I got into recording a while ago, my first interface being an original MOTU 828. That thing works great. However, it is not supported in ProTools, and I kind of want to start using ProTools more. Plus, I want to move it to my home studio to hopefully make it easier to record virtual tracks by connecting my PC and Mac together via the ADAT outputs of the 828. Anyhow, M-Audio came out with a diminutive new little recording box that works with ProTools M-Powered, and supposedly has excellent microphone preamps as well. This box would be their new USB2 Fast Track Ultra interface.
Physically, the Fast Track Ultra is 10″ x 1 3/4″ x 5″ish. It does not come with any way to mount it in a rack. I think M-Audio positioned ProFire 2626 Interface for rack duty. They seem to share a lot of the same features. The Fast Track Ultra can be bus powered, which limits the amount of inputs and outputs to four each. It can also, interestingly, be run as a USB 1.1 device, which hobbles the device to a maxium of 48Khz and two inputs and two outputs.
The Software included with the Fast Track Ultra is Live 6 M-Audio Enhanced. I believe this comes with pretty much all their hardware audio devices (it came with the Project Mix I/O as well). The drivers disc I received was a little messed up. The disk, on my mac, opened up to a file that was a Disk image of what the disk was supposed to be. Kind of strange. To be safe, I downloaded the current drivers off the M-Audio site. The installer puts a little thing in your system preferences area that is the mixer/settings for the device. I am not a huge fan of it, as it doesn’t really seem to do much. And, if you want it to run iTunes or other audio from your Mac, it comes out of outputs 1 & 2, and that includes the mic if it is plugged in to Mic input 1. The Mixer Software Panel thingy doesn’t seem to do anything about rerouting the Mac’s output to a different set of outputs, or anything. Not really even sure why they have this mixing software.
Recording. This box does NOT, as of this writing, work with ProTools M-Powered. M-Audio’s tech support said it will be supported in the next update (and hopefully 10.5 support??). Whenever that is. You can record up to 96Khz on this little guy, however, you do get some latency. I never had any issues with latency with my 828. In fact, I could set the buffer to like 1024 in Digital Performer (DP), and I had no latency with recording the Mic 1 input (you could only get one mic input or two stereo lines zero latency on the 828) and having DP play other tracks. The Fast Track Ultra is different. Not sure about the DSP chip that is supposed to provide low latency like they advertise, but it doesn’t seem to do anything. Setting the buffer higher than 256 resulted in noticeable latency. I currently have DP’s buffer set to 128, and the latency is there a little, but it isn’t terribly noticeable. I also had to run a line out of the headphone jack back to my headphone mixer/amp to further help with the latency. At least, I think it helped. I do get some strange little error things for Digital Performer that I would NEVER get with the 828. It does, every now and then, come up with a warning messages about the computer being to slow or something. The processor is hardly registering any activity, so, I don’t know why it does that.
The Preamps. M-Audio is advertising that the Fast Track Ultra has their Octane technology in the preamps. Are they better than the 828’s? That is hard to say. I use two microphones mainly to record. An AKG C414 ULS and a AKG C414 EB. I’d say that the sound I get from recording on the Fast Track Ultra is not as muffled as the 828. Or, rather, the 828 sounds muffled compared to the Fast Track Ultra. Plus, bumping the range up to 96Khz, recordings sound a little be better. It really isn’t a ‘night and day’ thing though.
The verdict. It is hard to say with this box. On the one hand, it is cheap, and is capable of making some good sounding recordings. On the other hand, the included mixing software preference panel seems totally useless, and the DSP chip……is it even working? Plus, latency…..a word I really haven’t had to use when using the 828. For $350 or so, is it worth buying? Yes, if you plan on using ProTools M-Powered. If you are going to use it with something else, there are a lot of choices this year, so, you might want to look at offerings from other companies. MOTU’s UltraLight would be one such device. But it is nearly double the price of the Fast Track Ultra. That is not to say that the Fast Track Ultra isn’t a good device. It just seems a little quirky, lacks ProTools M-Powered support, and the drivers and mixing software seem a little rough. Perhaps future revisions in the software will fix this. I’d give it an 7 out of 10. Its a good value, but has some rough edges that need to be ironed out.
