M-Audio AIR 192x14 - USB Audio Interface for Studio Recording with 8 In and 4 Out, MIDI Connectivity, and Software from MPC Beats and Ableton Live Lite

I previously had the M-Audio M-Track Solo, which was a solid interface, but upgrading to the M-Audio Air Hub has been a noticeable improvement. The higher resolution audio makes a difference, especially for detailed mixing and monitoring.One of my favorite features is the built-in USB hub with three ports, which is incredibly convenient for connecting my MIDI keyboard and other peripherals. Unlike the M-Track Solo, this unit does require external power, but that makes sense since it also powers other devices.The ASIO drivers are excellent, providing super low latency, which is a huge plus for real-time monitoring and recording. The design is another major win—the sleek, minimal look feels more modern compared to the more utilitarian style of the M-Track Solo.The only minor complaint I would have is that the volume knob is a little annoying to use if you have a usb device plugged in right next to it.If you want a compact, high-quality audio interface with a built-in USB hub and great low-latency performance, this is a fantastic choice. Highly recommend! I also got this used from Amazon so it was even cheaper than the M-track solo for me.

Amazing sound with outstanding functionality

I used to use an M-Audio Profire 610 from ~2009 and it still works to this day. However, in that time I have transitioned from a mac user to a Windows user, and having only firewire connectivity is limiting for me. Since my Profire has served me so well for so long, I wanted to stick with M-Audio instead of jumping on tp similar Focusrite products. Some of the reviews here were a tad limited or negative from my perspective as a potential customer, but I still thought it was worth a try to see how M-Audio's quality has stood the test of time.So right off the bat, I was all excited to start using it and in a rush I downloaded the 192 | 4 driver instead of the 192 | 14 driver like a dumb muppet, and was wondering why the app said no hardware was connected. After I got that sorted, everything else integrated smoothly.I like how the headphone outputs can drive my 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 800s with ease. If you turn the knob to 3 o'clock, it's loud enough that you'll feel your hair follicles vibrating. The mic quality and latency is sublime with my MXL 990 condenser. While the VU meters do work well indicating the volume levels of my turntable, I found that they are not very helpful when plugging in my mic. It's better to rely on your DAW in this case. I am very happy with the guitar inputs and really enjoyed noodling around with Guitar Rig and experimenting with different audio formats and sample rates.I suppose that thing that stood out to me about this device is how much it can do. I can route my vinyl to it, use a mic, have my monitors bumping, plug in two sets of headphones, jam along with my guitar, poke notes on my midi keyboard with my nose, all while listening for any notifications that may come through on my computer. I like that.One thing I miss that the Profire 610 had was a more robust computer interface. I could name my tracks for inputs and outputs, and I could control it on my computer. However, that device only had two gain knobs, two headphone audio knobs, and a master knob. I suppose it's nice to have a more physical interface and it takes me back to my guitar pedal collector days.As far as build and feel go, I am pretty happy. It looks very appealing and the metal chassis seems indestructible. My two slight complaints would be that I wish the main volume potentiometer had a little more resistance when I am turning it. It is super smooth. Also, the right side where the power goes in can get quite hot. I found that at a 192000 kHz sample rate it was much hotter than at 44.1 kHz and it kinda worried me about the longevity of the device if I were to be always running it that hot.When it comes to using it as a media device, I have been using it in conjunction with Voicemeeter Banana and Light Host. This allows me to have a lot of control over the inputs and outputs and I can also patch in VSTs if desired.All in all, I suppose my needs are a little odd, but this does the job at a reasonable price. Hopefully, this M-Audio interface will last me 11+ years as well.

I've been mostly happy with this purchase. I had a fringe use case for this device with using it for a VFIO setup. I know libvirt can make things that function fine in Windows all screwy when in a VM so I went in knowing it might be an issue but ultimately have had it working pretty soundly for about a week. If I run into any other issues I'll update review.Pros:- Great price for a USB DAC with nice built in preamps and XLR out.- I like the design of it. The knobs are not crammed on the front so if you have the room on your desk it's a nice layout.- The preamps specifically are nice because I have a Shure SM7B and wanted to avoid adding on an extra preamp if possible and this DAC boosts enough to not require an additional preamp. It seems like you can run most dynamic mics raw with this mixer and get appropriate levels barring the quietest of whispering.Cons:- Drivers suck. It's been said before in other revuews but holy hell the M-Audio drivers that Windows pushes are terrible. I was getting crackling audio from my speakers and my mic was disconnecting every few minutes when I was using this mixer in my VM. Tried a whole bunch of fixes between switching ports, changing sound virtualization, and fiddling with sample rate and buffer size. Finally figuered I'd just try reinstalling the drivers which I didn't expect to be the problem given the mixer worked fine in baremetal windows. With no drivers installed the mixer worked flawlessly. I don't even.- The control panel is threadbare and the GUI looks half functional between all the options grey-out for any given reason. It's a glorified hotlink to visit their tech support site.- Pre-packaged software and demos is 100% wasted on me. Could be some really good offers for Protools in there but my eyes glaze over when I see this stuff as I just assume it to be demos looking to push a purchase on you. I bought this mixer because I needed a mixer, not because its Protools certified and comes with a trial version of an extra plugin to make farts sound wetter.Overall, the hardware itself is nice and navigating the quirks can give you a nice mixer. It's just navigating the quirks that can turn owners into refunders.