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Rating: 
Summary: Beware Mac Users
Review: I bought this soundcard and have been wrestling with the drivers non-stop for two months... nothing seems to work. Crackles and a high level of whitenoise in the background.
Tech Support responds very courteously and quickly, however, their advice is to reinstall the drivers... Gee who would have thought of that. I've only done that about 100 times... Sometimes the meters on the driver interface are dancing wildly when no sound is going through it... Sometimes when I reinstall the meters behave normally. That's the only thing "fixed" by reinstalling - however the fix is always temporary...
I get the impression that the tech support knows that there are some problems with the driver and with the unit. Hot swapping has blown a lot of firewire boards - including mine (replaced it and now I never hotswap).
I have had nothing but problems - my ipod's system software is trashed if ever I plug it into the firewire port beside the 410. It took me three times to realize that the problem was the 410 not the iPod. This was just salt in the wound... Solution from Tech support - "don't plug an Ipod OR ANYTHING ELSE into the firewire port if the 410 is plugged in also. But, whatever you do, don't hot swap the 410 or it could blow your board!" Thanks a lot. So I have to shutdown. Unplug the 410, plug in the iPod and restart just to sync my iPod... so much for the convenience of firewire.
Tested the 410 in my powerbook in an attempt to isolate the problem... bad idea. Now my once rock solid powerbook doesn't recognize the firewire card and the wireless PC card would not talk to the airport base station. Solution: reset basestation, clean reinstall system software to reinstall drivers for the PC cards (native to OS 10.3). Thanks alot.
I have read reports of people having problems with this unit. It only seemed like a fraction. I hoped I wouldn't be one. I am.
If I had a G5 that was dedicated to music, I bet I could get this soundcard to work great. But, unfortunately, I have a G4 (maxed out with RAM and the hottest processor I can put in it). And I use it for writing, photos, video, games AND music.
For any mac user who is not making a dedicated music work station, I would highly recommend that you steer well clear of the 410 and of M-audio products just to be safe. There are other options out there that don't have the same problems.
Rating:
Summary: terrible compatibility problems, terrible support
Review: m-audio does not have forums on their site. there is a reason. their drivers are unreliable and highly incompatible. absolutely refuse to provide any documentation nor do they accept returns. if you value the stability of your computer, stay clear. stay well clear
Rating:
Summary: terrible compatibility problems, terrible support
Review: This is an excellent audio interface for the money if you already have a firewire card. However, on my Mac it would not operate on the same bus as other firewire devices. To run firewire hard drives or DVD burners while using the Firewire 410, it may be necessary to purchase a separate firewire card, or perhaps a faster Firewire 800 card would allow all devices to operate on the same bus. That said, the Firwire 410 is a stable and speedy alternative to slow USB and outdated PCI devices. The eight analog outs allow for multitrack monitoring and surround sound editing, while the two analog ins provide the opportunity for high quality recording. (Although there are four analog in jacks, you can only use two of them at any one time.) The digital coax and optical outs will drive 5.1 surround and beyond while watching DVDs, and the ins allow for pure digital input. Throw in a midi in and out, as well as two headphone jacks with separate level controls, and you've got a versatile and portable interface for a fraction of the cost of higher end firewire devices from Motu and Digidesign. Amazingly, it can also be used without a computer for live recording. My only pet peeve is the very bright blue power indicator which flashes on and off when it is turned on without a firewire cable connected, or when the firewire connection is lost. For mobile recording in a club setting, a bright flashing blue light is not desirable. Some concertgoers may have flashbacks to blue light specials of their youth or think the cops are coming. Seriously, if it bothers you, you can always stick a piece of electrical tape over it. I've had mine a couple of weeks, and have only used it with the computer, but I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: M-Audio Firewire 410 - Versatile & Powerful yet Power-Hungry
Review: This is an excellent audio interface for the money if you already have a firewire card. However, on my Mac it would not operate on the same bus as other firewire devices. To run firewire hard drives or DVD burners while using the Firewire 410, it may be necessary to purchase a separate firewire card, or perhaps a faster Firewire 800 card would allow all devices to operate on the same bus. That said, the Firwire 410 is a stable and speedy alternative to slow USB and outdated PCI devices. The eight analog outs allow for multitrack monitoring and surround sound editing, while the two analog ins provide the opportunity for high quality recording. (Although there are four analog in jacks, you can only use two of them at any one time.) The digital coax and optical outs will drive 5.1 surround and beyond while watching DVDs, and the ins allow for pure digital input. Throw in a midi in and out, as well as two headphone jacks with separate level controls, and you've got a versatile and portable interface for a fraction of the cost of higher end firewire devices from Motu and Digidesign. Amazingly, it can also be used without a computer for live recording. My only pet peeve is the very bright blue power indicator which flashes on and off when it is turned on without a firewire cable connected, or when the firewire connection is lost. For mobile recording in a club setting, a bright flashing blue light is not desirable. Some concertgoers may have flashbacks to blue light specials of their youth or think the cops are coming. Seriously, if it bothers you, you can always stick a piece of electrical tape over it. I've had mine a couple of weeks, and have only used it with the computer, but I highly recommend it.
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