Thanks to MOTU's Hybrid interface technology, the Audio Express connects to any current Mac or PC via FireWire or high-speed USB 2.0. Connect your mic, guitar, keyboard, and digital input, and you are ready to make pro-quality recordings in your personal studio.Balance the levels of your mic, guitar, keyboard, and a S/PDIF device, right from the front panel. Each instrument has its own volume control. Route inputs directly to any output pair, each with its own unique mix: main outs, line outs, S/PDIF out, and phones.Connect your powered speakers. Plug in your instruments. Adjust their volumes with the front panel knobs. Double-click to install the drivers. The Audio Express is designed to be simple to use.You can use the Audio Express 8-bus digital mixer on stage for live performance, in your personal studio without a computer, or together with your host audio software as a low-latency monitor mixer.What makes the Audio Express unique? Immediate, hands-on control of your mix using the front-panel knobs and status LEDs. To adjust the volume of an input, just turn its knob. The Audio Express lets you control mix volume independently from the input's trim level, so you never have to sacrifice sound quality for a balanced mix.The Audio Express mixer takes signals from its six inputs and mixes them to an output pair, such as the main outs. You control the volume of each input. Better yet, you can adjust input volumes differently for each output pair. In other words, each output pair can have its own unique mix. For example, you might create a balanced mix going to your PA via the main outs, but bring up the guitar for the mix going to your stage monitors via the line outs, so you can easily monitor your guitar sound. You get a separate mix for main outs, line outs, S/PDIF digital out, and phones.Because immediate volume adjustments are always within reach, the Audio Express serves as the perfect compact, portable live mixer, with or without a computer. Even without a computer, the Audio Express gives you complete control over all four mix busses with direct access to volume, mute and solo for each input.Back in your personal studio, you can of course use the Audio Express to connect your mic, guitar, and other inputs to your computer. Sometimes, however, you just want to play your instruments, without the computer. The Audio Express continues to serve as your studio mixer, even when your PC or Mac is turned off.When recording into your computer, host audio software can sometimes introduce a slight delay (latency) in what you hear as you track. You can use the Audio Express mixer, instead of monitoring through the software, to completely eliminate this delay.CueMix FX gives you comprehensive graphic control over your mix and other settings in the Audio Express. CueMix FX can be operated side by side with any host audio software for Mac or Windows, and it can be controlled from the Mackie Control Universal Pro automated work surface.FireWire has long been recognized as a reliable, high-performance connectivity standard for professional audio interfaces. Meanwhile, high-speed USB 2.0 has also developed into a widely adopted standard for connecting audio devices to personal computers.To fully support both formats, the Audio Express hybrid audio interface is equipped with a FireWire jack (400 Mbit/sec) and a high-speed USB 2.0 jack (480 Mbit/sec). This gives you maximum flexibility and compatibility when connecting to today's ever-expanding universe of Mac and Windows computers.If your computer doesn't have FireWire, you can use USB. If it has both, then the choice is yours and may depend mostly on other peripherals you have.The Audio Express combo mic/guitar inputs are equipped with pristine, transparent preamps and offer individually adjustable 48V phantom power and -20 dB pad. The 1/4" guitar jack provides high-impedance load characteristics suitable for passive and active pickups alike. For even more authentic feel and response when using virtual guitar amp and cabinet plug-ins, use a ZBox guitar impedance adapter.The Audio Express's analog trim circuits deliver clean sound, combined with the precision of digital control. Trim is adjusted at the input, before the mixer, so it applies to all mixes. Mix levels are controlled separately from trim, so you never sacrifice sound quality for a balanced mix.The Audio Express provides MIDI input and output featuring sample-accurate timing with supporting software. Connect a MIDI keyboard, sound module or control surface, and you are ready to go. The FireWire or USB connection to the computer carries both MIDI and audio so you don't need to connect an additional USB cable for MIDI.Connect any standard momentary foot switch to trigger hands-free punch-ins during recording. Or map the foot switch to any keystrokes you wish in your host audio software.You can resolve the Audio Express directly to SMPTE time code, without a dedicated synchronizer, via any analog input. The ...