Converse to Dusty's experiences, I have had nothing but bad luck with M-Audio. I had a <mumble> USB DAC/ADC that crapped out a month after the warranty expired, and a Audiophile FireWire that never never worked. The radio station where I work has some M Audio monitors that are just awful. It may be that some of their gear is decent, but it as thusfar avoided me. I have a Rat Shak optical to coax (and vise versa) converter that was originally $40 or so, marked down to $5. It has served me very well when I have needed it.