motu 2408 mk2 or delta 1010?

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mrface2112

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don't worry, this isn't "which is better?" drivel. ;-)

i've got a laptop with a docking station (not port replicator) which takes 1 PCI card. it's running win2k and has plenty of horsepower (pentium centrino 1.6 with 512mb ram). I need at least 8 channels of decent quality I/O, preferably 16, but i could live with 8 until i build a new desktop later this year.

the motu will do 24bit and 48khz and reportedly has better converters than the delta 1010....where the delta will do 24/96. i'm not picky about the numbers, and would be quite happy with 24/48 if it were nice and clean.

obviously the motu would give me more immediate expandability being able to run 3 units off one card. i have no problems getting the delta 1010 and waiting a while for more inputs, as i've had good success with m-audio products in the past. i've got friends who run motu on windows platforms with no problems as well.

assuming that price were the same for both units and all other things equal, which would you pull the trigger on and why?


wade
 
the 2408MKII doesn't have better converters than the 1010... the 2408MKIII may.. or atleast they're right on par..

the MKII would be better if you have digital i/o's IMO...
i like the 1010, it has a great quality low noise and very good drivers..
i'd get 2 1010's for 16i/o's..or RME.. with the taptop i'd look at the Layla24 and or the Rme multiface with the cardbus
 
I have the 2408 mkII and love it, but C9 has a good point. Unless you need all the digital I/O, the 1010 might suit your needs better.
 
i was looking at the RME, but i'm not able to find a comparable price for it that comes close to what I can find for both the Motu and the 1010. certainly it's a notch above in terms of quality, but my limit is right around $400/450 and one can find used 2408/1010's for that price.....but not RME's.

i was using the "better converters" phrase based on a couple dozen threads i've read here and other places, seems people seem to think that the motu is a tad "better" than the 1010, with some folks thinking the other folks are crazy. ;-) everyone seems to like "their decision" best, ya know? guess they're about 1 in the same.

i don't really care about the cardbus/pcmcia option, as i have a PCI slot available in the docking station and eventually this (these?) will be living in a desktop-based PC anyway....so cardbus really would be working against me.

i do like m-audio's drivers, and their trackrecord for the windoze-based OS has been pretty exemplary.


thanks!

wade
 
meant to address the digi i/o above

i don't *need* the digital IO right now......but i'm forseeing a time where i'll be billing studio time to other folks and i very well MAY need the adat inputs.....if i could get an interface with them for the same price as one without them, it definitely helps in the decisionmaking.

TrackRat, are you running a PC or a Mac?


wade
 
I dont know much about the 2408mkII but i used the Delta 44s for a while before i switched to a 2408mk3. All i know is the Motu sounds a billion times better in my opinion as far as converters go and i havent had one single problem running in Windows XP. The drivers are tight and stable. It made me realize how junky M-Audio stuff really was compared to other brands out there. The M-Audio is definately great for the money and im not saying it sucks in that way. But there really is a big difference in quality. If anything, the M-Audio Drivers sucked. Of course the Delta 44s do not have as good of converters as the 1010 either even though suposedly they are the same, and im talking about the 2408mkII. But all i know is im much happier with my Motu then my M-Audio stuff. RME is also good stuff.

Anyway, its definately a tough straw to draw.

Danny
 
I'm using the 2408 with PC (98S.E.) with Cakewalk9. I should also mention I clock the MOTU with a GenX6 which will make the converters sound a bit better than stock.
 
the delta 44 and 1010 do NOt have the same converters.. and quality wise yea, the 2408MKII should've sounded better than the 44.. its almost as clean as the 1010 to me.. the MKIII i hear has some nice converters and the the new PCI424 pose to be great vs the 324
 
At this point in time, I wouldn't bother with the pci-324 card anymore, if you can avoid it. Everything about the pci-424 card is supposed to be better. Plus, getting a system based on the 324 card doesn't really offer any expandability in the upcoming years being that all of motu's new audio interfaces will be based on the pci-424 card.

But at the same time, the pci-424 card is supposed to support the older 324 legacy devices, so if you got a pci-324 based system now, and then later upgraded to a 424 based system, you would still have use of all of the audio in/out hardware.

Eric
 
i knew y'all'd say that

<<I wouldn't bother with the pci-324 card anymore, if you can avoid it>>

see, therein lies the rub. there's a significant difference in price between a new 2408 mk3 (anyone seem em available used yet?) and a used 2408 mk2. about a factor of 2, actually. and that puts the mk3 outside the scope of the current available funds. honestly, if i were gonna spring for a mk3, i'd spring for either the new 24i/o or an RME Multiface. and yeah, according to motu, the 424 card is indeed supposed to support the older devices, so i don't have too much concern there if i were to buy the mk2.

at this point, it's get the mk2/1010 or sit on it for a while and gather more cash for the 24i/o or an RME. like most folks who strike up these conversations, i'm dissatisfied with (outgrown is more like it) the 2 channels of Audiophile 2496, have a couple extra dollars in my pocket and am looking to jump at the first marginally sexy thing that walks my way. maybe patience is in order--buy once and buy what i really want--i know me, though.....i'll put the money away with the intention of adding to it, and then one of y'all will unload an RNC i need....and then a symmetrix.....and then a couple more mics.......so much for adding to it. ;-)

basically what it sounds like i'm hearing from y'all is that either the mk2 or the 2408 will do a "fine" job, which is about what i figured (and would expect for $50/channel).


