Description
The perfect choice for solo performers who want studio-quality recordings! With the AIR 192|4, you can create flawless 24-bit/192kHz studio-quality recordings with an intuitive and easy-to-use audio interface. Boasting an elegant pro-grade metal chassis with a large central volume knob, the AIR 192|4 features our exclusive Crystal™ low-noise pre-amps and pristine A/D converters that deliver the highest audio performance in its class. The AIR 192|4 enables you to record up to 2 channels at once with its dedicated XLR+¼” balanced combo input, and an all-new ¼” instrument input that has a specially-designed gain and impedance stage to provide the most accurate representation of a guitar or bass plugged directly into the interface. Premium Software Suite Included The AIR 192|4 comes complete with a software package that has everything to get you started including AKAI Professional’s MPC Beats, Ableton Live Lite, AIR’s Creative FX Collection, Touch Loops, Xpand!2, Mini Grand, and Revalver. Crystal™ Preamps, & Premium Components AIR 192|4’s Crystal Preamps provide you with a transparent, low-noise preamp that guarantees the best sound from your microphones and captures your performance exactly the way you intended. Pristine A/D Converters The AIR 192|4 incorporates pristine A/D converters for 24-bit resolution digital audio at class-leading sample rates of up to 192kHz guaranteeing explosive dynamic range that captures every nuance and subtlety of the performance. USB-C Ready AIR 192|4 truly is ready for any situation, guaranteeing seamless connectivity to your Mac or PC with its high speed USB connectivity with USB and USB-C connection cables included Premium Components The AIR 192|4 layout and component choices were carefully crafted by our American engineering team, you’re getting the best sound available.
From the manufacturer
The perfect choice for solo performers who want studio-quality recordings!
With the AIR 192|4, you can create flawless 24-bit/192kHz studio-quality recordings with an intuitive and easy-to-use audio interface. The AIR 192|4 enables you to record up to 2 channels at once with its dedicated XLR+¼” balanced combo input, and an all-new ¼” instrument input that has a specially-designed gain and impedance stage to provide the most accurate representation of a guitar or bass plugged directly into the interface.
Premium Software Suite Included
The AIR 192|4 comes complete with a software package that has everything to get you started, including MPC Beats, Ableton Live Lite, AIR’s Creative FX Collection, 2GB of sample content from Touch Loops and Xpand!2, Mini Grand and Revalver – 2x Amps, 3x Cabs, 3x Mics, 3x Effects.
BittenHand19 –
Excellent Project Studio InterfaceReally great lay out and set up. If you have a Mac you don’t need any drivers and on PC the drivers install without any issues. I have a 16 channel Mixer in the two line in inputs and I’m able to record a full band rehearsal with a drum downmix to the DAW. M-Audio have always made great stuff for the money. I highly recommend this for your home project studio or even for your rehearsal space to tack ideas
marlowe lofton –
Not perfect for using in a work from home setupI purchased this interface in preparation for getting into podcasting / streaming. As I’m not quite at the point of entering that arena, I’m working from home and figured this would be a good setup for meetings over MS Teams and Zoom calls. Using a Windows 10 workstation with MS Teams and a FiFine Dynamic microphone, I could not get the audio working properly. Phantom power was turned off, since the FiFine microphone is dynamic. Colleagues constantly made me aware that my audio would suddenly drop off. I would then have to revert back to using my Fifine mic connected through USB and the problem went away. I then purchased a Marantz condenser microphone and still had the same issues; phantom power turned on with the condenser mic. M-Audio tech support had me reinstall drivers and that did not resolve the issue. Not wanting to chance repeating the same issue through replacement of this interface, I opted to purchase another interface. That interface, coupled with the Marantz microphone and did not have an issue. I’ve even purchased a new MXL 990 condenser microphone and continue to have successful usage with MS Teams.
