MOTU FireWire Audio Interface

[ritaheed]

hello again

was looking into this http://www.dv247.com/invt/32544/

not got great knowledge on audio interfaces but this seemed to grab my attention.....small and compact, 10 inputs - 14 out....no latency etc

what yous think?? maybe a wee bit pricey ?? any negatives with it??

any other suggestions??......was looking at the other posts on external soundcards but still a wee bit unsure....

basically its needs to be firewire for the laptop (was told firewire is more reliable than USB), plenty of ins and out for my jomox drum machine, electribe, my monitors plus loads other hardware im going to buy.....good recording etc.....gna be buyin a mixing desk by nxt yr afta a get all my hardware sorted!

thanx

[FILTERZ]

Not pricey really , I use an 828 motu thingy , its wicked not had a problem with it at all .

[yellaman]

I thought about one of these for the same kind of purpose but i.ll wait and save a bit more for the Lynx Aurora 8 with F/W to PC. ive heard the sound on the MOTU and it just isnt really that great! Think about it... it has over ten convertors both in and out... that price doesnt justify good quality. I hope that doesnt sound snobbish and no im not wealthy or anything like that but the sound interface is just as important as GOOD monitoring and as im using P11's it would be pointless using convertors with a value of roughly £20 each!! Hope that makes sense and helps!! And stay away from those damn Edirol UA-25 piece of crapshit.. wot a scam man!! Big up all members!! JUAN ATKINS IS COMIN TO LONDON ON THE 21ST AND DERRICK MAY NEXT MONTH 19TH!!!!!!!!!!!!! PARTY TIME!!!!!! HA

[MARK ANXIOUS]

wow motu not really that great??? jesus i have the 828 and i love it. hmmm what am i missing..

now you have me intrigued. i really am going to check out this lynx.

:)

[FILTERZ]

I love my 828 also ,my ears must be shit coz mine sounds fantastic

[ritaheed]

gna go 4 the 828....not much of a price difference from the ultralite........

should a go for the 828 firewire over the usb....been told firewire is more reliable/better than usb??

[BloodStar]

what about RME Fireface?

http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_fireface_400.htm

[ritaheed]

im i right in thinking that the RME has only got 8ins and 6 outs??

[MARK ANXIOUS]

yeah, for me it was originally a choice between 828 and RME. i opted for firewire 828 and apart from a few problems on the pc with the drivers (occasionally when a program crashes i have to unplug, restart and then power up the interface again), i really do love it. from what i've read on the net over the years, alot of ppl are very happy with the 828 too, so i would definitely recommend it to you man.

[ritaheed]

sound mate....828 it is!!

[yellaman]

go check em out b4 buying anything and be honest with your needs.. the MOTU will give you problems on a pc and is notorious for this. if your gonna use it for years to come you really need to consider this! The RME fireface is 'really good' for the money and i personally would choose it over the MOTU but it is fed through Firewire, which is actually a usb on steroids, and will require a firewire port from your pc. Also its worth taking into account that if your only gonna record One track at a time from a hardware source, then it mght be worth looking into an interface with better but less convertors! Or maybe you will be multitracking live, in which case you will need more in's?! Dont 4get that you can record in MONO too if the signal really doesnt need to be stereo.. either way good luck mate !

[Barely Human]

It might also be worth checking PCMCIA cards aswell.

[BRADLEE]

I think with Motu it's really hit and miss. I have some friends who love them to death and will use nothing else. Some never had any issues at all with them. Others had nightmares worth of issues. Some maybe it's more about build issues, or perhaps they vary parts inside? I really don't know...but from what I understand, some units that come out from them are great and some of the very same models are problems from day 1.

