[Tristrami]

Has anyone used this item? It looks pretty good, but I'd love to hear some first-hand impressions from users.

???

Do you mean iMic?

[Troll]

I think you're referring to the iMic!

I have one of those. It works very well especially under OSX and it's cheap as hell. Very good as an alternative to the crappy iMac audio in and you can extend it easily with a USB cable to get right up to your hi-fi so you can play MP3's over the hi-fi without getting gold tipped hi-fi cables!

Only problem is that the latency is unbearable on the audio in. I bought it hoping to use it to record my guitar with Cubase. No chance. The delay is too long to use for making music. In their defense, the problem with USB audio seems to lie with Apple and they DO say on the box that it's not for pro users.

[silverlode]

You mean the iMic right?

The sound quality is good. I had no issues recording audio tracks from an external multitrack recorder onto my hard drive. The usit has some issues, though (some its own fault, some Apple's). The iMic toggles between input and output. If you want to record into your macintosh from the iMic, you can't monitor the sound also using you iMic. You have to record in, then switch it to output mode, and listen. Inconvenient, at best.

My biggest beef, though, is with the Mac OS. It can't handle two USB audio devices at once. I have the HK SoundSticks, for instance, and can't record audio through the USB iMic while monitoring it through the SoundSticks. The only possible scenario is to monitor through my Quicksilver's internal speaker. What a joke!

Macs have always had sound input an output. Why the heck did they get rid of the sound in port?!?

If your interests aren't so specific, the iMic would probably work fine. Just be aware of the things I pointed out. I never saw anything before my purchase that said "not compatible with other USB audio devices concurrently."

[Tristrami]

yes, yes, i meant iMic...soory for the typo!

[masskinner]

Originally posted by Tristrami:
<STRONG>Has anyone used this item? It looks pretty good, but I'd love to hear some first-hand impressions from users.</STRONG>

It's not very good at all, but there really aren't any alternatives in that price range.

I agree that the problem is probably with the USB spec or Apple's implementation with it. Most USB hubs will render it unusable as well for the same reason.

I'm using a KVM that renders it unusable.

[Tristrami]

So then, if it sucks so hard, what are my alternatives for a relatively low-cost USB audio solution?

[Mastrap]

Originally posted by Tristrami:
<STRONG>So then, if it sucks so hard, what are my alternatives for a relatively low-cost USB audio solution?</STRONG>

It doesn't really suck. It's just not good enough for pro use. But it's cheap and reliable. If you want better you'll have to go pro and that'll set you back $800 and up.

For everyday audio-in, like ripping vinyl to mp3 - I am in the process of getting a cable made to hook up a 1950's jukebox that plays 78's to my iBook - it's fine. But again that's just my opinion, YMMV.

As far as output monitoring is concerned I use the sound-out. I just plug it into my stereo which does wonders for the quality.

[ 12-08-2001: Message edited by: Mastrap ]

[JoMel]

Hi Everybody,

I have an iMic since August 2001 which I was using on MacOS 9.x and that was working pretty good 'till I recently made the firmware upgrade to v. 1.1 (as suggested by Griffin)!

Because of the lack of sound input ports on G4 Cube, I was mainly using iMic to connect a digital Philips AM/FM stereo receiver to listen to my favourite radio stations while working. Through MacOS "Sound" control panel I was able to take full control of iMic.

After running the upgrade, "Sound" control panel still recognises the iMic, showing up to distinct options: "Internal CD" (Cube's internal driver) and "USB Audio" (iMic), I still control "Check signal level" and "Gain" slider but... I completely lost control over the option "Play sound through output device" -both with "Internal CD" (which shows up a cross [X] over) and/or "USB Audio" (which does not shows up any cross [X] over)- It's just grayed-out for both options!

Even going through this strange happening, my Cube is still able to receive sounds from iMic because I capture sounds (from both stereo receiver and/or microphone) running "Coaster" or any other capable of capturing sounds software. The point is that no sound is heard from the speakers anymore (except when I use "internal CD" while listening to a compact disc).

I even tried the downgrade of the firmware (command-R) but the result remains about the same. I have absolutely no control of sounds on my speakers when I turn ON my digital receiver and/or connect a microphone.

This strange happening took place back with MacOS 9.2.1 and I recently upgraded it to 9.2.2 'cause I thought upgrading system software could bring me (again) control over "Play sound through output device" on "USB Audio"... But it did NOT!

Can anyone PLEASE help me here!? What should I do in order to put my iMic back to work as it was before I ran this v. 1.1 firmware uprade!?

Counting on some precious advice. Thank you all,

[ 12-08-2001: Message edited by: JoMel ]

[tonton]

I bought an iMic about four months ago.

Ironically, I've never used the sound input function.

After upgrading the hard drive in my TiBook, I found that the right audio channel of my sound out port didn't work. I bought the iMic because I wouldn't have a chance to send my 'Book for repair for a few months.

One advantage of the iMic is that it completely fixes the low output problem of the TiBook when using with headphones (many people complained that you couldn't watch DVDs on a noisy flight). With the iMic, you can blast your ears until they bleed!