James Langston –
Everything I wantedI used to use an M-Audio Profire 610 from ~2009 and it still works to this day. However, in that time I have transitioned from a mac user to a Windows user, and having only firewire connectivity is limiting for me. Since my Profire has served me so well for so long, I wanted to stick with M-Audio instead of jumping on tp similar Focusrite products. Some of the reviews here were a tad limited or negative from my perspective as a potential customer, but I still thought it was worth a try to see how M-Audio’s quality has stood the test of time.So right off the bat, I was all excited to start using it and in a rush I downloaded the 192 | 4 driver instead of the 192 | 14 driver like a dumb muppet, and was wondering why the app said no hardware was connected. After I got that sorted, everything else integrated smoothly.I like how the headphone outputs can drive my 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 800s with ease. If you turn the knob to 3 o’clock, it’s loud enough that you’ll feel your hair follicles vibrating. The mic quality and latency is sublime with my MXL 990 condenser. While the VU meters do work well indicating the volume levels of my turntable, I found that they are not very helpful when plugging in my mic. It’s better to rely on your DAW in this case. I am very happy with the guitar inputs and really enjoyed noodling around with Guitar Rig and experimenting with different audio formats and sample rates.I suppose that thing that stood out to me about this device is how much it can do. I can route my vinyl to it, use a mic, have my monitors bumping, plug in two sets of headphones, jam along with my guitar, poke notes on my midi keyboard with my nose, all while listening for any notifications that may come through on my computer. I like that.One thing I miss that the Profire 610 had was a more robust computer interface. I could name my tracks for inputs and outputs, and I could control it on my computer. However, that device only had two gain knobs, two headphone audio knobs, and a master knob. I suppose it’s nice to have a more physical interface and it takes me back to my guitar pedal collector days.As far as build and feel go, I am pretty happy. It looks very appealing and the metal chassis seems indestructible. My two slight complaints would be that I wish the main volume potentiometer had a little more resistance when I am turning it. It is super smooth. Also, the right side where the power goes in can get quite hot. I found that at a 192000 kHz sample rate it was much hotter than at 44.1 kHz and it kinda worried me about the longevity of the device if I were to be always running it that hot.When it comes to using it as a media device, I have been using it in conjunction with Voicemeeter Banana and Light Host. This allows me to have a lot of control over the inputs and outputs and I can also patch in VSTs if desired.All in all, I suppose my needs are a little odd, but this does the job at a reasonable price. Hopefully, this M-Audio interface will last me 11+ years as well.
DHollis –
Works on LinuxI purchased this in search of a multitrack audio interface that would work with a Linux DAW workstation, and this works with no known issues. Some notes:* I’m not sure if the master knob is recognized by drivers or not, but ultimately this isn’t something I plan on using nor anticipate would be a deal breaker for many people.* It’s got weight and seems solidly-built, metal frame.* Very low noise, even with my cheap mic cables.
CathodeRayBlues –
Working with a DAW and real instruments at the same time? Accept no substitutesThis is damn close to the perfect swiss army knife for musicians. Zero latency when listening in on audio devices, zero latency on the midi I/O, and if you’re worried about drivers or linux compatibility, forget about it! This thing works perfectly out of the box on linux.
C. Pearson –
Works great, love the form factorThis thing has flat out worked and done everything I’ve asked of it perfectly. I has all the features I want for a small interface.-2 mic pre-amps so duets can be recorded simultaneously-MIDI in/out for inputting virtual instruments/drums using my old MIDI keyboard-low noise floor for clean recording-adequate gain for gain hungry mics (Shure SB7-B)-very low latencyI love the form factor. It’s not tiny. But that means I get big knobs on the top of the interface that are easy to adjust accurately. No tiny knobs on the front of a tiny interface that almost require tweezers to adjust. I use this interface on my desk and it mostly stays on my desk. If you constantly move your interface, there are smaller ones available. But I still like the features and ease of use of this form factor so would move this slightly bigger interface.I like the VU LED meters with multiple levels. Much preferred over just “Signal” and “Clip” indicators. I can more easily tell when my gain levels are where I want them to be.I love the USB/Direct knob for mixing how much direct (zero latency) sound feed and how much USB sound feed you get back from your computer. It helps to nail vocal takes while still being able to hear the track you are building on from your DAW. Much better than a switch between 100% direct or 100% USB like others interfaces have.As for ‘popping’ and noise mentioned in other reviews, I’ve not experienced this at all… EXCEPT when someone used a low quality mic or instrument cable. Good cables and solid connections gave perfect pop free sound every time.I use Reaper as my DAW so had no need for the ‘lite’ versions of DAWs that came with the interface. But those DAWs could certainly get you started. But Reaper @ $60 is almost free and it’s way better than what’s included in the box. (Even the Reaper “demo” is a fully functional version you can use as long as you wish… although they will nag you to buy.)
Included are some really good VST FX plugins that can be used in most DAWs. There are also some great virtual instruments and drum machine plugins. Plus 2GB of samples and loop tracks. All these are worth the price you pay for the whole interface.If I had any wishes, it would be for ‘pad’ switches on the channels to drop down the input level of hot instruments, but this can be handled easily enough with the gain knobs.I highly recommend this interface.
