Can't Beat the Quality to Price Ratio 
by DA from Waco, Texas, February 2008
Music Background:  Student Engineer, Aspiring Producer

I've had the machine for about 3 weeks, and I haven't had any problems so far. It's basic and completely functional. With the price, I doubt another unit can compare. For $150, you get 24-bit recording, direct monitoring, 2 xlr's with phantom power; and as long as you keep the signal reasonable there is little to no coloration.

  Big Power in a Little Package! 
by Justin Chamberlain from Santa Maria, CA, November 2007
Music Background:  Weekend Warrior

Ok, Let's start with one of the best features of this little box... Phantom power from USB bus powered device. That translates in 5 volts becoming 19 volts without external power cables. I wish I could control which jack had Phantom power. Sometimes I want to run one Phantom power mic and one not. That's a drawback.

Install was super easy and the software bundle is great! You're up and running in minutes. Although this is USB 1.0 compatible I can't imagine using it without USB 2.0; the latency for straight wave recording is brutal. You HAVE to use ASIO "driver" for no latency recording. That translates into more processor and memory requirements.

Sound quality is top notch for an audio interface though I feel it's a little sluggish compared to Creative's EMU. The dual XLR and 1/4 mic input and the switchable Guitar input work great. We've went to direct guitar recording which was something we wouldn't do before this unit.

Very portable and easy to use. Fit seamlessly with my home studio and with Windows XP; I've set it as my primary audio device and record with it in all my music software. It's MIDI integration and time sync are unmatched in it's class.

My only complaint is the fact that when you turn on Phantom power it powers both jacks and it tends to have some latency problems with direct wave recording.

All-in-all the best bang for your buck! Creative's competitive unit has half the features and compatibility issues. Best purchase I've made for home studio in a while!

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