[machina]

go check em out b4 buying anything and be honest with your needs.. the MOTU will give you problems on a pc and is notorious for this. if your gonna use it for years to come you really need to consider this! The RME fireface is 'really good' for the money and i personally would choose it over the MOTU but it is fed through Firewire, which is actually a usb on steroids, and will require a firewire port from your pc. Also its worth taking into account that if your only gonna record One track at a time from a hardware source, then it mght be worth looking into an interface with better but less convertors! Or maybe you will be multitracking live, in which case you will need more in's?! Dont 4get that you can record in MONO too if the signal really doesnt need to be stereo.. either way good luck mate !

i agree that the aurora's etc are much much better in terms of sound quality, but in the context, i don't think the gains are going to justify the extra money (they are ALOT more expensive). Given that most people here (especially if they are asking this type of question) probably have a fairly simple computer based/heavily digital studio, you simply won't need to have $3000 converters... the sources aren't good enough and the sound not dependent on that TYPE of warmth. The massive gains that you get from top end converters don't really apply until you have no other weak links (i.e. non high-end) in the studio and, more to the point, when dealing with music with heaps of dynamic and subtlety - acoustics/extremely intricate/ or band music and live instrumentation/vocals... it doesn't really matter too much in dance music where, more often than not, there is (relatively) little dynamic range and intricacy through the frequencies.

And motu's pc drivers are pretty solid these days - i don't know too many that have had problems with them... although you would want to make sure you have a proper TI firewire chipset. i've got both aurora 16's and an motu ultralite - and in this context and for the money, i would recommend the ultralite every time... if you really needed aurora's you would already know about them and know why you needed them, if you don't, you probably wouldn't notice the difference and will have $2000 more in your back pocket

machina

[ritaheed]

pretty confused on what to get now.....its gna b a case of ordering from the net and not actually goin 2 check em out.....
want an interface which is gna do me a good while, handle all my hardware and pluggins, (so far ave got an electrible esx-1 and a jomox mbase 1, waldorf blofield on the way and an access virus goin to be bought.....) have great sound, easy to use, no problems etc.....bassically everything tht u would expect.....

ave got a laptop with a firewire port so no problems there...ave got vista basic on the laptop which is known for causing driver problems....it was a bit of a pain to install the drivers from the korg microkontrol......am not clued up when it comes to computers and figuring technical shit out etc aswell which doesnt help....

[yellaman]

RITAHEED - seeing that you havent really emphasized on sound QUALITY being of an extremley high importance then in all honesty just go for the ultralite or RME fireface.. it makes sense for you to do that if you get where im comin from mate.. what MACHINA has pointed out above is very true. you'll save alot of money and probably never really worry about the differance. The Ultralite is there newest interface and will have conseqeuntly less problems(i hope) though i have heard from at leat 4 sources that there are still problems with it!! The fireface is in MY opinion your best option! good luck matey!

[ritaheed]

RITAHEED - seeing that you havent really emphasized on sound QUALITY being of an extremley high importance then in all honesty just go for the ultralite or RME fireface.. it makes sense for you to do that if you get where im comin from mate.. what MACHINA has pointed out above is very true. you'll save alot of money and probably never really worry about the differance. The Ultralite is there newest interface and will have conseqeuntly less problems(i hope) though i have heard from at leat 4 sources that there are still problems with it!! The fireface is in MY opinion your best option! good luck matey!


a c were ur comin from mate.....but sound quality is very important to me......am just new at this game (not producing but buyin proper studio gear) and dont wanna make no mistakes when setting up, am looking to the future when gettin ma equipment....am in a job the now were its good money but not much of a life with the hours all in order to get a nice studio built......

cheers for the help guys!!

[machina]

a c were ur comin from mate.....but sound quality is very important to me......am just new at this game (not producing but buyin proper studio gear) and dont wanna make no mistakes when setting up, am looking to the future when gettin ma equipment....am in a job the now were its good money but not much of a life with the hours all in order to get a nice studio built......

cheers for the help guys!!

the cost of the ultralite is practically negligible next to the cost of aurora's anyway... if you find yourself wanting in terms of sound quality you can just upgrade - but i can almost guarantee you won't have the need until you get much further into making music and specifically know exactly what you're looking for. as i said, unless you are using live instrumentation/vocals and/or very very high end gear i.e. the best analog synths etc. you won't notice a difference even with the best digital gear...

machina

[ritaheed]

I think with Motu it's really hit and miss. I have some friends who love them to death and will use nothing else. Some never had any issues at all with them. Others had nightmares worth of issues. Some maybe it's more about build issues, or perhaps they vary parts inside? I really don't know...but from what I understand, some units that come out from them are great and some of the very same models are problems from day 1.

think ave got problems with mine......when im making a tunes or playing music there seems to be a "glitch" in the sound....."glitch" as in the music pauses, cuts in and out and then makes weird sounds.....also was playing a set and there was this big horrible bassy noise comin in and out (was defo nothin 2 do wae the set).....the glitchin also seems to happen if am searching the net at the same time as listining to sets.....

does anyone else have this problem?

think a should send it back??

