Edirol FA101 Firewire Audio Interface (Windows and Macintosh)

10x10 24-bit/96kHz audio performance. Direct monitoring. FireWire bus-powered.

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Overall User Ratings

Overall:: 9 out of 10
Features:: 8 out of 10
Quality:: 9 out of 10
Value:: 9 out of 10
I Want It:: 9 out of 10
Sound:: 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:: 9 out of 10
Support:: 8 out of 10

"Nice and solid. Good Drivers."

Overall:: 9 out of 10
Features:: 9 out of 10
Quality:: 10 out of 10
Value:: 9 out of 10
I Want It:: 9 out of 10
Sound:: 9 out of 10
Support:: 8 out of 10

User: a customer from mailcan.com

Submitted: 9/3/2005

Style of Music: Rock, Pop, Metal, etc.

Musical Experience: Home Studio User

Location: Japan

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.

Feature:
For this price, I think this unit is a pretty nice bang for the buck. 2 pre-amps, 8 analog in's, 2 S/PDIF in's, etc. The good thing is that it works as advertised. No problems.

Quality:
Seems pretty solid. Nicely built, good mobility because of its weight. I've put it in a laptop bag and flew on the plane with it. Works fine. The transformer included with mine works in all regions. I've used it in both Japan and Hong Kong without problems despite the different voltages in the 2 countries.

Value:
I considered the M-audio FW410 before purchasing this. But I've seen reviews where users were having problems with the drivers and such. So I looked into this unit. The price is reduced now and I think it's pretty good for an entry-level product. The firepod was not released yet when I made my purchase and that unit seems to be nice because of including 8 preamps (man!). So, if you have another 100 to spend, getting that might be even more bang for the buck.

Desirability:
Nice red, shiny color that pics on the net don't do justice to. ;)

Sound:
The included pre-amps work nicely. Low noise and enough gain for my purpose (recording pop vocals). I've only used it with my Studio Projects B1 and it's been serving me well.

Support:
Replied my email about a sample rate question within a week.

Overall:
The very one thing I was worried before purchasing an audio interface is to have to mess with my computer and IRQ's just to get the thing to work. This unit has been problem-less and easy to setup. Good and solid. I record it with SONAR on a PC laptop and it's been fine.

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"Rock Solid Red"

Overall:: 9 out of 10
Features:: 8 out of 10
Quality:: 10 out of 10
Value:: 10 out of 10
I Want It:: 10 out of 10
Sound:: 8 out of 10

Submitted: 12/12/2004

Style of Music: Experimental

Musical Experience: Composer/Laptop performer

Location: Princeton, NJ USA

Feature:
It has two combo XLR/1/4" inputs in front; that's convenient. The fact that it's bus-powered is great -- and though I was worried about using it this way, it works just fine. The FA-101 doesn't have a lot of gimmicky features, but the features it does have are quality. I really like the fact that this is simple, rock solid, and simply works.

Quality:
So far, it seems great, although I've only had it a week! It's solid, metal, and seems very well-built. I used it for a gig without AC power and it performed like a champ.

Value:
For 10 in/10 out firewire, this is a steal. It's also a heck of a lot easier to cart around than an 828 (although the 828s do offer more).

Desirability:
It's wireless and red :-)

Sound:
The preamps are very clean, and everything sounds great (especially at 24/92). My only complaint is that the mic preamps are a bit quiet - I find myself usually having to crank up to highest sensitivity.

Support:
I have not yet dealt with Edirol, so no comment.

Overall:
I expect to use this for a long time. The preamp's not such a big deal as I can use an external preamp or mixer.

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