Trying to decide between motu 1248 and 828es

[dustinkay]

I am itching to break into the world of motu for its known quality and its ease as expandability.

I am trying to decide between the 1248 and the 828es and looking for advice and knowledge from experienced users.

my ultimate goals it get a second box and have 16 ins and outs analog. I like 500 series analog hardware and want to expand my studio in that direction.
I do know the 16A exists but I find the lack of headphone amp and a few other features have made me lean towards the 1248. I don't need 16 channels now but I am saving and working towards having that via 500 series equipment. I am trying to go the more affordable route and built my equipment and I/O as I can afford it as I am only doing recording part time and don't make a lot of money from it

1248's are hard to come by ATM and and after speaking with motu they let me know that they are "on permanent backorder" due to the chip shortage and that they are focusing on newer products. I can buy it used but even that is rare.

I've taken a look at the 828es and it seems comparable to the 1248 though it lacks 2 preamps the 1248 has. I do like the inserts that are available on the preamps it comes with and the I/O. I also like that is a bit newer and some more recent technology.

Other than what I've highlighted Is the 828 a better choice for me? or is the 1248 a better unit overall? any recommendations?

I do prefer thunderbolt btw
I am running windows 10 pro on a gigabyte z590 intel i9 10900k with 64 GB ram. I record and mix with Harrison Mixbus 32c

thanks in advance for your help and advice.

[mikehalloran]

You are right— the cupboard is certainly bare except… Guitar Center, Saginaw has a used 1248. I would snag it before someone else does.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/MOTU/ ... 7640902.gc

You will have 30 days to give it a test drive. Although they do charge shipping on used gear, if you decide to return for any reason, the shipping is also refunded.

[HCMarkus]

I love my 828es. One thing it has that I don't believe the 1248 has is a footswitch jack on the back. Nice for those solo punch-in situations. The lack of two preamps could be an issue. I have enough channels of external mic pre that the line inputs better suited my use case.

For me the 828es was a no-brainer; it replaced an 828mkII. I use the same 8 channel I/O litepipe expander I used with my mkII. Word Clock I/O on the both versions of the 828 makes clocking straight forward.