motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

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Rowl
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motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by Rowl »

hi, I need advice on how to connect my motu/mk3 audio interface and get it to work with my new MacPro.

I can't use the sound card that was previously installed on my G5 - is there a way of connecting it via a sound card adapter ? (if that even exists ?) or do I need to buy an external soundcard to connect to ?

...or do I need to buy a new audio interface that will work with the Mac Pro and if so, what would you recommend ?

Any help and advice very welcome !
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HCMarkus
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by HCMarkus »

If your Mac doesn't have a PCIe slot, your 2408 won't work with it.
Time for a MOTU 16A Thunderbolt interface?
Rowl
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by Rowl »

Thanks very much HCmarkus.

I shall now start researching for a new audio interface - I notice the motu 16a is quite expensive (1k+) so if anyone has any recommendations for a more affordable but good quality audio interface to replace my 2408mk3 I'd welcome your advice :)
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by monkey man »

I think you can install your card into a TB PCI chassis, if I'm not mistaken, Rowl.

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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by James Steele »

monkey man wrote:I think you can install your card into a TB PCI chassis, if I'm not mistaken, Rowl.
It was my understanding that without firmware upgrades on the card itself, this won't work. UA released a statement saying something like this regarding their UAD 2 cards. All except the OCTO could not work on a TB expansion chassis. I would not count on the PCIe-424 working either. :(
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by mikehalloran »

Did UA ever announce a driver for the Octo?
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by James Steele »

mikehalloran wrote:Did UA ever announce a driver for the Octo?
You know, I just stopped following that situation because I have a DUO and so it wouldn't apply to me anyway. But you make a good point. I remember when UA released that statement, and all I think they said was that it might be "possible" with the OCTO. I'm not a hardware expert, but I think that in order for it to be possible, the PCIe card must have some sort of flashable ROM like graphics cards do, so that it's firmware could be updated. Forgive me if I'm hazy on this or don't speak with the correct terms. Apparently the reason for this was that the PCIe spec that can be carried over Thunderbolt was modified to allow for more devices, so how the devices were designated/addressed was changed. Unless the card's firmware is updated to be compatible with this, it's not going to work.

It was a while ago that I read this, and as I said, I'm not engineer, so that's my poor layman's attempt. Even beyond the technical hurdles, there have been very compelling arguments made that by the time you factor in the cost of the expansion chassis, whatever savings you might realize aren't worth the hassle.
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by mikehalloran »

James Steele wrote:
mikehalloran wrote:Did UA ever announce a driver for the Octo?
You know, I just stopped following that situation because I have a DUO and so it wouldn't apply to me anyway. But you make a good point. I remember when UA released that statement, and all I think they said was that it might be "possible" with the OCTO...
Apparently, they made good on their promise re the OCTO. The other cards, as we know, cannot work.

http://www.uaudio.com/support/uad/compa ... macpro2013
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by James Steele »

mikehalloran wrote:Apparently, they made good on their promise re the OCTO. The other cards, as we know, cannot work.

http://www.uaudio.com/support/uad/compa ... macpro2013
Interesting. I wonder if any sort of flashing of the card is needed or it just plain works? Even then ones sold before the 2013 MacPro was released? It would be interesting to know what about the OCTO made it compatible.
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by monkey man »

Gee, I figured the MOTU cards would've been working by now; I remember a bunch of folks' asking for the support several years ago. Pity the driver tweaks didn't happen.

Sorry for the bum steer, Rowl. I did say "I think" and "if I'm not mistaken", which I was. Typical ape.

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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by mikehalloran »

monkey man wrote:Gee, I figured the MOTU cards would've been working by now; I remember a bunch of folks' asking for the support several years ago. Pity the driver tweaks didn't happen.
Driver tweaks were never going to make it happen. Apple changed certain fundamentals and no one's PCI audio cards could be made compatible.

Only UA said that their OCTO effects card could be made to work after they came out with a firmware upgrade. They've released many of those and I don't know which one did the trick.

For MOTU, would have involved new firmware chips or a redesign of the 424e card. Then this new card would have to be compatible with the right expansion chassis or MOTU would have had to bring one of those to market... You are talking about a $500 - $700 minimum street price. All this to support older devices after Apple has discontinued PCIe expansion slots?

I can't imagine anyone green lighting such a project no matter how many on this board were threatening to never use MOTU products again if they didn't. Was that two or three people? I forget.
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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by monkey man »

A-ha! Thank you for clarifying that, Mike.

You're right that it was probably only a few people; they must've kept reviving the thread and its persistence seems to have given me the impression that folks were screaming for the support. Well, they probably were, but as you've suggested, it's likely it was a vocal minority. Seems to be the way of the world these days anyway, eh? LOL

It's good to know MOTU hadn't lapsed in any way and that no company in its right mind, if it were in MOTU's position, would've done things differently.

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Re: motu 2408mk3 with the Mac Pro - please help !

Post by James Steele »

mikehalloran wrote:All this to support older devices after Apple has discontinued PCIe expansion slots?
That's the bottom line right there, Mike. You saved me from typing my response. It's an issue that would affect an increasingly small subset of users.

Personally, what I'd REALLY like to see is MOTU doing one of the following:

A) Develop a small breakout box that would attach to the Thunderbolt port that would essentially contain the "guts" of a 424 card and would have AudioWire connectors on it, that would allow users to continue using the older PCI-based interfaces... or....

B) MOTU starts adding one or more Audiowire connectors on the back of their Thunderbolt interfaces. Thus older interfaces could be used as expansion, and MOTU still makes money by selling at least ONE newer TB interface. This is not unlike how you can daisy chain the older serial MTP MIDI interfaces off the newer USB models.

I passed both these ideas directly to MOTU via email and at NAMM. I don't hold out much hope and B) above was something I thought was a good compromise. Option A) might end up costing them sales of new interfaces for a very slim profit on the breakout box.
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