Ultralite Mk5 ADAT expansion

[Aszazin]

After years of silence due to other priorities, a few months back I threw myself back into music.

Things go faster as I expected, and it looks like soon, all my inputs of the Ultralite MK5 will be occupied by permanent instruments. But sometimes there is a guest, so a few inputs extra feels a little more comfortable.

I was wondering: has MOTU an expansion to plug in the ADAT input, so I can expand my interface with 4 or 8 line inputs?
I like all my preamps to be as much the same as possible.

If not, what other options are there?

A 2nd interface is a bit overkill, imo, for receiving guests from time to time. Or am I wrong in thinking an ADAT expansion would be much more affordable than an extra interface?

[stubbsonic]

One inexpensive and fairly versatile option is made by a horrible company. The model name is ADA8200. At around $230 USD for new, it will provide 8 mic/line inputs.

More expensive, more swanky, and (I would expect) more reliable, is the Scarlett OctoPre at around $500 new. There's a swankier Clarett+ version now available for $800.

If an interface has an ADAT port, that should mean that it has the bandwidth to support those additional channels of audio. And I agree that this would probably be a more reliable and turn-key way to add channels than to use two interfaces. And it could be less expensive than upgrading to an interface with tons more i/o. That's why MOTU, RME and others put those ADAT ports on there-- expandability.

[CharlzS]

I use a Behringer ADA8200 as an expander. Only 44.1 and 48K. No complaints.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... one-preamp

[bayswater]

Another low cost option might be an old MOTU unit like the 2408 or 828, if you can get one cheap, and there is a driver that will connect it to your current computer/OS. I use the latter occasionally connecting it to a Scarlett 18i8 via ADAT to get extra channels. In a pinch, the 2408 will do a load of other stuff that might come in handy.

[mikehalloran]

Many of the older interfaces with ADAT I/O that operate in stand alone mode will work. I have used my 2408 and 828mkII that way. IIRC, the original 828 is one of the few that does not work as a stand alone converter.