UPDATE 1/26/08 by E: After some investigating, it seems that MOTU hardware boxes can, through MOTU’s Digital Performer, take advantage of zero latency monitoring via hardware. So, that is why the 828 has no latency issues. Hopefully, something like this will be available in ProTools M-Powered when it gets updated to support the Fast Track Ultra.
UPDATE 2/3/08 by E: Having done some more recordings with the box, it does sound a lot better than the MOTU 828 I had. The preamps are clear and crisp compared to the 828. True, the monitoring things is a pain, but with a buffer setting at 128 at 48Khz, it doesn’t seem to be a problem. Even at 96Khz it works well.
I purchase in Ny
Very bad latency.
Very bad support.
The DSP FX ¿only one fx bus for all channels?
May be the new driver fix all.
Now this day i not recommend this card.
Protools maybe (but i use for asio in Nuendo.
I dont want purchase Protools.
Pheraps i change in future driver.
I test in 3 pc (1 laptop 2 desktop) tweaked for audio.
The latency is alright if you bump it down to 128 or lower. Support is good from M-Audio. The DSP is basically useless. I don’t know why they promote this feature when it really doesn’t do anything. Basically, if you want to use ProTools, this could be a great little box for it, once M-Audio/Avid get around to updating Protools M-Powered. They still have not done it yet. The Mic preamps are nice. For the money, it is a good value if you want to use ProTools. I want to use ProTools.
If you aren’t interested in ProTools, then there are a TON of other boxes out there that can do what you want, with more and better features.
These are only crencias beliefs and prejudices.
In any side of the page or the advertisements of this device can read: Prootools.
If only for that then serves to sell before they can be used with a version of Protools?
In addition to saying that works with drivers Asio.
Maybe you can not realize but if you ask someone with a good ear to hear what monitoring with 128 buffer is going to say that you heard some minor clicks and pops.
Be whatever the computer used.
According to what you say maudio sells a soundcard that serves only to protools.
But they say (advertising fraudulent), which is excellent for many other uses professionals. Asio.
Besides the sold before it is compatible with the software for which it was made.
Good reasoning.
Um, how is it advertising fraud? The Fast Track Ultra I have works fine with Digital Performer? Most all of the M-Audio audio hardware does work with ProTools M-Powered. Supposedly, a forth coming update to ProTools M-Powered will allow it to work with the Fast Track Ultra.
In M-Audio’s defense, I have NOT seen an advertisement that has said that the Fast Track Ultra works with ProTools. It makes total sense that it should, and will, work with it. I imagine that the crew at Avid/M-Audio are working on it and getting ProTools to work on Mac OS X 10.5
That is simply NOT true. I record all the time at 128 buffer size, in 24 bit at 48Khz. I don’t have any issues with clicks or pops. It taxes the CPU a little. If I jump up to 96Khz, the processor is used quite a bit, but it still works fine for recording. This is on an iMac Core 2 Duo at 2 gigahertz.
So, I don’t think you have any foundation to spread false information about clicks/pops. That is simply NOT happening with my setup. I’ve done about 40 recordings so far. Nada.
OK the false or true is defined only by your experience.
Ok then you spread false information.
In my experience this card have latency problems.
In 3 pc (intel C2D in intel chipset 3ghz with 3gb de ram) in a laptot with nforce and Amd Turion.
In Cubase and Nuendo.
This is my “spread false information”.
My experience is as valid as yours
You have to be a little more fair.
Your article started in a way and conclude otherwise.
If you accuse me of a liar I think you’re a bit corrupt or a little condescending.
brother…
Latency lower than 128 because if your estruendoso sax lets not hear anything.
While you make a pattern Coltrane monitors make cracks, clicks and pops as old discs.
First off, it is NOT a card. It is a USB2 box.
You can say whatever you want about something you OWN and use. However, I don’t think you OWN this. You have referred to it as a CARD. I don’t know how you can think it is a card. A Box maybe. Card? No way. And you get clicks on a 3 gigahertz machine? Perhaps some sort of Vista/Wincrap problem?
