M-Audio MIDI Interfaces

The M-Audio Thru 1x4 (which is actually produced by the company's former name, Midiman) is a simple box that takes an input midi signal, and splits it into four midi signals, all though basic midi connections. It required no additional power in almost all cases, as it is a low-powered device that simply powers off the residual power that is present in the input midi signal. There is a red LED that indicates that the Thru 1x4 box is properly receiving power. In some rare cases, you may need to use an additional external power supply with this splitter, if the signals tend to be high power, or if the phantom/active power is not present in the input midi signal. In this case, you would need a simple guitar-pedal like power adapter, but I'm not sure if it's the exact same power adapter, as I've never had a chance to test this feature. This port does run off of 9 Volts DC power, which is the same as guitar pedal power. UTILIZATION This splitter can be a little hard to find, but it is extremely useful in midi applications, specifically if you have a few midi devices that do not have a midi out or midi through. Normally, you can chain all of your devices together with one continuous line, connecting the midi thru of one device to the midi in of the next, and so forth. However, there are several popular midi devices that do not have a midi thru, or their midi out does not function as a midi thru. This was the case for me, with some Line 6 amps, the Digitech Whammy, and other devices. That is where the 1x4 becomes extremely useful, and because it does not need external power, is can be placed anywhere in your midi signal chain. OVERALL OPINION Overall, this is a great, small, convenient product that works great, if you can find it. Worth every penny!

The Midi Sport is a 1 x 1 midi device that really has a low latency, so low you really wont even notice is unless you have some issues with the speed of your pc or mac. The Midi Sport is a little more stylish then most other 1 x 1 midi devices that are compact and travel ready. To me style really doesn’t matter at all let alone on a device like this because no one is really going to see it any way. The only time you will use this is on the road, or unless your set up at home is very small and simple and you don’t have a audio interface with midi connections which most interfaces do have at least 2 midi connects built in. So you really wouldn’t need this Midi Sport unless your set up is really simple. UTILIZATION Installing this device was pretty easy didn’t take long at all. There really weren’t any complications or anything . I recommend this device to someone who just needs 1 midi hook up and doesn’t want to spend a lot of money, though this midi device does cost more than some of the other ones on the market but like I said you are mainly paying for the style and design of this midi device which doesn’t matter to me at all. OVERALL OPINION If you need a small midi device that is 1 x 1 look into some M audio’s other devices and Behringer makes some good cheap ones that cost less than 30 bucks and it will do the same as this one it just wont be as cool looking. But when it comes to looks on a 1 x 1 midi connector who really cares what it looks like in the first place. Cool look, but nothing special about the midi sport 1 x 1.

The M-Audio Midisport Uno is a usb 1x1 midi interface that is compacted into cable form, thus making it pretty easy to connect a single midi device to a computer without the need for any additional midi cables. It is over 6 feet in length and can reach to any devices that are located near a computer setup. It includes both midi out and midi in, although it can be confusing which connection is which, since you would have to connect the Midisport's midi in to the device's midi out, and connect the Midisport's midi out to the device's midi in. It always requires some trial and error to make sure the Midisport is plugged in correctly. UTILIZATION The M-Audio generally requires the drivers to be installed separately, and at least on my older Windows XP system, two sets of drivers were necessary: Midisport drivers, and Midisport loader drivers. When plugging the Midisport into the computer for the first, time, it must run through both hardware driver installations for both the loader and the actual device. This can be confusing, and hopefully M-Audio has updated this driver system for Windows 7. I have no experience using this particular interface on a Mac system. Like most midi interfaces, the Midisport works flawlessly, and I never noticed any signal lag or loss of signal or data. There are even LED's on the device that lets you know when the Midisport is powered, and when it is receiving midi in, and when it is sending midi out. OVERALL OPINION Overall, this is a great, simple midi interface if you only plan on using it with a single midi device. Being in cable form has it's advantages, but it can also be awkward if, for example, the cable does not reach far enough, or if in a certain wiring, the central box floats awkwardly in the air. But overall, it is extremely portable and works as advertised. Perfect for laptop setups!