[Barely Human]

think ave got problems with mine......when im making a tunes or playing music there seems to be a "glitch" in the sound....."glitch" as in the music pauses, cuts in and out and then makes weird sounds.....also was playing a set and there was this big horrible bassy noise comin in and out (was defo nothin 2 do wae the set).....the glitchin also seems to happen if am searching the net at the same time as listining to sets.....

does anyone else have this problem?

think a should send it back??

Sounds like buffer underuns, what have you got your latency set to at the moment?

[ritaheed]

is tht the samples per buffer?? if so 256

[Barely Human]

Are you running at 44100hz or 96000hz? If your running at 96000. then try setting to 512 samps, or try switching to 44100 and see if that cures it.

[ritaheed]

nah the ****ers still ****in sticking - aint got nothin 2 do wae ma lappy - ave done everythin the manuals said and tried what u said and its still dodgy - so am gettin it 2 **** - its been anoying me since a got it plus have a gander at this...................

http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35242&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Barely Human]

That sucks man. Ive not had any personal experience with MOTU cards, but i know they had driver problems in the past. Have a look at the M-Audio range as ive had a few things, and they've been rock solid for me.

[yellaman]

dont say i didnt warn ya ... RME..... Trust me

[MARK ANXIOUS]

that glitch shit is the samples per buffer, i've had it myself - you sure you've fiddled with the setting???

ps make sure you've got the most up to date drivers off the motu site

[MARK ANXIOUS]

oh and dont forget to knock off the original sound card. that could be conflicting.

do these tweaks too:

www.musicxp.net

i'm sure if you do all that it'lll be fine :)

[ritaheed]

mark wots ur setting at?? dun the tweaks and im still gettin probs.....the drivers are up 2 date aswell.........these high pitched glitches actually scare me, also wen i did adjust the samples per buffer settings the glitchin got worse and the motu died on me.....had 2 reboot.....nae good!!

[ritaheed]

motu ultralite again - http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38796

motu 828 - http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41790

a better get an exchange......got it from DV247.COM.....3 weeks ago, there return policy is tht when they confirm the fault they then send you out a new item, anyone had to send anything back?? after 3 weeks??

[jon connor]

wow motu not really that great??? jesus i have the 828 and i love it. hmmm what am i missing..

now you have me intrigued. i really am going to check out this lynx.

:)

nice 1 man im currently rebuilding my studio i thinks im going to buy this, we will see .

[jon connor]

hmmmmmm problems man ive just read through that stuff in link i might just get an 828 now i dunno cant be arsed with these problems but it looks cool how is it ?

[ritaheed]

ave had to send my ultralite back

[Si.]

Hey did you get this sorted in the end?? I was looking at the motu ultralite... Not so sure now!

[yellaman]

really guyz.. u should check out the Fireface 400! it is incredible and will never give you silly problemz... and the sound IS better and the Mic pre is AWESOME!!

[ritaheed]

aye mate ave clocked the RME - the reviews are awesome, so am gonna go wae tht!!!

[jon connor]

Hey did you get this sorted in the end?? I was looking at the motu ultralite... Not so sure now!


i have changed my mind sticking with getting the 828 mark 2 its worth the extra few quid, and also there is now a mark 3 but thats just a bit to expensive for me as ive to by new mackie monitors , but however i have bought wisely i think in sticking with the 828 mark 2 fire wire . after all its the sound quality that counts so dont mind shelling out for somthing im going to get a lot of enjoyment for my money.

[jon connor]

really guyz.. u should check out the Fireface 400! it is incredible and will never give you silly problemz... and the sound IS better and the Mic pre is AWESOME!!
looks lovevely that mate but a bit out of my price range just about got enough for the 828 phew!