M-Audio Fast Track Pro 4 x 4 Mobile USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamps

Pros: Solid build.

Cons: Beware of the SPDIF input. If you need this input for any gear you CAN NOT monitor it unless its being monitored through recording software. This sucks and really isnt mentioned anywhere in the specs or user guides. I want to be able to hear whats coming in from the SPDIF input without having to open my recording program. I think most people would. I eventually found out about this short coming at the M-Audio forums. Quite a few others have the same issue and the M-Audio forum staff confirmed you cant monitor SPDIF without using recording software.

Overall Review: I was going to return this product but decided to keep it because I did come up with a work around although not perfect. I use my direct outs from the piece of gear I wanted to connect via SPDIF but that means I always have 2 connections sticking outta the front of the Fast Track Pro and when I need to use a mic I have to disconnect one of them.

Pros: Good product on time delivery

Cons: none

Overall Review: newegg the bomb

Pros: Reasonably priced, mediocre drivers, portable interface.

Cons: BEWARE: This is advertised as 96 KHz, when in reality IT CANNOT BOTH INPUT AND OUTPUT THIS SAMPLING RATE SIMULTANEOUSLY! It's one of most ridiculous things I've ever encountered. This is not advertised ANYWHERE on the box, their site, or in the manual. In reality, the highest quality you can get with this is 48 KHz. The only way you could get 96 KHz is if you didn't have any output - i.e. speakers - which is absurd and insulting to even an amateur sound engineer. Also, make sure you are aware that this is USB, not Firewire or PCI. USB will not be sufficient for recording more than a few tracks at once - if you're planning on recording 16 tracks with VST's, VSTi's, and tons of effects in real time, you can bet you're going to encounter frequent drop-outs and stuttering. If you're just recording one track at once, this MIGHT meet your needs. The pre-amps are also extremely poor quality, but you get what you pay for. Don't expect much from this unit.

Overall Review: I bought this approximately 1 year ago, and returned it for the aforementioned reasons shortly thereafter. I ended up getting a PreSonus Firestudio Project, and then returned that for a Firestudio 26x26 (26 input, 26 output). I also have a PreSonus Firebox. The Firebox is roughly in the same price range as this, and far superior in every way - it has much better pre-amps, an aluminum (not plastic) case, uses Firewire, and has 6 inputs/10 outputs. Unlike the Fast Track Pro, the Firebox actually does get 24 bit / 96 KHz, as advertised. Go with an internal PCI card if possible, or an external Firewire card if that is not an option. Avoid this piece of garbage.

Pros: Works well for both Mac and PC. I have used the same unit on both my custom PC running Win XP and my PowerMac G5 running OS X. Very nice sound quality on both vocals and my electric archtop guitar, which can be a difficult source to process at times.

Cons: None, really.

Pros: Excellent connectivity, controls, construction quality; Vista 64 MS drivers work fine with it

Cons: No M-Audio driver for Vista 64-bit, but MS driver works fine

Pros: Could be a very good value for the money: provides midi, xlr, 1/4 inputs.

Cons: They can't be bothered to provide drivers for Vista, and no work around currently exists. So now I have a paperweight rather than a usable piece of hardware. If you use XP, the product will work, but with a good deal of quirkiness.

Overall Review: I opened an incident with customer service. They were extraordinarily secretive about when or if they would provide Vista drivers. Rather than answering my questions, they unceremoniously terminated my customer support incident without asking me or resolving the issue. I am hoping that I might be able to speak to someone over there who cares about their customers sometime soon.

Pros: I use this audio interface with my Macbook and I love it. Very easy to use and set up. If you're running OS X 10.5.x, don't use the CD that comes with it, just download the driver from their website. It's much faster.

Cons: I had it hooked up to a Gateway tablet PC for a while, but it was finicky to use. I had to plug it in, THEN start the computer up, then, when I wanted to use the onboard sound, I had to unplug it, then reboot before it would work. What a hassle. The gain also has to be turned up all the way to get a signal from mics, which, without a mixer, can make it somewhat difficult to adjust sound levels adequately.

Overall Review: An excellent USB audio interface for around the $200 price range.

Pros: Ok, so overall this is a really great little rig to use for either home studio or live sound recording. It has a pretty sturdy outer shell, so you don't really have to worry about physical damage as long as you aren't to harsh on it. It has a nice front display, everything is easy to understand and quite useful.

Cons: I'm writing this review b/c you should know before you order it isn't currently vista compatible. I had XP, upgraded to vista (come to find out they don't support vista)and now I own a nice little blue desk sculpture. THEY ARE WORKING ON UPDATING THEIR DRIVERS. However, as you can read, they haven't said when they'll come out. Others have stated that the Microsoft drivers work fine, but that hasn't been true in my case. I use ableton live, so far nothing has worked.

Overall Review: As long as you don't have vista, I totally recommend this to anyone. (If you do have vista just check their site for vista drivers, they might have updated by then) Especially if you're looking for a nice little setup to get started. It's not hard to use, good sound quality and reasonably adapt for anything you might want as a non-professional sort of rig.