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M-Audio Firewire Solo Audio Interface

The FireWire Solo is designed from the ground up as an easy-to-use, high-quality interface for songwriters to record guitars, vocals and more on the computer. Compatible with most popular music software, this compact bus-powered unit is small enough to go anywhere you want to take your music. In addition to the 1/4 in. guitar input right on the front panel, a professional XLR microphone input also lets you record vocals and acoustic instruments. There are also dual line inputs for effects, drum machines and other outboard gear. FireWire connectivity, up to 24-bit/96kHz sample rate support and digital I/O all add up to outstanding sonic performance. As simple to connect and operate as it is powerful, FireWire Solo is the foundation of your computer-based songwriting studio. Learn More...

    • New $199.95
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Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10

Individual User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10

Quality:
yes,dropped in bare times,the mic input is slightly dislodged,but still in full order.the casing is very tough.

Desirability:
to me it doesn't look to sexual but it does its job very well,plus it's not half as ugly as some unit sin the same price range

Sound:
prett good,if you've got a condesnser,can't complain,the microphone input has alot of volume specially with phatom power. guitar input is weaker in comparison

Support:
once when i thought it had been hot plugged...in theory it should have been by now...fairly helpful support

Overall:
might keep it for a while till it either breaks,or until i wanna upgrade to a desk.if you require hoem recordin facilities and only need 1 input at a time i strongly reckommend this unit

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

Feature:
it would be nice if it had two 1/4 inch inputs. it does on the back but you can only use those as stereo inputs. if it had one of those crazy 1/4" / XLR inputs that would be amazing.

Quality:
the firewire solo is a brick this thing seems like you could run it over with a truck. the 1/4 inch jack is a little wobbly but i havent had any problems with it comming loose. everything else is sturdy as can be.

Value:
for the money hell yea. i was thinking bout getting the presonus firebox but thats like a hundred dollars more. and this stands up to my buddys firebox for sure

Desirability:
its a box with some holes in it. i mean yea know it is what it is. you want sex appeal buy a PRS guitar.

Sound:
the sound is not bad, compared to my 1/8 inch microphone input. i cant complain it gets the job done.

Ease of Use:
not the hardest thing to do, just plug and play. works well with garageband and logic pro 8.

Support:
very helpful in allowing me to find out that the back inputs are stereo pairs :(

Overall:
the firewire solo should last me untill i need to record a band. right now until i get my project studio off the ground it works really well. i will probably use this thing for the rest of my life. its small enough and tough enough to take on the road with me. so yea rock.

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

Feature:
Has balanced and unbalanced analog in/outs. Good quality. Comes with short firewire cable (I had to buy a longer one).

Quality:
Made of metal. Solid. No issues.

Value:
$200. A good external sound card.

Desirability:
Very utilitarian. Not fancy at all. No complaints

Sound:
Not sure which DAC they use in this unit, but the sound is nice.

Ease of Use:
Just plug and go! Avoid hot-plugging this unit (common sense).

Support:
N/A

Overall:
I will keep this for a couple of years, then maybe move on to a top level DAC

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Overall:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

Feature:
It did include some other components but i didn't use any of them.

Quality:
it didn't seem like it was made cheap. Its a pretty heavy little metal box that i sit ontop of my pc when i recorded. The quality of the sound is not professional though. If you have a Great microphone you will not be able to hear how great that mic is through this interface. This is what i have learned and would like to share with any potential buyers of this product. If you are looking for that pro sound this is not for you.

Value:
I will give this product a 10... Because for the price it gets the job done. I have given some cd's of mines to my friends and they liked the songs. This audio interface would be good to have for practicing your recording skills working on your technique more than anything. Then when you upgrade you will most likely suprise yourself how great you will sound. I wouldn't have spent more than $200 for this product though and I don't think its worth anymore than that.

Desirability:
Its nice looking on the outside but i really don't care about that. I want to spend money for the performance not the look of the box.

Sound:
The sound is borderline.... i do hip hop and R&B if your looking for a more clean sound this is not it. Don't get me wrong its pretty nice for the price but far from professional. After you play around with it and want to reach another level of quality you will surely need to upgrade from this. Right now im looking at getting the RME Fireface 800 or 400 i keep hearing good things about the 800.

Ease of Use:
It was pretty easy to use. I just followed the installation instructions and plugged it in when it told me. It's a smart idea not to unplug this thing while its on though (hot swap). I have heard of that leading to the death of these type of interfaces.

Support:
I have never had to use the support

Overall:
Overall this product gets a 6 from me and thats pretty high. For me this product can't get a 10 because there is much better out there. Don't get me wrong though for beginners this is a decent interface. Im on a different level now though so im ready to upgrade to a better interface with a great preamp

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Overall:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
Value:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Feature:
No MIDI in/out, and it looks like this is standard on most comparable audio interfaces now.

Quality:
Here's the problem - do NOT hot-plug or hot un-plug M-Audio products, or it will render them useless. You think they would do something simple like install a breaker to prevent this from happening. Mine worked, then the next minute it inexplicably died, perhaps because I hot-plugged it unintentionally. It's dead and gone, so now I have a $150 door stop that will probably turn into a chew toy for my new puppy. I will never buy another M-audio product.

Value:
I would have given at least a 3 or even a 10 if the thing were still working. It was great when it worked, but the value is ZERO when it just gives up on you with no hope of ever getting your money's worth out of it.

Desirability:
Again, this would be higher if it were more reliable, and if it still worked. People don't want to have to buy something twice.

