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Akai Professional EIE Pro 24-bit Electromusic Interface Expander

3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 112 ratings
$550.00
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Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
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  • Record and playback 24-bit, 2-channel audio via USB
  • Four XLR-1/4" combo jacks with phantom power and gain control
  • Two classic, high-quality VU level meters with switchable sources
  • Plug-and-play operation, no driver installation required
  • Three additional USB ports for connecting other devices through to a computer
  • Four nickel-plated 1/4" outputs for two separate monitoring systems
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Akai

Akai Professional EIE Pro 24-bit Electromusic Interface Expander

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Product Description

Professional Audio/MIDI Interface with USB 2.0 Hub.

The EIE Pro is a tabletop USB 2.0 audio interface perfectly tailored for your project and portable studio setups. This four-in, four-out (4x4) device features low latency ASIO drivers and enables you to record up to 24-bit resolution and sample rates of 44.1 kHz/48 kHz/88.2 kHz/96 kHz into virtually any DAW, recording or performance software on Mac and PC-based systems. The EIE Pro also houses three convenient USB inputs, in addition to its main USB 2.0 port, enabling you to connect controllers, hard drives or any other peripheral when native ports on a computer may be limited. The compact recording interface contains high-quality components including nickel-plated input jacks, analog-style VU meters and a rugged aluminum casing for a powerful, professional, portable audio solution.

Each channel of the EIE Pro has a XLR-¼-inches combo jack, dedicated sturdy, gain-pots and Mic/Line/Guitar switches. The EIE Pro features four discrete-design preamplifiers with 48V phantom power for use with virtually any microphone. Individual ¼-inches Nickel-plated jacks found on the back of EIE Pro provide you with channel inserts for processing audio signals externally. You can monitor sessions on multiple sets of studio monitors using the four ¼-inches balanced outputs, which are also Nickel-plated. Both pairs of outputs can be monitored visually with the high-quality, analog VU meters providing classic features with modern style. For remote tracking and alternative playback, the EIE Pro has a 1/4-inches TRS headphone output. High quality analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters ensure that every detail of your session or performance gets captured and played back faithfully.

The EIE Pro sends and receives four audio channels on a single USB cable for simple, universal interface to a computer. The three additional USB ports allow the EIE Pro to function as a hub as well, bridging other MIDI controllers and hard-drives to the computer. The EIE Pro features traditional MIDI In and Out jacks for playing and controlling software with keyboard and pad controllers, workstations, and other MIDI-compatible instruments.

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Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5
112 global ratings

Customers say

Customers like the sturdiness and appearance of the sound and recording equipment. For example, they say it's well built, and has a vintage visual. Some appreciate the latency, USB hub, and interface. Opinions are mixed on performance, quality, and sound quality.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

11 customers mention11 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the sturdiness of the sound and recording equipment. They mention that it's well built, doesn't feel cheaply made, and is worth its weight.

"...my opinion as a Consultant this External Sound Card Is Definitely worth its weight and is essential to the mobile Digital Media Artist." Read more

"this is a decent, cheap piece of equipment...." Read more

"Coming out of the box, it seems like a solid, well built unit with all the features one could want...." Read more

"...The unit is very rugged, and I like the quality of every aspect. It seems to be designed better than its price would suggest...." Read more

9 customers mention7 positive2 negative

Customers like the latency of the sound and recording equipment. They say it has no issues with latency and has a great response time in live situations. Some mention that the preamps are a bit better than OK.

"...I mean literally I had no problems whatsoever no dropouts, no latency issues, I even stuck an external webcam to the extra USB ports while recording...." Read more

"...It has a great performance, with a very low latency...." Read more

"...It has been the work horse that I needed and then some, with no signs of slowing down...." Read more

"...I've had no issues with latency using this unit workLogic Pro, GarageBand, and Logic Express.It's built like a tank...." Read more

8 customers mention8 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the appearance of the sound and recording equipment. They mention that it looks amazing, has a vintage visual, and has slick analog display.

