M-Audio Firewire Solo Audio Interface
The M-Audio FireWire Solo is a FireWire Bus-powered device allowing you to record wherever you want to as long as you have a FireWire enabled computer.
Overall User Ratings (based on 55 ratings)
Submitted February 6, 2006 by a customer from hotmail.com
"Glad I went firewire not USB."
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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.
Sound
First time recording through firewire and I have to say it's great. A cheap and easy way to get great sounding vocals.
Features
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.
Manufacturer 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.
The Wow Factor
it's mildly attractive.
Musical Background:
part-time singer/songwriter
Musical Style:
Acoustic pop rock
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Submitted May 11, 2006 by a customer from scyam.com
M-Audio Firewire Solo Customer Review
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For the solo musician this is an excellet I/O device for recording to a Laptop /PC.
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)
Features
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.
Musical Background:
Active musician
Musical Style:
Rock
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Submitted March 18, 2005 by a customer from yandex.ru
M-Audio Firewire Solo Customer Review
Great external card for 150-200$. I'm loving it.
Sound
I like the sound very much. No cracks pops and clicks and my laptop is running faster now. The recording is crisp and clear, especially when you record with a preamp.
Features
Came with cables and software. Lol. It also came with a 110V power source, so when I automatically plugged in I had a little explosion :) So I had to go and buy a 220V adapter, because the manufacturer just FORGOT to supply its product with it. The card took no damage tho'. Apart from that it has guitar and mic inputs. That comes handy but it has no built in preamp, and that seems very strange to me. Oh and I have 4ms latency in Cubase, feels good.
Quality
Hell yes it looks and feels good indeed. Steel and solid. And a blue led. Yummy.
Value
I paid 200$ for it, if you need a 200$ firewire device with mic/guitar/headphones ins - I recommend you taking this baby
Manufacturer Support
I know nothing about the M-Audio support, all of their products work flawless for me.
The Wow Factor
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.
Musical Background:
Home production
Musical Style:
From Hip-Hop to Thrash Metal
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Submitted September 27, 2005 by a customer from yahoo.com
"great card, fits needs perfectly, affordable and pro tools compatible."
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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.
Sound
both the input and the output are really clean. i suggest utilizing the balanced outputs so that you maximize the sound quality.
Features
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.
Manufacturer 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.
The Wow Factor
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.
Musical Background:
Musician, Producer, Recording Engineer
Musical Style:
Hip-Hop, RnB, Various others
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Submitted March 22, 2008 by a customer from aol.com
"life long commitment"
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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.
Sound
the sound is not bad, compared to my 1/8 inch microphone input. i cant complain it gets the job done.
Features
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.
Ease of Use
not the hardest thing to do, just plug and play. works well with garageband and logic pro 8.
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
Manufacturer Support
very helpful in allowing me to find out that the back inputs are stereo pairs :(
The Wow Factor
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.
Musical Background:
student at full sail
Musical Style:
hard rock
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Submitted September 17, 2009 by a customer from hotmail.com
"Great product for the buck.If your serious, Save up and buy something better"
overall i give this a 7.This product is great for someone who records here and there and uses this with a set of active monitors.It does the trick and its all you really need.As myself as a producer with sort's of synthesizers and microphones and a radio broadcaster.This doesnt come up to par.If your like me or plan on getting into recording and slowly building your studio.Save up and spend your money on a quality interface.It will be well worth the wait and hard work saving up for something nice.If you need something quick and does the job normaly.Then this is your toy
Sound
This product is decent for its sound.The only problem when you crank the volume knob it crackles through the speakers.Kind of annoying when your mixign and you need to check things out at certain levels.
Features
Has phantom power which is nice. great for any beginner vocalist who is recording off a condenser mic.
Ease of Use
This is simple. A cave man could use it ;)
Quality
I wish the volume knob didnt crackle as much when you turned the volume up or down.Phantom power for a mic and rear and front inputs work flawless.
Value
For the price its worth it.Get it if your a beginner thats into recording or a novice producer.I dont recommend it to pro producers or anyone with qulaity speakers and gear.Spend alittle more for some better quality interface
Manufacturer Support
Never had to use it yet
The Wow Factor
Looks ok.Not really a looker type product.
Musical Background:
DJ,Radio Broadcaster,Producer
Musical Style:
Trance,Progresssive
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Submitted March 8, 2007 by a customer from milwaukee.k12.wi.us
"I could eat a floppy disk and PUKE a better driver."
Do not buy M-Audio firewire products. Their drivers are miserable.
Sound
Still does not work. Windows will not properly register the driver.
Features
Accessories are included - cables, power supply, everything you need. Except a functional 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.
Quality
Well built hardware. Useless software.
Value
If it will not work, it is useless.
Manufacturer 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.
The Wow Factor
Pretty but pretty useless
Musical Background:
Active Musician
Musical Style:
Alternative Rock
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Submitted December 20, 2007 by a customer from gmail.com
"Seek another option"
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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.
Features
No MIDI in/out, and it looks like this is standard on most comparable audio interfaces now.
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.
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.
Manufacturer 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.
The Wow Factor
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.
Musical Background:
hobbyist
Musical Style:
alt-indy-strangewave-prog-jazz-psychobilly
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Submitted September 13, 2006 by a customer from earthlink.net
"The Worst"
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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.
Manufacturer Support
Could not reach support.
Musical Background:
Active Musician
Musical Style:
Rock
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Submitted July 3, 2008
"money worthy,oh yes"
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
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
Quality
yes,dropped in bare times,the mic input is slightly dislodged,but still in full order.the casing is very tough.
Manufacturer Support
once when i thought it had been hot plugged...in theory it should have been by now...fairly helpful support
The Wow Factor
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
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Submitted February 3, 2008
"Nice external sound card. Works with Vista."
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I will keep this for a couple of years, then maybe move on to a top level DAC
Sound
Not sure which DAC they use in this unit, but the sound is nice.
Features
Has balanced and unbalanced analog in/outs. Good quality. Comes with short firewire cable (I had to buy a longer one).
Ease of Use
Just plug and go! Avoid hot-plugging this unit (common sense).
Quality
Made of metal. Solid. No issues.
Value
$200. A good external sound card.
Manufacturer Support
N/A
The Wow Factor
Very utilitarian. Not fancy at all. No complaints
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Submitted December 25, 2007
"The sound is NOT great but OKAY"
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
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.
Features
It did include some other components but i didn't use any of them.
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.
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.
Manufacturer Support
I have never had to use the support
The Wow Factor
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.
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Submitted March 23, 2006
"If ur looking for something mobile... this is it!!"
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.
Sound
Ive been using the SOLO for the last 9 months, and I like the sound of this.
Features
seems to have all the approproate features.
Ease of Use
easy to hook up. just one firewire cable (power & audio).
Manufacturer Support
no comment
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