Driver issues. Cheap usb to xlr converter worked plug and play. This unit was a pain to get working across multiple laptops.

Using this to record my classical guitar into my pc. Using 2 inputs to the interface. The first is a piezo electric pickup under the bridge with its own pre-amp and the second is a condensor mic both are XLR. From there i'm using the usb straight in. Works perfectly with no buzz, i'm using windows 7 so there were additional steps to make but they were explained and not anything major.Naturally it does change the tone which isn't ideal for classical guitar but my mic and piezo aren't highest quality anyhow and they have a larger affect, I'm doing sound editing anyhow so i can work with it. Overall it's precisely what I expected and what I paid for. Nice!

good stereo pre amp

wir benutzen den Verstärker mit einem Rode NTG2. Das Ding funktioniert tadellos! Durch die Multi-PlugIns an der Vorderseite, lassen sich zudem noch viele weitere Eingabegeräteohne Adapter anschliessen.

The issue I'm having with this unit is the phantom power. I have the Rode NTG-2, which can run off of 48V phantom power, but when supplying phantom power to the mic, I get terrible unusable crackling and static.I'm assuming what's going on is it supplies a lower volts of phantom than I need, but I don't see the specs of how much power it provides anywhere. I know the issue isn't with the mic, as using other phantom power sources it sounds beautiful. This really sucks because I prefer no battery while booming, and I actually have experienced that the Rode NTG-2 seems to give about +12DB with phantom versus the battery, so I'd prefer to use it. I tried different batteries just to see and it was no help. Used a brand new duracell power lock 9v battery.Here's what I've observed:Pros:*Good amount of gain, good SNR, works very well in conjunction with the zoom H4N or stand alone as a "run and gun" solution.*Monitoring capability in the unit itself, good for run and gun to check for noise, but not a good indicator of quality at all (note: I thought the unit sucked while monitoring through the unit. It was only when I listened to the recorded output that I gained respect for the quality of it)*USB sound interface works with PC and the ipad as I understand it... I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but am looking forward to doing so*Using a 1/4" to 3.5mm cable or adapter, you can plug this unit into the "mic" jack of the zoom h4n, this allows 4 track recording of 1/4" or XLR connections, supurb!Cons:*Phantom power isn't working for my Rode NTG-2 (requires 48v, maybe it's a 12 or 24v source, I wasn't able to find this out)*When boosting the volume, there are 2 noticeable "steps" that occur near the high end of the gain knobs. These have been talked about in other reviews, be careful about these if you're using the unit to ride your levels during a recording.*No mounting options, it would be super sweet if this guy had a tripod mount built in on the bottom*The battery compartment is retarded, extremely difficult to get a battery in and out, and it never quite closes right. The battery door is threaded as well as the unit, so you have to tightly hold the battery door down while screwing the thumbscrew in or the battery door will be loose until you unscrew the thumbscrew completely.***UPDATE***After thinking it through more, I think I will attempt to return the unit and see if I can get some decent quality out of the phantom power. Others don't seem to be having the same issue, but I also haven't heard of anyone else who has actually used the phantom power, they all seem to just say something like "oh, it's got phantom power too how awesome is that?"I'll go ahead and return it and let you know how the new unit performs, but I may miss the deadline as I must use it for a live event Sunday so I will be cutting my return policy close. I want to expand on a very important point in my original review too by the way:The headphone (3.5mm) port on the unit doesn't do it justice. At least not when I was monitoring from it using my headphones and was outputting to my H4N using the 1/4" outputs. I thought the output was noisy and unimpressive until I began monitoring from the H4n itself. Then is when I gained respect for this little guy. If you're getting poor results, consider trying the output of the 1/4" jacks. I'll do a full review update when I get the replacement with the full details of my discoveries (and confirmation of if the issues I found aren't just specific to my unit)*Update 12.13.13When I returned this unit I inadvertently spent the money we received as a refund without realizing it. I have yet to be able to afford a replacement. I hope to soon, but since I already have a zoom h4n this isn't a 'must-have'. I will surely purchase again someday soon, and when I do I will update this review as promised. Meanwhile, hope some other people can try out phantom power and see if it's functioning because quite frankly if the phantom power is totally worthless like it was in the unit I tried, it will have an impact on my decision to purchase this again.

