M-Audio AIR 192|14

A great combination of features which I haven't seen in other interfaces of the same price range:
- Enough inputs to have all your instruments connected and ready for action;
- 6 input gain controls, really helps for boosting instruments with low level line outputs;
- 2 headphone outputs with individual volume controls;
- Direct monitoring;
- All XLRs are on the rear panel, you can lay the cables neatly;
- Works even without powering up the PC.

I don't know a thing about recording quality, but for a live performance this unit is just great.
I tried first NI Komplete 6 and Focusrite 8i6, M-Audio has won the competition, mainly because it allows to set gain level for line inputs.

Ça ne fait que quelques jours que je l'ai, ceci est une réaction à chaud que je modifierai sans doute à l'avenir quand le l'aurai un peu plus usée.

Pour l'instant, je n'y vois que des points forts:
- le son excellent: je ne suis pas un pro, mais il y a une nette différence dans la clarté avec ma Steinberg UR22
- le design est top, avec tout le câblage à l'arrière, le gros bouton de volume général, le bouton power qui n'est pas caché inutilement...
- j'adore le fait qu'elle puisse être alimentée par USB ou par transfo et fonctionner de manière autonome: je l'utilise non seulement comme carte son, mais aussi pour jouer de mes différents synthés sans avoir à allumer mon ordi
- on verra avec le temps, mais elle a vraiment l'air bien robuste, je compte d'ailleurs la trimballer un peu partout
- le nombre d'entrées est parfait pour faire un peu plus que du home studio, enregistrer du "live" pour un prix relativement démocratique: 4 micros pour une batterie, une entrée pour la basse et pour la guitare, et il reste encore 2 entrées bonus

So, I bought this USB-C interface to replace my decade-old interface I had bought back in the days when Firewire seemed to be undying. Little did I know about the fact that USB-C has a technical flaw that can render the audio quality unbearable. If you are using a laptop or an older desktop with integrated USB-C port and your CPU is not all too powerful you can run into crackles and low quality audio during a life performance, because, apparently, USB depends on I/O scheduling of the CPU and USB-C with audio especially needs low latency on high quality settings. When your live performance setup, like with Ableton Live 11, uses too much CPU power on its own be prepared for audio issues. This is a killer. I mean, wow! The only thing that seems to help is switching to a USB-C to USB-3 adapter cable. Again, on older USB-C ports, newer ones might not be affected that much.

Besides that this device is actually amazingly well built and I really wish they will sort out the USB-C quality issues in the future.

I was drawn to this initially because it had everything I needed from an Audio interface on in it. Everything was easy to access knobs and buttons wise, the unit itself is built very well, sturdy metal construction. The XLR inputs were on the back which allows my studio setup to stay relatively tidy cable wise (as most smaller interfaces have inputs on the front)

Unfortunately, what lets this interface down severely is the awful drivers M Audio provide. They are quite possibly some of the worse drivers I have ever seen on an Audio Interface. literally an hour into using the interface I realised this was not going to work.

I really wanted to like this interface but the Drivers really let it down.