Latency is not ZERO with the Fast Track Ultra. The smaller the buffer, the less of the echo, but the advertised DSP chip does not seem to do anything productive. Running a cord out of the headphone jack to monitor recordings seems better than using the standard outputs, perhaps due to the DSP chip. But, if you have any sort of processing thing on the channel strip, it adds to the latency.
Disabling channel strips and having the buffer at 128, and using the headphone jack as the output while recording, it works great. Latency is not an issue at all when recording. The Mic preamps are nice, and I can, and have, recording 8 tracks on it. No clicks, pops, or anything. And no huge issues with latency.
Card because I google translate
You are very smart
That is called a REVIEW. You talk about your impressions of it, what you like, dislike, and wrap it up. I did update it after playing with the box a while. I discovered that MOTU hardware has support for direct monitoring, and I discovered a good buffer setting for recording. When I used the 828, I had the buffer set to 1024, because, well, probably because of habit. I had used a G4 cube for a long time with the 828, and the cube would sometimes have issues recording multiple tracks with a smaller buffer. I think when I first hooked up the Fast Track Ultra, I didn’t mess with the buffer at first. Plus, I had, in my default recording template, all my plugins enable (Ozone 3 with Reverb, etc).
I just call it like I see it. I don’t get pops at a 128 buffer. I haven’t had any. So, I’ll call you a liar. There are no pops or clicks when I’m recording. That would be called proof. Having proof of something, I then can say you are not telling the truth about the “good ears and pops” thing. Or you are generalizing to the extreme.
I guess the PICTURE in the article didn’t help you did it? Guess not…….
second i say Vista????
In that part of the text said that using Windows Vista.
More prejudices.
This site I like. But your attitude prejudiced and paranoid I find it very unpleasant.
I’m going to assume estruendoso means racket or roar.
What you are describing is different that recording pops/clicks that you can get if your computer isn’t keeping up with recording the digital stream. Setting the buffer like to 32 or something and recording 4 tracks at 96Khz. Yeah, I’m sure I’d get all kinds of problems with my recordings. However, Digital Performer would probably be screaming at me with warning messages about it.
Again, I simply have not had click or pops in any recordings I’ve done with the Fast Track Ultra. Nada. Zip.
What you describe sounds like you either are clipping the mic, have the play back too loud for the speakers, or simply aren’t recording right. Who records in their studio with their studio monitors on? I would be worried about a FEEDBACK loop, or getting a strange back wash from other tracks in what I was trying to record. I strictly use headphones for recording, and Monitors to listen to the recorded stuff.
Man because I have a control room. with other equipment.
The microphones are in a room without echo contiguous.
What the hell are you talking about? Perhaps there is some sort of driver problem with Windows? Perhaps a Vista problem? How is that prejudices? It doesn’t make sense that you would get pops and clicks recording on a 3 gigahertz Core 2 Duo.
si eres tan suspicaz y buscas entre lineas.
entiende que el texto completo esta siendo escrito por una persona que no habla bien ingles.
The most serious fluid conversation.
If the partner was clever.
Why use a kind of cliche as if it were a mental algorithm intertextual mistrust has never been easier.
More difficult is to be smart in new situations.
How am I being prejudiced and paranoid? You were the one makes these grand, sweeping statements, and if someone disagrees with you, and tries to argue against your point of view, you start calling them paranoid and prejudiced? I don’t get it.
Go back and read, in GOOD English, what has been said. It really makes you look foolish. I’ve done my best at being complete with my replies and not attacking you. Except for the picture thing. And that I don’t think you are honest about the 128 buffer and click thing, cause it isn’t true.
So, you don’t speak English. That doesn’t mean you get a break from making false claims.
So then why did you make the statement “Maybe you can not realize but if you ask someone with a good ear to hear what monitoring with 128 buffer is going to say that you heard some minor clicks and pops.
Be whatever the computer used.” and then the one “While you make a pattern Coltrane monitors make cracks, clicks and pops as old discs.”
