Ultralite Mk5 Issues with Ventura M1 Mbp 14 inch. Stuttering, "Bit Reduction" artifacts and Drop outs?

Spanktron · Post by **Spanktron** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 2:13 pm

Hello everyone.

I have some issues with my Mk5. They are "manageable" meaning they are not constant but they are relatively often there and pretty reliably so.

Sometimes when I play a Youtube video it will at some point have little "plop-stutter" noises or sound like there is a Bit Crusher involved. Sometimes the signal will disappear and I will then need to disconnect it from the laptop and then sometimes restart it and re-select it in the Laptop and it will then work fine.
Also if I am listening to Music in the "Musik" app and start Ableton or try to load a new project , Audio will "surge-drop out" and return after 1-2 seconds.

The most frequent issues are when I am watching video on Youtube somehow.

Does anyone else have similar issues? I am having trouble believing it's my fault.

I am on Ventura and have the latest Motu drivers and Firmware installed

prophetlandia · Post by **prophetlandia** » Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:05 pm

I bought a new Ultralite mk5 in early 2023, and it was nothing but trouble, which was a first for me, as the previous MOTU audio interfaces I had were rock solid, including an M4 that I sold to buy the Ultralite mk5. Same thing, crackles and pops non-stop. After some back and forth with MOTU tech support, they sent me a new one in exchange for the faulty unit. Although the replacement unit seemed to work, I didn't want to risk more blown sessions and ended up selling it. It was too bad, because the mk5 is packed with features.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Mon Nov 06, 2023 11:04 pm

prophetlandia wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:05 pm...they sent me a new one in exchange for the faulty unit. Although the replacement unit seemed to work, I didn't want to risk more blown sessions and ended up selling it. It was too bad, because the mk5 is packed with features.

So they sent you a replacement that worked, but you sold it just in case it might also go bad?

prophetlandia · Post by **prophetlandia** » Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:18 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2023 11:04 pm
prophetlandia wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:05 pm...they sent me a new one in exchange for the faulty unit. Although the replacement unit seemed to work, I didn't want to risk more blown sessions and ended up selling it. It was too bad, because the mk5 is packed with features.
So they sent you a replacement that worked, but you sold it just in case it might also go bad?

Yeah, that's what I did. I guess I was still feeling the pain of losing great takes to all of the crackles and pops in the faulty unit. I didn't want to risk having that happen again. I sold a perfectly working M4 to buy the mk5. For the time being, I'm using a 10 year old Apogee Quartet audio interface which amazingly works under Mac OS Sonoma and is rock solid with MOTU DP 11 and Logic Pro X. I'll see what MOTU might offer in 2024, or maybe look into one of the higher end rack units.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:23 pm

Maybe the replacement was rock solid? I guess we’ll never know.

prophetlandia · Post by **prophetlandia** » Tue Nov 14, 2023 6:46 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:23 pm Maybe the replacement was rock solid? I guess we’ll never know.

It might have been, and that's my loss. MOTU did a great job with the CueMix software on the mk5, everything pretty much is controllable from the computer. The Mac version is great.

MOTUnation.com