There is something about the way TASCAM makes its interfaces for so little and yet maintain so much quality that just draws attention to themselves. Well, wait. That's exactly what it is. In the end, though, I have found that TASCAM interfaces are a little bit under appreciated for what they are. Figure that you get a very solid looking unit with two mic ins and two line ins with an obvious output just in case, and you have something that is absolutely worth that price. Add in digital jacks and midi, and before you know it, you have a very solid unit for recording on a tight budget.

UTILIZATION

I have found the drivers to be quite stable and the latency to be quite low, although I would prefer to use ASIO for All with this unit when it comes to windows computers. Through a bunch of different DAWs, it performs solidly. I have also found that the built in preamps, especially when compared with its younger brothers, are surprisingly nice sounding, and I would have no problem doing a quick side recording with these interfaces.

GETTING STARTED

It is an interface. It does not have that many features, and getting started on this thing in incredibly simple because of this. Plug in it, install the drivers. Maybe try Asio for all, but otherwise, plug in and you are good to go! In the end, all interfaces should not have too much fumbling around with, so it should be a simple process getting them to work. I also love the way the knobs feel.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall, I always say cough up $300 to get those inputs in the 1641 or the 1800, but those units are not exactly what I would call portable. So in the end the US 144 MK II is entirely worth it. You should go check them out, and I'm sure there are samples of the surprisingly good pre amps on the web. Go look for them, and I'm sure that you'll make the right decision when it comes to getting a cheap interface!