Those make absolutely no sense at all. It simply is not true that recording at a 128 buffer you are going to get minor clicks and pops. Perhaps if you have subpar equipment. And the monitor thing? No clue on that……probably my prejudiced and paranoid side coming out again…….
i tell true my “Box” in c2d have latency.
youare a bad reviewer..
because i figured you in that situation.
i read you review and i see you in a tipical patetic modus
What you do not find meaning? Are you an engineer?
Participated in the design of this board? Does the c2d?
What protools? Is schedule any operating system? Do you have the datasheets?
Do aristotélica studied logic and logic applied to the modern DAW?
I think this is an attack. A lame one, but one none the less. Look, you say things that don’t add up. I question them, and you don’t answer. That is not a discussion. There is no discourse happening. Then you start calling people paranoid and prejudiced? I had to look up prejudiced. No one uses that word. Why even bring it up? Is that like a catch phrase or something?
Things that you need to address that you didn’t:
1. 128 buffer gives you clicks. No explaination on this. You say it, I say I don’t get clicks, then you say my saxophone makes such a racket that I can’t hear it. That isn’t true at all. I don’t get any audio clicks or digital pops. Mic clipping, yes, sometimes.
2. Why M-Audio is advertising fraudulent that it excellent for many other professionals. It obviously works fine with Digital Performer, so, that got debunked right off the bat……
3. All those other wacked out claims. Seriously. WTF? Prejudiced? Paranoid?
Take your time. Go get a translator. Take some English classes. Have a juice box, and a fruit roll-up while you are at it. I’ll come back in a couple of hours and check on you.
You sir, win the award for getting your IP address blocked. And, potentially, the whole *.net.prima.net.ar subnet.
Behavior like yours is not welcome here.
Excellent article and thanks for the updates that it is actually quite a good recording box. Shame about the behaviour of the other poster all within one day…
I’m looking to replace my M-Audio Firewireaudiophile and mixer (wired up to my phonic mm1002 mixer.) I’m just starting out with a home studio, have some Yamaha P5 active monitors, Roland VG99 modeller, SE Electronics acoustic mic GM10, a gretsch jazz, taylor electro acoustic, and some other acoustic guitars. Also a m-audio prokeys 88 fully weighted midi/self using piano. I’m looking to start doing lots of different types of recording from more modern bonobo style triphop to completely acoustic pieces with vocals.
I was looking at the m-audio fast track ultra, but the worries of latency concern me. I am running a vaio fe31h with dual core 2, 1.86ghz, 1gb ram, 100gb hd, winxp, grafx etc.
I have to replace the Audiophile purely because the firewire 4pin socket on my laptop is knackered after many years of plugging and unplugging. So my question is what you would suggest. New USB2 soundcard with enough inputs giving me the opportunity to bin the v. basic mixer? Or repair the laptop and get a docking station etc to get some firewire soundbox instead?
I never reached the results I wanted with the current setup even with the new microphone, finding the recordings very basic sounding with no real depth. I’m told that by missing out a stage of information process (i.e. a shite mixer) will improve things well.
I’ve looked at the ultralite and if its as good as it sounds – great, but my problem is that its firewire. I’ve seen a pcmcia firewire 6pin adaptor available but I wonder with the kind of audio information coming through whether it will be completely slowed down by running through another hardware driver to go through just to get to cubase.
I’d appreciate your comments!
Cheers.
just thought, pcmcia soundcards any good? emu 1616m? Dont mind spending upto around £350 if it will get an awesome sound.
Sorry, my laptop has pcmcia and a media “express slot” whatever that is along with the usual usb 2.0s
Cheers.
Yeah, I don’t really know what that guy’s problem was. Whatever……
Nice stuff. Gotta love that M-Audio Prokeys. Great feeling keyboard, and cheap!
Honestly, if you have a good computer, which it looks like you do, you can easily run it with a buffer of about 128 and not have any latency issues. I have a core 2 duo iMac at 2 Gigahertz, and it has yet to have problems recording tracks with that buffer setting. No pops or clicks. I’d imagine that you could achieve similar results. Of course, having a defragmented HD to record too would help.
