Tascam iXZ Mic & Instrument Interface for iPad / iPhone / iPod touch
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Works, but no mounting options
After many attempts with different adapters and cable splitters, my failures provided an education in mic impedance which led me to search for an interface adapter to connect a condenser microphone to my iPad. Though I can not comment on the guitar interface, it is nice to have it as an option in one product at a great price. I have found that the VocaLive app works best for my needs with the iXZ Interface. My condenser mic has a 3.5mm male conne... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
UPDATED REVIEW: PROBLEM RESOLVED
In a previous review I'd given this one star because I was having issues getting it to work with my iPhone 4. After I finally heard back from TASCAM customer service, I learned that there is an issue with the iPhone 4 and 4S in that a metal bit on the connector shorts out the signal against the metal iPhone case. A simple little thin piece of plastic between them fixed it (they're sending me a sticker ring to place on the connector). This really ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great value for the money
I orignally bought an iRig 2 but took it back because I was having problems getting a good sound with my active basses and two apps I was running, Jam Up amp modeling software, and Jam Up's software for jamming with songs. The headphone output on the iPad Air 2 is a bit on the wimpy side when running music production apps. I was getting horrendous distortion to the point where it was unusable. No combination of input and output gain levels would ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Really Cool!
I bought this to use with my iPad mini and Garage Band. I have used several types of guitar headphone amps over the years and this little setup seemed too good to be true. It rocks!! Garage Band and this unit together are Cheap. This is so portable too. The iXZ powers my AKG 271 headphones just fine. The fact that I have all the amp models and drum machine in Garage band make this setup a real winner. You can make jamb tracks and play along. This... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Might for right for some, but not for me
I purchased the iXZ to use it to help me use an XLR lav mic with Fire on my iPhone 4 (the Tascam site says the iXZ works with any of the thousands of recording apps on the App Store). However, plugging it in and turning it on got nothing. My iPhone still only registered its internal mic. My iPhone headset registered (and got better sound than I'd expected) as did a cheap desktop mic, but not my nice lavalier mic with iPhone interface. The only iP... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Works great. Just needs mounting options
I used an iRig Pre until the on/off switch failed. I bought this as an alternative because it has more input options (1/4" port and gain settings for musical instruments). I really like this device overall; it feels a bit more clumsy than the iRig Pre bit also feels more durable. I've included a picture of my setup for you to see how I mount it (my only complaint is the lack of any mounting option). I used two adhesive zip tie mounts, made some ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
iphone's best friend.
I am using it for making a home videos with my iPhone 5. You can plug in a mic condenser to it, or even direct in a guitar to your video without suffering the background noise. I am listening to myself while recording an electric guitar through my Digitech RP-255 headphones output. The sound is really clean and I am really happy with the sound. It is a better deal for me than invest in a stand alone camcorder. It is not ideal however to record mu... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Good, inexpensive interface
I use this for remote broadcasts to interface with my mixer when I have to use cell phone to transmit. It is far and away the most inexpensive way to connect the gear to a cell phone, and is versatile at the same time. While it is advertised to work with iPhones, I am using it with a non-smartphone that has the 3.5mm jack and it works well. The XLR and 1/4-inch connections provide connection versatility, and considering that I use it for phone au... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Didn't work at all
I'm returning it - BH great customer service as always didn't give me any hassles, and issued RMA & prepaid shipping label with 30 second phone call. I really wanted this to work, But I tried two different mics - an MXL boundary mic with phantom power and a Shure SM58 w/o, to two different devices - a macbook pro and a Gopro Hero2, and wasn't able to get anything - zilch, nada. Couldn't hear anything out of headphone monitoring jack, either. Little green light next to the headphone icon on top was on. Don't know whether I got a dud, or was looking at some kind of incompatibility issue.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Simple Solution & Great Value
I was able to use the iXZ to get much better audio quality than using the iPad Microphone. I have used the unit twice. 1st at a show in a small venue. 2nd was a quick set up during a garage practice/jam. I was surprised by the musicians reaction when listening to the recording... they couldn't put the headphones down. Although not a professional recording/mix, with practice and a good mic you can get reasonable demo quality with a little investment. I plan to use the iXZ for recording YouTube videos and events where capturing a console mix is not practical.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Cool, cheap and effective little gadget
I'm a middle school music teacher who uses a lot of music technology. The school has just moved over to iPads from macbooks and I got one of these to try out. It works just fine and feels reasonably study - certainly there isn' really any thing that can break off - always good for schools - and it feels hardy enough on the outside but I can't vouch for long term. The great thing is, for $ it is fantastic value and is wonderfully flexible for my program. The sound is not studio quality but it is very good - much better than you would expect for $.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Nice Tool
Works great for utilizing high quality mic in your recordings, especially video. I wouldn't count on it being a studio quality music interface but is handy in a pinch but my biggest issue is more available app functionality rather than the iXZ. With the processing power if the newer iPad/iPhones, I would expect more than the available offerings. If you really read the product description, I don't see how anyone would be disappointed. It's not a recording interface. It just offers audio options to get audio in to your device.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
It Does What It Is Supposed To Do.
