usb/midi adapter - which ones work well?

[Atom Smasher]

i could be wrong here, someone feel free to jump in and correct what i 
think i've found...

it seems like the m-audio (2x2, 4x4) adapters work, but require drivers 
that aren't supported by the manufacturer.

it seems like the tapco link.midi 4x4 works out of the box, and the street 
price is close to (or less than) the m-audio 2x2. it also seems a little 
bit tougher (recessed front/rear panels, rubber padding) and a little 
better designed, overall (different color LEDs for input/output/power, 
kensington lock hole). of course, i'm just looking at pictures on the 
'net, so i could be off by a tad ;)

ideologically, i'm also leaning towards the mackie because it seems to 
"just work". i'd rather spend my money with a company that's following 
standards, rather than a company that uses proprietary drivers and merely 
tolerates linux users developing an independent driver, with no company 
support (if i understand it correctly).

it even looks like the tapco firmware upgrades are just a sysex file... so 
i wouldn't expect any problems using amidi to upgrade the firmware. that's 
actually two points they've scored; in addition to using sysex for 
upgrades, they have upgrades!!

like i said, this is based on a few minutes googling, and may not 
accurately reflect reality.

if anyone can comment on these (or other!) usb/midi adapters... please 
do...

thanks...


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