There are a LOT of options out there today. I chose the Fast Track Ultra because I really wanted to start using ProTools. However, M-Audio/Avid have yet to update ProTools M-Powered to support it. I’m not really familiar with the Audiophile. I had the PCI version, but I don’t see it on the M-Audio site. Wasn’t it a like 2 preamp, 4 line in firewire box?
My OTHER choice would have been a Mackie Onyx Firewire mixer. There are just sooo many choices now. When I got the MOTU 828 back in the day (Fall 2002?), there wasn’t much else for under $1K. Now, there are tons of things. Mackie, M-Audio, MOTU, to name but a few.
The Mic Preamps really come into play. I too was doing just basic stuff with the MOTU828, and had to EQ and really tweak projects to get them to sound how I wanted. Now, not so much. The PreAmps on the Ultra sound way better than the 828’s. I should do a comparison and put up some sound clips……
Supposedly, USB2 slows a computer down MORE than Firewire. You can google it and find out. I personally haven’t every observed any such thing…….
There are some really nice things you could get, like an Apogee card. Though that is a LOT of money. The Emu card actually seems really nice. You should investigate that more.
Nice stuff. Gotta love that M-Audio Prokeys. Great feeling keyboard, and cheap!
Is a really nice machine. I went through some studiologic keyboards and even a yamaha motif a while ago but nothing can touch the action on this one. Velocity control is a bit dodgy without software patches, but its a very capable machine.
Wasn’t it a like 2 preamp, 4 line in firewire box?
Doesnt have any preamps as far as i’m aware http://www.maudio.co.uk/products/en_gb/FirewireAudiophile-main.html
The Mic Preamps really come into play. I too was doing just basic stuff with the MOTU828, and had to EQ and really tweak projects to get them to sound how I wanted. Now, not so much. The PreAmps on the Ultra sound way better than the 828’s. I should do a comparison and put up some sound clips……
Def put some clips from the fast track ultra. If you could manage some acoustic guitar that would awesome. Perhaps a sample without eq and then one with. That would be so useful. How does one compare the preamps of EMu’s 1616m, the Maudio fasttrack ultra and the motu ultralite?
– Apogee 🙂 you can tell without reading it has apple integration just because it looks so dam good. bit too much cash for me i’m afraid!
– Should I be put off that many of the cards, bar the ultralite, are getting on for a couple of years old? Does show they are durable and decent rather than the old creative soundblaster style revisions of every 6 months back in the day! (although I’m told emu are owned by creative but that its nothing to worry about!)
– Sorry, your answer was v. comprehensive but you didnt answer whether you think there would be a bottlneck of data, since all the audio has to pass through another whole driver just to translate into cubase (if i was to use a pcmcia card to get 6pin firewire on my laptop and then get an ultralite.) ive been reading though that pcmcia is much faster than usb2 and firewire, so i suppose it defeats the object and the emu might make more sense. i think the ultralite’s awards page is very compelling to make a purchase.
Look forward to your response. Looking to get this all sorted v. soon so any suggestions, great!
Cheers.
any experience or info on the lexicon omega desktop? i’ve never heard of lexicon but preamp info and input outputs seem quite good.
I’m also looking at the edirol ua101.
I’m only likely to mic up two instruments at a time for now. If it could all stay plugged in great, but it doesnt matter too much. Hence I was looking at the digidesign mbox 2 and then had that to a better quality mixer, then i wonder if the result would be better. I think the whole think is haunted by my previous experience of not a great quality result which was probably mainly down to no preamps used rather than just the soundcard to mixer setup.
Looked up the mixer sound card varieties which are interesting but are they really as good as dedicated external soundcards?
Ah….Seems the M-Audio.com site in the US has been updated, and that product doesn’t seem to be on there anymore…
I think a more fair test would be completely dry. I’ll see what I can do. Though, I don’t really play guitar.
