[muckshot]

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! Nice to see this place is still popping!

I did some searching around but didn't quite find the answers I was looking for, perhaps some kindly soul will be able to help out with their knowledge and experience.

First off, I was wondering about the midi latency associated with the M-Audio Transit. My understanding is that this mostly has to do with the quality and type of driver used. I am planning on using my Windows XP laptop on the road to program music with Reason and Cubase, using my Oxygen8 (the older version) as a midi controller. I've been doing this at home for years with my desktop PC and my trusted old PCI Audiophile 2496 and it's worked very well, latency is very low and and the Oxygen8 works like a charm. Can I expect the same out of a laptop with a M-Audio Transit? I guess my question is whether or not quality low latency drivers exist for the Transit that will allow transparent use of an external USB midi controller?

Secondly, I've been using my Audiophile 2496 for inbound analog recording of records via Soundforge. My record player goes directly into a NAD phono amp (PP-1) and then into the analog ins at the back of my 2496. For quieter recordings this setup works quite well, but with louder recordings, the incoming signal is too hot and unless I attenuate the volume via the M-Audio mixer, the signal clips resulting in distortion. What gets me is when I look at the waveforms of the recording I make when attenuating the input volume with the M-Audio mixer, it appears that the peaks are simply being shaved off rather than lowering the entire spectrum of frequencies. Is there a better way to attenuate the volume of an incoming analog signal, perhaps something that would go between the phono amp and the Audiophile card? Anyone else have similar issues with overly loud inbound analog recording and the 2496?

Whoa, that's a doozy, I hope it all makes sense! Thanks guys

 

[muckshot]

No Transit midi users in here?

Incidentally, I was looking at the Transit in particular as it would double as a cheap line-out on my laptop for use with my Pint/DT770 bass bliss combo (not to mention the digital out that could accommodate an external DAC), but perhaps there's another card out there that would do the job better...?

 

[crazy_bob_uk]

I've never tried recording with my 2496, but would have thought a rca attenuator would be what you're after.

 

[muckshot]

Thanks for the suggestion, that may be just what the doctor ordered. Headroom has these available for $35, but I'm concerned about how they may affect the quality of the sound. Aside from the obvious drop in decibels, will the signal passing through remain "lossless" so to speak? Will el' cheapo ratshack versions work just as well?

Still no takers on the M-Audio Transit's midi performance? There's gotta be some midi users in here! Looking for info on drivers and latency before I drop a buck... Thanks.