When I went shopping for a decent audio interface, the Delta 66 kept coming back to me. Sales-people recommended it, it had great reviews, good support, and the price was right.

Since I purchased my own Delta 66, I have not been disappointed. A sound card just doesn't get much quieter than this. From my primitive tests, the frequency response is nice and flat from the lowest lows to the highest highs. I could find no sound coloration whatsoever. Basically, what you put in is exactly what you get out. That, more than anything, should be the overwhelming consideration for anyone who's serious about digital recording.

Hardware installation is very painless. I had the card installed and up-and-running within about 20 minutes. The supplied drivers were up-to-date and installed easily. Better yet, there are several more drivers to choose from on their excellent website, including a couple beta drivers.

The control panel software included with the Delta 66 is flexible and powerful enough to meet most any signal-routing needs. It's not the prettiest interface I've seen, and doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it gets the job done. I really appreciate the "Monitor Mixer" screen with all its level meters, mute/solo functions, and precise level controls. This software does have a learning curve, so I recommend studying the manual for awhile before starting on your first project. Once you master the interface, however, you will come to appreciate the level of control you have over where and how your signals go.

I have had a few problems worth noting. While the Delta 66 and its software are excellent at handling studio hard-disk recording with software such as Cakewalk Sonar (my personal choice)...it does not exactly coexist with Windows as peacefully as it might. I use Windows 98SE and wanted to use WDM drivers so I could get the best latency from Sonar. It took me quite some time to figure out that the WDM drivers for Win98 are the same ones used for Win2000. You won't find that information on the website, exactly...so if you use Win98 and want to use WDM drivers, download the latest Win2000 WDM drivers.

Note that Windows 98 has some issues with WDM drivers that need to be addressed. You can find information about that by searching Microsoft's so-called "knowledge base" or by simply searching the web. If you don't need or use WDM drivers under Windows 98, this is of no concern.

Additionally, DirectX 8.0 doesn't seem to recognize the Delta's drivers as being DirectX friendly. I've had no trouble whatsoever with pro audio applications like Sonar (including DirectX plug-ins, they work great), but if you want to run typical Windows applications which use DirectSound (particularly games), you may find the Delta doesn't perform as well as a consumer-level card like an SBLive. This isn't an issue if you have a dedicated multitrack workstation, but if you're like me and use your computer for everything under the sun, you may hear a few quirks. Mind you, the quality of the sound itself is spectacular, you may simply find a few pops, glitches, etc. when running some Windows applications. Small price to pay, if you ask me.

There's one thing that seems to ease some of these Windows-Woes considerably. In the Control Panel under Multimedia, go to the Audio tab and click "advanced". There, click the "Peformance" tab and set the "Hardware Acceleration" slider to "None." This may help speed up some applications which make heavy use of audio, including your multi-track software. As soon as I made this change, Sonar really seemed to perk-up and run like a champ. Make a note of this if you plan on getting a Delta and use Windows 98.

Overall, I love this card. I can't say it enough, the audio quality is so good it's nearly transparent, which is exactly what you want in a DAW. Crisp highs, full-bodied lows, and everything in between. I'm a sax player, so I'm very demanding when it comes to frequency response (a sax generates a LOT of harmonics). Even the inaudible range becomes important when reproducing a tone with a lot of stacked harmonics, like the kind a saxophone produces. You may not "hear" all the frequencies, but when they're not there you can tell something's missing. With the Delta 66, when I record a sax it comes out sounding like a sax. What more could I ask for?

The breakout box is real convenience. I don't know what they crammed in there, but I doubt they could have made it any smaller, considering its four 1/4" ins and four 1/4" outs (which support balanced or unbalanced connections). I have mine velcroed to the wall above my main mixer for easy access (and it looks cool, too). :)

The S-PDIF connections (located on the soundcard--wish they were on the breakout box)...make digital connectivity possible. I use a Roland VM-3100 mixer which has digital S-PDIF ins and outs as well, which I connect to the Delta soundcard. Nice all-digital solution when I need it.

I wish the Delta had optical ins/outs, but with the S-PDIF it's little more than a matter of convenience. Digital is digital, after all. I think the AD/DA converters of the Delta sound better than those of my Roland VM-3100, so more and more I'm tending to use the Delta's analog ins over digital, anyway.

I picked the Delta over a long list of other audio cards, including some that are twice and three times the price. That includes the Echo Layla (I've heard disturbing reports about latency issues with the Layla). I have no first-hand experience with the Layla or other Echo cards, however, so do your own research if you're looking at them. Other cards I passed on included cards from EgoSys, the Aardvark Direct Pro 24/96, WaveCenter-PCI Tango24 combo, RME Digi96/8, Frontier Dakota, Terratec cards, and other cards from M-Audio. If you're seriously shopping for a card, I'd take a look at some of these for comparison (all of them are good). But I stand by my choice.

I gave it a "4" in features rather than a "5" simply because it's not the most full-featured card you'll ever find. It doesn't have any MIDI ports, no optical connections, not much in the way of bells and whistles.

But it sounds terrific. And that's what counts, isn't it?

- Heather Haze

PS: Feel free to email with (serious) questions if you plan on getting this card, and I'll try to help if I can. Please don't spam me, though. :)

hthrhaze@aol.com

Feature:
We all know that the less 'features' there are, the better with this kind of professional product. Balanced I/O, incredible sounding converters and 24-bit/96kHz operation will do for me. Some may require more than 4 analogue inputs, though.

