M-Audio Transit USB — Macintosh / Mac OS 9 & OS X AnthologyTransitHi-Resolution Mobile Audio UpgradeIntroduced: August 2003
Original MSRP: $99.95 USD
Interface: USB 1.1
Maximum resolution: 24-bit / 96 kHz
Mac support: Mac OS 9 + Mac OS X
Power: USB bus-powered
Format: compact stereo analog/digital audio interface
Internet Archive — preserved drivers, documentation, packaging & original media
QUICK INDEXDriver DownloadsOverviewAudio I/OSample Rates / Operating ModesAudio SpecificationsMac OS 9Mac OS XMac Driver Chronology / DetailsMac Software CompatibilityKnown LimitationsContemporary TimelineWorldRadioHistory — Reviews / ListingsPreserved Media / PackagingManuals / Primary Sources
Mac Driver DownloadsOriginal surviving installers are mirrored on Archive.org so the thread does not depend on temporary manufacturer or third-party download links.
Mac OS 9•
1.5.1 — Mac OS 9 —
not yet recoveredOriginal filename documented as
9-Transit_151.sit•
1.5.3f1 —
Mac OS 9 —
DOWNLOADMac OS X•
1.5.7f1 — Puma era —
DOWNLOAD•
1.5.8f2 Build 101 — Jaguar / Panther —
DOWNLOAD•
1.5.9 — PowerPC —
DOWNLOAD•
1.6 — Panther —
DOWNLOAD•
1.6.1 — Tiger —
DOWNLOAD•
1.6.2 — Tiger —
DOWNLOAD•
1.6.3 — Universal Binary / Tiger —
DOWNLOAD•
1.7-3 — Tiger / Leopard —
DOWNLOAD•
1.8.0 — Tiger / Leopard / Snow Leopard —
DOWNLOAD•
1.8.1 — Leopard / Snow Leopard —
DOWNLOAD•
1.8.2 — Snow Leopard / Lion —
DOWNLOADWanted / unrecoveredTransit Driver 1.5.1 — Mac OS 9A contemporary Mac software index records this release on 13 December 2003. The historical filename
9-Transit_151.sit also survives in old driver indexes, but the actual archive has not yet been recovered.
Possible OS X 1.5.4 distributionAn old M-Audio download pathname survives as
X-Transit_USB_154.tgz. Until the actual archive is recovered and inspected, it should be treated as a preservation lead rather than a confirmed entry in the chronology.
If anyone has either original file, please preserve it.
↑ Index
OverviewM-Audio introduced Transit as an inexpensive pocket-sized USB audio upgrade for portable computers.
For Mac OS 9 users it is particularly interesting because the same tiny, bus-powered interface combines
Sound Manager and ASIO support with analog stereo I/O, optical S/PDIF and operation up to 24-bit / 96 kHz.
Main functions• 24-bit / 96 kHz recording and playback
• stereo analog input
• stereo analog line/headphone output
• optical S/PDIF input
• optical S/PDIF output
• AC-3 / Dolby Digital pass-through
• DTS pass-through
• self-powered electret microphone support
• USB bus power
•
Mac OS 9 Sound Manager support•
Mac OS 9 ASIO support• Mac OS X Core Audio support
Physical dimensions: 2.2 × 3.6 × 0.9 inches
Weight: 1.6 ounces
No external power supply is required.
Original retail box — complete scan↑ Index
Audio I/OUSB• USB 1.1
• carries audio and power
• single USB connection for input and output
Analog / digital inputOne hybrid 1/8-inch stereo input provides:
• stereo analog line input
• stereo analog microphone input
• optical S/PDIF input
The input automatically detects whether an analog or optical digital connection is present.
Microphone inputThe analog input can provide
+5 V bias / plug-in power for compatible electret condenser microphones.
This is not 48 V professional phantom power.
