Portable Audio/midi Interfaces????, which one? Options

[lazytomc]

I'm about to get a 12" G4 powerbook and I need a reliable audio/midi interface (good audio I/Os are more important to me than MIDI at the moment though). I've been looking at the M-Audio Firewire 410 (which is at the top end of my budget), the Quattro, the Duo and the Tascam US-122.

I will be using Cubase SX and Reason 2- I do a fair amount of MIDI work and record the odd guitar/bassline and vocal... I also plan to play live using the laptop. I'm aware of the limitiations of USB and the benefits of Firewire, but is it worth the extra cash? Would it be better to go for the Quattro and buy a separate mic pre-amp (eg Audiobuddy)?

I know there are issues with the US-122 and OSX, but what about the M-Audio hardware? how does that perform?

And finally.... are there any other alternatives that I should consider?

any advice would be much appreciated!

[Oakland Stroke]

I am in pretty much the same boat as you. I have an iBook and I'm narrowing my interface choices down to the US-122 and M-Audio Mobile Pre. I feel like M-Audio has a slightly better track record and, I suspect, better preamps, but I'm basing that on impressions and assumptions. Obviously, the 122 is 24-bit, has MIDI I/O, and looks more rugged.

What, specifically, are the OSX issues that you are concerned about with the US-122? I'd like to find out more about it.

If anyone out there knows more about the converters and preamps in the US-122, I'd love to hear about that too.

Thanks, and good luck.