The Growing QA Lab

Today I brought home another addition to my collection of audio devices — the MOTU Traveler. Having a decent collection of devices lets me test how FuzzMeasure behaves under varying device conditions ranging from tons of inputs/outputs (the Traveler has 24/24!), to high latency (the USB devices are notorious for this). After playing with the Traveler for about an hour, it was obvious that the build quality of this device is above anything else I've used so far. The XLR jacks all lock in securely, and require you to press a release to unlock the plugs for removal. Also, the 1/4" jacks on the rear of the unit are very securely attached to the backplate. In contrast, the M-Audio FireWire 1814 has very flimsy-feeling 1/4" connectors in the rear, which don't secure to the backplate at all. It feels as if too much force may actually bust the rear connectors off the PCB they're attached to. They could have saved some money on that thick, heavy metal enclosure, and invested in less wimpy connectors. The Traveler's 2x as big, but feels half as heavy, and still feels just as strong. This time around, I decided to buy the device second-hand to save a few hundred bucks. Most of my other devices simply sit in a drawer until they're needed for testing, so they don't need to be brand-new and shiny. Also, I have a new measurement microphone on the way, which took a huge hunk out of my device budget. More on that later.