I personally use an Edirol UA-5, a two channel USB audio device. If I set Deck, the software I use for recording, to use the UA5 as both the input and output device I can monitor in the analog domain with no latency problems. I have two songs posted on www.itsallconnected.com/downloads.php if you want to hear the audio quality. I think it sounds pretty good for a $150 audio device. Cheers, Christoph
the link is to their usb pre which i've seen as low as $179 on the web would be as much as getting multiple imics and i'd assume lightyears beyond in audio quality.
Well, the MobilePre (from your link) does look like it's got some more facility than the imic... but then, it also costs several times more. It might be a decent option if you want to stick with USB though.