I'd be very interested in hearing how you're going, anderly.

I have a new Vaio laptop - superb piece of hardware, but it's built-in sound card is only half-duplex - can hear previous tracks but not what's being newly recorded.

I've been told the solution is to buy a box like the Duo or Quattro - I was looking at the Quattro because of its Midi, but from your post it doesn't sound as straightforward as that.

Let us know if you find the solution, please ...

thanks

Peter

Peter,
I too needed the MIDI, so I went with the Quattro. It should be pretty good for a laptop.

Does your laptops' "sound card" have a stereo Line In, and the ability to play back audio from vegas while using the line in(play along)? How is the quality of playback using......good headphones, for example? I ask because you will most likely need to use the onboard sound as a "Playback device".
I'll try to describe a "set-up" using only 2 of the Quattro's inputs that might give you an idea of what to expect. I'm assuming you're familiar with the front/rear of the Qtro, and the fact that it needs the (included) 9volt wall wart to work....

Stereo out of a keyboard(for example), connected to the inputs 1 & 2.
Using Vegas for our example, you will have set the Qtro(using it's little on screen cntrl panel)to WDM/MME. You would select this because the current ver. of VV does not support ASIO....hopefully the next ver. will.
Then you would open VV and in the Audio section of Options/preferences, you will select WindowsClassicWaveDriver for Device and then select the onboard audio for playback device and the Quattro for the record device. Then connect the Qtro's output's 1 & 2 to the laptops sound card stereo line in.....using an adapter to terminate to a stereo 1/8" plug.
Why use the onboard sound card for playback? Using WinClassWavDriver(WDM/MME mode), the Qtro is limited to 2 in/2 out, and it can not MIX the "live" input with the playback from from an application. This is true even with ASIO. So, if you want to monitor the stereo output from the keyboard AND the audio playback from the VV timeline, you would push the "Direct Monitor" button IN(ON), and this will route the signal present at the input directly to outputs 1 & 2......thus the need to use either some "Y" cords and a mixer, or use a 2nd sound card....creatively.
Now VV can record the keyboard playing via inputs 1 & 2. The Direct Monitor feature routes this to outputs 1 & 2, which is routed to the Line In of the laptop's sound card, and is MIXED(majically inside the PC..:-) with the audio(playing back)from the Vegas timeline. It works.

I too am forced to use WinClasWavDrvr even in AcidPro 4 which supposedly supports ASIO....but unfortunately there seems to be a conflict(on my PC) with the current M-Audio beta drivers and the way AP4 accesses them. I get lock ups using ASIO, and can't deal with that. However, you can still record 24 bit/48KHz in AP4 and VV using Classic driver mode.
My config. is a little different. I'm using the Qtro as the ONLY audio device for Rec/Playback, but am using this 2-in-1 line mixer and some "Y" cords. It's working well, but once ASIO is up and running in AP4, I wil be able to do way with the Y cords(thanks to the Direct Monitor feature). In ASIO mode the Qtro can utilize all 4 inputs and all 4 outputs...uhhh depending on the bit depth selected, that is.

The Quattro's MIDI works well, btw!
I'm thinking 'Anderly' went ahead and returned his Quattro by now. Sounds like he should either get the Qtro AND the Duo, or a PCI sound card to use with either the MBox or Quattro....and/or get a mixer as well. I couldn't do without a mixer here.

If you go with the Quattro and have any questions.....just post in any of the Vegas forums or the Acid forum.
Another option is to....for example...get a USB MIDI device like the M-Audio(Midiman) Midisport 2X2, and the Duo. I tested the Midisport here and it worked great!

Maybe someone else can recommend another USB audio solution....and MIDI..for Peter??

Good luck!