M-Audio interfaces...

I use the Profire 2626 and previously the 610.  No problems here

Well, I did a bit of poking around for posted comments on the quality and sound of the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R, and found a mixture of good and bad thoughts on it.
 
The product seems to have a whole new chip set from the non-Ultra Fast Track, which was done as part of an upgrade to support USB 2.0, according to M-Audio comments.
 
A lot of folks seem to complain about the customer service of M-Audio, which was exacerbated by multiple shipped units having non-working or broken parts, and a reportedly horrendous amount of time for RMA processing (getting a replacement unit shipped back from M-Audio took forever, it seems).
 
Here are some comments from one of the M-Audio folks on the Ultra:
 
"Hey guys, RayT here. I'm the Hardware Product Manager for M-Audio. I've only been with the company for about 1 year (I was with Mackie before this) so I don't have a ton of info on our legacy products. I did directly manage the Fast Track Ultra and would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

To start, yes the Ultra is a completely new design compared to the Fast Track Pro. The chip set used is entirely new in order to get the higher performance and USB 2.0 functionality. The preamps are based on the Octane design but have been enhanced with newer technologies for better performance.

The SNR for the preamps is -103dB and there's about 53dB of gain range (from +6dB - +59dB) without the 20dB pad. The Headphone amps have also been re-designed to offer more clarity and power. The line inputs were designed to bypass the mic preamp so you get a cleaner, more direct signal.

We also spent a lot of time on the new USB 2.0 drivers so they are very solid and reliable.

I don't expect anyone to trust my word on the products as I work for the company. I strongly encourage open discussions here on the forums and trying out the gear for yourself.

RayT"
 
Other than basic issues, such as the quality of the build and the stability of the drivers, the pieces that could be problematic would potentially include the quality of the pre-amps and the converters.  Some folks liked the pre-amps and the converters, and some thought the pre-amps were noisy beyond a certain level.
 
I would suggest you do a Google search for reviews of the interface, and of any other ones you are considering, so that you have a better feel for what you are in for, both good and bad, for whichever interface you end up choosing. 
 
I feel the better the research, the better the outcome of the decision.
 
Good luck, 
 
Bob Bone
 

I actually use and LOVE an M-Audio Axiom Pro 61 midi controller.
 
I hope the poster understands my earlier comments were balanced - my point was to indicate that feedback is out there on that device, and that some digging through search results for reviews of it would help the poster make an informed decision, one way or the other.
 
:)
 
Bob Bone
 

The Delta 1010 has issues with Sonar where it crashes and then the driver doesnt get released and a reboot is required. Very annoying.

I have a Fast Trac Pro running on my older XP laptop. It doesn't get much usage these days but in it's day it worked quite well for me. I had no issues with the driver although I have heard complaints about the upgrade(s) not being very timely.
 
I also have an M-Audio Keystation Pro which I have never had any problems with...it just works.
 
Over the years I have heard complaints against M-Audio but I kind of feel that if it is working for me and I can't duplicate someones issues then it isn't an issue for me. So, even though I am somewhat leery of Avid, my thoughts on M-Audio are positive.
 
Regards,

Fast Track C400 user here, no problems with it. Except that the latest versions of the driver won't let you set the buffer below 128 (apparently earlier versions allowed 64).

I had great experience with delta 1010's from sonar 3 to X2.  The only issue I found was the control panel was a little finicky with Win8. There are no drivers for Win8 so that is probably the reason. But other than that, a fine interface.

I am a M-audio audiophile PCI 2496 soundcard user with Sonar X2 PE with windows 7. No problem here. Has been using that since Sonar 8.5. I have heard that M-audio has been very slow in updating their driver. So it is important that before you purchase any hardware you must make sure that the proper driver for your operating system is available for download from their website.
 
One minor annoyance was that the use of a particular software (I forget which one) tends to make the m-audio driver's control panel disappear. It was latter resolved by visiting M-audio's support website and they mention something about going through MSconfig setting. I had never experience that again when and updated driver was installed.
 
Other than that I am very have happy with my M-audio soundcard. It's advantage is that it is very stable, quiet, and fast. It's speed and low latency (128ms) allows me to enjoy playing softsynths with ease. That is my experience. My other interface is Cakewalk's UA25EX.

I've been using the M-Audio Firewire 1814 since SONAR 5.  It's been rock solid for me although I have been using the ASIO drivers not WDM.  Anyway.....no complaints here!
 
Best to All!

Dave

I have a fast track ultra. It worked OK. Not super great, and the preamps in it went bad after a few years. It wasn't a huge issue for me, but it could have been.

Well here's my take!
 
I use an M-Audio Delta Audiophile PCI soundcard with good old Windows XP SP3 & Sonar Pro 8.5.  To date, I've never had a problem or stability issues but will shortly be switching to a new Windows 7 64-bit Pro rig so we'll see how it fares.
 
However, I have to agree with the points already raised here that I used to love M-Audio until they got bought by Avid which was the worse thing that ever happened as the support was terrible & if you wanted quick phone support, you had to pay a stiff charge upfront!  I also found them very slow to update drivers.
 
In fact, I used to have a number of their interfaces like the MIDIsport 2x2, 4x4 & 8x8 but got fed up with waiting for driver updates so I sold the lot!  Well, I've still the 2x2 as that one seems to get driver updates in a reasonable time.  I exclusively use Edirol/Roland UM series interfaces now & even for their discontinued products, they were still quick to update all the UM series to Windows 8 drivers.  How's that for customer support & loyalty?  I've always felt that you can trust good old Roland.
 
So on that basis, I won't buy another M-Audio product again!
 
Saying that, as they've been bought out by another company, I may give them a go & see if things have changed otherwise, it's an essential avoid for me...

Thanks for the input guys.  I think I might stay away from this interface.  Although $269 is not a bad price for that many ins and outs.

My FireWire Solo was getting a little squirrely on me about a year ago. I decided to switch to USB and went with a Focusrite 8i6; really like it.

I have been using the 1010lt for years now with little problem except for a time when M-audio needed to update their drivers. That was a pain, but they finally got around to creating the needed drivers. The problem was noise filtering in after a period of time of recording. I have been using the card successfully for over a year now.
MJ