Is this the ultimate low-low-end recording solution?

Im a big fan of M-Audio products but i doubt this will become the "ultimate" mic pre....

it may become a cool little "bang for the buck" unit.....

my biggest complaint is 16 bit/48khz.....this is 2003, isnt it?....
 
well he said low end- looks like a decent simple quick solution if you had a lap top you tok to clubs or somethin- its even got phantom power- im a m-audio fan too- got 2 of there cards- always prob free

alot of people around here ask about usb type interfaces- might be somethin worth checkin out

-jeff
 
Gidge said:
Im a big fan of M-Audio products but i doubt this will become the "ultimate" mic pre....

it may become a cool little "bang for the buck" unit.....

my biggest complaint is 16 bit/48khz.....this is 2003, isnt it?....
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Notice I said ultimate "Low-low end" audio interface. I'm not just talking "low end" (Audiophile, Mackie mixers), I'm talking low-low end (soundblaster, $39 Behringer dynamic mics, etc).

Now I know how you made time to get over 7000 posts, Gidge, you don't read the posts you're responding to. ;)
 
I thought the MobilePre was cool until I saw the Tascam US-122.

24/48
XLRs with 48v
effects send and return for hardware effects
$200 street price approx.

I know it will be a tad more than the MobilePre, but with 24bit and the effects loop, I think it's totally worth the extra $30-$50.

This is the MBox, for $200-$250 less and no proprietary software. Totally sweet.
 
cominginsecond said:
Notice I said ultimate "Low-low end" audio interface. I'm not just talking "low end" (Audiophile, Mackie mixers), I'm talking low-low end (soundblaster, $39 Behringer dynamic mics, etc).

Now I know how you made time to get over 7000 posts, Gidge, you don't read the posts you're responding to. ;)
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sorry Im not as excited as you about this product.....im just saying at 16bit, it will be left behind very quickly......also, it doesnt mention what drivers it will have (asio?)....it also doesnt have a midi interface....tack on another $50 if you want that......

it probably wont give you much more than a AudioBuddy and a SantaCruz soundcard ($75 + $49)...its AD converters are 18bit and DA are 20bit......and it does Midi.......and it has 4 inputs.....so what im saying again is, this new Delta isnt really giving us something that wasnt available before or at any better of a price.....

Midiman already had the Duo....ive seen it as low as $239, probably could find it cheaper....and it is 24bit......

but anywho, that Tascam unit has already came and kicked its butt....under $200 and has everything the Delta unit has plus Midi,plus good drivers, plus Gigastudio and Cubasis included......and its converters are supposedly 24 bit.....

like i said, it may be a cool little bang for the buck unit, but it is hardly ultimate.......

Ive been in search the past few years for the best ways to do this cheaply and ive tried to help pass it on to whoever wanted it....THATS where my posts come from......

Thanks,

Mr. 7000 Posts
 
Gidge said:
but anywho, that Tascam unit has already came and kicked its butt....under $200 and has everything the Delta unit has plus Midi,plus good drivers, plus Gigastudio and Cubasis included......and its converters are supposedly 24 bit.....
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The Tascam unit's preamps (if it's the unit i'm thinking of) do not have phantom power.

As far as the Turtle Beach card goes, you know the A/D converters on the M-Audio unit are going to beat the Turtle Beach card.
 
maybe just me but id classify these more as sweet "gadgets" or really cool "toys" than hard core recording devices- tascam looks cool too- there so... like... i dont know.... pocket sized- almost cute- im not in the market for a device like this... so maybe im just talkin out my ass, but there interesting products anyways. unless you are a one man band or duo or recording a live show, i dont see these in really serious recording rolls. not yet anyway- technology grows everyday- maybe little units like these will blow away a rack full of gear by todays standard. oh what the future will hold :)

-mr. 157 posts :) (but you guys can call me jeff) ;)
 
The Tascam unit does have phantom power......

The Santa Cruz has the best sounding converters in its price class....it may be close.....

but anywho, still you can get the Midiman Revolution (24bit) and an Audio Buddy for ~ $169......An Audio Buddy and an Audiophile for~$200........

theres alot of stuff out there for about the same price that can do as good or better than the MobilPre.....

you asked a question in your original post if it was the ultimate low-low-end solution, and i answered : NO
 
I guess I'm assuming the Tascam unit you guys are talking about is the US-224. If this is true, I am right, there is no phantom power, here's a quote from a review in electronic musician:

"Like the US-428, the US-224 has no provision for phantom power. When I asked why it didn't, Tascam told me that phantom power might bog down the USB port and that “the basic US-224 user will probably use dynamic mics anyway.”"

Here's a link to the full review:

http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_tascam_us/

I see on the Tascam website that they now have a device called the US-122 that has phantom powered mic inputs. I can't find a price on it anyplace, so I don't know if it should even be in the same category.

The Mobile Pre is selling for $149 by the way.

but anywho, still you can get the Midiman Revolution (24bit) and an Audio Buddy for ~ $169
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Revolution may be 24 bit, but it is a gaming card. The converters are probably going to suck, so its probably not going to be an improvement in sound, especially when you consider that everything goes on a 16-bit CD anyway. Either way, this solution is still more expensive than the Mobile Pre and it doesn't have the advantage of being USB, which rules out using it with a laptop.

