828 mk3 Hybrid or Traveller mk3 Hybrid?

[BRW]

Would anyone here be interested in sharing their opinions (and/or experiences, if you're an owner) on these two, and perhaps, which one would you pick?

These two interfaces seem really similar (pretty much the exact same price), but the Traveller has four preamped mic inputs instead of two on the 828. I'm looking for something in this price range (so that rules out anything beyond $1k, like the Ensembles and Konnekts etc. I also need way more inputs than something like the Duet 2 can provide) - so even though this is Motunation, if you could suggest another brand/product, that would be cool too.

I've tried to search through various forums, googling, even reading customer reviews...but haven't been able to find much anything. Electronic Musician (Craig Anderton) gave the 828 a "Most Badass Interface" award, lol.

I'm using a Mac - PC guys seem to have a lot of worries with the 828 especially - and I do need Firewire, don't have room for an USB interface. Are there any issues left for Mac that aren't solved with firmware updates, since it has been on the market a few years now? I'm still on Snow Leopard, haven't updated to Lion - don't even know if I will.

Folks at Gearslutz don't speak kindly about the preamps (or the converters, apparently) -any take on this? Apparently earlier generations had some noise issues (?) but that is supposedly fixed on the MK3s..or is it (?).

[nick danger]

The choice really comes down to how portable you want this unit to be. The traveller can work on bus power, and the extra couple of pre-amps mean you don't have to carry around extras if two pre-amp channels aren't enough.

If this unit is going to sit in your studio most of the time, and you have good quality external pre-amps, get the 828, and save a $100. Even if you decide to take it on the road, as long as you have 110 v. power available, it's still reasonably portable.

[BRW]

^
Hi, and thanks for a reply.

Let's put it this way - portability is certainly a plus, and something I have to take into consideration. I've been actually leaning towards the Traveler in the mean time after I posted this thread...

(And actually, my thread title is misinformed - MOTU hasn't released a hybrid version of the Traveler, it's FireWire only).

So they really don't have any other differences other than the number of preamps / XLR inputs (and a second headphone output in the 828), and some size differences? The preamps and converters are the same (and therefore the sound quality)?

People seem happy with both, what they critize most is the Windows drivers compatibility (I'm on a Mac so no probs), the learning curve for CueMix and MOTU's questionable product support... I even found a few reviews for both products, mostly favorable all around.

What makes me think a bit is price... You can get a Focusrite Saffire 56 with the supposedly excellent Liquid preamps (along with more inputs) for pretty much the same price, but that beast isn't what you'd exactly call "portable"!

[nick danger]

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on the choices-- it's just a matter prioritizing what's most important to you.