Well, that is tech I suppose. Though I still use a M-Audio 2496 card in my PC and Mac (up till I got the Project Mix I/O), and it worked great. And those cards have got to be 5 years old now. If it does 24 bit and at least 48Khz, does it matter?
Oh, I guess I didn’t did I. I believe I have seen on the MOTU list people using and recommending a PCMIA firewire card to record more tracks (ie: two Firewire recording boxes running at the same time). You might want to contact MOTU about it. They have a great support staff. I think if anything were to be the bottleneck, it would be the laptop’s harddrive.
Sorry just checking, your website was down last night for a bit.
differences i found:
– except for input numbers is that the emu has 192khz converters a/d d/a and the motu has 96Khz recording ability. why does one talk of converters, the other recording. is there that 100khz when capturing sound info that significant?
– both can be standalone but motu is much easier thanks to lcd screen on it
– emu has built in 600 effects
as you can tell, im a bit of a beginner at all this!
Um, I don’t think so……..at least, I didn’t see the internet go down last night……
The most important thing to look for are good microphone preamps, if you are looking for driving a microphone. Companies like Metric Halo have quite a following for their extremely pristine microphone preamps.
Next, you look at the D/A converters. Clean, quiet, transparent.
After that, you want something that can record at least 88Khz. That is, from what I have gathered, a good place record. You can hear a difference between 88 Khz and 48 Khz. There is a debate about 88Khz vs 96Khz with downsampling down to 44.1Khz (CD Quality).
Recording higher than 96Khz…..there is a huge debate about that. Most seem to think it doesn’t add anything, and the storage requirements for the audio files, and the taxing of computer resources seems to outweigh any gain you might get from recording at 192Khz. And some say you can’t really hear a difference between 96Khz and 192Khz. I have never recorded nor heard anything at 192Khz. I have done comparison recordings at 48Khz and 96Khz, and you CAN hear a difference. So, I have been recording at 96Khz in my studio. It doesn’t tax the iMac too much.
I’d recommend check out Sound On Sound or similar websites to gather more opinions on recording.
If i want record two sources and mix them live?
If you can get the latency low enough, it will work. It really is designed to be used with a computer. 128 buffer seems to work really well for me.
How many tracks can I record at the same time using the USB connection? Could I possibly record all 8? Many thanks
Running on the USB bus power? Four I believe. If you run it with the wall adapter, you can get all 8….or more I think. Haven’t really tested it……
Sorry, I don’t think I made myself clear enough. How many tracks can be recoreded via the USB interface via whatever power source (i.e. using no other audio connection other than the usb) how many tracks could i record in my sequencer (cuabse sx3) at one time?
hope that clears things up a litte, many thanks for your help 🙂
Just to clarify guys, the Ultra DOES support zero latency direct monitoring. It’s all available via the software control panel. If you notice, each stereo pair has it’s own mixer. This allows you to create different cue mixes on each stereo pair (very cool feature). It is a combination of your 8 hardware inputs and 8 software returns (you have to designate the return numbers in your software) for a 16×8 mix bus. To direct monitor, simply raise the fader (in the control panel) of the input you want to monitor (make sure you pan it correctly too as they are set in stereo pairs). Then mute your channel in your software (which you usually have to do) and viola! No latency and you can use some of the onboard effects to counter the dry sound of direct monitoring. Also, Pro Tools M-Powered is now supported via the CS3 update on Digidesign’s website.
Hmm, I’ll try this today. The control panel seemed not to do anything at all when I was using it before.
Still, if the buffer is low enough it works well.
Not a comment, but questions from someone interested. I’m wondering if I should purchase the Fast Track Ultra and would like some advice. I want to record using 4 Phantom-powered condenser microphones. I have a 1.6 Mobile Celeron Acer Notebook computer running Vista basic w/2 gigabytes DDR2 533 memory. Do you think the computer has enough horse power? (The Ultra’s user manual lists this as the floor with a astrisk indicating that a may not be enough for a notebook computer.) Also would the USB port have enough power to keep the microphones powered, plus monitoring headphones? Also is any latency only an issue if one is monitoring the recording from the computer, rather than the Fast Track Ultra? Also is the software the comes with this equipment useful? What software should I be looking at for a hobby level of commitment? Right now I use a portable setup — two portable digital recorders and one stereo microphone and a stereo pair. I’m also considering the Fostex MR16HD. Thanks in advance
For just recording the tracks? At 48Khz, that should be fine I would think. At a higher rate, there might be issues.