Analog output• 1/8-inch stereo mini-jack
• line-level output
• headphone-compatible output with enhanced current drive
Digital output• standard optical TOSLink S/PDIF
• stereo PCM
• 16-bit AC-3 pass-through
• 16-bit DTS pass-through
During normal two-channel PCM playback, the analog and digital outputs carry the same signal.
Included adapter• 3.5 mm / mini-optical male → standard TOSLink female
↑ Index
Sample Rates / Operating ModesSupported sample rates8 kHz
9.6 kHz
11.025 kHz
12 kHz
16 kHz
22.05 kHz
24 kHz
32 kHz
44.1 kHz
48 kHz
88.2 kHz
96 kHz
PCM resolution• 16-bit
• 24-bit
Available operating modes• 2 In / 2 Out — 16-bit — 8–48 kHz
• 2 In / 2 Out — 24-bit — 8–48 kHz
• 2 In / 0 Out — 24-bit — 88.2/96 kHz
• 0 In / 2 Out — 24-bit — 88.2/96 kHz
• Dolby Digital / DTS pass-through — 16-bit / 48 kHz
Important: Transit is full-duplex only through 48 kHz.
At 88.2 or 96 kHz, USB 1.1 bandwidth/hardware limitations require either:
• recording only
or
• playback only
Simultaneous input and output above 48 kHz is not supported.
88.2 kHz exceptionAnalog recording at 88.2 kHz is not supported.
↑ Index
Audio Performance SpecificationsAnalog inputDynamic range: 100 dB typical, A-weighted
Signal-to-noise ratio: 100 dB typical, A-weighted
THD+N: –90 dB / 0.00316% typical
Maximum input level: +6 dBV
Analog outputDynamic range: 104 dB typical, A-weighted
Signal-to-noise ratio: 104 dB typical, A-weighted
Maximum output level: 0 dBV
Digital• optical S/PDIF input
• optical S/PDIF output
• PCM stereo
• AC-3 / Dolby Digital pass-through
• DTS pass-through
↑ Index
Mac OS 9 SupportYes — officially supported.The original 2003 M-Audio Transit product page lists:
•
Mac OS 9.1+• Mac OS 9.2 recommended
Later Transit documentation specifies:
•
Mac OS 9.2.2Original hardware requirements48 kHz operation:
• G3 or G4
• native USB
• 64 MB RAM
96 kHz operation:
• G3 or G4
• native USB
• 128 MB RAM
Later documentation explicitly lists:
• G3
• G4
• iMac
• iBook
• PowerBook
• native USB required
G3/G4 processor upgrade/accelerator cards were not officially supported as substitutes for the required native hardware configuration.
Mac OS 9 audio APIsTransit supports:
• Apple Sound Manager
• Steinberg ASIO
Sound ManagerTransit can be selected as the system audio device in:
Apple menu → Control Panels → Sound
ASIOThe Mac OS 9 installer includes the Transit ASIO driver.
The driver may be placed into the appropriate ASIO driver folder belonging to the audio application.
The installer itself contains logic for locating a number of contemporary ASIO hosts and their ASIO folders.
See detailed inspection of Transit 1.5.3f1↑ Index
Mac OS X SupportOriginal 2003 product-page requirement• Mac OS X 10.1+
Transit uses Apple's
Core Audio architecture under Mac OS X.
Later documentation specifies support beginning with:
• Mac OS X 10.1.5
• Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
Transit appears as an input/output device in:
System Preferences → Sound
and in:
Audio MIDI Setup
AC-3 / DTS on MacThe hardware provides AC-3/DTS digital pass-through, but later M-Audio documentation specifies
Mac OS X 10.3+ for AC-3/DTS pass-through support on Macintosh.
↑ Index
Mac Driver Chronology / Detailed Notes2003 — Classic Mac OS13 December 2003 — Transit Driver 1.5.1Mac OS 9A surviving contemporary Mac software index records Transit Driver 1.5.1 specifically as a Mac OS 9 release.
