Everyones' Thoughts on the Brand New MOTU 828mkII Firewire Miracle Interface

[pisces7378]

Ok... I have been in the market for a new interface for about 6 months now, and for one reason or another (usually financially) I have had to put off buying a new audio system to replace/upgrade my M-Audio Delta 66-OMNI Studio system.

I had been looking into the 24I/O from MOTU because I figured that since it is 96kHz and has 24 analog INs and OUTs that it would be a workhorse that would last me YEARS in the studio without needing to be upgraded or added on to. I really do not NEED 24 Simultanious inputs at the moment (and I have serious doubts that I will EVER be recording a 200 piece orchestra in this life time that would require such enourmouse amounts of analog inputs. Plus I do not even have 24 mics. Hell I only have four mics that are worth anything.

The MOTU 24I/O is attractive because it is all analog INs and OUTs. This is good because I do not have a digital mixer or anything outboard that is digital. But I only really need 8 or maybe 9 aimultanious inputs. So the 24I/O is a bit of over kill for me.

Well lo and behold... MOTU has released this new 828mkII firewire affair that has 8 TRS analog ins and two mic pre amp TRS mic/instrument analog INs. That makes 10 analog ins. There is no messy sound card to install into my brand new (just ordered not even arrived yet) dual 1.42ghz Mac. It is all Firewire, and I can connect multpile 828mkII's for even more if I ever do run into that 200 piece orchestra.

My only concern is about Firewire itself. What are the latency issues surrounding this "new" interface option? Can this protocol (i.e firewire) handle 10 channels of 24 bit-96kHz audio on one single wire of 1394? What is the latency like?

My main concern is recording a completely mic'd drum kit (i.e 8-9 mic's recorded onto 8-9 tracks simultanously) and after that I will be step by step recording 1-2 guitar/instruments at a time to build up the songs.

What do you guys think about the reliability and believablility of such a dream machine as this new 828mkII???

Please keep in mind that the 24I/O costs $1,450 and this 828mkII costs only like $795

 

[adam]

I went with the first choice - though I left my healthy dose of skepticism out.

From a features standpoint it seems like a dream. Everything I always wanted (hope my RME Multiface isn't offended). And it looks cool.

However...

For me, the success is based on 3 things, the drivers, converters and pre amp quality. The first 828 left quite a bit to be desired here. For me, Windows performance would also be a concern.

 

[pisces7378]

Howdo ya know???

How can I know if the drivers and converters are good? I am sure that the converters are good on a MOTU. They seem to be pretty damned respected for having top notch DACs and ADCs. Now, as far as drivers are concerned, how can I know if the drivers are good until I have bought it and taken it home?

What are some of the tell tail signs of some BAD drivers?

I am working in Logic on a Mac so I assumed that MOTU of all people would have descent drivers for the Mac.

I am mostly concerned with latency and Firewire. Are Firewire interfaces better or worse than PCI based interfaces about latency?

To make a long story short... let's say you only need 10 simultanious I/O and you are mostly concerned with performance and NOT with price...

Would you get a MOTU 828mkII or a 24I/O?

Cheers for your help!

Mike

 

[Jeyan]

I would go with the 828MKII for sure. It has digital i/o and ADAT channels and it is half the price of 24i/0. If you need more inputs you can always buy a 1224 or an old 2408 expansion unit for very less price and add to your existing core (but they go only upto 48Khz) I use a 2408MkIII core with a MOTU308 and an MOTU 2408 old unit. They work as good as the new ones. Can't beat a Motu's a->d....... d->a converters.

 

[LooneyTunez]

Just picked up the MOTU 828MkII, and so far it's everything they claim it to be. You can now directly monitor (no latency) all 20 inputs via CueMix (which is worth the price right there), the converters are said to be the same as what's in the 2408MkIII (seem even better than what my 896 had), You can control your monitor and headphone mixes/volumes separately, in multiple configurations (all digitally, not with standard potentiometers), and so far it's been rock solid (with no dropouts like my 896 had quite frequently)...Granted, I've only played with it for a few hours so far, but it seems to be everything MOTU claims it to be...a rarity IMO. BTW, I'm running it on Win2K (Desktop) and WinXP (Laptop). I'll be doing a huge project with it in the next couple months, and will report my results.

 

[jet-rocker]

Who has this in stock?

-Jtt

 

[LooneyTunez]

As of yesterday, http://www.kraftmusic.com had 3 in stock yet, and I hear that Sam Ash and Sweetwater have them as well.

 

[jet-rocker]

Looney: I'll be a guinnea pig with you then.... And I REALLY know better.

What chipset(s) are you using?

Latency reports?

-Jtt

 

[Chris Fallen]

the converters are said to be the same as what's in the 2408MkIII (seem even better than what my 896 had

How do they compare to other converters in quality (ie: delta 1010, rme multiface, aardvark)?

At that price would it be better just to save up and bust out the new rackmount digi 002?