An Audio Buddy and an Audiophile for~$200........
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This is almost $50 more than the mobile pre, and it is not laptop-friendly. In addition, you can't realistically get that combo for $200 unless you buy used. $230 is more realistic.

I guess the reason why I consider it the ultimate low-low-end solution, on top of the price and features, is that for that bottom-feeder segment of the market, you don't have to explain to them how to hook their preamp into their card, and their card into their computer. It's all integrated. You just plug it into your USB port like you would that fancy new digital camera you just bought. In addition, because it's USB, people with laptops can use this.
 
Polaris20 said:
I thought the MobilePre was cool until I saw the Tascam US-122.

24/48
XLRs with 48v
effects send and return for hardware effects
$200 street price approx.

I know it will be a tad more than the MobilePre, but with 24bit and the effects loop, I think it's totally worth the extra $30-$50.

This is the MBox, for $200-$250 less and no proprietary software. Totally sweet.
Click to expand...
Wow, I just totally missed this thread. That's pretty sad, especially after I tease Gidge about doing the same thing. Maybe the US-122 will be a better deal than the mobile pre.

I don't think you get to call it an MBox yet, both because you get free sequencing software for your $450 and because the mic pres in the Tascam are going to be way worse than the Focusrite pres in the MBox. If you bought the US-122, Sonar, and decent pres, it be a hell of a lot more expensive than $450.
 
cominginsecond said:

In addition, you can't realistically get that combo for $200 unless you buy used. $230 is more realistic.

Click to expand...

Right off hand i can think of places that sell the Audiophile for $139 and the Audio Buddy for $77...thats $216.....brand new....if i really dug, i could find better......

and i didnt realize laptop friendly was an issue.....

(i bet you didnt realize all the crap you'd get when you started this thread) :D
 
Right off hand i can think of places that sell the Audiophile for $139 and the Audio Buddy for $77
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I checked Musicians Friend, 8th Street, Mac Midi Music, Sam Ash, Audio Midi, music123, E-bay, Bayview Pro Audio, Manny's Music, Sweetwater, B & H, Computers and Music, and zZounds. Every place sold the Audiophile for $149. I finally found one retailer that sold it for $139, but that was after half an hour. So, actually, it might be more accurate to say that if you really dig you can find it for $139.
 
cominginsecond said:
Wow, I just totally missed this thread. That's pretty sad, especially after I tease Gidge about doing the same thing. Maybe the US-122 will be a better deal than the mobile pre.

I don't think you get to call it an MBox yet, both because you get free sequencing software for your $450 and because the mic pres in the Tascam are going to be way worse than the Focusrite pres in the MBox. If you bought the US-122, Sonar, and decent pres, it be a hell of a lot more expensive than $450.
Click to expand...

It's not free sequencing software, it is most certainly built into the price with the MBox.

And to get the equivalent 32 tracks that PTLE allows, you need only spend $80 on Cubasis VST.

I will agree though, the MBox pre's are really nice.
 
Polaris20 said:
It's not free sequencing software, it is most certainly built into the price with the MBox.

And to get the equivalent 32 tracks that PTLE allows, you need only spend $80 on Cubasis VST.
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Yes, of course they build it into the price, however, most people would agree that Pro Tools, even the LE version, is going to be much nicer than Cubasis. A more appropriate comparison to PT LE would be Sonar, Cubase MX, Logic Audio Gold (or whatever it's called these days, post Apple-takeover), or Samplitude Studio. So, like I said, buying the Tascam, one of the programs above, and a decent set of pres is going to run you a lot more than $450.

The Tascam/Cubasis (or Tascam/Home Studio 2002 ($89) or Tascam/NTrack ($59)) combo is fine, if you don't care about using inferior SW and pres. This combo might be the perfect "low-low end" solution I alluded to when creating this thread. However, I don't think it makes sense to compare it to MBox.
 
cominginsecond said:
Yes, of course they build it into the price, however, most people would agree that Pro Tools, even the LE version, is going to be much nicer than Cubasis. A more appropriate comparison to PT LE would be Sonar, Cubase MX, Logic Audio Gold (or whatever it's called these days, post Apple-takeover), or Samplitude Studio. So, like I said, buying the Tascam, one of the programs above, and a decent set of pres is going to run you a lot more than $450.

The Tascam/Cubasis (or Tascam/Home Studio 2002 ($89) or Tascam/NTrack ($59)) combo is fine, if you don't care about using inferior SW and pres. This combo might be the perfect "low-low end" solution I alluded to when creating this thread. However, I don't think it makes sense to compare it to MBox.
Click to expand...

Have you used the MBox? It's cool, but it's not the Jesus-like interface you make it out to be.

They're ASIO drivers are still beta and don't always work quite right, and otherwise you are stuck with PTLE, which is fine as long as you like PTLE. I don't.

For a portable recording rig, the Tascam will probably be just fine.
 
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