[Guest1212]

Hello,
 
I am looking for a light-weight, portable, USB audio interface for my laptop. I need an interface that can handle playback of large (50 tracks +) midi files, using Kontakt as a software sampler and Sonar as a Sequencer. I would prefer to keep the cost at $500 or under but want the most stable interface possible. In the past with my desktop I used the RME HDSP PCI card. I bought my laptop specifically for this purpose, and have an ivy bridge core i7 3610 processor, 16gb of ram, and dual ssd drives, one of which is a dedicated drive to stream the sample libraries from.
 
I saw the RME babyface, but $750 is pretty expensive, and I'm not sure I need all the functions it is capable of. I bought the Alva Nanoface based solely on my experience with RME, but have a 30 day return period. I've read that the hardware is different, and that the drivers are "off the shelf terratec USB 2 drivers" not RME drivers. I have not been able to test the interface much yet, but was generally wondering what other options I have in my price range. The only other choice I saw was the Motu Microbook II.
 
Any suggestions? Also, not to get off track, but are any USB 3 interfaces being released?
 
Thanks
 
(Edit: I thought the Microbook II had midi I/O, which is a feature that I want, but I guess not. So the Microbook is not really an option for me.)

 

[Guest1212]

Oh also, does anyone here know what "ASIO resolution" settings refer to?
 
The nanoface has choices of 16, 24, and 32-bit. I was confused because I wasn't sure if the 32-bit refered to audio quality or driver compatibility. My system is a 64-bit system and the programs I use are 64-bit. I've read that the Nanoface supports this, but I don't want it running with 32-bit drivers.
 
Thanks again.