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Hatsubai « Average interface »
Published on 06/19/11 at 19:51The M-Audio Fast Track Ultra is a fairly nice, multi input pre from M-Audio. It features 24 bit/96KHz audio, USB 2.0, 4 preamps, 4 XLR inputs, LED indicator lights, phantom power, 6 balanced inputs, 6 balanced outputs, 2 analog inserts, S/PDIF, MIDI, 2 headphone jacks with controls and even has phantom power.
UTILIZATION
M-Audio did a pretty good job setting this whole thing up. The interface itself is nicely laid out, and everything is easy to use. There are no annoying breakout cables that cause a tangled mess. One thing I'm not a huge fan of, however, is the fact that they use USB 2.0. While USB 2.0 can work nicely, I find that it can be a pain once you start running lots of effects. The latency can get annoying, so you gotta monitor your latency more so than if you'd have a Firewire connection. M-Audio also tries to claim that USB 2.0 is faster, but anybody who knows about technology knows that theoretical output does not equal true output.
GETTING STARTED
Setting up is very easy, just like any other M-Audio device out there. Simply plug in the devices to their corresponding ports, and you're good to go. I didn't experience any compatibility issues, and that's a great thing. This works with both PC and Mac, so nearly anybody can use it without a problem. I never read the manual, but I can't imagine a real need to unless you're trying to figure out how certain connections work. Anybody who has used an interface before should know exactly how everything works.
OVERALL OPINION
The price is kinda high, but there are a lot of features packed in here. It's a solid device that has good sounding converters. There are better devices out there, but they either lack the versatility this has, have breakout cables, are Firewire only and/or are Mac only. For the features this thing has, it's definitely worth checking out.
UTILIZATION
M-Audio did a pretty good job setting this whole thing up. The interface itself is nicely laid out, and everything is easy to use. There are no annoying breakout cables that cause a tangled mess. One thing I'm not a huge fan of, however, is the fact that they use USB 2.0. While USB 2.0 can work nicely, I find that it can be a pain once you start running lots of effects. The latency can get annoying, so you gotta monitor your latency more so than if you'd have a Firewire connection. M-Audio also tries to claim that USB 2.0 is faster, but anybody who knows about technology knows that theoretical output does not equal true output.
GETTING STARTED
Setting up is very easy, just like any other M-Audio device out there. Simply plug in the devices to their corresponding ports, and you're good to go. I didn't experience any compatibility issues, and that's a great thing. This works with both PC and Mac, so nearly anybody can use it without a problem. I never read the manual, but I can't imagine a real need to unless you're trying to figure out how certain connections work. Anybody who has used an interface before should know exactly how everything works.
OVERALL OPINION
The price is kinda high, but there are a lot of features packed in here. It's a solid device that has good sounding converters. There are better devices out there, but they either lack the versatility this has, have breakout cables, are Firewire only and/or are Mac only. For the features this thing has, it's definitely worth checking out.