"...The vintage visual it's amazing and the analog VU meters turns it even beautiful. It's a unique feature at this price...." Read more

"...The good: The unit looks great and the VU meters are a great touch...." Read more

"Bottom line: Beautiful little interface, sounds flawless when it works, but COMPLETELY unusable in Windows...." Read more

"4 inputs, USB hub, all that good looking hardware, but it's too good to be true at this price...." Read more

5 customers mention5 positive0 negative

Customers like the USB hub of the sound and recording equipment. They mention that it has 4 inputs and extra USB ports.

"...4 inputs and outputs, MIDI in/out, 4 sends, cool VU meters, and a USB hub!..." Read more

"...It has a great performance, with a very low latency.The built-in USB hub it's another great feature, vey helpful for more than one midi..." Read more

"4 inputs, USB hub, all that good looking hardware, but it's too good to be true at this price...." Read more

"Love the usb hub built in. All of my outboard gear is plug and play. Amazing...." Read more

4 customers mention4 positive0 negative

Customers find the interface of the sound and recording equipment great, labeled well, and straightforward to understand. They also say the software it comes with went on effortlessly.

"...just to see if I could get a hiccup. I got nothing. EIE pro went on effortlessly, Vu meters showing real time the available headroom which..." Read more

"...Lastly the build on this is just great! Everything is labeled well and it is straight forward to understand...." Read more

"...Don't be fooled, it's a good interface. When it works, it does the job...." Read more

"The interface itself is great, the software it comes with, pro tools express, can be a stupid pain in the ass because they sent alot if wrong codes..." Read more

26 customers mention14 positive12 negative

Customers are mixed about the performance of the sound and recording equipment. Some mention that it works fairly well, the drivers work fairly well in OSX and Windows, and it has a great performance with a very low latency. However, others say that it won't work with Apple Mavericks, the first input stopped working completely, and the unit turns inoperable.

"...The gig went off without a hitch...." Read more

"...got it all 4 inputs worked, but after 2 days the first input stopped working completely...." Read more

"...Drivers work fairly well in OSX and Windows (never hooked it to a Linux box), although some folks have had issues with them and they are not updated..." Read more

"...In the mean time I discovered that it will not work, yet, with Apple Mavericks. they are working on a fix, but it is not here yet...." Read more

15 customers mention8 positive7 negative

Customers are mixed about the sound quality of the audio interface. Some mention that it's a great product and sounds great when it works, while others say that it produces crackly, lo-fi, and static sounds. They also report audio dropouts and loud white noise spurts on all channels.

"I'm very satisfied with this great audio interface. It's incredibly beautiful, very well builted and works perfectly!..." Read more

"...and whenever this interface was plugged in, there would be loud *SNAPS* in the recordings every so often which you can sort of fix with compression/..." Read more

"...When working properly, audio recordings come out clear and well balanced (either 1/4 jack or XLR). Problem is, it's not always working properly...." Read more

"So, I chose 1 star because the EIE Pro looks amazing and sounds great...when it works...." Read more

12 customers mention7 positive5 negative

Customers are mixed about the quality of the sound and recording equipment. Some mention it's a great audio interface with great features, while others say it pops and crackles every few seconds. Some customers also report crackling and bit crushing issues.

"this is a decent, cheap piece of equipment...." Read more

"...Pops and crackles every few secondsSo needless to say, it's getting replaced...." Read more

"...4 inputs and outputs, MIDI in/out, 4 sends, cool VU meters, and a USB hub!..." Read more

"...When it works, it does the job. Some have crackling and bit crushing issues, but my until has been okay...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Joshua Zarking FarQuan
5.0 out of 5 stars Out of the Box and Straight to the Gig
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2012
Verified Purchase
I received the EIE pro a day before a touring musician arrived in town for a outdoor venue. Note that I decided for the Pro over the normal EIE for the recording capacity (the pro being 24-bit with the EIE just being 16). I was keen to see how the EIE held up in a outdoor setting; Outdoor venues being slightly more cumbersome to live recording provided the traditional hardware setup. The Neutrik Combo Connector XLR-1/4" Jack actually came in handy because the house live sound engineer gave me two XLR cables that had looked like they had been dragged behind a car for a few miles. In fact the male jack on the cable were so worn and banged up, they wouldn't even fit in the interface. so I just pulled out my 25ft Gold TRS popped it right in and handed the other connection to the engineer.

