M-Audio FireWire Solo

I borrowed this product from my nephew for testing and It didn't work at all on my Mac computer

I run Snow Leopard on the Mac and tried so many drivers from the M-Audio website, but the Firewire solo wasn't recognized .
Considering the time spent with no result and the lousy drivers from the M-Audio website, I wouldn't recommend this product to musicians running mac OSX
The hardware looks ok,though

Desktop unit, Clip indicators, looks and feels pretty durable. Controls on the front for level and headphone out, phantom power, front or back input selectors.

Firewire ports on back (2), two cables included, one with firewire the other the older 1394 thingy, no USB. When it worked the connectivity seemed to be okay. No latency issues etc..

One headphone output, two inputs on front XLR and then 1/4, labelled "Microphone" and "Guitar", rear inputs as well, but it would never work long enough for me to enjoy those. When it did work, I was happy with the recordings I got into Garage Band. Software was crap--hard to understand, instruction booklet was about two pages in English (not too tech savvy here, but a bit more that two pages would have been nice). I give it a 5 here because it really looked nice, and probably if it would have ever worked longer than 30 minutes, it would have been sufficient for what I needed it for which was pretty much a "solo" type application--why I bought it.

Has phantom power and bus power if running firewire. Power adapter included. Never had to use power adapter except when connecting non-firewire and then it never worked (but that was due to my prior crappy laptop sound card and not the device in all fairness). When I updated to a better laptop, BUS power worked but then would stop and crash my entire system ( a recurring problem if you spend any time reading reviews on their website). When it worked, power was not an issue.

When it worked, it worked nicely, and since I'm not too tech savvy, I had no problem with the recording that I did, a few instruments and some vocals into garage band. The driver issue was the biggest problem. See below.

Came with Abelton Live Lite and GT Player. Tried to use Ableton, but due to crashing and crappy manuals, just used it for garageband. It has a control panel that showed a mixer when it worked and didn't crash my system, but again, I never got to really use the thing due to driver/software issues

Sorry, but I have to go as low as possible here because my own personal frustration with the product, the website, and the lack of updated drivers. As you can see if you read the reviews on the website, this thing hates OS X. I tried and tried to get it to work and it was restart after restart and reinstall after reinstall. I did everything they suggested and realized that the problem wasn't on my end, but a driver issue with M-Audio. It would work fine for 30 minutes or so and then just drop and not work and then crash my system completely. Would be nice maybe if you had an older OS or ran it on Windows it would work, but not on the newer Mac systems in my opinion. If it were stolen, I'd buy the guy that stole it a beer. Seriously, it had potential, but due to the major problems with newer Mac OS X and lack of driver updates its crap. Save your money on this one if you're planning on running it with a newer Mac. Maybe I'm just a dumbass, but after reading several reviews on MF and the M-Audio site, it's not just me. Serious issues with compatibility. Don't believe me? Come buy mine--soon to be on Dallas craigslist...

FireWire Solo from M-Audio.
Designed for the recording singer songwriter, fairly small, seemed like it would be durable, features which are not excessive, but seem to cover the bases. Desktop unit, good solid feel and looks, but then looks can be deceiving.

On the front:
XLR mic input, with available phantom power and input level control. 1/4" instrument level input on front panel with input level control. 1/4" headphone jack.
Overall volume control.
Front / rear input selector button.
Clip indicator for inputs 1 and 2.
BRIGHT Blue LED power indicator.

On the back:
Stereo 1/4" line level input.
Stereo balanced 1/4" output (level set by main volume control)
S/PDIF input / output
2 - Firewire connections

Plug in offers some additional adjustment for selections on input, levels, etc.

Fire wire, 2 connections for daisy chaining.

The dedicated guitar input is quite useful, as is the XLR mic connection with available phantom power. Not going to know anyone's socks off, but it gets the job done.

Bus powered and comes with an a/c adapter as well. 48v phantom power, works well.

One of the HUGE problems with this device is driver availability. I've been very lucky with having mine work with older driver's on my Macbook, but cruising the M-Audio forums, it's clear that many people are not as lucky as I am. Distortion and poor quality audio due to driver and software issues are common, and there is a ridiculous amount of latency inherent with the unit. Trying to use headphones while overdubbing or doing vocals while monitoring playback is literally impossible.

Came bundled with Abelton Live Lite, I used it a bit, wasn't in love with it. Not much else to speak of.

I went with this M-Audio product thinking it would easily hold up with my intended use: Mainly, as a high-quality option for listening to music through my stereo, and as a recording interface for my home demos. I was wrong. Within two years it has essentially become unusable.

I have never used the Firewire Solo outside of my apartment, and it's never been exposed to smoke, yet it has developed huge problems both at the output connections (1/4" balanced) and with the volume control itself.

Static / noise is common when making changes in volume, while both left and right channels drop out and distort, and this is with NO heavy use or abuse. I could not be more unhappy with my choice...just poor quality all around, and I will never buy another M-Audio product. Seems so promising, but the company itself doesn't seem keen on keeping the drivers up to date, or really commit to the quality that is expected in this competitive market. Don't waste your time, it won't last.