Looking for the M-Audio Ozone killer

[illumin8]

Hi, I'm looking at buying a new MIDI controller/audio interface and the M-Audio Ozone is almost perfect for my needs. There are just a couple of problems with it:

• 
  * It uses USB instead of Firewire which limits your audio bandwidth.
  * It requires a wall-wart power adapter which limits it's portability.

I'm looking for the ultimate MIDI keyboard and audio interface that is portable and I can bring with my PowerBook to live gigs. Does anyone know if there is a new version of the M-Audio Ozone coming out soon that might overcome these limitations? The price is pretty good on the Ozone ($249.00 at audiomidi.com) but it seems like USB audio interfaces are on the way out and Firewire is on the way in. I don't want to get stuck with yesterday's technology.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[legion]

Re: Looking for the M-Audio Ozone killer

Originally posted by illumin8
Hi, I'm looking at buying a new MIDI controller/audio interface and the M-Audio Ozone is almost perfect for my needs. There are just a couple of problems with it:

• 
  * It uses USB instead of Firewire which limits your audio bandwidth.
  * It requires a wall-wart power adapter which limits it's portability.

I'm looking for the ultimate MIDI keyboard and audio interface that is portable and I can bring with my PowerBook to live gigs. Does anyone know if there is a new version of the M-Audio Ozone coming out soon that might overcome these limitations? The price is pretty good on the Ozone ($249.00 at audiomidi.com) but it seems like USB audio interfaces are on the way out and Firewire is on the way in. I don't want to get stuck with yesterday's technology.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

MIDI needs very, very little bandwidth for controller messages. USB is perfect for this and is not "on the way out." USB2 could handle over 8in/8out MIDI with no problem (and I'm sure you're not doing anything like that on a portable setup you've described.)

Firewire midi devices are for other purposes (usually MIDI is an addon of sorts) Most notably it's for sending actual audio data (which does need bandwidth) and multiple channels (usually the connected box has dsp chips.)

As for other solutions, checkout Evolution midi controllers, small Roland controllers, and Edirol. Also, I'd avoid audioMIDI as a place to buy; they're usually more expensive than other places... checkout BayViewProAudio.com, MusiciansFriend.com, NovaMusik.com. I also think that the Ozone can run off of batteries.

 

[absurdio]

I was looking at the ozone myself. I'm simultaneously checking out seperate usb/midi interfaces, the griffin powerwave being among the simpler, cheaper ones.

I admit the ozone is pretty sexy...but how do its in/out ports compare to what you'd find on an external interface? thanks for the help.

 

[illumin8]

Re: Re: Looking for the M-Audio Ozone killer

Originally posted by legion
MIDI needs very, very little bandwidth for controller messages. USB is perfect for this and is not "on the way out." USB2 could handle over 8in/8out MIDI with no problem (and I'm sure you're not doing anything like that on a portable setup you've described.)

Firewire midi devices are for other purposes (usually MIDI is an addon of sorts) Most notably it's for sending actual audio data (which does need bandwidth) and multiple channels (usually the connected box has dsp chips.)

As for other solutions, checkout Evolution midi controllers, small Roland controllers, and Edirol. Also, I'd avoid audioMIDI as a place to buy; they're usually more expensive than other places... checkout BayViewProAudio.com, MusiciansFriend.com, NovaMusik.com. I also think that the Ozone can run off of batteries.

Thanks for the tips. I know that USB 1.1 is more than adequate for MIDI messages, but I'm concerned more with the audio functionality which is severely limited by USB 1.1 bandwidth. Also, the Ozone doesn't have the option to use batteries.

 

[tripswitch]

There are no firewire keyboard controllers with audio out there at the moment so your choice is limited to USB. I've found the Ozone to be very stable and the sound quality is not bad. Check out the Novation Remote 25 Audio which can be battery, mains or bus powered, has built in DSP effects, much more controls and is a full K Station synth as well. Its £ 549 in the UK don't know how much that is in dollars. Got one the other day and its great. OS X drivers with us next week according to Novation.

 

[legion]

I had a chance to play around with a Korg microKontrol this weekend and as long as you don't mind the small keyboard keys, as a controller it's fantastic and better builty than any of the M-Audio units. It runs off of USB, batteries, or AC adaptor and is about the same price as the Ozone (actually, that's with a pro-audio business discount, but it should still be relatively close in price)

LCD readouts, customizable to software apps and soft instruments are a major plus (plus a really nice pad area and midi programmability)