The gig went off without a hitch. I mean literally I had no problems whatsoever no dropouts, no latency issues, I even stuck an external webcam to the extra USB ports while recording. just to see if I could get a hiccup. I got nothing. EIE pro went on effortlessly, Vu meters showing real time the available headroom which completely synced to the digital headroom meters in my mDaw Mind you this is during a live performance(read: one take. no stopping).

So the EIEpro passed the live gig test with flying colors. Afterwards I originally planned to transfer the files to my Studio's DAW where I have a full suite managed by a Focusrite Saffire PRO24but instead I used the same setup to mixdown and and provide the artist with a copy of his performance. all using the EIEpro. In my opinion as a Consultant this External Sound Card Is Definitely worth its weight and is essential to the mobile Digital Media Artist.
11 people found this helpful
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Ian
4.0 out of 5 stars good for the price, lots of loose ends though
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2013
Verified Purchase
this is a decent, cheap piece of equipment. Recording quality is fine (I am pretty new to recording/mixing) and it hasn't broken on me yet after a year of owning it and constantly transporting it from place to place. I also really like how the phantom power is divided between the inputs, which is a nice feature I don't see on many mixers in this price range. It isn't split between all four individually, but each pair of inputs (1/2 and 3/4) has their own phantom circuit. this is seriously excellent for recording a room since you can have a ribbon mic along with a dynamic mic in 1/2 (to pick up vocals or instruments) and a condenser or two in 3/4 with the phantom juice flowin' to capture the noise in the air or an acoustic instrument that would otherwise get lost in the milieu of amplified tones.

However, the interface is fairly confusing once you want to start monitoring the inputs. Also, if you turn the volume knob all the way down on the four main input knobs, it seems like sound still leaks through pretty easily so there's no real "kill point" in terms of volume for any given channel. As well, 4 channels just really is not a lot after some time with the device, I have the 16-bit and 24-bit interface (the EIE and EIE pro) and I ended up using both of them to record a band so I could give the drums the mics they needed along with bass, guitar, and vocals. This in itself turned out to be kind of annoying since the EIE doesn't use a special driver, but the EIE pro does and thus they become incompatible in an ASIO setting, which means you either need to have two hosts set up to record from either interface or have a friend with another computer next to you with whom you can synchronize recordings :)

As well, it can be kind of sensitive to power fluctuations. I had an SSD in my tower and whenever this interface was plugged in, there would be loud *SNAPS* in the recordings every so often which you can sort of fix with compression/EQ but still just tend to cut through everything else. However, the SSD died on me after only like 8 months of use so it may have been an issue with that specific SSD so ymmv.

Drivers work fairly well in OSX and Windows (never hooked it to a Linux box), although some folks have had issues with them and they are not updated very often. Also, a quick note is that when you are downloading the drivers from Akai's website you can literally just fill out the "contact info" they require with jibberish and it will still give you the download.

4 stars for working fairly well and the fact that my SSD anecdote is most likely irrelevant. Like I said in the title, just some loose ends.
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Nicholas Tinsley
1.0 out of 5 stars Randomly disconnects and has unmanageable latency, and the first input doesn't work
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2013
Verified Purchase
Coming out of the box, it seems like a solid, well built unit with all the features one could want. 4 inputs and outputs, MIDI in/out, 4 sends, cool VU meters, and a USB hub! Unfortunately it's hindered by a couple of showstopping defects:

The drivers are awful. I used 2.2.5 (for Mac OS X), and the control panel would not let me change the buffer length.

