Transit USB Review by Douglas Edge
| Review at a Glance |
| What is it? | The smallest USB based AD/DA converter out there. |
| What does it do? | Good quality AD/DA conversion that hooks up to your computer via USB. |
| Who would use it? | Anyone who wants a small and simple portable AD/DA. |
| How does it sound? | On par with other USB based devices, including the Transits big brother -the Mobile Pre USB. |
| What is so great about it? | It fits in your shirt pocket!!! |
| What is not so great about it? | Some limitations due to its micro size -no direct monitoring. |
| Review Summary? | M-Audio has put together a great little device that is so simple, so inexpensive, and so small -it's bound to be a hit. There are some inherent limitations of such a small device but for many these won't be an issue. |
When I heard about M-Audio’s new USB Transit I have to admit I wasn’t all that excited. Just another USB interface -except this one uses stereo mini-jacks rather than the quarter-inch inputs and outputs that I personally prefer. Upon opening the box though I began to understand M-Audio’s motive –the Transit is no larger than a credit card and thinner than a box of cigarettes. Obviously, this makes it great for portable setups as you can literally stick this converter in your shirt pocket and go. Like it’s big brother, the Mobile Pre USB, it gets its power from the USB bus so there is no power cables or wall warts to worry about. I was definitely interested to see what this little box can do.
The Lowdown
M-Audio’s Transit is a bus powered USB device that gives you both line and optical S/PDIF in as well as line and Optical S/PDIF out -although the optical in shares the analogue in input jack via a small TOSLINK to stereo mini adapter plug. As a side note, if your setup uses coaxial S/PDIF rather than Optical connections you can purchase a coaxial to optical converter from M-Audio.
The digital out on the Transit is a 1/8” jack, primarily designed to connect the Transit directly to the digital speakers that are increasingly popular in the consumer marketplace. The package includes an 1/8” (male)–to–TOSlink (female) adapter that converts this digital signal to optical format. (The specs on the jack and adapter demonstrate that Transit is designed as a sort of crossover product between the consumer and MI markets.)
Also, keep in mind that the analogue connections are via stereo mini-jacks and you might need a 1/4” to stereo-mini adapter to directly plug in the line level devices in your studio. The Transit also supports multi-channel encoded Dolby or DTS audio output from the TOSLINK digital out.
The Transit is capable of 24 bit, 96 kHz recording (with some limitations –see below) and is a cinch to setup. The drivers that ship with the Transit installed without a hitch and worked well under Mac OS X. Using Cubase SX I was only able to use the High Latency setting without hearing clicks and pops. Under Ableton Live I was able to use both the medium and low latency settings when monitoring my input sources. Even under the medium setting the latency was unnoticeable when tracking guitars, keyboards, etc., and monitoring via software. The latency of your DAW is an important consideration with the Transit, as it does not have direct monitoring capabilities.
The sound quality of the Transit is very good for the micro footprint of this device. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the 44.1 and 96 kHz settings –but I never really have heard too much of a difference on other 96 kHz converters I’ve heard compared to 44.1 or 48 kHz settings. I AB’d the Transit with M-Audio’s Mobile Pre USB and the Transit is right on par with it’s bigger brother in respect to sound quality.
This is a fairly straight-forward, simple to use device that would be perfect for mobile rigs or even if you just needed a separate monitoring solution for your home setup. I liked the addition of the blue LED power indicator so that you could visually see that the Transit is on and receiving power from the USB bus. Of course, with anything this small some compromises have to be made in the design, yet keep in mind that these compromises aren’t mentioned to belittle the product –as this is a pretty amazing device for it’s size- I am just pointing out the limitations so you will know if the Transit could work for what you are trying to achieve.
The Compromises
Input only or output only functionality when utilizing 96kHz operation-
-When working with 96kHz sample rates you cannot use both the input and output of the Transit. For instance, if you are recording at 96kHz you cannot monitor the signal via the Transit’s output.
No direct monitoring-
-Because of its small size there is not a direct monitoring option –although with most setups today you should be able to avoid high latency and simply monitor via your software of choice.
No dedicated volume control-
-This really isn’t too much of an issue as I just used the dedicated volume keys on my QWERTY keyboard
Cannot input optical and analogue in simultaneously and the small “converter” stereo mini in/optical in adapter is easy to lose-
-For me, and most I would suspect, this isn’t much of an issue as I don’t need to run a digital and analogue in at the same time –but for some it could be important.
No input/output level metering-
-Again, not a huge issue as you can monitor signals via your software and adjust the input levels via the Transit’s driver software.
I/O via stereo-mini rather than quarter-inch jacks-
-Quarter-inch jacks just couldn’t fit in this little box –yet it didn’t seem to affect the sound quality.
The Perks
Now for some of the great qualities of this new unit:
Portability-
-They just don’t come smaller than the Transit –an AD/DA converter that fits in the palm of your hand.
Sound Quality-
-The Transit holds it own with other USB devices I’ve tested with respect to conversion quality.
Bus Powered-
-Can’t go wrong with bus power –no wall wart or AC cable needed!
The Price-
-You can’t beat the price, at an MSRP of 129.95 and audioMIDI.com selling price of 80 bucks the Transit is a great bang-for-your-buck unit.
To Sum It Up
The Transit, while not for everybody, is going to be a great solution for many out there. Of course, laptop rigs will benefit from its portability and simplicity –but even more traditional home studio setups might benefit from this little device. For instance, you could use the Transit as a separate monitor out device. Or if you just need a couple more channels of AD conversion the Transit could be a perfect, inexpensive solution. M-Audio has addressed another niche of recording solutions with the Transits bus power, micro size, and good quality conversion.
