M-Audio FireWire 410 4-In / 10-Out FireWire Mobile Recording Interface

Average customer rating: 3.0

Not too bad
very handy
I owned two and they were a royal pain in the @$$
Good features for the price, but driver software may need touching up
No Vista Drivers

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M-Audio FireWire 410 4-In / 10-Out FireWire Mobile Recording Interface

Manufacturer: M-Audio
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B0000TP588

Related Categories:

Cables & Interconnects

Multimedia Cables

Accessories & Supplies

| Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

Audio Interfaces

FireWire-Based Audio I/O

| Computer Recording | Recording & Pro Audio | Products |

FireWire-Based Audio I/O

| Computer Recording | Computers & Software | Products |

Product Description

M-AUDIO FireWire 410 is a FireWire ( IEEE-1394 ) compatible Audio / MIDI interface that has it all --- power, flexibility, compact size and affordability. Its 4-in / 10-out configuration with preamps is perfect for personal recording, routing discrete outputs to a mixer, or directly driving a surround sound system. 192kHz outputs (outputs 1 & 2 -- 96kHz on others); 96kHz input Coaxial & Optical Digital I/O with S/PDIF Powered via DC supply or FireWire bus Dual mic / instrument preamps with gain control and phantom power 2 headphone outs w/ individual level controls Analog outs can directly drive up to 7.1 surround Size - 1-7/8H x 9-1/4W x 7D; weighs 2.95 pounds

Customer Reviews:

Not too bad.......2007-03-19

I have this interface hooked up from my computer to my home theater, via optical sound. It seems to do the trick. Having multiple outputs is pretty neat too, however I still haven't figured out how to use them all. Perhaps its just laziness from not reading the manual. I'm using the second headphone jack as an additional speaker output which lets me control the volume right off the interface. Ever since installing this device, my midi to usb works again. Granted I could hook the midi straight through the interface, but if it aint broke don't fix it. Recording vocals is good too. I was recording straight through the motherboard previous. How bloody awful that was. This device solved that problem. The blue LED light is REALLY bright and I cover it because it blinds me :o) The volume controls on the device are great. You can really creep the volume up with it. Nice. Tech support was also very courteous and helpful. I was on hold for quite a while though.

very handy.......2007-03-10

i just got this to be able to route audio through something other than on board audio. it works very nice, practically installed drivers/software, plugged it in, and started jammin away.

it has many features, and enough of them to keep you busy. The audio sounds super crisp and is delivered very clear.

im not much of a reviewer, but in regards to how many firewire audio interfaces are out there to choose from, this one was competing with 4 other units, and I dont regret my choice with it.

I owned two and they were a royal pain in the @$$.......2007-03-07

I have had two different units (and access to a third for a short time), I used them with three different computers (all macs: a PowerMac G4, PowerMac G5, and a PowerBook G4), and I had loads of problems with every configuration. The units were a bit temperamental and I sometimes had to restart the computer to get them to work properly. As mentioned in other posts, these units are not hot-pluggable and doing so could render the computer, the FW410, or possibly other connected firewire devices permanently disabled. This is particularly a problem since firewire cables have no mechanism to be locked in place--like thumb screws--and they can easily become accidentally unplugged. I called M-Audio and they really tried to shrug this off as if it was no big deal although the FW410 comes with an urgent warning sticker covering the firewire ports that tells you not to hot plug. In fact, I personally know of one computer where the logic board was fried due to the FW410 being unplugged and plugged back in while the computer was on.

Also mentioned in other posts is the FW410's propensity not to play well with other firewire devices, particularly firewire 800 devices. I can attest to this. On my PowerMac G5, I had the FW410 as the only device on the firewire 400 bus and I had an Iomega FW drive plugged into the FW800 bus. Everytime I would restart my computer I would have to make sure that I turned my speakers off because of the loud popping and clicking noises that would happen when the Iomega drive was plugged in. I'm not really good at remembering things like that and I believe that this is what blew one of my M-Audio BX5a powered monitors (which, by the way, I like). To back up my computer to the Iomega drive, I would have to shut my computer off, unplug the FW410, then restart my computer and back up. Otherwise, I would get those horrendous (and loud) popping and clicking noises, or the FW410 would become disabled and I would have to restart anyway to get it back.

You're probably wondering why I had two of these units. Well, the first one became stopped working and, fortunately, it was under warranty and M-Audio sent me a new one (though I was without music for over a month). I thought my problems might have been due to a faulty unit but the second one was no better. I had all the problems described above (and others...yes, there was more) with different versions of the drivers (up to 1.8.1) even after reinstalling the drivers many times. I always thought the problems were just my setup until I did more research. I should point out that I am using Macs and everything may work perfectly with PCs, YMMV.

I own other M-Audio products (the aforementioned BX5a powered monitors and an M-Audio keyboard) and I have had no problem with either of those. One thing that I didn't like about M-Audio is that their tech support made it seem like I was the ONLY user that is having problems with this product. As for my FW410, you can look for it on eBay (it's only a couple of months old).

At this point, I have just unplugged the FW410 because I am in fear for my system. After further research, I'm probably going to buy a PreSonus Firebox. This unit seems to work well with Macs, is hot pluggable, and six simultaneous inputs are possible unlike the FW410 in which only two simultaneous inputs are possible (despite the name).

Good features for the price, but driver software may need touching up.......2007-02-01

I bought this device because of its price and feature-set. Having the option of running Pro Tools LE (M-Powered) was part of the appeal. I haven't tested all the line outs or the S/PDIF ports, but over the last couple months everything else so far has worked fine. I haven't tried using the power adapter either, since mine is powered via Firewire. The front and rear inputs can't be used simultaneously (I knew this when bought it), but it would be a great improvement.

M-Audio warns not to engage in Firewire hot-plugging with this unit. I've heard about this with other Firewire devices (without manufacturer's warnings) from other musicians, so I have no problem with this advice.

The only thing needing improvement is the driver software. It *never* loads after a cold boot, only after a warm boot (restart). Also, it seems to unset a couple of my preferred settings (although they still *look* like they are set) after certain applications have used it, which I didn't see documented, so I assume this is a bug. This might be because I have it connected to the computer through a Firewire hub.

Unlike Digidesign interfaces, it allows several applications to simultaneously use its features, which Digidesign interfaces only allow when Pro Tools is not running, and even then in a somewhat simplistic manner. However, I've found Digidesign's drivers for their interfaces are quite stable. I'm OK with the trade-off.

Rock-solid drivers and simultaneous use of the front and rear inputs would earn it five stars.

No Vista Drivers.......2007-01-29

My company builds custom high-end AV systems for the entertainment industry. We used to use this unit, but no longer do because there's no Vista support, and the company won't even tell us if Vista support is planned or not.

If you run Vista, or plan to, I would not get this unit.

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