This was bought primarily to record onto my iPad with GarageBand and Auria. I have an iPad 4 on iOS 7. I was unsure of which audio interface to buy as there has been much decrying of iOS 7 in the recording community, with many people not updating until they know their devices will work.I thought I'd take the plunge and as this is a relatively cheap device I thought I couldn't go wrong really. Well I have to say this little device blows me away. It is so small and light and is able to be powered directly from the iPad, not requiring a power source or battery, although they can both be used if desired. It is able to take both line inputs such as guitars or keyboards, or XLR for microphones. It also has a 48V phantom power circuit for condenser style mics that require it. Guitars sound sweet through this on GarageBand and Auria, although I am using the Ampkit app to get great sounds for recording. It will allow the recording of 2 tracks at the same time from different sources.The rotary knob on the rear allows you to mix between the dry sound going into the device and the wet, effected or recorded sound coming out of your software; a nice touch.If recording to an iPad you will need a camera connection kit/USB to lightning converter. A normal USB lead is supplied with this device.A fantastic piece of kit for the money.

I bought this hoping it was a 2 in/2 out Pre Amp but it turns out it is a 2 in or 2 out pre. However I do not dislike it and its still worth the money. Its the size of most di boxes and works great for smaart or a DAW. You don't have a lot of gain on the pre but its enough for pretty much anything you would be using it for and the pres are quiet with no added noise or harmonic distortion. If you plan on using a 9v battery glue a strip of felt or ribbon to the battery before you put it in or you will never get it back out. I use it for smaart v6 and protools v9 on a mac and all in all its a good pre amp for the price.

I finally got a chance to use this little beauty for two recent live recording sessions, and I am extremely satisfied with it.I recorded two live vocalists using Shure SM-58 microphones. The only musical accompaniment was a "harmonium", an Indian classical instrument that's like a keyboard driven by a hand-operated bellows like an accordion.Both the sessions were unplanned and spontaneous, recorded in a normal living room, and that's exactly the kind of situation I had in mind when I bought this unit. Earlier, I would miss out on recording such sessions because of the hassle and time required for setting up my Peavey PV-10-USB mixer, which is not exactly portable nor light-weight. OK, I do miss out on having a couple of extra mics for a background singer and the harmonium, but the compromise is well worth it in terms of sheer ease of setup, and most important, WITHOUT any compromise in sound quality.The setup with this unit is extremely simple. here are the steps I followed:1. Plug the mics into the XLR input jacks on the front2. Conenct the unit to your PC with the USB cable - if you have Windows Vista or Windows 7 it is recognized immediately as a USB device3. Select "USB audio codec" as your default recording device in Windows by right-clicking on the speakers icon in the taskbar4. Choose he recording properties that you want (I picked stereo / 16-bit / 48 kHz) and save this selection by clicking OK5. Fire up your recording software ( I use Sony Sound Forge)6. Set the levels of each channel using the hardware gain control knobs on the device7. You are ready to recordAll the above steps took me less than 5 minutes. My PC runs Windows 7 and it worked without a hitch (Windows 7 rocks, by the way!)Note that I do not monitor the recorded sound from my laptop while recording - I simply use headphones plugged into the socket at the back of this unit for real-time monitoring.Sound quality:I essentially purchased this unit to get around the limitations of my PC sound card - I wanted the A-D conversion taking place outside the PC, and that's exactly what this device does very well. It is capable of 16-bit digitization at a maximum sampling rate of 48 kHz, i.e., better than audio CD quality.Each channel's sound was crystal clear, capturing the highs and lows with zero audible distortion. I had set the gain control knobs about halfway (between 8 and 14 db on the dial) such that the levels on my recording software did not exceed -4 db on average and -1 db at peak. I could NOT tell the difference between the sound quality recorded with this device and the sound I recorded with my Peavey mixer (using the same microphones and the same singers). I don't believe that the unit itself adds any significant distortion to the sound, and you will essentially be limited only by the quality of your microphones.Caveats:1. Vocals obviously have a limited frequency range, so I cannot say what the sound quality will be for extreme highs and lows. But in the range I recorded (approx 800 Hz to 3 kHz), it was flawless.2. All my recording is in casual settings, i.e., NOT in a studio. There is a fair bit of background noise, so again, maybe there are subtle differences which may become noticeable in a studio environment using professional condenser mics.Dislikes: Just two minor cribs:(1) The choice of colours for letters/numbers makes them slightly hard to read - I need to squint hard to read them.(2) USB cable not included.Neither of these problems are significant enough to dock a star, though.Likes:1. Very compact and yet very solid build quality2. Needs no external power - draws USB power from the PC3. Extremely simple and flawless setup - I didn't even need to read the instructions4. Can handle condenser mics as it has a 48V phantom power supply5. Universal mic input jacks - XLR and 1/4"6. Headphone monitoring with its own level control - very helpfulOverall:A strong "buy" recommendation, if you want to make quick and easy CD-quality live recordings with extreme portability. Absolutely amazing value for money - there is nothing in the market at this quality and price point that I am aware of.