M-Audio Firewire Audiophile 2496 Audio Interface

Feature:
The warning about not connecting to your computer when its turned on is dissapointing. FireWire is supposed to be hot pluggable. But, with my laptop, it works fine if I just close the cover so it goes to sleep, plug in the M-Audio box, turn on the box, and then wake up the laptop. Everything else works as advertised. The hardware controls are simple and the software interface provides lots of control. IMPORTANT - I read a couple of the reviews below that complain of problems. Dont' pay any attention to them. The person with the hard drive problem is talking about a problem with the Live Delta software, not the M-Audio box. The software is supplied as a bonus, but this box can be used with any audio software. The Live software manual does indeed talk about limitations with slow drives and offers several solutions. The person with the upgraded Mac is kind of in the same boat. He's complaining about a computer problem, not a problem with the M-Audio box. It is well known that one thing you give up when you upgrade a Mac's processor is potential compatibility. I learned this the hard way years ago when I tried to save money by upgrading a Mac. A lot of software would not work with it.

Quality:
Top notch. Small, easy to take with you, travels well, accepts a bit of knocking around without complaint.

Value:
Awsome for the price. This box is the key component in my home recording studio. Plus, it comes with a limited version of Live Delta which is an extremely versatile and powerful program that can be used for multi-track recording, live DJ clip-sessions, and much more. It took me a week to go through this software and learn all its ins and outs, and when I was done, I sprung for the $225 upgrade to the full version. The box cost $150, so for $375 I had a powerful hardware/software solution for a home studio that cost less than the price of the software alone ($500). A great deal!

Sound:
Excellent! Its a 24-bit interface and is up to its specs. I use it for studio recording doing track-at-a-time recording and a high end studio mic, and this box introduces nothing - just as it should!

Support:
Only had to call once. It was just something I needed help understanding. They were very helpful, very polite.

Overall:
This box, along with the included software, makes for a very powerful studio recording solution. The ability to time-warp recordings to match beats without changing the pitch is a phenomenal aid to getting professional recordings. The connections and routing capabilities of the box makes it very flexible and able to easily fit into your recording needs.

Feature:
I use a Mackie 8 channel mixer, Kenwood MDisk recorder, Sony DAT, and it works flawlessly with all.

Quality:
Not bulletproof, plastic knobs, would NOT change cords over and over, set it up with Quality cabling (I use all AR Master series) and LEAVE it alone. Jacks are NOT very hefty but not cheap either.

Value:
I paid $150 on EBay 2 years ago and consider it one of my best purchases.

Desirability:
I honestly really like the look of this unit but SEXY??? Give me a freak'n break!!! I like the tops graphic and really love the blue led.

Sound:
I have been in the Pro Sound profession for 20+ years now and have used several other M-Audio and competitive products and this ranks up there with ANY of them! MUST have FAST drives preferably Sata 300. And good cpu power (I am using AMD Athlon 64X2 5000+) I use XP and have ZERO problems, NEVER had a pop or a crackle in 2+ years!!!

Ease of Use:
NOT plug and Play but simple to figure out, I say this but I have used several other M Audio products so I am accustomed to this, Some may have a problem innitially.

Support:
Never have had to use them since I have a lot of experiance with both Audio and PCs. But have heard from a few colleages that they SUCK!!!

Overall:
I HIGHLY reccomend this unit!!! BUT as I stated earlier if you have so so drives and a run of the mill pc...LOOK ELSEWHERE....