Hi Guys,

I am sure people get fed up of answering questions about interfaces, so I'm sorry to those of you who are saying "not another interface question!!".

I know there are a few people on the internet who have reviewed some MOTU gear, as I have searched around. However, there doesn't seem to be a good review of the MOTU 828 mk3, which is a unit that I am very interested in purchasing. I have been looking for the right interface for my needs and I am thinking that the 828 mk3 is right, but I am looking to find out if anyone uses one, has had good/bad experiences with one or see if they have chosen it over other units, or vice versa.

To let you know, I am still in my bedroom (sadly) with a quad core Mac Pro and Logic Pro 7 (not upgraded to 8 as yet). Due to limitations of being in my bedroom I know that I will not be able to record a full drum kit without problem and there is a studio locally where I can do this. So I figure for the moment 2 mic inputs will be sufficient, allowing me to record say guitar & vocals. I want the ability to add more i/o at a later date to allow me to expand my recording possibilities once I am out of the bedroom. I also like the idea of being able to add "nicer" sounding pre-amps in the future, hence line ins and digital input like ADAT seems logical.

If anyone has any suggestions or can let me know what they think to the MOTU I would greatly appreciate it.

I have the original 828, used it with several generations of Macs.

Their firewire interfaces all use the same driver, I've experienced great stability.



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G-Dub
Studio G-fx 15inch quad-core i7 Macbook Pro Logic913

Thanks for the response. I have heard that their drivers are super stable on Macs, which is great. Definitely another plus point in the consideration.

theyre good solid interfaces. customer support pretty good from what ive experienced aswell.

Amazing interfaces! love em we've got two mk2s and a mk1 at our rehearsal space/studio. neutral sounding pres, loads of line inputs to add different mic pres, more digital in/outs than i'll ever use!

the newest one was bought off ebay for £250!!!!!!

sorry for all the !!!!s, i just love them soooo much

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Ready Eddie?
Bingo Gringo!

Hi,

I had a Motu 828 mkII. Very good, stable and reliable. But, a friend of mine has a mkIII and has had some issues with it. It shut down a couple of times during a live recording!!! He believes it might have been due to heat but I don't know the details.

There are a lot to choose from at this price range! Personally I'd go for the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 (I know, no onboard reverb ect) but it would save you £200! I've got a Pro 26 and it is a very stable, great sounding unit. The Pro 40 appears to have all the mixing/routing options of the Motu but with no word clock and only 1 adat. If you can live with that it looks like great value.

Another one to think about might be the M-Audio Profire 2626. I've just ordered one. Also costs around £400. I've heard some great audio samples from it but can't vouch for the stability ect.

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www.bradleysteenkamp.com

Thanks for the responses guys really appreciate it.

Shut down from over-heating?? Hmmm, that's interesting. Does your friend run the unit with a PC or Mac? I have heard that there are stability issues with PCs, not so much with Mac, so it would be interesting to know which they use.

I have been looking at the Saffire Pro 40 as well, but as there was only 1 ADAT felt that it may limit the expandability possibilities. I did see that new Saffire 56 thing, which I know would be more money, but it did look very interesting. What do you guys think?

He was running the 828 mkIII connected to a Macbook. It could just be an issue he had with his unit and it was in a rack bag so perhaps didn't get enough ventilation!

Now, if you are thinking about the liquid 56? Well, I would go for that for sure!!! In fact, I had one on order but, they told me they are not due in the UK till April so I canceled but I am almost sure I'll get one at some point!

I love the idea of having those liquid pre's personally!

The only issue is there are no review around yet and it's always hard to know if there could be some initial issues with a new interface like that.

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www.bradleysteenkamp.com

Very true. The idea of having those pres seems good on paper, but like you say I wonder what they will be like in terms of stability. I guess we will have to wait and see. This is a problem though, as it makes me want to wait, but then I won't have an interface to record with, a catch 22 I would say. Hmmmm.....

828 mk3 looks good, and meets my needs right now.....

choices, choices!

All the new MOTU mk3 firewire interfaces and still no review from SOS?

I'm sensing a conspiracy theory here, are there any technical problems and SOS waits until they have been resolved befoe publishing the review?



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TritonExtrMOSS/EX800, NordRack2, ATC1, D550/XV5080/MKS70/MKS7/MKS50/MKS80/S550/JP8080/Ju60/JD990, Blofeld, Mopho, TG77/An1X, ESQM, Emax, Esynth, AkaiS5k/MPC1k, Indigo2, Rogue, Machinedrum, ProOne

Hi there,

I am sorry that can not comment directly on the 828Mkiii. I can however speak of my experiences of Motu 828Mkii in a very general way.
So please forgive me this is by no means a technical review. Just personal experience.

From my experience I can say MOTU make very sturdy and reliable hardware. I have had no trouble with mine at all. When I use it I feel like I am using a solid piece of hardware, the construction is solid and the switches and controls on it seem sturdy and smooth at the same time. The inputs also have the same "sturdy" feel about them. I can't really talk in detail about the converters etc, there are folks here that are far more qualified than I to do so. I can say however that I do prefer the sound of my 828Mkii over my previous Digi001 and 002, but that is just personal preference more than anything technical also I have learnt so much more about recording since I owned the Digi units so this maybe a very unfair and biased comment indeed. The construction of the Motu wins hands down compared to the Digi units I have owned.

The included AudioDesk software is a great compliment to the unit too as long as your needs do not require MIDI. For me it is very intuitive and stable piece of software and the manual is better than most I have read.

I have used the 828Mkii by-itself with out a mixer to record choirs and solo instruments. I now use it with a mixing console, which may speak for the fact that it easily integrates and grows as the home studio grows, which is a nice thing.

Last week I added an ADA8000 and connected this unit to the Motu via ADAT light pipe with no trouble. The Motu registered immediately that the two were synched and AudioDesk found both units and both units so far play nicely together. I learnt that due to a limitation of Logic Express 7.2 The ADAT channels don't show up. Understandable considering its cost. This was not due however to the Hardware it was a case of me not researching enough. I have since upgraded to Logic Pro 8 and the Motu and ADA 8000 now show up in my "Logic world".

I would imagine that all of the mentioned interfaces will do the job just fine however.

Whatever you buy I hope it brings you great inspiration and great mixes.
Enjoy
Jay

While reading the review of the Konnekt 48 from April 2008 it is stated

"look out for an SOS review in a forthcoming issue"


one year later and still not a single review of any of MOTUs new interfaces.....


what is going on here, who killed Kennedy and what is CIA hiding in Area 51?

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TritonExtrMOSS/EX800, NordRack2, ATC1, D550/XV5080/MKS70/MKS7/MKS50/MKS80/S550/JP8080/Ju60/JD990, Blofeld, Mopho, TG77/An1X, ESQM, Emax, Esynth, AkaiS5k/MPC1k, Indigo2, Rogue, Machinedrum, ProOne

For great and positive review on the motu828 mk3
please visit http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/828mk3/reviews/#anchor
I can assure you that this is much better than the Digi 00's and the focusrite saffire series.
so my friend give your self a treat by grabbing your self a motu mk3 and if you've got some extra cash to spend get your self the apogee big ben for a superior sound improvment.

cheers

You may also find it worthwhile to have a browse through the unofficial MOTU forum:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/index.php

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Visit my band's website

My mk3 works great with my synergy aw700