MOTU 1248 anyone using one...? whats it sound like?

this is true, although i believe the c chips matter as well, its the same chip as the symphony has, Sabre32 ultra i believe, my question is does the symphony use 2 channels per chip or 8? and mrmiller , can you verify how many channels per chip on the 24Ao?

Bill, i think if the design is very solid, mods can be achieved by guys like JW to take these things from very good sounding to over the moon great sounding ime, i'm hoping this is one of them..warranty voided/happy camper 8)


deehope thanx for hooking us up with Mike!

curious, have you heard a BLA FM192 vs a stock Digi192?

We are using the ESS Sabre32 Ultra 8-channel converters in all the new AVB interfaces (except the 24Ai, of course, which has no analog outs).

As you say, just knowing the chips isn't enough. There's so much else that goes into making it sound good, and that's only as good as the weakest link. I'm not trying to convince you we got it right nor should I be able to by just talking about it and the technical details. And even if something is technically pristine, the sound still might not be to your personal taste. Short of listening to one of the boxes yourself, the best I can suggest is to take a look at some of the measurements from GearSlutz and read some of their feedback so far. Here are some of the relevant posts:

User measurements with comparison to a 2408mk3
Raw measurements of a bunch of interfaces including the 16A
16A and Symphony have similar distortion profiles in a loopback test

The main post on GearSlutz should also be fairly informative and has a lot of new users reporting their feedback and experiences. It's a very long read at this point (and it strays off topic for a bit between pages 22 and 24) but there's a lot of good discussion tucked away in there.
MOTU 1248, 8M, 16A Thunderbolt interface

Basically, I could plug this into my MacBook via USB and run 24 outs from Pro Tools? No other interface is needed?

So, this is great news, Michael!
I was a bit hesitant, right now the unit is advertized around here in Germany as "for OSX..." and in the past, many MOTU devices were more in Apple world.
So a proprietary Windows USB 2.0 driver is in the works and will come definitely? I know about the problem that the 2.0 standard on windows still has to be provided by 3rd party drivers, though there are some of them already available apparently. Didn't have the chance to test though because i don't have a version 2.0 class compliant interface to test yet....
It just reads like the 24Ao is a very good candidate to feed analog consoles for a very reasonable price and beeing widely independend in the choice of the feeding DAW and future proof for quite some time due to reliable standards.

One more question, do the drivers and the usb 2.0 interface really support 24 simultaneously running output channels of 24bit/96kHz on the 24Ao?
And, if you connect external ADAT DACs, are the ports capable of doing S-Mux (which would make up for another 12 channels of 24/96 outputs to a total of 36 channels, which would be a very desirable channel count for console feeding...)?
Where are the limitations of the standard, could this work?

Best regards and thank you very much for the in-depth information,
Martin

Driver is in the works as we speak and definitely coming! I don't have an exact date, unfortunately: we want to make it rock solid and that takes time.



Yes! We support 24 channels in both directions at all sample rates (though we're looking to increase that number for lower sample rates). In fact, you can even get 24 channels in simultaneously via ADAT if you need inputs and already have another interface. See the FAQ for more info.



They do indeed support S-Mux. Check out the specs or the user guide for more detail. The only limitation is you'd still only have 24 channels in and 24 channels out of the computer over USB. If you simply want to mirror existing outputs or create aux mixes in the box, you can definitely do that. The routing and mixer are super flexible, with support for things like pre- and post-FX taps.

If you have a modern Mac running OS X 10.10+, you could also connect the 24Ao via ethernet. We just released support for using the interfaces directly via AVB. With Apple's own AVB Core Audio driver, you can get up to 128 channels in either direction, just like Thunderbolt. AVB means your system is future-proofed—you can add new interfaces to supplement what you already have and because it's an IEEE-created standard, it will work across manufacturers.

Occasionally, units have issues and our in-house tech support and customer support are there to help if things go wrong. I know MOTU users who have had the same interfaces for over 10 years without issue. At the same time, things do break from time to time.

As far as these new units, they're physically built like tanks. I haven't heard of any malfunctioning units being returned or repaired so far. Admittedly, they've only been out for a handful of months but things look solid right now.

I've used Digital Performer as DAW since Gibson bought Opcode, and I own (since I am lazy and rarely sell stuff) lots of MOTU interfaces. I use Metric Halo (ULN 8, ULN 2, 2882, I have 'em all) now because I think it sounds better, in and out, but does MOTU sound awful? No. Would I hear a slamming tune and say, yikes, that was recorded on a MOTU 128? Of course not. The MOTU stuff does the job, and the software integration is great. I would say overall, MOTU doesn't get enough love and respect, their products are functional and musical.<script type="text/javascript" src="safari-extension://com.ebay.safari.myebaymanager-QYHMMGCMJR/ff6ed3ec/background/helpers/prefilterHelper.js"></script>

Mr miller thanks for answering some questions. Glad you are hear.

I am with Tony and a few others. I have been actively shopping for something that does 24-32 io and doesn't have driver issues. The problem is that in order to get io without compromise, I have spend 10k or mod a older ad/da. The question Tony has asked a few times is important to me as well. The multichannel chips can do 8 channels or only 2. If the chips are only used for 2 channels the device has better headroom and other things that increase the sonic quality of the conversion. Can you confirm if you are running all 8 channels per chip or if you are doing 2 or 4 per chip?

Thanks again.

Hey Dan, from his post above...


I take this to mean that they are actually using 8 channels per chip. Could be wrong though I guess.

The DAC looks to be a cut above the ADC in design. LME49740 is a good quad opamp, perhaps the best out. The ESS chipset will need to be auditioned.

I've used the Cirrus Logic CS5381 ADC many years ago, it's a bit long in the tooth. It sounds glassy to me like most delta-sigma multi-bit designs. Too bad the excellent BurrBrown PCM4222 sign magnatude ADC was not used. I'm not suprised as it's an expensive part.

Until MOTU enters the higher end ADC market, they will have a ADC that doesn't match up to the level of their new DAC. The DAC looks promising, I'd love to audition one via ADAT optical off my HD24XR.

Tony, you're using Pro Tools Native right now right? You should be able to grab this and run it via USB right out of your Mac and into your console if I'm understanding correctly. Don't need anything else to interface it.