While it´s true that laptop battery life is always a concern during location recording, the fact that it´s at least possible to record mains-free in remote places is reassuring. Lambda gets all the juice it needs from the USB connection.

There are two line outputs on 1/4¨jacks and MIDI I/O is onboard too.

These will be useful if you´ve got an analogue compressor that you can´t bear to replace, for example, but many computer musicians probably won´t need them. You also get a pair of TRS 1/4¨ jacks that function as insert points for the mic signals. Unlike with some interfaces, the inputs don´t use XLR combo jacks and they aren´t switched - you can leave both mic and line sources plugged in at the same time and use the front panel to choose between or even mix them. On the back panel there are two balanced line inputs on TRS 1/4¨ jack sockets and two balanced microphone inputs on XLR sockets. It follows a design blueprint that is now very familiar - an upright box connected via USB - and on the front panel you´ll find mic and line input level controls, an output level control, an instrument input, a headphone output, level/peak ladder LEDs and a simple mix balance control for monitoring the direct sound. Lexicon released their first USB audio interface, the Omega, in 2004, and the new Lambda is very similar, though it offers less connectivity.