M-Audio Audiophile USB With Power Supply

The M-Audio Audiophile USB is a legacy 24-bit/96kHz audio and MIDI interface designed for high-fidelity recording and playback on PC and Mac. It is distinguished by its use of AC power, which provides better audio fidelity than standard bus-powered USB interfaces of its era. Based on technical details from zZounds and Sweetwater, the unit provides a professional-grade feature set in a compact silver desktop form factor: Audio Quality: Supports up to 24-bit depth and sample rates from 8kHz to 96kHz. Analog I/O: Features two unbalanced 1/4" TS and RCA inputs, plus two RCA outputs with a dedicated level control knob. Digital Connectivity: Includes coaxial S/PDIF input and output, which supports AC3 and DTS surround-encoded material. MIDI Interface: Built-in 1x1 (16-channel) MIDI I/O for connecting synths or drum machines. Monitoring: Front-panel 1/4" TRS headphone jack with its own independent level control. Dynamic Range: Offers a high analog dynamic range of 109 dB (A-weighted) for A/D and 107 dB for D/A conversion.

Operational Limitations

• 96kHz I/O Bottleneck: Due to the bandwidth limitations of its early USB 1.1 architecture, the unit cannot process simultaneous audio inputs and outputs when running at a 96kHz sample rate. You must select full-duplex operation at lower rates (like 44.1kHz or 48kHz) to record and playback at the same time.
• Modern OS Compatibility: M-Audio stopped developing official drivers for this unit long ago. While it originally supported Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP and Mac OS 9/OS X, getting it to function on modern operating systems can be difficult. Modern Windows 10/11 users frequently have to rely on forcing older Windows Vista/7 drivers into compatibility mode or utilizing third-party ASIO drivers like ASIO4ALL. Linux users can configure it using standard ALSA and Jack audio frameworks.
• No Microphone Preamps: This interface only features line-level inputs. If you intend to plug a microphone or an electric guitar directly into it, you will need an external preamp, a mixer, or a Direct Injection (DI) box to boost the signal to line level.