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JeffTadashi « Great portable recording interface! »
Published on 07/05/12 at 20:24The Tascam US-800 is a great-sounding multichannel recording interface, with eight inputs and six outputs for capturing audio data. Six XLR microphone inputs each have phantom power for using with condenser microphones, and premium 96kHz/24-bit audio converters record every detail. The US-800 includes S/PDIF digital audio in and out as well as MIDI in and out, which is incredibly useful with synthesizer work. The rugged, lightweight package is ideal for mobile or desktop recording, and it really is surprisingly light and portable.
UTILIZATION
The Tascam US-800 can be used with both Mac systems and PC systems, although there can be some driver troubles with Windows 7, particularly with a 64-bit system. I did get it to work on my 64-bit Windows 7 desktop, but during some initialization, my computer would restart (after seeing a blue screen), which can be very disturbing. But Tascam may have ironed out the drivers by now (my unit was 6 months old). It is odd, because I've owned older Tascam audio interfaces that work great with Windows 7, yet the newer US-800 has it's flaws. So your mileage may vary, be sure to test out the unit first on your system, or read about compatibility on forums.
GETTING STARTED
Generally, the Tascam US-800 is fairly easy to set up. Just plug in the usb cable, plug in the power supply, and you are good to go. The knobs and controls on the unit are pretty self-explanatory, and there is a mini software mixer that comes with the drivers. You can actually use the US-800 as a realtime mixer, without recording anything. There are actually two headphone inputs on the front for both 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch connectors, which is interesting. They both are the same port, and usually I would just use a simple adapter for my 1/8 inch headphones, but I'm not complaining.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall, the Tascam US-800 is a great, portable recording unit, with MIDI inputs and outputs to boot. Great for portable laptop systems, when you need to record more than a couple channels!
UTILIZATION
The Tascam US-800 can be used with both Mac systems and PC systems, although there can be some driver troubles with Windows 7, particularly with a 64-bit system. I did get it to work on my 64-bit Windows 7 desktop, but during some initialization, my computer would restart (after seeing a blue screen), which can be very disturbing. But Tascam may have ironed out the drivers by now (my unit was 6 months old). It is odd, because I've owned older Tascam audio interfaces that work great with Windows 7, yet the newer US-800 has it's flaws. So your mileage may vary, be sure to test out the unit first on your system, or read about compatibility on forums.
GETTING STARTED
Generally, the Tascam US-800 is fairly easy to set up. Just plug in the usb cable, plug in the power supply, and you are good to go. The knobs and controls on the unit are pretty self-explanatory, and there is a mini software mixer that comes with the drivers. You can actually use the US-800 as a realtime mixer, without recording anything. There are actually two headphone inputs on the front for both 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch connectors, which is interesting. They both are the same port, and usually I would just use a simple adapter for my 1/8 inch headphones, but I'm not complaining.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall, the Tascam US-800 is a great, portable recording unit, with MIDI inputs and outputs to boot. Great for portable laptop systems, when you need to record more than a couple channels!