Echo Indigo IO Stereo 24/96 Laptop Cardbus

Feature:
Features are minimal, which is fine. Stereo in, stereo out, with the out capable of driving small headphones or earbuds, which we use to monitor the pavement noise we're recording. Small and simple is GOOD. I do wish it had an input level control, as it relies on Windows to control the recording gain.

Quality:
Solid, holds up to use in the field and getting tossed roughly in a bag between runs. Small protrusion from the laptop makes it less likely to catch on anything or do damage to the PMCIA port on the laptop if it does.

Value:
We use $9,000 sound meters, $10,000 sound intensity probes, and a $8,000 analyzer. Money is not an object, precision and accuracy are. This inexpensive device "hangs" with the other, incredibly expensive gear.

Desirability:
Simple, accurate, reliable, small, inexpensive. What's not to want?

Sound:
I'm a university scientist, do acoustics research for a living. I use this card to record tire noise in a moving vehicle, in order to design quieter roads. The Indigo is the last link between $50,000 of research quality recording gear (bolted to the vehicle wheel) and a laptop used for recording. What is required for this use is nothing more or less than complete accuracy - delivered reliably by the Echo Indigo. The 24 bit recording depth lets us concentrate on driving the vehicle and operating the analysis gear, without worrying about lost precision due to low recording levels. The quality of this device stands up to the $8,000 Larson Davis analyzer it's connected to.

Ease of Use:
Simple makes it easy. It interfaces seamlessly with Adobe Audition, which we use for recording software. As mentioned above, it would be nice if it had a level control for recording.

Support:
Someone else already said it: the best support is NONE NEEDED. This has that.

Overall:
Perfect device, only slight drawback is lack of an input level control. However, at this price point the necessary electronics to do that might compromise the accuracy, so it's understandable.

Feature:
The only things I wish this device had were a better array of inputs and outputs. I'm glad it came with an RCA/QTR adapter so I can plug in a portable sampler or keyboard without purchasing additional adapters myself, but it would've been nice to have a 1/4" headphone out or a set of 1/4" stereo outs. Given the size of the card (EXCELLENT!) I can't say my wants are very feasible. I wanted portability, not necessarily expandability.

Quality:
Again, a well built piece, but it does feel a bit delicate for my tastes. I lug my laptop around in a backpack which I swing all over the place. The bag's padded, sure, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the card inserted in the slot during transport. I've been carrying it in its original box for simplicity's sake. Gives me another storage spot to hold those RCA adapter cables anyway. If it were more sturdy I'd give it a 10, because the dial is just right and the jacks are right too.

Value:
I needed a portable solution to go along with my new monster laptop (a 17" screen bastard with 3 GHz proc and filled to the brim with my freeware soft synth favorites) I mostly sequence my music using an MPC1000 (which also fits in that nice backpack) but I needed a fast soundcard for playing softsynths in realtime and this is it people! Tiny, simple to use, and best of its class.

Desirability:
I had decided on buying it a while ago, but had held off because they are a bit expensive. Found one on eBay for a bit less and snatched it up! Loving myself and the indigo too, now! Before if I wanted to go portable and still record my MPC and sequence softsynths I needed to unrack and lug my MOTU 828mkII. That was a pain (mostly because of the unracking/racking process and the fact it didn't fit in my backpack) I no longer have to deal with.

Sound:
Crystal clear. When I first installed it I was disappointed with the level of static/noise when the dial is set to full volume. However, after resolving the ENE cardbus problem (with a utility from Echo, not advertised on their site!!!) the noise went completely away. This utility installs a replacement driver for ENE cardbus controllers such as the one in my HP zd7000 laptop. Other cardbus owners should not experience this problem. The utility must be run again after installing the new driver, and this time it will allow you to make settings. I can't recall the parameter names, there are two of them. For my laptop I unchecked both and performance has been perfect since.

Support:
Almost Perfect! I sent one email and made one phone call to tech support in regards to my issue. (garbled noise from the headphone out) I had found numerous posts on laptop forums all over the Net regarding problems with the ENE chipset, but found no links to the actual utility provided by Echo. (most disappointing was that Echo itself didn't have links on their site) Even during the duration of this call (during which I was not spoken down to and had a very good, brief conversation as soon as I got through, which was immediately) I received in my email a link to the utility, along with simple instructions. The tech was courteous, one of the best tech support calls I've had. The same tech also replied to my email (I had sent the email over the weekend and thought the phone path may prove quicker but I got replies through both channels) Again, Echo, put a link up to the damn utility!!!

Overall:
I'm set. F*** the rest for now, I'm set.