 

[jet-rocker]

My completely undeducated hunch is that the RME's converters are somewhat better. Motu's converters don't get too much praised-cept for the HD192.

The firewire/features of the 828II, are what got me hooked.

-Jtt

 

[dafduc]

Re: Howdo ya know???

I am working in Logic on a Mac so I assumed that MOTU of all people would have descent drivers for the Mac.

You should be fine then. Keyboard mag just did a review of the 828 with that configuration, and loved it. I was a bit pissed they hadn't tried it in a Windoze environment too, since MOTU has a rep for developing for the Mac and then force-fitting for the PC...

I didn't vote 'cos I dunno. But for YOUR purposes, it should be great.

Daf

 

[Chris Fallen]

The firewire/features of the 828II, are what got me hooked.

Have you checked out the digi002 rack? That's firewire, too. A little more expensive, though..

 

[jet-rocker]

If I was just starting out, I'd look at the 002 rack.

But I've got a lot of $$ sunk into Sonar and plugs.

I used an Aardvark Lx6 for ages. I'd NEVER buy another product from them after waiting through their shoddy driver development--and their indifferent respsonse when their advice helped me kill my unit.

In the meantime I've been using a Tascam 224 as a stop gap measure, which is great, but I need more ins/outs.

I'm going back to school next year and will have a laptop, so the Motu makes sense to me. I've heard REALLY mixed things about their prods for PC. So my fingers are crossed.

-Jtt

 

[Chris Fallen]

If I was just starting out, I'd look at the 002 rack.

But I've got a lot of $$ sunk into Sonar and plugs.

I think I'm going that way, too. I've never seen this unit before and it looks really nice (and would only be a few extra bucks if I sell my 1010 on ebay). I spent a lot of time scouting out the STAudio M-port (or whatever it's called) and then just settled on an M12 and 1010. Works great for me, but I would mind spending a few extra hundred to have a VOLUME CONTROL ON THE FRONT. Haha. Just kidding.

Anyway, little things on this that I love are stuff like the main out volume control and the meters on the front. Not like that makes a big difference or anything, but I love em.

Depending on the quality and such, though (hopefully someone pops in that can relate how good the converters are), I might look into this when I pick up my new computer.

 

[LooneyTunez]

Looney: I'll be a guinnea pig with you then.... And I REALLY know better.

What chipset(s) are you using?

Latency reports?

-Jtt

My desktop has the AMD MPX chipset, and my laptop is (heaven forbid) the VIA KT133a.

I haven't really tested latency yet, but it's always been really low on my desktop anyway...CueMix pretty much negates the need for low latency (in my applications).

 

[LooneyTunez]

How do they compare to other converters in quality (ie: delta 1010, rme multiface, aardvark)?

At that price would it be better just to save up and bust out the new rackmount digi 002?

I can't speak for the RME or Aardvark stuff, but the converters are certainly a coulple of steps up from the ones that were in my Delta 66 (The 896 was even a step up there). I have a friend who was using the RME Digiface, and just got the 2408MkII (again, supposed to be the same converters as the 828MkII), so once he gets things up and running again, I'll see what his impressions are.

IMHO, the Digi stuff doesn't have a good features vs cost ratio.

 

[willovercome]

if i use protools stuff, is there anyway i could use this too?

 

[spankenstein]

ProTools only works with their hardware.

I just bought one of these and so far it's been great. The install was easy the drivers just plain worked (and have so far) and the preamps are definitely usable.

I almost bought a digi002R. Make sure to read their suported hardware list. There is a bunch of stuff that they don't support which REALLY is upsetting for a firewire device. So my PC that has worked fine with everything else won't work with ProTools because it has an SiS chipset. That is really lame on digidesign's end.

 

[crankz1]

I've got the 828mkII .... and I love it.
Using it on a XP PC .... no driver issues negligible latency (zero through cue mix).
Computer is ...
P4 (Prescott) 3gHz
Abit IC7-G (Intel 875P chipset) mobo
Texas Instruments based Firewire controller.

Don't know what more to say ..... The 828mkII Rocks IMHO!
I'd buy another one ... though I'd like to see some reviews of the Mackie Onyx 800R first, as I'd like to use one for the ADAT I/O.

 

[earworm]

ok now,

i'm very interested in buying a MOTU 828
, not the mk2

is this a good idea ? i heard some people say that the normal 828 does have some flaws...... but i've never used it ;..
can anyone tell me a lill more about errors or things you dislike on the 828 ?

i think the 828 mkII might be just a little bit too much for me ...
right now i just got an M-audio dman 2044 (4 in and out, thats all);
i worked with the delta 1010...... but this Firewire stuff is really interesting,
and seems like Motu might have a little more quality...

anyway,
its allmost certain,i'm going for a MOTU...
but ..... 828 .... 828 MKII ..... ?
the 828 should be a buch cheaper..no.?

thanx, earworm