability:
sex appeal? not really, it's not very flashy to begin with haha.
Sound:
Ok, these things are rated at 115~ SNR on both input/output. That's no slouch, that's close to the Emu 1212, and the same as it's bigger brother the 0404. DAC and ADC is good IMO. I just got this unit in the mail, I set it up and tried to record some talking voices, sounds good to me. I had the Audigy 4 Pro before this (which is another good unit for casual recording, not a whole lot of input/output, and it is unbalanced, but the DAC and ADC is pretty dam good). This one actually sounded a little cleaner IMO, but that's probably because I'm bias toward new gear.
Ease of Use:
I'm computer savy, I know for a fact that if I had previously install another sound card, and I try to install this, it'll be a real problem. So I grab my spare computer, format it, and install this in as the primary sound card. And the installation was rough, the software is not very responsive and takes a long time to load. Took me about 1-2 hours to figure out what to install and how to set the thing to work properly, I suspect if someone isn't very good with the computer, there's a huge chance they'll return it before finishing the installation. I know for a fact it's a software problem, I installed this on an E6600 duo core + 4GB of ram, freshly format, there's no way the computer is at fault for speed.
Support:
I dunno, just got the unit.
Overall:
I think this is my final stops. All I really need is 2 input, and 2 output to have different monitors. The DAC and ADC of this thing is close to the much more expensive Emu 1616 (like 400 bucks and I believe it's SNR is 120+). And with my untreated room + untrain ears, I doubt I can hear the difference, this is more of fun project than proffesional studio. I think I'll keep it for along time.
Submitted: 2/19/2008
Style of Music: Pop
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