Quality:
This is the only part of my PC setup that has lived on unchanged through several rebuilds over the last 6 years. I expect it to still be there for years to come.

Value:
When I bought mine in 2001, it was a no-brainer. Today, of course, the days of PCI may be numbered and the marketplace is infinitely more crowded.

Desirability:
The appeal of this product stems from its top-notch sound quality, rugged construction, exemplary driver support, wide compatibility and ease of use.

Sound:
The sound quality is entirely within the professional arena.

Ease of Use:
Straightforward and intuitive in operation. Compare the no-nonsense Delta control panel with something like the horribly over-complicated and illegible Patchmix DSP (sorry emu owners!)

Support:
You simply won't need any with this product.

Overall:
I will be using my Delta 66 for as long as motherboard considerations will allow.

Bought as part of Omni Studio Bundle ( Delta 66
& Omni Audio Station ). Very easy to setup
and very flexible recording features. I also
like the fact that Midiman already has beta
WDM drivers available for the Delta series
on their wedsite available for download.
They tend to keep their drivers and products
updated and supported. A very important point
to consider when investing in a products future
compatibility with new technologies.

You know everyone will @@@@@ about everything !!!. I have recorded 2 albums on this unit and the listeners are blown always. Engineering skills always play a big factor. If it pops and cracks, that's call digital clipping (so turn your sending signal down). I am now moving to ProTools for compatability with bigger studios, but I hate the fact I will miss this thing because it has done a damn good job. If you are just starting out, or running 20-bit saying 24-bit won't make a different you need this unit and your recordings will come alive. Guaranteed

Very good soundcard i expected less when i bought it and now i dont regret a dime...
as everyone said midiman keeps their drivers updated and every time they amaze me again,tehy just developed a driver that supports sorrund and ac-3 outputs from the card now which u can d/l from their site....
work is easy and no problems at all!

When a company is dedicated to Driver Support, particularly WIN2000, and creating a product that the consumer is asking for, this is a company to invest in.

With the addition of the OMNI drive, MAudio has made the DAW that much better.

Midiman Delta 66 Audio Interface

Feature:
Not much to it... 4 ins, 4 outs. I have now upgraded to the echo gina 3g pci interface which I strongly suggest if you are looking for features and a low price

Quality:
seemed tough... then my outputs fried

Value:
good price if this is all you need... If you want all the goodies in one place with less units and chords go for an audio interface.. the echo gina is about 100 dollars more with a whole lot more toys. And i hear of people having good luck with tascam interfaces for just about the same price as the delta 66. It all depends on what you need

Desirability:
It is a soundcard, not a supermodel

Sound:
pretty good sound... for the price I would say really good sound

Ease of Use:
Pretty simple plug and play.. the software seems work great without problems. remember If you are recording with this you have to have a pre amp of some sort to go between the breakout box and the instrument,which is just way to many chords and clutter for my taste

Support:
great support at m-audio.. when I posted my problem they replied immediatly! I am going to get this fixed for a resonable price from them and keep it for a back up.

Overall:
like I have already said it is good if you don't need much.. the sound is good but by the time you get pre amps and such, more space taken,and more chords, and more money than some people new in the field may have expected to pay(thinking they would just plug this sucker in and go! wrong).

Feature:
The breakout box is solidly built with a sturdy cable of adequate length.

Quality:
A well made product. It seems sturdy and could easily be used on the road for recording gigs due to it's compact size and portability.

Value:
Awesome value! System requirements let you use this card even with older computers to get great quality digital recordings. You can't buy a digital recorder with the quality this offers anywhere near the price.

Desirability:
This is a great product, even if it looks ordinary, the features and quality are outstanding. Don't be fooled by fancy packaging, this may look like a plain Jane, but it's a sweetheart when you take it for a ride.

Sound:
The sound quality is great, as good as much more expensive cards.

Support:
I haven't needed any support on this product because it has worked flawlessly. That's the best kind of support, not needing it.

Overall:
I expect I'll be satisfied with this until I can afford a real digital recorder that doesn't have the quirks of Windows crashing. If you have a computer and want to record some music, this is what you need to do it with. You could spend alot more if you want, but this definitely does the trick.

Feature:
for this price range and sound quality you get all you need..the pros are the sound quality but the cons are you only get 4 tracks for recording at one time which is no big deal..

Quality:
ive been using it since 2002 with the omni studio.. if you are a guitar player just stick the amp simulator in the spdif with out the interface and you can record great sounding music..evryone wants to know how i get my guitar to sound so good...

Value:
come on you can buy a sound blaster for this price if you want to make a mistake...are you a gamer or a musician,lol...

Desirability:
it is no nonsense

Sound:
professional sound.. you will not get better for the money ...alot of the cards that cost more are still not as good

Support:
pretty good...

Overall:
i will definitley keep this and like i said i will use this to transfer back and forth with a stand alone roland multi track recorder

Feature:
4 ins, 4 outs. Pretty basic.

Desirability:
Decent mid-level card once you get it working

Sound:
Sounds good - very clean, low latency, no crackling or popping.

Support:
Support really s@@ks. Only 9-5, BAD web site. Drivers will not install correctly in win2k without assistance from tech support (instructions on web site will NOT work).

Overall:
Install was EXTREMELY frustrating. Drivers/install utility really suck.