anyway, i appreciate the input.....i'll have to stew about this for a bit. patience grasshopper. :p


wade
 
one last qustion

which company would be better to deal with in terms of tech support when concerning a used piece of gear? i know m-audio's pretty good when i've had to deal with them. i guess i'm asking is whether motu's folks are closer to m-audio's side of the coin or are they more like digidesign and behringer.


wade
 
The CueMix on the PCI-424 is amazing.

Anyway, ive never had to use Motus support yet because i havnt had any problems yet, so i really cant tell you. All i know is that i HOPE its better than M-Audios because i had a very hard time with their support. Like sitting on the phone for about an hour and a half and getting disconnected. I hate that. And they would never call you.

Plus when i was having my problems with M-Audio i would email them and every reply was a copy and paste report about checking IRQs even when in the email i specifically said i have checked IRQs hundreds of times and done what you have said plenty of times and it still doesnt work.

So, i just hope motu has better support. I cant expect a company to be any worse at least.

Danny
 
Oh, i just wanted to say that the reason why i didnt get the 24i/o (because i could have) is because i dont have a mixer that supports 24 direct outs anyway. 8 was all i needed and i really needed to have the digital bays knowing that i could buy third party converters which were probably nicer anyway down the road when i needed them. And if for any reason i do need to record more than 8 tracks i have ADATs that i can use.

I am possibly planning on expanding to the 24 i/o which is what i really like about motus stuff. The card can expand up to 4 of the units. And a 24 i/o stand alone unit is like around $700. Thats a great combination in my opinion. 32 ins/outs with 2 S/pdif or ADAT link optical digital bays to hook a digital mixer to, SMPTE (which i need) with meters on the front.

I believe the its really hard to chose from Motu and RME. Both are great companies that make great cards. I really scratch my head why RME is always the preferred one and the Motu stuff is NEVER talked about around here. Like when people ask they always say, Delta 1010 or RME?

I cant imagine what some of the more state of the art converters and units are like.

Danny
 
it's funny

i was just preaching this "buy cheap, buy twice" and "buy quality, buy once" crap over to someone in another forum when talking about an RNC vs an Autocom. maybe i should take my own advice and just save up for that 2408 mk3, b/c i prolly won't be happy unless i do. i've never been one for "bleeding edge" technology, but i don't really want to buy something that's on the way out, either. not saying that the mk2 and 1010 are, but y'all know what i'm sayin.

my board doesn't *technically* support direct outs. it's a mackie 24*4 and i have to tap the channel inserts for em. i don't really mind doing that--and it basically means all i'll be using the board for is the preamps. it's kinda funny having a discussion about "decent quality converters" when a mackie board's involved....but small steps--i got a deal i couldn't refuse on that board and will just about double my investment when i sell it, so it's all good. it does a usable job and as long as you know where the strengths (and weaknesses) lie, you're pretty much ok. the next board will be either a ghost or something along the lines of a midas venice (unless i come across a bank of nice pres for a good price), but that'll come *after* i can get at least 16 tracks' worth of audio into the computer. :p


wade
 
I started with a 2408 mkII and then added the 24 i/o. I don't know if the sound is better than on the 1010 and I would guess that other factors in each studio and set up has an effect on this very subjective value. Nevertheless, MOTU stuff is very solid, easy to work with and certainly sounds good enough.

Since I have the 424 card 24 i/o and 2408 mkII for 32 analogue inputs and outputs and 44.1 or 48 khz and 24 ins and outs at 96 khz, I have been thinking of getting rid of the mixer (a Mackie) and adding control surface. The only reason I have not is becuase of the auxiliary sends and returns. I suppose I could use up channels for this such as the 8 on the 2408 mkII. I am just not good enough as an engineer yet and, I am lazy when it comes to re-wiring, something I hate to do almost as much as..well you get the point.

One last poine, if you are thinking of getting the 424, be aware that it is not compatible with the G5s or was not compatible. For those of us that already have a 424, we have to send it in for a $70.00 upgrade so that it will work with the G5. I suppose the newer ones will already be compatible. They are backwards compatible too so that you can upgrade, put it back into your system and go G5 when you go G5.
 
Thanks Jerry.

I too am running a Mackie board (a 24*4) and i would have a hard time living without the aux sends. they're not great, but they get the job done.

i'm running a PC with Win2k, so i'm not overly concerned about mac compatibility issues, but that's good to know none the less.

to be honest, since i can run 3 units off the 324 card, that would give me plenty of flexibility at 24/48, and that's pretty much swayed my mind towards this used motu that i've been looking at.

i get the feeling that the motu gear is just a tad more "professional level" than the 1010......but that's prolly more "self convincing" than anything. ;-)


thanks again for all your replies! time to bust out the credit card!


wade
 
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