M-AUDIO Transit High Resolution Mobile Audio Upgrade

by M-Audio

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 2.4 x 1 inches ; 1.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000CDHP5
• Item model number: T9398
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,062 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Small enough to fit in your pocket, the M-Audio Transit High Resolution Mobile Audio Interface brings hi-resolution 24-bit/96 kHz recording and playback to any USB-compatible computer. Digital I/O lets you transfer pristine audio between your computer and other devices such as MiniDisc and DAT. The digital output can deliver AC-3 and DTS from your computer to an external decoder, such as a surround receiver. And the USB bus-powered design allows you to play and record virtually anywhere your laptop can go.

Transit's 0.125-inch stereo analog/optical digital input and TOS link optical digital output allow for a variety of convenient functions including recording from stereo mics and transferring pristine audio between the computer and other digital devices such as MiniDisc and DAT. The digital output also provides AC3 and DTS pass through from the computer to an external decoder such as a surround receiver. A 0.125-inch stereo output accommodates line levels for a stereo receiver or powered monitors, as well as stereo headphones for users on the go.

What's in the Box
Transit audio interface, USB cable, TOS link to 3.5-millimeter optical plug adapter, and drivers for Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP and Mac OS9/OSX.

Product Description

Small enough to fit in your pocket, Transit brings hi-resolution 24-bit/96kHz recording and playback to any USB-compatible computer. Digital I/O lets you transfer pristine audio between your computer and other devices such as MiniDisc and DAT. The digital output can deliver AC-3 and DTS from your computer to an external decoder such as a surround receiver. And the bus-powered design allows you play and record virtually anywhere your laptop can go. Transit is your ticket to ride. Features: Mobile 24-bit/96kHz USB audio upgrade Stereo analog/optical digital input (1/8? ) Stereo line/headphone output (1/8?) TOSlink optical digital output allows AC-3 and DTS pass-through Accommodates self-powered stereo microphones

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't work as advertised (for Mac users), August 18, 2005

By 

Charles (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: M-AUDIO Transit High Resolution Mobile Audio Upgrade (Electronics)

Review relevant noly to Macintosh users:

1. Sound output from Transit cuts out frequently, unpredictably, and often irrecoverably. Imagine listening to music and then using the keyboard to adjust the volume and suddenly having the audio disappear. Imagine listening to iTunes and then deciding to switch to a streaming audio program through your browser or through RealPlayer and having no sound in the new application. This happens frequently with the Transit. And about half the time it cannot be corrected by plugging and unplugging the Transit: you have to log out and in or restart. Lovely.

2. Other USB audio I/O devices such as the Griffin iMic simply work without drivers on a Macintosh. The Transit is not visible to the system without its drivers installed, so you're stuck with whatever M-Audio wants to provide. This is probably necessary to provide digital output and some device configuration, but it's a real problem if the drivers are inadequate (as they are).

3. The M-Audio site lists the current driver (1.6.1) as compatible with the current operating system (10.4.2). This isn't true at all. The current driver is dysfunctional with the current operating system.

4. My iMic and my Logitech USB headphones are working fine on my computer, so there's nothing wrong with the hardware.

5. M-audio has yet to respond to my e-mail requesting help, and they don't provide a toll free number for tech support.

Avoid this paperweight and get something that works as advertised. They've had months to come up with a driver that works with the current operating system and have failed. Unfortunately they haven't bothered to be honest about that and are still selling these as Mac compatible (and as compatible with the current Mac OS).

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An up to date review, June 28, 2008

By 

Charles P. Webb Jr. "CW" (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M-AUDIO Transit High Resolution Mobile Audio Upgrade (Electronics)

I purchased this item in order to connect my home theater Mac Mini (1.66 core duo, 2gb ram, 160gb hd +500gb firewire, 10.5.3) to my harman kardon receiver via optical cable. Drivers for OSX 10.5.3 are available free on the m-audio site and work flawlessly. The quality when set on 24bit sampling and using the optical cable is amazing, fully taking advantage of my 5.1 Bose cube speaker setup.

Bottom line, don't listen to the old reviews from 4 years ago, OS X compatibility has greatly improved and this item is well worth the money.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific sound but not for novices, February 11, 2005

By 

Jake W. (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: M-AUDIO Transit High Resolution Mobile Audio Upgrade (Electronics)

It's small, requires no power cord, has no buttons, and has a 104dB s/n ratio and almost no harmonic distortion -- yes! The moment I installed this on my Dell Latitude D600, I could hear a marked improvement in bass clarity and overall imaging.

Now the drawbacks: The software is not so hot. You cannot adjust its output and there is no equalizer. Plus I had a huge driver issue and tech support had no idea how to solve it. I had to do three hours of serious technical detective work (Windows driver version numbers, service packs, system files, etc.) to fix it. (Turn out it was an issue was with XP's USB drivers... surprise!)

Furthermore, it cannot monitor its own line-in. Thus you cannot use the line-in jack to, say, play another audio source through your speakers.

Still, the simplicity of the device and its sound quality won me over. Recommended.