Original filename reported by surviving driver indexes:
9-Transit_151.sitStatus: not yet recovered.Transit Installer 1.5.3f1Mac OS 9Archive.org — Transit Installer 1_5_3f1.sitThis surviving StuffIt archive contains the Classic Mac OS PowerPC Transit installer.
Detailed inspection identifies:
• installer package version:
1.5.3• installed Transit binaries:
1.5.3f1• Installer VISE Lite 3.6.1
• PowerPC PEF executable components
Installed components include:
• M-Audio Transit USB Driver — 1.5.3f1
• M-Audio Transit USB ASIO — 1.5.3f1
• M-Audio Transit USB Sound Mgr — 1.5.3f1
• M-Audio Transit USB Library — 1.5.3f1
• M-Audio Transit USB MI Library — 1.5.3f1
• M-Audio Transit USB Settings — 1.5.3f1
• M-Audio Firmware Loader — 1.0.5b2
• Read Me material
The ASIO driver itself is Classic Mac OS PowerPC code stored in an ASIO resource.
The installer contains dedicated ASIO-installation logic and searches for a number of contemporary application creator codes / ASIO folders rather than treating ASIO as a generic system-wide driver.
Installer archaeologyThe included
M-Audio Firmware Loader contains multiple embedded Cypress/DFU firmware resources used by M-Audio's USB-audio infrastructure.
One internal resource in the Transit Sound Manager component still contains the name
Sonica Pro Sound Manager.
That leftover string strongly suggests common/shared code between M-Audio's contemporary USB audio products; it is retained here simply as an interesting artifact of the original software.
↑ Driver Downloads
Mac OS X driver family1.5.7f1• PowerPC
• Mac OS X 10.1 / Puma-era support
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.5.7f1.dmg↑ Driver Downloads22 April 2004 — 1.5.8f2 Build 101Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.5.8f2_Bld101.dmg• Jaguar 10.2 support
• Panther support
• fixed AC-3 output problems
• corrected Core Audio input/output latency reporting
• firmware updated to 1.01
• fixed digital playback when Transit was selected as system audio output
• PCM output made available in addition to AC-3 while in AC-3 mode
• fixed crash when unplugging an active Transit under Panther
• fixed 24-bit / 96 kHz input-only sample-rate handling
• updated installer documentation
• Mac OS X 10.1 support removed
Preservation note: the files circulated as
Transit_OSX_1.5.8f2.dmg and
Transit_OSX_1.5.8f2_Bld101.dmg were compared and found to be byte-for-byte identical. The Build 101 filename is retained here because it preserves the additional build information.
↑ Driver Downloads15 September 2004 — 1.5.9Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.5.9.dmg• PowerPC
• fixed possible PowerBook sleep-related system hang
• corrected AC-3 capability reporting to Core Audio
• fixed memory leak when unplugging Transit
↑ Driver Downloads1.6• Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.6.dmgThe disk image contains the Transit installer together with the corresponding uninstaller.
↑ Driver Downloads23 May 2005 — 1.6.1• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger update
• compatibility/security-related Tiger fix
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.6.1.dmg↑ Driver Downloads1.6.2• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.6.2.dmg↑ Driver Downloads5 April 2006 — 1.6.3• Universal Binary
• PowerPC + Intel Mac support
• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger generation
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.6.3.dmg↑ Driver Downloads1.7-3• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.7-3.dmgThe disk image identifies the installed branch as Transit USB 1.7; the distributed filename preserves the
1.7-3 revision designation.
↑ Driver Downloads1.8.0• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
• Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.8.0.dmg↑ Driver Downloads1.8.1• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
• Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.8.1.dmg↑ Driver Downloads1.8.2• Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
• Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
Archive.org — Transit_OSX_1.8.2.dmgThis is the latest surviving Mac Transit driver in the documented sequence represented here.
↑ Driver Downloads
Documented Mac Software CompatibilityMac OS 9 / ASIOThe Transit manual explicitly names:
• Steinberg Cubase
• Propellerhead Reason
• Ableton Live
• Emagic Logic
• MOTU Digital Performer 3
Mac OS 9 / Sound ManagerTransit can also function as the Macintosh system audio device through Apple's Sound Manager.
