M-Audio M-Track Hub | USB Monitoring Interface with Built-In 3-Port Hub (24-bit/48 kHz)

I like to keep my performance rig light and lean for easy travel, setup, and teardown. The audio interface I already have works great, but is a bit bulky and has more I/O than I need for performance situations. It’s also pretty expensive, so the risk of damage while out and about gives me pause. The M-Track Hub ticked off all the boxes for what I needed:• It’s smaller than my other audio interface, and tucks nicely into one of the front pockets of my laptop backpack. Rugged metal construction should hold up well while in use and in transit.• It has balanced audio outputs, so I get clean sound without needing DI boxes to hook up to sound boards or PA systems.• It has a headphone jack with separate volume control from the main outputs, which is perfect for local monitoring. It’s not quite strong enough for high impedance audiophile cans, which will sound quiet in comparison to an actual audio amp. However, it’s more than adequate for the IEMs I use for monitoring during performance.• It’s quite affordable, so if tragedy strikes it can be replaced without breaking the bank.Bonus features beyond what I was looking for, but I appreciate:• 3-port USB hub provides a nice expansion/extension option.• Large volume knob for main outputs has a great feel, fine adjustment control, and provides a source of immature comedic innuendo.A minor nit-pick about the powered USB hub: While the power supply provides 5V at 2.5A, it seems the ports may be limited to a 1A output. While that’s perfectly adequate for USB MIDI controllers and thumb drives, it can’t keep up with devices that are more power-hungry, like the iPad I use as my control interface. To be clear - the data interface works great and my iPad shows it’s charging, but the recharge rate is VERY slow with the display off and just can’t keep up while in use. A fully-charged iPad at the beginning of an hour-long session may be down to 97% by the end. This is not catastrophic by any means, and the data connection always works great; just don’t count on the hub for recharging power-hungry devices quickly.If you use the M-Track Hub just as an audio interface and don’t leverage the USB ports, it can work just fine from bus power—no need for the power adapter. Nice.Overall, I’m very happy with my purchase of the M-Track Hub. It’s the perfect addition to my performance rig with the right features at the right size and affordable price.

This is a very simple device that can be extremely useful depending on your needs. Think of an audio interface minus the recording capabilities but plus a USB hub.I added this to my home studio setup as a monitoring replacement for my regular audio interface which started to act up a bit. Since I never record anything anyway, I decided to give the M-Track Hub a try and this turned out to fit my needs perfectly. I have it connected to a MacBook Pro, so I can't say anything to potential driver issues that seem to dominate the discussion in the PC world. On the Mac, this is plug and play, not setup whatsoever.I particularly like the hub feature. It allows me to plug in the iLok and e-Licenser dongles which hold all my software licenses. I used to have a separate hub for that on my desk. This is no longer needed.The sample rate restriction is not an issue for me. Some people seem to be bothered by that. Not sure why. If you need to work with higher sample rates, you should not be in the market for a cheap interface in the first place. Unless you are a real audiophile you will not be able to hear a difference anyway.The headphone volume is a bit on the low side as some have said but I would argue it is not too low by any means. I am using ATH-M50x and the M-Track hub still gives me enough volume to set myself up for permanent hearing loss. I have no idea why people would want it any louder.In short, this is perfect for bedroom producers who make electronic music, do not need to record anything and appreciate a small form factor and a low price tag for an interface that does not deliver more than they really need.

Excellent piece of equipment, well made, good sound card. I was advised by a studio sound engineer, to buy this hub for my particular needs.

Just a precursor before my review:Profession:- Freelance Wedding Cinematographer / Editor- Musician / Amatuer Audio EngineerPurposes:- Running loops/clicks for live performances- Studio Monitoring / MixingTL;DR - Audio distorts at medium to medium high volumes. Not powerful enough for professional needs.Feels solid with metal casing. Metal wheel feels great with rubber rim. Could only wish that the wheel had a little more a little more resistance, but not too big of an issue with me.I was mainly looking for a portable audio interface solely for running loops for live performances. I normally use an Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt for studio & running loops for live performances, but its tiring lugging that around & also a BIG liability. I couldn't find many cheap interfaces that promised "Balanced TRS outputs", but this one certainly caught my eye since it promised that.Testing these on my monitors, it sounds good. That being said, I don't have the greatest monitor(Alesis M1AMKII). I tested the balanced monitor outputs L/R individually with headphones (Shure Se215), and I was let down. The audio starts distorting/clipping when the wheel is only at 10-11 o'clock. Beyond 11 o'clock to max, it gets slightly louder, but distorts it more than anything. Not good.I split the headphone port with a 1/4" splitter and ran the stereo L/R individually with the Shure Se215 headphones. Although many say that the headphone port outputs the weakest, it surprisingly had stronger/clearer output than the balanced monitor outputs at max volumes.I ran the same tests with my Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt to make sure the headphones weren't defective, and at max volumes, the Ensemble was booming loud, yet clear. I know its an unfair comparison ($70 unit vs. $2500 unit), but just goes to show, if you're looking to use this for professional use, it's probably not your go-to. If you're just a casual listener, it's probably good enough (plus it does looks nice on your desk).I needed this primarily for running loops for live performances, but with clipping & distortion at low volumes, it's just not a secure enough option for me.