I used this interface with GarageBand with no problems at all. It has phantom Power which allowed me to use my best condenser microphone and make a great sounding demo. The only problem with it is that the cable that plugs into the headphone jack is only 6 inches long. This made for some awkward placement. I haven't tried it with guitar either so I don't how it will work for that application. If you need an interface and don't want to spend much this one will do the job.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
For the money can't be beaten
Great little piece of gear, very useful, costs as much as a XLR to iPhone cable adapter but gives you phantom power and guitar-in and active preamp with level control. Not only you can use it to record to iPhone but with right iPhone headset to PC adpter you can use this with your dslr dor better audio. Only downside of the connector is that its bleeds signal from input to headphone out if you do overdubbing. Build quality is good as well as sound quality.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great interface!
For what it is, it is a great tool for the road or mobile recording! I mainly use it with my iPhone 5c on garage band or to make decent quality voice memo recordings using the tascam and a condenser mic while jamming with my band. The quality is decent and very clear and the 1/4 inch intertwined with xlr input is an awesome feature along with the AA Battery phantom power. I recommend it to anyone with the intent for an iPad/iPhone mobile recording studio
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Assumes every XLR connection is mic level
I just received this unit and used it for the first time. When driving it from a small portable mixer I found that had to pad the mixer's line level output to mic level to get the best quality from this unit. It appears to assume that any XLR connection is line-level. Although there is an input level adjustment, I had better luck padding the input first and fine-tuning the levels into my iPad with the iXZ's input level adjustment.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
GREAT deal...best around!
This is the perfect entry level interface for your ipad or ipod. It is VERY simple to set up and use. The only bit of advice if using with a high quality microphone for Vocal recording...patch it thru a condenser and EQ it before recording.I DO wish it came along with some editing software...even something basic.Thanks B&H! Once again a GREAT produce at the LOWEST price!
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Awesome little interface!
If you use a Macbook Air that doesn't have a microphone input, this is a life saver! I do webcasting using Adobe Connect, and this interface allows me to take an XLR feed off the audio mixer and send to the audio jack on the Macbook Air. The only reason it's not 5 stars is that it's battery only, no AC power...so it's constant battery changes boo :(
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great for home VO studio phone patch.
I have recomended this as an easy way for home VO talent to setup a phone patch. Uses the second channel of a 2 channel USB interface and a cell phone (most any kind). Quick, easy, and cheap! And if they really get in a bind (like an audition in a car), they can just use it how it was designed and plug a phantom mic in directly.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Bought to use with Mevo - Not recommended
This is recommended for adding external audio to the Mevo camera. It does not handle a line signal well at all. Distorted at almost every gain stage. Really not ideal. Support advises using the mevo boost and the mackie onyx blackjack. Guess I'll have to upgrade to that to get decent line signal out of my board into the Mevo.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Good
This works well, and for the price I paid for it, it was a bargain. A couple of notes. Because of limitations with the iPhone, there is bleed and delay if monitoring input with headphones, but that is to be expected. It needed some force to insert a 1/4 plug into the combo XLR / 1/4 jack but that may be my inexperience.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Jazz Bassist's Experience
Started recording bass lines on the iPhone 6 garage band app with the iXZ. Sound quality is great, relatively. Recording basses is always a tricky task because of the low registry. The iXZ does a good job capturing the low tones (6 string bass). Positives: Portable, captures low tones Negatives: nothing yet
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
More Than Advertised
I bought this for my android phone to do video with interview mic works perfect. But I also bought the RODE SC3 TRRS to TRS Adapter. Now I can use this with my SONY A7Sii mirrorless to power a shotgun that need phantom power which formerly I could not use. If it had a cold shoe adapter it would be perfect.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
I would buy this again & I did
This product does EXACTLY what it purports to do. We use it for reporting on the go, which we can quickly edit and post within minutes to Facebook, Twitter, etc. and it works fantastically. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to get high quality sound onto their iPhone/iPad/iPod videos.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
