All user reviews of 4/5 for the Lexicon Alpha

¬ It seems like the Lexicon Alpha has been out forever, though I have only been using it since 2010. You can buy one of these brand new for 60 dollars, it cost almost double that when it first came out. It is a simple USB interface that is 2 in and 2 out with 1 mic preamp. I have used this interface with Cubase mostly. It has never given me any compatibility issues or troubles with my computer. It comes with a copy of Cubase LE and a Lexicon VST reverb plug in called Pantheon which has some really good effects.

UTILIZATION

The preamp in this interface is much better than the Lexicon Omegas preamp. This is surprising because the Omega cost more than the Alpha. The Lexicon Alpha has a preamp that is very quiet and sounds great. This interface will work great for you if you only plan on recording 1 track at a time, if you plan on recording more then you need to invest some more money and get a better interface.

GETTING STARTED

The Lexicon Alpha is not built very strong so be very careful with it, you really don’t want to throw away your 60 dollar investment. But since it is only 60 dollars you really can’t expect to get a unit that is made with metal casters and stronger material. The latency with the Lexicon Alpha is decent, but it is a lot lower on the Omega. That is where the Omega is better than the Alpha, because the latency with the Alpha can get really bad sometimes.

OVERALL OPINION

All of the basic functions of the Alpha are easy to use, setting it up was easy and using it was a breeze. The only downfall of it is the latency issues can really mess up your session and workflow. So if it comes down to a final decision I say go with the Omega. The Omega may have a louder preamp but the latency is lower.

Good quality audio interface!
2 inputs, 2 buses, 2 outputs, directly powered via the USB port.
The system allows you to always have connected a mic/line input and an instrument/line input whose input gain and monitoring is adjusted from the front panel.
The latter also features a high-impedance instrument input, as well as an amplified headphones output.
I use it with a PC to record my pianos.

UTILIZATION

It works very well with Cubase SX3, the drivers are stable.
Recording is of good quality.
Latency could be better, but I'm anyway forced to use ASIO4ALL due to MIDI precision.

GETTING STARTED

Fast driver installation.
Hassle-free USB detection.
It works very well with Cubase SX 3.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it for several months and think it's a pretty good product.
I recommend it.
Images linked to this review

I bought it to use it with a laptop PC (recent, DPC latency check: <300 µs) on the road. I use virtual synths + MIDI piano or guitar/bass + VST effects. I like the balanced I/Os, the instrument and mic inputs with a small preamp and the USB connections because I don't have any Firewire ports to use my old interface. 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz sampling is enough to play live, but not for studio (not due to the sampling itself, but rather to the working frequency within the DAW).

UTILIZATION

Strangely enough, the drivers included perform worse than asio4all. On a PC, ASIO provides only an imprecise setting: "low latency" -> "high stability." It's actually 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048 samples. I compared the latency with Live at 48kHz for "lexicon": 128 samples, 9.25ms in + 9.25ms out and "asio4all": 256 samples, 9.33ms in + 7.33ms out. It's clear that asio4all is better with a lower latency, despite buffers twice as high and, thus, more stable. In short, I'll keep asio4all. It's strange, all the same!

A small disadvantage in relation to my ESI Juli@ on a desktop PC is that I can't use the WDM drivers at the same time as the ASIO (lexicon or asio4all). It probably has to do with "DirectWire" on the Juli@. It doesn't work even if I "free" the ASIO driver. It's not easy to play along with an mp3.

Otherwise, it works perfectly.

GETTING STARTED

It is sold with a VST reverb, but you have to copy the dll into the appropriate folder and it can only be used with Cubase, it's blocked under Live. Otherwise, you need to install first, then connect and it works.

OVERALL OPINION

I bought it one week ago, but I have used audio interfaces for quite some time.

+ Instrument + mic I/O combo + balanced lines
+ USB powered
+ Price, unbeatable in this category (you won't find such a combination for less than $200)

- Odd driver
- Limited to 48 kHz

Ideal for me (I prefer mobility over studio features). If you have $250 extra, get a Tascam US-1641, which isn't expensive because it's an end-of-life product.

I was looking for a good cheap sound card. I wanted to simplify my audio connections and have a superior sound quality (previously I used the sound card on my motherboard and the soundcard of the DJ Console Mk2 Hercules = pain)

I use Ableton Live with ASIO drivers for all, but there are drivers asio directly with the card (small clarification: I am not an expert on ASIO). my config: AMD Athlon - 2.8 Ghz - 2 GB of RAM - Win XP sp3 - and it works very well.

The card is of great use to me when I plug a guitar or microphone directly on the map. The knobs used to adjust the sound directly, it is very easy. Moreover, one can choose the sound to go directly or via the PC, or the 2.

What attracted me is the presence of 2 entries on the card (one "big" jack on the front and two Jacks behind) and 3 types of output (RCA, double jack and headphone) which allows flexibility of connection when we do not necessarily have all types of cables on hand.

UTILIZATION

No problem with drivers, no big latency observed when I plug in a microphone or a guitar (compared to my config before!)

The card is recognized by most software I use (Reason, Ableton Live, and various vst)

GETTING STARTED

No worries installation. USB connection is very easy for an amateur like me

Configuration is easy, because to my knowledge there is no way to configure it via the PC. Everything is done with the knobs.

OVERALL OPINION

I use the card for almost a year already. I had tried before the DJ console which posed for me some compatibility issues, latency and sound quality (as a sound card only)

What I like most is its small size and ease of use. It allows me to use it at home and in a portable fashion on any PC or laptop. I can walk around with my set on removable media and with my sound card, no worries. The extra formats of inputs and outputs can provide different solutions for connections with the means aboard ...

As an amateur musician, broke and nomadic, that's what I was looking for, and all for not a very high price. I would do repeat my purchase choice without hesitation.