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Edit Review: M-Audio ProFire 610 and Studiophile BX8a Deluxe

Nov 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Reviewer: Gary Eskow

Good price/performance value from digital audio studio components.

If you bring analog sounds into your recording system — and who doesn't? — you'll need an audio interface that converts them to digital data and back into analog signals on the way out to your loudspeakers. Speaking of loudspeakers, are you in the market for a pair of reasonably priced near- to mid-field monitors? If you're looking for an affordable, high-quality conversion device or a reasonably priced set of studio monitors, or both, you'll want to check out what M-Audio has to offer.

Founded in 1988, M-Audio (initially known as Midiman) developed a reputation as a manufacturer of low-cost gear with a high price/performance ratio. In one of a series of smart business moves, Avid acquired M-Audio in 2004. Some industry analysts wondered if M-Audio's lower-end technology would drain business from Avid's higher-priced Digidesign Pro Tools line, but the marriage has proved successful. M-Audio, which has retained its name and profile, manufactures the ProFire 610 FireWire interface and the Studiophile BX8a Deluxe monitors.

ProFire 610

There was a day — not so long ago, in fact — when you had to spend thousands of dollars on a set of quality converters. Here's the short review on the ProFire 610: It sounds great. There is no audio-for-video application — including HD stereo broadcasts — that will find it wanting in quality. In addition, this small, bus-powered device is perfect for recording audio in the field.

The 610 covers the territory between M-Audio's FireWire 410 and ProFire 2626 interfaces. If you're not sure which interface is right for you (a decision based largely on the number of inputs and outputs you require), check out the following link for specifics on all three: www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=Fwinterfaces.

M-Audio provides an installation disc for this dual-platform device, but the startup guide suggests that you bypass it and go directly to the company's website to download the latest drivers. (The full manual is a download from M-Audio's website.) Installing them on my Windows machine went without a hiccup. Once the drivers were installed, the ProFire 610 became available as an audio interface in my digital-audio workstation (DAW)'s Device Set Up window.

If you're working in your studio, you'll use your DAW's mixer, but if you capture audio in the field, you'll be more likely to rely on the ProFire 610's software mixer, either in conjunction with a host application or in StandAlone mode. The internal mixer has some excellent features. For example, say you have an external hardware device (a compressor, perhaps) in your rig, but you don't want its level to be affected by the Master Volume knob. Head over to the Settings tab, uncheck the output that the compressor is connected to, and only the virtual faders connected to the device affect its gain. I liked the fact that all of the input and output faders can be named and saved with your session.

© 2009 Penton Media, Inc.