MOTU 1248 AVB

Started by fokof, September 24, 2020, 05:37:16 AM

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fokof

After 25ish years with my HD192 PCI based system as my kit in my Home studio , just purchased a 1248.
I already had an Ultrlite AVB around my bass kit (VB99+SY1000+ Live)

The AVB function is a dream !

Both setup linked with a cat5/6  all IOs available to both ends and computers.
The flexibility of the Patch grid is amazing , feels a lot like the old PM1D/PM5D Yamahas though , takes a while to get your head around.
You can assign Inputs to whatever output directly or make it pass through the mixer , with or without FX/processing.
FX is : gain stage, HPF , EQ (very good) , comp , gate , basic reverb.

Sound wise , D/As are more detailed than my HD192 , who was clocked to a BigBen.
Haven't experiment much on the A/D part yet....

Of course , can be used as a console

A good video on how these unit can be used
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrAma3DG98A&frags=pl%2Cwn

I strongly suggest these if you look to update your studio gear.

scratch17

I am going to get a UA Apollo X6, a UA Twin X Duo and a MOTU 828ES. I am posting here because the 828ES is a better buy IMHO than the 1248. Here are the reasons that made me come to this conclusion.

First, the UA stuff so that the comparison between the 1248 and the 828ES makes sense. The reason that I want the 828ES as an expander is that the X6 and Twin can be expanded with ADAT I/O. As is an X6 plus a Twin X will be limited to a total of 4 mic and 4 line inputs.

Digital I/O

The X6 has two banks of ADAT I/O. It can support 8 channels of I/O at either 48 or 96 kHz. At 96 kHz, the two banks are used with S/MUX. At 48 kHz, only one bank of ADAT ports is active.

The X6 also has a coaxial stereo S/PDIF I/O port set. The Twin has a single ADAT input port. It can be either optical S/PDIF or ADAT. If operating at 96 kHz, it can only take 4 channels of ADAT.

The 828ES

As an I/O expander, the 828ES makes a lot of sense. At 48 kHz sample rate, it can output 10 analog inputs, and two pairs of S/PDIF inputs.

I bet you think I can't count. The 828ES has only 8 channels of line inputs. And there is only a single S/PDIF input on the 828ES.

Well, not exactly. You see the two front combo inputs support either mic or instrument or line levels. It's true; read the manual. 

Also from the 828ES manual...

The Bank A optical I/O can be either ADAT or S/PDIF optical protocol.  You can select either type of protocol separately on the ports. So input on bank A can be S/PDIF optical and the output can be 8 channels of ADAT.

That makes the 828ES potential input count at 14; 10 analog + 4 S/PDIF digital.

I will configure Bank A and B outputs to be ADAT protocol. At 48 kHz one bank of 8 channels will go to the X8's ADAT input. The ADAT bank B will carry the 2 mic/line instrument inputs and the two stereo S/PDIF inputs to the Twin X. In effect the 828Es will provide me with 14 added inputs for my Apollo system.

The Results of the Comparison

Yes, the 1248 has two extra mic inputs. It can be configured as an 8 line, 4 mic or Hi Z analog expander with an added coaxial stereo input and the same optical S/PDIF input. That's 16 total inputs. But unlike the 828ES, the mic inputs can't be used for line level signals.

The two interfaces spec out the same. They both run on the same software. There is the same routing grid, AVB and all of the great things MOTU adds to the software package. But the 1248 is 50% more expensive. Personally, I'd rather have two 828ES at $1990 instead of one 1248 at $1495.
Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio

fokof

I am happy for you

fokof

Firmware update available @ MOTU for all the recent interfaces
1.4.0 April 12th