To USB or Not to USB (Audio)

Whoa. I was recording a great-sounding hardware synth last night and noticed that my USB audio interface was picking up some digital grunge. Today I tried using the Mac G5's built-in audio input instead. Not only was the sound cleaner, I found could crank the input latency down much farther before getting glitches.

For years, the computer audio mantra has been "Don't use the built-in audio." (And many would say, "Don't use USB audio.") But the better advice remains "Use your ears." I'll keep the external interface around for my Windows laptops, which have atrocious sound quality, but color me surprised—and pleased. What's surprised you about computers lately?