Maybe, but you would think that these are proven and tested… perhaps even more than “new”
I have the AV40s’s, and they are terrific. At this price I’m sure you can’t go wrong trying the AV30’s.
M-Audio makes outstanding equipment. I have several of their Pulsar II condenser mics, one of their soundcards, and an Axiom keyboard and they are all phenomenal.
I can’t vouch for B-stock (refurb) products, but the M-Audio brand is first rate. They also have a decent user community in which M-Audio techs and engineers participate: http://forums.m-audio.com/
If I needed any of these types of products, I’d take a risk on these refurbs. Not a bad deal for the money. …hmm…I could always use more speakers…
tell that to the tons of people on the m-audio forums.
The previous version was session software, didn’t work on the mac and is not close to Pro Tools Essentials that is bundled with these. I paid $99 for the Vocal Studio, this is a good deal…
It comes with a limited version of Pro Tools called Pro Tools M-Powered Essential. Here is a link-
speakers alone here cost 65$ refurbished.
if i get the mic, would i need that little knob do hickey thing to make it work well? whats that thing even do? if i have multiple channels or something?
would the microphone setup be good for recording a podcast? I’d like to broadcast my message of idiocy WORLDWIDE
Argh, curses. I’ve been patiently waiting for another M-Audio deal, but I’d been holding out for the KeyStudio 25, last seen in June 2009.
Hopefully it’ll pop up again before December. Really hoping to be able to pick one up as a Christmas present.
They come with Pro Tools Essentials, although the speakers don’t include the software 
Yes, it comes with a good stand and works perfectly for podcast type recording…
Yes the Fast Track or “Recording Studio” is your interface to get the analog signal into your computer as a stream of 1s and 0s. The Vocal Studio is actually a USB Microphone so you wouldn’t use it in conjunction with the Fast Track, the Fast Track however will give you the ability to use other microphones or to plug an instrument directly in. Just more options.
Tim - check-out Sellout.woot. Why wait for 25 keys when you can have 49 today. KeyStudio 49 available now - great deal, much better than what I paid at Best Buy 
The Vocal Studio USB Microphone is perfect for podcasting.
Works great for me… 64 bit - Windows 7
60 different instruments is awesome
I use Pro Tools on a daily basis at home & at work (I’m a composer for video slots).
It is by far the best Digital Audio Workstation I’ve used and that’s why I chose it for my home computer. Based on the photos, this stuff comes with Pro Tools Version 8 (the M-Powered version, which to my knowledge is very similar to the stand alone version) and I can’t rave enough about the virtual instruments and the plug-ins. XPand2 is fantastic and the Version 8 reverbs & effects are fun, useful and sound great.
Now, I will say I’ve never tried Logic or Cubase; I’ve used Audition extensively as well as some older DAWs (DAW80 anyone?!) and prefer Pro Tools by a wide margin. I’ve used it for everything from simple voiceovers to radio commercials to animations (Quicktime video) to full-on 43 tracks of music. (Please note you are limited to 16 tracks in this version of the software).
Anyway, IMHO, you can’t go wrong with Pro Tools if you’re an audio engineer, artist, composer, etc who is looking for something more flexible and powerful than GarageBand.
P.S. I have the 61-key version of the ProTools Key Studio that’s on Sellout at work, and a step-up version of it (the ProKeys Sono61) at home. Love 'em.
Is Essentials enough to compose anything or would I need to bite the bullet and just buy the whole thing with the Dongle and all that direct to get the full usage of it?
Mac Compatible?