Mac OS XCore Audio applications can address Transit through the standard OS X audio system.
Contemporary review testThe November 2003
Mix review tested Transit with:
• Apple PowerBook
• Mac OS X
• Emagic Logic Audio
OS X Core Audio recognized Transit normally after driver installation.
↑ Index
Known Hardware / Driver LimitationsUSB 1.1 bandwidth88.2/96 kHz cannot operate full-duplex.
At these rates Transit operates either:
• 2-channel input
or
• 2-channel output
—not both simultaneously.
88.2 kHzAnalog recording at 88.2 kHz is not supported.
AC-3 / DTS modeWhen Dolby Digital / DTS pass-through mode is selected, the analog outputs are disabled.
Analog inputThe single input connector is shared between:
• analog stereo mic/line
and
• optical S/PDIF
The two cannot be used as independent inputs.
November 2003 Mix review observationsThe PowerBook/OS X review reported:
• straightforward OS X driver installation
• immediate Core Audio recognition
• successful use with Logic Audio
• automatic analog/digital input detection worked correctly
• lower noise than the PowerBook's built-in audio
• improved high-frequency detail and low-frequency definition compared with the Mac's internal audio
• loud pops could occur at the analog output when an optical input cable was inserted or removed outside Logic
• no simultaneous monitoring when recording above 48 kHz
↑ Index
Contemporary Timeline5 August 2003 — Transit shippingMacworld reports M-Audio shipping the new Transit USB for Macintosh and Windows.
Macworld — “M-Audio Transit offers portable audio I/O”7 August 2003 — Transit launch coverageMacTech reports Transit shipping for $99.95 with Mac OS 9 and OS X support.
MacTech — “M-Audio offers USB audio device for mobile users”8 October 2003 — M-Audio product pageArchived M-Audio product page documents:
• $99.95 MSRP
• 24-bit / 96 kHz
• Mac OS 9.1+
• Mac OS X 10.1+
• analog/optical input
• analog/headphone output
• optical digital output
• AC-3/DTS pass-through
• bus power
M-Audio Transit product page — 8 October 20039 October 2003 — User ManualTransit USB User ManualNovember 2003 — First verified WorldRadioHistory reviewSee WorldRadioHistory chronology below13 December 2003 — Transit Driver 1.5.1Mac OS 9 driver.
January 2004 — EQ Laptop Studio appearanceSee WorldRadioHistory chronology below22 April 2004 — OS X Driver 1.5.8f2 Build 101Jaguar/Panther-era Core Audio update.
15 September 2004 — OS X Driver 1.5.9PowerBook sleep/unplugging fixes.
23 May 2005 — OS X Driver 1.6.1Tiger update.
5 April 2006 — OS X Driver 1.6.3Universal Binary; Intel Mac support added.
2010 — still listed by BSWTransit remained in the Broadcast Supply Worldwide catalog with a $99.95 list price.
↑ Index
WorldRadioHistory — Reviews / Buyers' Guides / Catalog Listings2003November 2003 — M-Audio Transit USB — ReviewSnapshot Product Reviews — Robert BrockTest system included an Apple PowerBook, Mac OS X and Emagic Logic Audio.
The review covers:
• installation and Core Audio operation
• analog and optical I/O
• Logic Audio recording
• sound quality versus PowerBook built-in audio
• electret microphone power
• 88.2/96 kHz restrictions
• USB 1.1 full-duplex limitation
• optical-input switching behaviour
Mix, November 2003, p. 122
2004January 2004 — M-Audio Transit — Laptop Studio Buyer's GuideTransit appears in EQ's laptop-studio hardware overview at $99.95.
