[sonick]

I'll be updating this thread over the next few days, as I get the chance to use it a bit more (hopefully).

[size=medium]Intro[/size]
I ordered the M-Audio Groovelab set from Dell.ca on Friday. This package includes not only the Transit, but also a headset/mic (they're not very good, but whatever), and a 'lite' version of Ableton Live, a popular recording/mixing/DJing peice of software, apparently (I don't know much about the creation side of music). The lite version lacks some more advanced features that can be enabled for full functionality, but your work cannot be exported/saved when these features are enabled.

It was $54 CDN, regularly $60, and sometimes as low as $49. Considering everyhwere online I've been seeing it go for ~$99 USD for just the Transit, I thought it was a pretty good deal (even at $60).

I spent most of my evening last night installing the software, and playing with Ableton.

[size=medium]Set-Up[/size]
The set-up with Foobar and ASIO was fairly straight-forward, did not run into many roadblocks or weird issues (as compared to setting up my Chaintech AV710).

The M-audio config window is simple, intuitive and easy to use. There's basically three different parameters you can change:

Operating Mode
Physically, the Transit has one stereo line-input and one stereo line-output (2 In/2 Out). When monitoring (using both inputs and outputs simultaneously, "full-duplex" so to speak) the Transit only allows resolutions up to 48kHz. The high-resolution interface modes (88.2kHz to 96kHz) are only available in "half-duplex"; only enabling either inputs or output. According to the manual, this is due to the technical limitations of USB1.1; but they have it set so even when plugged into a USB2.0 hub/port high-rez monitoring is still unavailable.

You can also choose between 16 or 24 bit for each of the analog operating modes, so in total there are four different analog operating modes. At 44.1kHz with the Transit set at 24bit, I encountered popping/clicking when using Foobar and ASIO, but not at 16 bit.

There is also the digital output mode for DD/DTS at 16bit/48kHz.

Latency
Five settings, from "Very Low" to "Very High". At Very Low, both the input and output latency was less than 5ms (according to Ableton Live).

Mic Boost
Pretty straight-forward; Four settings: 0dB, +14dB, +20dB, +24dB.

[size=medium]Sound Quality (all done at 16bit/44,100Hz via Foobar using ASIO)[/size]
Large improvement from my laptop's (Averatec 3150) on-board sound. I didn't get a chance for critical listening, but I am satisfied at its performance for the price. Playing around with Ableton Live's loops and samples through my Eggo D66SL and PA2V2, the sound was clear and had quite a bit of punch, even through the neutral-sounding Eggos.

Hooked up to my SonicImpact T-amp to my Athena ASB2's also performed admirably. No RF interference or noise whatsoever, even when cranked. Listening to Thom Yorke's new release The Eraser, I found no complaints with the clarity and quality of the sound.

The onboard sound picked up huge amounts of noise/interference from the laptop itself. When it was amped to my speakers via the T-amp, it lacked punch and dynamics and enthusiasm. It just sounded hesitant.

The Transit had none of these problems, although I found the output was a bit low compared to my CD player and my DVD player; I found I had to turn up the volume a bit more (about 1/5th a turn) to get the same volume I would get from the CD or DVD player.

As I said, in the 24-bit regular-resolution mode, I encountered popping. I shall have to play around with the latency settings a bit to see if it improves things.

[size=medium]First-impression conclusions[/size]
All in all, for $60 CDN taxes-in, and shipped in 2 days, I am quite happy with the Transit. And the Groovelab package with Ableton Live will definitely keep me busy for awhile.

[size=medium]Next step?[/size]
I plan on doing a few needle-drops with this, so I will see how that goes. And also look more into the high-rez functionality, and see if I can get rid of the pops/clicks at the higher sample rate.

Also maybe pictures of the innards if anybody's interested, if they are thinking of buying it to mod or something.

[size=medium]Links[/size]
M-Audio Product Page - http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...eLab-main.html
Dell.ca Product Page - http://accessories.dell.com/sna/prod...1&sku=A0448510

 

[headcleaner]

I bought the Transit yesterday, and I also have trouble with Foobar/Asio where I get choppy playback. Whenever I do something that maxes the laptop I get either a short pop or a longer pause (10-25ms roughly). I've tested different samplerates, bit-depths and SpeedStep on/off. The only thing that gives slightly better results is to maximize the latency, but I still get short pops which annoy me considerably.

I hope one of us find an answer to this, it doesn't feel very professional, hi-quality or 21st century to get choppy sound...

Sigh, I didn't plan to make my first post into a complaint...

I did test the sound properly at work, where I listen most of the day. Very good sound indeed, but the output does NOT drive headphones well! An amp is a must.

 

[headcleaner]

Problem solved!

Uninstalling the latest drivers (5.10.00.0055.v2) and installing the 1.0.2.2 drivers instead has brought me sound free from pauses, glitches and noise. I can now run prime95 in the background, open/close programs at will and listen to FLACs from Foobar upsampled to 96kHz/Ultra in ASIO mode without a hitch. I can even set the latency to Low.

I'll make sure I mail the m-audio support team and ask them if they know about this issue.

Anyway, I am very happy to have a good soundcard now. Just waiting for my HeadFive to arrive!

 

[headcleaner]

Sad update:
I now get a very short drop-out (a few ms) of the sound maybe once every 5 minutes. It is not perfect, but much better than with the latest drivers.
The most annoying thing is that my REALLY cheap and crappy USB soundcard with ASIO4all drivers deliver perfectly stutter-free sound (although not very good SQ).

 

[sonick]

Cool, I'll try and revert back to the original drivers.

When listening to music on my hard drive I didn't get any pops and clicks. Only when I streamed it from a computer on my network (via wireless) did I get some problems with light but continuous clicking.

 

[audioengr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by headcleaner Sad update: I now get a very short drop-out (a few ms) of the sound maybe once every 5 minutes. It is not perfect, but much better than with the latest drivers. The most annoying thing is that my REALLY cheap and crappy USB soundcard with ASIO4all drivers deliver perfectly stutter-free sound (although not very good SQ).

Have you closed all of the unneeded applications, given Foobar2000 "real-time" priority and turned-off screen-saver and virus-scan?

There is a list of these things that should be done on my website under Computer Audio:
http://www.empiricalaudio.com

Once you have done all of these, it should be tick and pop free, unless your CPU lacks the horseppower.

You should also be running Foobar 0.8.3 version (old one) and ASIO SSE2 version 47a. This is the best-sounding combo, much better than the new 0.9.x versions. If you need this ASIO, send me an email and I'll attach it.

Steve N.

 

[nelda]

i have this annoying pops too and when i plug the usb to the other usb port that available on my monitor, the pops gone.

 

[headcleaner]

I got a replacement Transit from the store yesterday. Running the latest drivers on my HTPC now without any problems. So... Seems like there really was a hardware problem for me, since I had NO problem running my cheap USB soundcard on the same rigs with the same programs and settings.
Too bad the Transit doesn't do kernel streaming, I've found that to generally be less problematic than ASIO. Less things to configure and get wrong.

 

[phatmat]

sadly it doesn't seem dell carries this package anymore