No. USB bus power enables analog channels 1 and 2, S/PDIF I/O, and headphone output 1; included power supply required for full 8 x 8 operation.
Yes. Though you can get it to be pretty much zero if you use the headphone jacks.
Ableton Live.
Well, it really depends on what you are going to do. So, you are going to record in live settings with two stereo mics? Do you want to mix and record?
Most of the guys who record generally have two things going. They have a multitrack digital recorder getting the raw feeds to disk, and then they are manually mixing a live feed (and recording it sometimes). So, you’d need to figure out what you want to do. But the Fast Track Ultra will not power 4 mics using USB……..
In the little mixing software thingy. Turn up the in’s on the left and the outs on the right and it will help with any latency. Hearing is the problem in most cases.
I just don’t understand the gripes about latency whilst monitoring in Nuendo or Cubase….just tick the “Asio direct monitoring” box in the “settings” section of the Fast Track Ultra control panel…and Voila,near-zero hardware-thru latency!
Works the same on my dual-core Macbook as my Dell Pentium D desktop PC.
The product is great value for money in my opinion.Clean quiet and reliable.The Pre’s aren’t in Mackie territory but then after the experiences I had I wouldn’t touch their digital stuff with a barge pole-flaky, unreliable driver software and poor quality control(at least on the onyx stuff).
It’s not exactly spectacular or flashy,but you know where you are with M-audio gear,It’s like the “Nissan” of the audio world.
🙂
I’m glad I found this site,
I’m in the process of upgrading my rig – I’ve got the PC sorted, Intel 1333FSB board, 2 x SATA drives, 2gb 800mhz DDR2 RAM, Core2Duo 3.00Ghz … All is going well but I’m now looking for the best audio interface I can get for my budget (up to absolute max $600 US). I’ve tried a few “mini” like the MBOX2 mini and one of EDIROL’s, been disappointed by both. Also I will be shipping the product here to Australia as the markup prices here are a rip-off to say the least.
I am very keen on M-AUDIO’s Fast Track Ultra, and I would order it in right now, but I’m not 100% sold on USB audio interfaces. I’m oldschool PCI. But from what I’ve read that this unit can do, I’m prepared to give it a go.
Can someone tell me if there is a better option? I’ve always looked at but never owned a product from the E-MU line but as they are now rebranding their products as “Creative Professional” I’m a bit dubious, as we all know the consumer Creative stuff just doesn’t cut it (albeit some nice features have always been buried in their hardware).
So the M-AUDIO fast track ultra? Or something PCI with a breakout box from E-MU? At this stage these are the only two vendors I’d look at purchasing something from.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time
Cam
MOTU makes some great interfaces in the $600 price range.
Well, how many tracks would you be recording? And what are you going to be recording into (Live, Pro Tools, Cubase)?
The Fast Track Ultra is an OK box. It is a little funky to set up, and the DSP chip isn’t anywhere as good as the stuff you’d find with a MOTU box. The Mic preamps are very good. I mainly bought it to use Pro Tools M-Powered. If I was not using Pro Tools, I would probably have bought either a MOTU interface (Traveler or Ultra Light or 828). Or I might have spent more money and bought a Metric Halo ULN2.
There are other things to consider in your quest for a recording box. Number of tracks you plan on recording, do you need ADAT or SPDIF, how many preamps do you need? 96Khz or higher?
Also, you might consider what else is on the USB2 bus (or Firewire) for any interface you get. My rig at home has a Project Mix I/O, and if I track to another Firewire drive, it stutters sometimes. Tracking to a USB2 drive is not a problem (Project Mix is a Firewire interface). A way around that sort of issue is to get a PCI USB2 or Firewire card and put the audio interface on that.