[gunnar]

I'm looking for something to master some records on my Mac and I need some kind of USB input device. Sound quality is my first concern. I have quite a good hi-fi system and I want to lose as little in the transfer as possible. My second concern is that the device "just works" with OS X. I want to plug it in and use just about any two track recorder to record the audio. Lastly, if it had an optical input/output it would be handy, but not essential. Any recommendations are appreciated.

[Spheric Harlot]

M-Audio stuff is recommended.

I use a tascam US 428 (they also make US 224 and 122) USB audio interface that I'm quite happy with. Drivers are a-okay, and Panther update was out within about three weeks, so...

The Tascam stuff does 24 bits and sounds quite good.

If you're looking to invest in real quality, check out the Metric Halo ULN-2 two-channel Firewire interface. Has a pair of one of the best A/D converters on the market, includes two top-notch pre-amps, and sounds just amazing. Probably overkill for what you're doing, though.

-s*

[dlefebvre]

I'm planing to buy the M-Audio Ozone USB Audio/MIDI Mobile Workstation for the countless and groing hours I spend on Garage Band.
M-Audio Ozone
Anyone has any experience with this device? I'm curious about the 1/4" Instrument and XLR Mic inputs. So far to hook my guitars (a Yamaha acoustic/electric and a Godin Radiocaster) I use a 1/4" mono to 1/4" stereo to 1/8" stereo series of adapters to my Mac. For my microphone (a Shure SM58) I add an XLR to 1/4" mono adapter to the mix. It's not a great solution, if I move the cable a littlle it buzzes and I hope using the M-Audio inputs will solve this. So any comments on this device?
Thanks

[spiky_dog]

"best"? the sky is the limit. go firewire if you're looking for true high end gear. i would not characterize anything m-audio as high end. the uln-2 is supposed to be great, but if the poster doesn't need mic preamps then it is indeed overkill. browse around rec.audio.pro with google groups (maybe searching on product names from a store like zzounds or samedaymusic or b&h or ...) and you'll get a better idea of the breadth of the market.