M-Audio Air 192|8 USB Audio / Midi Interface

Remember that line from Jurassic Park? The kid picks up the cool goggles and the lawyer says, "Are they heavy?" The kid goes, "Yes" and the lawyer replies, "That means it's expensive, put them back." HA! The M-Audio Air 192/14 is heavy and expensive but WORTH IT! The performance is so smooth and the unit will give a boost to your audio creation because the professional build lowers your buffer rate on the computer. It's really amazing.It has double headphone jacks, a slew of channels to plug all your gear into, vintage switches, bright LEDs and the HUGE KNOB is my favorite part (get your mind out the gutter) The knob is smooth and so convenient to use as the master out.I am more than pleased with this unit, WAY MORE THAN PLEASED! The M Audio Air 192/14 is the ... MoreRemember that line from Jurassic Park? The kid picks up the cool goggles and the lawyer says, "Are they heavy?" The kid goes, "Yes" and the lawyer replies, "That means it's expensive, put them back." HA! The M-Audio Air 192/14 is heavy and expensive but WORTH IT! The performance is so smooth and the unit will give a boost to your audio creation because the professional build lowers your buffer rate on the computer. It's really amazing.It has double headphone jacks, a slew of channels to plug all your gear into, vintage switches, bright LEDs and the HUGE KNOB is my favorite part (get your mind out the gutter) The knob is smooth and so convenient to use as the master out.I am more than pleased with this unit, WAY MORE THAN PLEASED! The M Audio Air 192/14 is the central hub of my studio

I had M-Audio interface before after about 7 years it just stop working on me. They're so many interface's out there to choose from. You can go to YouTube and get your mind overloaded when looking. So One day I look on AMS and saw the new M-Audio Line and because I ready use it before and whenever I had a issue with the product they're Tech-support and customer service was great. That's another reason why I pick this M-Audio. There is three things that I dislike about this product that you may not know about.If you never used Pro-Tools it has a learning curve and if you already have plug-ins that you love work with all the time.They will not work with pro tool first. If you would like to get plug-ins my understand they're subscription base plug-ins. And you will not ... MoreI had M-Audio interface before after about 7 years it just stop working on me. They're so many interface's out there to choose from. You can go to YouTube and get your mind overloaded when looking. So One day I look on AMS and saw the new M-Audio Line and because I ready use it before and whenever I had a issue with the product they're Tech-support and customer service was great. That's another reason why I pick this M-Audio. There is three things that I dislike about this product that you may not know about.If you never used Pro-Tools it has a learning curve and if you already have plug-ins that you love work with all the time.They will not work with pro tool first. If you would like to get plug-ins my understand they're subscription base plug-ins. And you will not be able to share your project with another producer so you can work on the project together you can not do it in Pro-Tool first.you have to buy the full Pro-Tools or pay for the monthly or yearly subscription. Other that that for what I need it for my production work it's great.

Better than a hybrid mixer, but no pro tools

I started out with live meeting production and podcasting with a traditional mixer that had a 2x2 interface. I thought having the hardware effects on board made it the best choice. But since upgrading and implementing this, I have direct control over levels and eq from the same PC I'm streaming from.HOWEVER...This states that it comes with a version of pro tools, and it doesn't. This is mostly due to pro tools no longer offering that particular version and no fault of M-Audio. Voicemeeter is a better ASIO live application anyways, but the advertising needs to be updated.

Defective product type.

The good thing is the user interface, however;I bought one, when I turned on the 48 V phantom power supply it came up with a loud shrinking sound and the device stopped working.I replaced it and the new one had the same problem but this time my computer came up with a warning saying the USB port is overloaded by high current. I got concerned with it might destroy my computer and immediately stopped using it.

Excellent

I bought this on STOD and I couldn't be happier. I didn't realize how outdated my little focusrite had gotten. This is a total game changer for me. Very well made and works fantastic so far. Seems well with the money even at normal price. Vastly improved the latency issue I've been fighting for years. Major sigh of relief!

Excellent Quality for the money

This interface has a solid case and clean design. I used it on a older quad core usb 2.0 system and it worked perfectly. The signal was clear with no static or distortion. There was no latency to speak of. It also came with a bunch of software including a daw and virtual instruments and effects. I would definitely recommend this interface. Inexpensive cost for what you get.