It randomly disconnects and reconnects. It momentarily disappears from the audio drivers menu before reappearing, while making a faint "popping" noise through your speakers. Obviously, random disconnects of your audio device throw your DAW for a loop, at best stopping the sound and at worst crashing the whole thing.

Sometimes when I connect it, the latency is great and I can record with no problem. Other times, it appears to have a half-second lag in both recording and playback. Unmanageable.

Sometimes it seems like it sets its own buffer length way too short, because all the sound coming out is crackly and lo-fi. Or it might be truncating the 24-bit recording down to 16-bits. I don't know for sure, but either way it sounds AWFUL and you can't use it.

All of these problems are present with nothing plugged into the USB hub on the back, but I noticed the more USB devices you add, it gets even worse.

Finally, when I initially got it all 4 inputs worked, but after 2 days the first input stopped working completely. Even when disconnected from a computer, you can directly monitor the inputs with your headphones and watch the VU needle bounce. On my unit, this works for inputs 2, 3, and 4, but not 1, even with the gain cranked all the way up.

In short, my unit was unusable.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Mionwang
1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY THIS
Reviewed in India on June 30, 2017
Verified Purchase
the preamp is extremely noisy and unusable. i do not recommend buying it. and too, when i wanted to return it i could'nt get a refund at once. first they sent a replacement for the same product then i had to request a return again!
2 people found this helpful
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Paolo Pustorino
5.0 out of 5 stars Davvero contento!
Reviewed in Italy on July 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
Sono musicista da tanti anni ma ho avuto poche esperienze con l'home recording.
Dopo tanti anni di cover, qualche mese fa sono entrato in una band che sta lavorando a pezzi propri e ho deciso di dotare la mia sala prove privata di tutto quel che serve per registrare.

Il mio budget era attorno ai 200 euro e ho pensato subito a un buon usato... dopo qualche indagine però mi sono convinto a prendere questa AKAI nuova e ragazzi... una bomba!

E' solidissima, davvero ben costruita... mi aspettavo la solita roba che da vedere pare il cockpit di un F16 e poi è di plastica, invece quest'affare PESA.
4 canali in ingresso, 4 in uscita e 4 insert. Ognuno dei canali può ricevere il phantom e può essere impostato per ricevere segnale da microfono o da "line/instrument".

Gli ingressi, sul frontale anteriore sono bivalenti: jack o cannon. Monitor in cuffia con regolazione del volume, gain per ogni canale e pure dei VU-Meters davvero di pregio! :)
La scheda funziona anche come hub USB (2.0), il che è davvero comodo per chi come me registra si un laptop: basta staccare un cavo e mi porto via il PC, che di suo è collegato a mouse, master keyboard e batteria elettronica (MIDI).

Segnale molto pulito, la sto usando con Cubase 9 su Windows 10 e il setup è stato del tutto trasparente.
Insomma, la ricomprerei ad occhi chiusi!
9 people found this helpful
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scott amey
5.0 out of 5 stars best in class
Reviewed in Canada on May 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
old school esthetic meets new school tech. good bang for the buck. wish you could run two of them in tandem or an 8 have an 8 channel version
3 people found this helpful
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Gribounet
5.0 out of 5 stars Très bon produit
Reviewed in France on March 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
Installation des pilotes facile et rapide, bonne qualité de son et faible latence en communication avec clavier midi.
Une sortie audio optique serait un plus, mais vu le prix, il est assez normal de ne pas avoir ceci.
3 people found this helpful
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Paul Garner
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid and relible
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a good choice for any user that plans on transporting or using in live shows. Not only does it look good, but the interface is easy, clear and reliable. The audio quality for recording (at home) is superb.

Only con is that it takes separate power lead, but the fact its a USB HUB makes this worth it 10 fold.
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