Listed features include:
• pocket-size USB interface
• 24-bit / 96 kHz
• digital transfer to/from MiniDisc and DAT
EQ, January 2004, p. 48
20102010 — M-Audio Transit USB — BSW CatalogListed as:
M-Audio Transit USB Recording InterfaceList price: $99.95
BSW price: $79
Catalog description retains:
• 24-bit / 96 kHz
• USB operation
• optical S/PDIF
• AC-3 / DTS output
• bus power
BSW Catalog, 2010, p. 182Verified WorldRadioHistory chronologyNovember 2003 —
Mix — full review
January 2004 —
EQ — Laptop Studio buyer's-guide listing
2010 —
BSW Catalog — retail catalog listing
No separate dedicated M-Audio Transit print advertisement has yet been verified in the indexed WorldRadioHistory material.
↑ Index
Preserved Media / PackagingThe Archive.org preservation set also includes scans of the surviving retail package, documentation and bundled/associated software media.
Complete M-Audio Transit USB preservation archiveOriginal retail boxComplete six-page Transit USB retail-box scanThe rear panel documents the 24-bit / 96 kHz specification, combined analog/optical input, line/headphone output, TOSLink output, AC-3/DTS pass-through, bus power and the supplied mini-optical adapter.
Original Quick Start GuideQuick Start Guide for the Transit — scanThe six-page guide contains English, Italian, German, French, Spanish and Japanese instructions.
M-Audio USB Audio Series Driver Software CD — version 040505Original M-Audio USB Audio Series driver-software disc.
Label:
USB Audio Series
USB audio interfaces driver software
windows | macintosh
version: 040505Copyright © 2005 M-Audio.
Disc P/N: D38001.
Ableton Live Lite 4 — M-Audio bundled softwareOriginal M-Audio-branded Ableton Live Lite 4 disc, copyright 2005.
The corresponding authorization/upgrade card is also preserved with the physical-media material; the serial number is intentionally not reproduced in this forum post.
M-Audio Pro Sessions — Demo CDM-Audio Sample Series — Pro Sessions Demo CD.
The disc advertises:
• REX2
• ACID WAV
• AIFF
Copyright © 2004 M-Audio.
Preservation noteThe photographs above document the surviving physical media.
They should not be confused with disc images: where only a photographic scan survives, the archive identifies it as such.
The Archive.org item additionally preserves Windows Transit drivers found alongside the Macintosh material; those are outside the scope of this Mac-focused chronology.
↑ Index
Primary Sources / DocumentationPreserved software / documentationInternet Archive — M-Audio Transit USB drivers, documentation & mediaOriginal Transit Quick Start Guide — preserved scanOriginal Transit retail packaging — preserved scanM-Audio product page — 2003Transit — Hi-Resolution Mobile Audio UpgradeM-Audio Transit USB User ManualTransitUSB_Manual_English.pdfContemporary pressMacworld — 5 August 2003MacTech — 7 August 2003WorldRadioHistoryMix — November 2003 — Transit USB reviewEQ — January 2004 — Laptop Studio Buyer's GuideBSW Catalog — 2010
Preservation statusRecovered:• Mac OS 9 Transit 1.5.3f1
• Mac OS X 1.5.7f1
• Mac OS X 1.5.8f2 Build 101
• Mac OS X 1.5.9
• Mac OS X 1.6
• Mac OS X 1.6.1
• Mac OS X 1.6.2
• Mac OS X 1.6.3
• Mac OS X 1.7-3
• Mac OS X 1.8.0
• Mac OS X 1.8.1
• Mac OS X 1.8.2
Still wanted:•
Mac OS 9 Transit 1.5.1 —
9-Transit_151.sit• possible early OS X archive —
X-Transit_USB_154.tgz — requires recovery/verification
If anyone has original M-Audio/Midiman Transit CDs, installers, readmes, beta drivers, earlier revisions or documentation not represented above, please preserve them rather than relying on the remaining download mirrors.
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Topic: M-Audio Transit USB (2003) — Macintosh / Mac OS 9 & OS X Anthology (Read 30586 times)
