M-AUDIO OZONE
Aug 1, 2003 12:00 PM, BY ROBERT HANSON
By no means am I old: I've never owned an 8-track. I missed the Nixon administration entirely. I still have my hair, my waistline and my teeth. And a sizable portion of my paycheck is still wasted on bar tabs and fashion denim. When I finally cracked the box on the new M-Audio Ozone, however, I found myself for the fist time uttering the words, “If you kids knew what we had to go through, …”
Most of you can recall a time when audio and MIDI recording meant sacrificing at least a corner of a bedroom or a den to a modest amount of equipment. You needed a computer, a MIDI interface, a MIDI keyboard, a mixer, a preamp and so on — not anymore, it seems. The Ozone — when paired with a laptop, a mic and a set of headphones — is all anyone needs to create a complete piece of music. The unit works as both a MIDI interface and keyboard, as well a complete USB audio I/O with a phantom-powered mic pre and line-level I/Os.
GETTING ACQUAINTED
It doesn't take long to realize that the Ozone uses a modified version of the M-Audio Oxygen 8 chassis. From a MIDI standpoint, the two units are functionally identical, offering 16 channels of MIDI I/O, eight temporarily assignable controllers (neither unit remembers controller assignments) and a mod and a pitch wheel. Unlike the Oxygen 8 (which is a MIDI-only affair), the Ozone includes a few more items. The first major difference is the five additional knobs that sit just to the right of the eight MIDI controller knobs. The additional knobs control the monitor and gain levels for the mic and instrument inputs, as well as the headphone volume. Underneath the gain controls are signal and clip indicators for the two audio inputs, as well a red light that denotes when phantom power is in use.
The back panel includes a balanced XLR input with a phantom-power switch, a ¼-inch line-level input, a ¼-inch stereo input (or audio through), two ¼-inch line-level outputs, a ¼-inch headphone output, a sustain-pedal input, MIDI I/0, a USB port and a power switch. The unit ships with an AC adapter that must be plugged in at all times. The Ozone cannot be powered parasitically.
SETUP TIME
When I tested the Ozone, I happened to be in the middle of moving my studio. So instead of testing the unit with my Mac G4 tower, I commandeered the G3/500MHz iMac that I keep around for Internet and word-processing chores. Like many in the audio world, my main workstation is an OS 9.2 stalwart, so I seized the opportunity and rebooted my iMac in OS 10.2 in order to give CoreAudio and CoreMIDI a try.
I tested the Ozone with Propellerhead Reason 2.5 and Emagic Logic Platinum 5.5. Overall, the installation process was a breeze. After launching the installer and entering my OS X password, everything installed without a glitch. After restarting, I checked both Reason and Logic, and CoreAudio and CoreMIDI both allowed me to select the Ozone as an active device. After a quick check of the inputs and outputs, it appeared that everything had synched up perfectly. Try that with a lesser OS!
FIDELITY FOR PEANUTS
To be honest, I didn't think I was going to be impressed with the overall sound quality of the unit — I've been burned by many an I/O box. But after hitting Play in Reason, everyone's favorite default song came through crystal clear. After toggling through the different resolutions, I found the output capabilities of the Ozone to be on par with even some of the best USB audio interfaces: no hiss, no pops, nothing.
Naturally, my next stop was audio recording. After some quick configuring in Logic, I took the DI output from my DigiTech PR-6 and plugged it into the instrument input on the Ozone and tracked a few passes of distorted guitar. With the system configured to 24-bit, 96kHz recording, the results were surprisingly good. Sure, better D/A converters are out there, but the Ozone doesn't disappoint.
From there, it was time for the real test: the microphone input. I plugged a Røde NT-1 into the unit, flipped the phantom-power switch and started checking levels. The Ozone has two signal indicators for each of the two inputs: a green light and a red light. The green light denotes nothing more than the presence of a signal, and the red is, of course, intended to alert you to clipping. I pretty much ignored these and relied on the level meters in Logic. The level indicators on the Ozone might be useful in the field if you're ever too far from your laptop to see the screen.
To test the mic pre, I recorded a couple of takes of acoustic guitar, moving the mic around the source a few times. Overall, the sound of the mic pre reminded me of some older Tascam and Behringer mixers that I've used throughout the years. The results were totally usable but not quite awe-inspiring. But, hey, with the Ozone, you can cut vocals in a bathroom — it works for BT.
MONITOR THIS
If you're running the Ozone on a slower machine, like an older G3 or Pentium III laptop, and not using OS X or Windows XP, you'll certainly want to take advantage of the Ozone's direct-monitoring function. With a slower machine, the latency settings can go quite high (512 samples and beyond), which makes live recording a tedious experience. To deal with this, the direct-monitoring function creates two streams from the incoming audio; one is sent to the computer for recording, and the other is split off from the input and sent to the monitoring section. While recording, you can then listen to just your live input (without a delay) and the tracks you've already recorded, and you don't have to feel like you're recording in an echo chamber.
My only serious gripe with the Ozone is its construction. Although nothing fell apart or broke in the course of testing it, I wasn't totally sold on its build. The circuit board that houses the ¼-inch I/Os shook when I pushed on the connectors, and the XLR input was slightly crooked. The keys and mod and pitch wheels also felt like they could have been built out of some more robust materials. Although the functionality of the unit didn't seem to be effected, I'd handle the Ozone carefully when taking it on the road.
All in all, this is a great product. When I went off to college, I would have killed for this piece of equipment. The ability to house all of your basic MIDI and audio needs in one box is nothing short of amazing. What's more, the unit can be housed in a standard 19-inch road case with the use of a slide-out shelf, making the Ozone a natural fit for any touring musician, engineer or producer. For live musicians, the Ozone would also be a great interface, allowing users to bring those great soft-synth vocoders into play. In short, M-Audio has built another winner.
Product Summary
M-AUDIO
OZONE > $399.95
Pros: Sleek, compact design. Above-average sound quality. Easy to set up.
Cons: Flimsy construction.
Contact: tel. (800) 969-6434; e-mail info@m-audio.com; Web www.m-audio.com
System Requirements
MAC: OS 9.2 or OS 10.1 and higher; OMS under OS 9 (included); USB port; ASIO-, CoreAudio- or Sound Manager — compatible software
PC: Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP; USB port; ASIO-, WDM- or MME-compatible software
| Want to use this article? Click here for options! |  |