D & B –
Low Reviews are User ErrorUsers with poor reviews seem to be suffering from user error. My model worked perfectly fresh out of the box. Just as well, I decided to update the drivers. The drivers clearly state your PC must be restarted to work and be active. There are currently (as of 4/26/2022) no drivers specifically for Windows 11, however, the Windows 10 (64-bit) drivers worked perfectly for me. Zero knob wobble, tight and smooth knobs. Smooth switch for phantom power. Tight connectors with zero wobble.The drivers actually enabled 32-bit, which is incredible for specific audio needs to avoid losing data. My PC is a Ryzen 5 5600x, so Ryzen systems are, in fact, perfectly fine. I have Windows 11 Pro, and the Windows 10 Drivers are excellent and hassle free. The software subscriptions are all optional via their website, so you do not receive ANY bloatware or unwanted apps. There are 2 included USB cables; 1 usb-c to usb-c and 1 usb-c to usb-a. I am using a different branded usb-c cable rated for 100W, so the claim that a “usb 3.1” cable will not work is false. The audio quality of 32-bit 192,000 Hz is phenomenal.I purchased this unit, marked as “USED” from Amazon Warehouse. The item came re-packaged in a general brown cardboard box, with all items sandwiched between two styrofoam blocks. All items were included, and the item is apparently brand new (cellophane still in tact on face). I am ecstatic to have purchased this item for $72.64 instead of the full $119.00; what an absolute bargain. Would recommend for an initial audio interface; I wanted a MOTU M2, but this was nearly 1/3 the cost.
Colest –
Nicely priced USB DAC with Driver QuirksI’ve been mostly happy with this purchase. I had a fringe use case for this device with using it for a VFIO setup. I know libvirt can make things that function fine in Windows all screwy when in a VM so I went in knowing it might be an issue but ultimately have had it working pretty soundly for about a week. If I run into any other issues I’ll update review.Pros:- Great price for a USB DAC with nice built in preamps and XLR out.- I like the design of it. The knobs are not crammed on the front so if you have the room on your desk it’s a nice layout.- The preamps specifically are nice because I have a Shure SM7B and wanted to avoid adding on an extra preamp if possible and this DAC boosts enough to not require an additional preamp. It seems like you can run most dynamic mics raw with this mixer and get appropriate levels barring the quietest of whispering.Cons:- Drivers suck. It’s been said before in other revuews but holy hell the M-Audio drivers that Windows pushes are terrible. I was getting crackling audio from my speakers and my mic was disconnecting every few minutes when I was using this mixer in my VM. Tried a whole bunch of fixes between switching ports, changing sound virtualization, and fiddling with sample rate and buffer size. Finally figuered I’d just try reinstalling the drivers which I didn’t expect to be the problem given the mixer worked fine in baremetal windows. With no drivers installed the mixer worked flawlessly. I don’t even.- The control panel is threadbare and the GUI looks half functional between all the options grey-out for any given reason. It’s a glorified hotlink to visit their tech support site.- Pre-packaged software and demos is 100% wasted on me. Could be some really good offers for Protools in there but my eyes glaze over when I see this stuff as I just assume it to be demos looking to push a purchase on you. I bought this mixer because I needed a mixer, not because its Protools certified and comes with a trial version of an extra plugin to make farts sound wetter.Overall, the hardware itself is nice and navigating the quirks can give you a nice mixer. It’s just navigating the quirks that can turn owners into refunders.
Chesare Johnson –
It’s ok. It’s good for a start.Ok. So, I’ve had mine for about 2 weeks now. I have mixed feelings about it. But it’s a good, cheap starter overall. I’ll just list what I’ve noticed.It made pro tools run very slowly on my laptop. There’s no other way to phrase that. This device, specifically, made pro tools run slow as hell. I can unplug it and just use my laptops audio card and pro tools runs perfect. With this plugged in it goes slow. Idk why and that’s the main reason I can’t give it 5 stars. I have an hp omen w 32 gigs of ram. I can play most video games w pretty high settings with no issues. Pro tools had never been an issue before. But after buying the air 192 / 4, pro tools became very slow.It works perfectly with FL studio. I have to open FL first and then I can open a browser and find samples without having to go back and close FL studio. So, if you’re a splice user, you’d probably love this. I’m sure any other daw (other than pro tools…) would work just as well.The hardware is solid. No problems there.The preamps are cool. No complaints. Nothing amazing but they don’t suck.Over all, I’d get it for production, but not for recording or mixing tbh. I don’t regret buying it. It’s a good cheap option.
Nick –
Only the interfaceI’m sure the interface works I haven’t tried it . I’m currently installing everything but it would be a better route to go with the 192-14 because it is powered and takes some workload off your computer. Also it’s advertised it comes with a few plugins. These plugins require a activation code that you have to buy separately. Most of them are protools stock plugins so if you run Protools you’re good.