M-Audio 192/6, A solid recording interface

This is a solid interface for my home studio. I use it to record Guitar, bass, vocals through an MXL990 (has phantom power). I also use the MXL above/behind drums to nicely capture cymbals, while also placing a mic on the bass drum. Not the best setup for drums, so I'll be looking into a larger unit with more inputs. The downside is that I most often have to set the preamp levels between 4-5 to avoid clipping, but the recordings are loud and clear on each track. I'm currently using PreSonus Studio One, but have also used Ableton Live, so this interface works well with multiple software packages. I haven't connected any midi devices yet, so I have nothing to add there. The headphone connection and volume control work as they should.

Mmmm-Audio!!

This little unit is great! We had been looking for some time, unsure which midi interface to go for. This model (the 192/6) is good because the midi connections are the `old` style large 5-pin, which most of our gear has. Nearly got the next model up (192/8), but the midi sockets are small, & that would`ve entailed buying additional adaptor-connectors! The unit is quite easy to set up. You can connect, for instance, 2 items at the rear, OR 2 at the front, OR 1 front & 1 back, as long as these are left/right, not in line. The finish is pretty solid, the knobs have a good positive `weight` to them. There`s a good feature which enables you to balance out the latency when recording, so what you hear as you play isn`t delayed via the machine (or vice versa.) The Ableton ... MoreThis little unit is great! We had been looking for some time, unsure which midi interface to go for. This model (the 192/6) is good because the midi connections are the `old` style large 5-pin, which most of our gear has. Nearly got the next model up (192/8), but the midi sockets are small, & that would`ve entailed buying additional adaptor-connectors! The unit is quite easy to set up. You can connect, for instance, 2 items at the rear, OR 2 at the front, OR 1 front & 1 back, as long as these are left/right, not in line. The finish is pretty solid, the knobs have a good positive `weight` to them. There`s a good feature which enables you to balance out the latency when recording, so what you hear as you play isn`t delayed via the machine (or vice versa.) The Ableton Live Lite (although this is 4-track only, as opposed to Intro which (I think) is 8), & Pro-Tools starter round off a neat package!

Nice for desktop productions

I wanted a newer Audio Interface. I think the primary benefit of this unit is the mic lines connect in the back and the controls are on top so it is perfect for a desktop configuation. The audio quality is nice and it does the job perfectly. I would say this is one of the best audio interfaces out there for desktop production and home studio use for a 2x2 set up. I came from a Mackie Black Jack 2x2 and this newer M Audio 192/6 is nice as well. I would say they are about the same in quality sound wise, though the Black Jack is a USB type 1 and I think this M Audio is USB2 standard which is quicker. It is basically a really nice 2x2 with midi as well which I don't use. I like the preamp power...it sounds great over headphones. The phantom power for my condenser mic is ... MoreI wanted a newer Audio Interface. I think the primary benefit of this unit is the mic lines connect in the back and the controls are on top so it is perfect for a desktop configuation. The audio quality is nice and it does the job perfectly. I would say this is one of the best audio interfaces out there for desktop production and home studio use for a 2x2 set up. I came from a Mackie Black Jack 2x2 and this newer M Audio 192/6 is nice as well. I would say they are about the same in quality sound wise, though the Black Jack is a USB type 1 and I think this M Audio is USB2 standard which is quicker. It is basically a really nice 2x2 with midi as well which I don't use. I like the preamp power...it sounds great over headphones. The phantom power for my condenser mic is nice though the gain is up pretty high. It was also the same on the Mackie so I'm guessing it's the AKG perception 200 mic I have ... it seems to need a lot to drive it. Well, it all works. I basically use this for daily conference calls but it's nice to know I could do a nice voice-over anytime. I like the two combo mic inputs on the back which take XLR or 1/4. There is also a monitor out stereo out which would have been nice in RCA as well but I have a couple of 1/4 to RCA adaptors which work fine to overcome this.I don't use the two instrument inputs on the front end, but be warned you can't do both the XLR and front input at the same time on the same channel if you were hoping to do this.. I would also point out the 192/4 model will work nearly the same for a little less mondy and it is about the same but it only has one XLR output in the back which meets my current needs but I wanted options for possibilities of adding a second mic so that was my reason for selecting the 192/6 model Unfortunately the headphone jack went bad so I just ordered a 192/8 with a 2 year warranty. I still think these are great units I just got a bad one

Wow, better than expected!