Sound:
Started using it on my Mac OSX w/Garage Band 3 yrs ago, worked GREAT. My bro and I recorded a few studio mixed songs, a few live ones, used it to run iTunes into big house PA system. The sound was great.

Ease of Use:
Took me awhile to figure out the control panel on my Mac. It never worked on my PC, so can't help you there.

Support:
Didn't call on phone, but their webite was very, very helpful in telling me that there are about a half-dozen different ways to render this thing completely USELESS if you happen to plug it in wrong. Otherwise, web site very helpful.

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Overall:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Value:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Support:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10

Feature:
Accessories are included - cables, power supply, everything you need. Except a functional driver

Quality:
Well built hardware. Useless software.

Value:
If it will not work, it is useless.

Desirability:
Pretty but pretty useless

Sound:
Still does not work. Windows will not properly register the driver.

Ease of Use:
Driver will not handle anything but the ONE chipset they tested it with. Get a TI firewire card or you are SOL.

Support:
Never came up with the right answer. All troubleshooting had to be done by me. All they could come up with could be found in the (downloaded - the one that came with it was useless) manual.

Overall:
Do not buy M-Audio firewire products. Their drivers are miserable.

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Overall:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Value:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Support:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10

Sound:
I could not get Solo to work consistently from the rear port. It would not work at all from the front port. I have no confidence in M-Audio products.

Support:
Could not reach support.

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

Feature:
XLR with 48v phantom power, line in, DI for guitar and SP/DIF for feeding from top range effects units. What more could you ask.

Sound:
Just got the product and have only recorded acoustic guitar and vocal. Guitar DI'd and the sound is vcery good. Vocal were through a Rode Nt2 and are excellent. I will be using the SP/DIF interface from a Boss GT6 and I am looking forward to see what level of quality recording this gives (I don't expect anything less than excellent)

Overall:
For the solo musician this is an excellet I/O device for recording to a Laptop /PC.

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

Feature:
seems to have all the approproate features.

Sound:
Ive been using the SOLO for the last 9 months, and I like the sound of this.

Ease of Use:
easy to hook up. just one firewire cable (power & audio).

Support:
no comment

Overall:
i would rate this 9 because ive also worked a lot on digi hardware. this thing is good, but still would'nt say it has the brilliance of sending something they a 002 or a HD system.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Feature:
Nothing to much to speak about. I was glad it had phantom power but despite that I haven't noticed anything else worth mentioning...besides what's standard.

Quality:
It's really nice quality no doubt. You can record two tracks simultaneously which is nice. Can't wait to put this thing to full use.

Value:
Not too expensive yet still so nice.

Desirability:
it's mildly attractive.

Sound:
First time recording through firewire and I have to say it's great. A cheap and easy way to get great sounding vocals.

Support:
I don't know much about support but I do know that MAudio has some reasonably good fan feedback so I trust they make a quality product and thus they probably help their customers with these products.

Overall:
I will use this until it breaks. Or I'll upgrade to more inputs but the sound quality is not going to every get old.

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

Feature:
it comes with everything it mentions. though my box did lack the reason adapted program and pro sessions, no biggie considering that i use reason 3.0 anyway. its a great product if it fits your needs. i use it between my laptop and my desktop, and the unit switches between the two without any problems.

Quality:
the build on the unit itself is well weighted and it shows its ruggedness. ive had some problems with it. one of them was when i attached my firewire ipod cable through it and connected my ipod (then i switched it to my open firewire slot on my computer which solved this), and another wierd instance was when i had music playing through it while my computer was booting up still, most likely my fault, but the sound didnt work until i restarted it again. but other than those two easy to fix problems the quality on this product is great for 200.

Value:
if its what you want, fits your needs, then here is your product.

Desirability:
its sexy cause it matches all the other m-audio products i own, along with my ibook. its also easy to carry around cause of its small footprint.

Sound:
both the input and the output are really clean. i suggest utilizing the balanced outputs so that you maximize the sound quality.

Support:
though i havent had to contact m-audio because of this product, i have on diffrent occassions and they were all helpful and responded in a reasonable amount of t ime. even in one case they replaced my whole radium 61, and they shipped it back very quickly.

Overall:
it fit my needs exactly. a stereo line in, a mic with phantom power, a guitar in, firewire and balanced outputs. its really really clean both inputs and outputs, and for other cards inthis price range, the firewire solo is a perfect choice. and since its protools compatible is just icing on the cake.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

Feature:
Came with cables and software. Lol. It also came with a 110V power source, so when I automatically plugged in I had a little explosion :) So I had to go and buy a 220V adapter, because the manufacturer just FORGOT to supply its product with it. The card took no damage tho'. Apart from that it has guitar and mic inputs. That comes handy but it has no built in preamp, and that seems very strange to me. Oh and I have 4ms latency in Cubase, feels good.

Quality:
Hell yes it looks and feels good indeed. Steel and solid. And a blue led. Yummy.

Value:
I paid 200$ for it, if you need a 200$ firewire device with mic/guitar/headphones ins - I recommend you taking this baby

Desirability:
It will serve me well for a couple of years I know it, after that i'm going to switch to something really expensive, to a different level.

Sound:
I like the sound very much. No cracks pops and clicks and my laptop is running faster now. The recording is crisp and clear, especially when you record with a preamp.

Support:
I know nothing about the M-Audio support, all of their products work flawless for me.

Overall:
Great external card for 150-200$. I'm loving it.

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