I feel like a beta tester
Written: Nov 21 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Crystal clear audio quality. Low latency audio drivers.
Cons: MIDI timing problems. Apparently a lot of users are finding bugs per M-Audio's FAQ.
The Bottom Line: I would not buy this product as it appears M-Audio needs to work out a few bugs before it works reliably for all users.
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| initself's Full Review: FireWire 410 |
Any hardware that cost in excess of $400 should work right out of the box in any default installation. My system is a brand new IBM Thinkpad R40 1.8 Mhz with 512MB of RAM, a clean Windows XP Pro installation and both Steinberg Cubase VST 5.1 and Cubase SX 2.0.
On the audio side, this soundcard is absolutely wonderful in terms of audio quality and low-latency monitoring. However on the MIDI end, there is a lot to be desired.
In Cubase VST, get a wicked problem where after two counts on the metronome, the MIDI hiccups and any notes entered are recorded 2 beats behind the metronome.
In Cubase SX, there is no delay problem but if I am tracking a MIDI track on top of a MIDI track being played back at the same time, I cannot hear the notes I am tracking if they line up at all with the notes being played back on the other track.
For software as popular as Cubase and with M-Audio's(formerly Midiman) expertise in MIDI patchbays, it doesn't really make sense that these problems are occurring. Granted I do not have another test system to work with that has a firewire port but I believe based on the fact that I am working with a very clean installation of my OS and a brand new PC that these MIDI errors should not be happening.
If you check out M-Audio's support site FAQ for this device (http://www.m-audio.com/support/FAQ/fw410_troubleshooting.php), you will see a big long list of issues that they are still trying to sort out between various manufactures. So it looks like they released a product to market before it was probably tested.
So that's my experience and my feelings on this product. It is a little too bleeding edge and therefore risky to purchase right now. I'd wait until more firewire audio devices come to market at the price point [let's hope they do!].
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
initself
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Reviews written: 2
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