M-Audio typifies "prosumer" gear. They make stuff cheap that has a lot of uses. None of their stuff is top of the line, but a lot of it is usable. Their DMP-3 is the cheapest 2 channel mic preamp in the world that does not suck. They have been building a line of cheap studio monitors for some time that many people, including myself, use and can live with. I use their older SP5B monitors with their SBX subwoofer, and the combination is quite useful. They are known far and wide for building good, cheap, soundcards.-Richie