I am a hobbiest musician but I have been at it for a long time and I have a bit of experience with DAWs and Interfaces. I needed to replace a Presonus unit that had died and this interface had everything that I needed at a great price. Physically this interface is pretty nice if you like the desktop layout--it was a change for me and I do like it now that I am used to it. I wouldn't say that the knobs and switches are high quality but they seem to be o.k. I was disappointed that the big monitor volume knob isn't a detented pot--I think that would have made sense since it is such a prominent feature but it feels ok and does the job. The switches for headphone source and phantom power are slider type not rocker type--I think rocker switches have a more premium feel. ... MoreI am a hobbiest musician but I have been at it for a long time and I have a bit of experience with DAWs and Interfaces. I needed to replace a Presonus unit that had died and this interface had everything that I needed at a great price. Physically this interface is pretty nice if you like the desktop layout--it was a change for me and I do like it now that I am used to it. I wouldn't say that the knobs and switches are high quality but they seem to be o.k. I was disappointed that the big monitor volume knob isn't a detented pot--I think that would have made sense since it is such a prominent feature but it feels ok and does the job. The switches for headphone source and phantom power are slider type not rocker type--I think rocker switches have a more premium feel. These are really my only complaints and they are pretty minor once you start using it. Oh, the included USB A-C and C-C cables are ridiculously short!--unless you are using a laptop plan to buy longer cables!The things that I really like: first off, I think that sound is very good, they talk about improved AD/DA conversion and I think they deliver. I have KRK Rocket 7 monitors with an M-audio Sub and I have no complaints at all about the sound quality--even iTunes stuff sounds better than ever. I have used the preamps for acoustic guitar, electric guitar (mic'd tube amps) and some vocals so far and I think they do a nice job. I wouldn't say they are particularly colored but they do seem to roll off the harshness of the top end but should still work well with preamp plugins if you want more color or drive. They do seem very detailed--I had to adjust my acoustic guitar mic'ing technique because these preamps were picking up a lot more pick and fret noise--things that I had never noticed with my Presonus or Motu interfaces. When set up proplerly I was enjoying the acoustic sounds. This interface also has two straight line inputs (7/8) that would be perfect for external preamps. I have been using the direct guitar inputs a lot since getting this set up. They don't offer anything like variable impedance, just level control, but they seem to work just fine for getting my guitar tone into plugins.I am using this with Presonus Studio One and I think it is a great combination. Studio One has something similar to ProTools Hybrid Engine (but all native processing)--it allows live/recording inputs to be monitored at low latency while recorded tracks are running with a higher buffer setting to conserve processing power--results will still depend on your computer and what you are doing but it a very good native solution. The Windows driver for the AIR 192 14 offers way more granular buffer settings than my Presonus interface. This means that I can really fine tune the buffer size to get the lowest latency my system can handle. This driver starts at 16 samples and increases in increments of 16--others that I am used to might start at 96 samples and increase in much larger increments (96, 128, 256, 512...) If you understand this stuff this is very important and, to me, impressive and I can play technical guitar stuff with low latency.Other things that I am impressed by: Simply turning the interface on/off is very quiet--I have had other interfaces that make you shudder when you are shutting down your system thinking that you have probably shortened the life of your monitors. Being able to switch the headphone outputs between outputs 1/2 and 3/4 on the panel is very cool--Studio One has an easy Cue Mix feature to take advantage of this. Phantom power activation on pairs of mics instead of all-or-nothing works great for me. I am not sure about the metering on this yet. I like that it is more than just clipping indication, but I am not sure how far I can actually push it yet--I tend to trust the Input Level readout in Studio One over this for now but it is there and should be useful once I understand it better.The included software is basically a collection of stuff that you can get free from the vendors anyway with, I believe, the exception of the AIR FX Collection which seems to be pretty good. If they are still advertising ProTools First with it, it is not true because Avid has discontinued Pro Tools First--this is clearly stated when you register your products and go to install it. They do include Ableton Live Lite and MPC Beats so you will have a free DAW solution to start with.I would not recommend this as a portable solution--it is heavy and the knobs are vulnerable but, as a desktop home studio interface, I am really very happy with it so far.