Black Lion Mod for MOTU gear

edweird · Post by **edweird** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 4:56 am

So Black Lion Audio has mods for MOTU converters and you can find them here. What I'm curious about is if it's worth the effort. Have any of you had this done and was it worth the money? I have a 24i and would very much like a bit more head room now that I have a decent set of mic pre's (Focusrite Octepre). What do you guys think?

JadeLatrell · Post by **JadeLatrell** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:26 am

I think that if you search for Black Lion or BLA, you will find a ton of information on this topic. It has been covered a lot.

In short, people who do the mod tend to LOVE it.

edweird · Post by **edweird** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:50 am

I did do a web search as well as a search on this forum and TapeOp. Apparently, my web ninja skills are lacking because I only came up with one studio that says they've done the mods. I haven't contacted them yet to get their impressions. I got a response from a guy on Tape Op who has two 828mk2's, one modded and one not. He says "I still have a stock one and it sounds like there is a blanket over the speakers compared to the BLA mods." I'm leaning towards doing this, mainly because the BLA guys get mad respect (I've not read one complaint, although I'm sure if I looked under enough rocks I'd likely find at least that:one) and I'd really like to improve my recordings as much as possible. I just wanted to get as many educated opinions as I possibly could.

BTW I'm running Audio Desk on a MP533 with 1.25gb RAM running OS X 10.3.9. I"m planning my upgrades for next year and want to include this mod in that budget. I'm planning on getting a MacPro and DP (and the PCIe-424 card that I will need to go with them).

CMurph · Post by **CMurph** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:42 am

Be aware that having the mod done will void the warranty (should it be under warranty) and MOTU will no longer offer support for it.

For what it is worth, I have heard the mod they did for the 002r and it was a jaw dropping difference (and an amazing one to boot). I haven't yet heard what the MOTU mods sound like, though.

JadeLatrell · Post by **JadeLatrell** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:26 am

Start here:

http://www.unicornation.com/phpBB2/view ... black+lion

http://www.unicornation.com/phpBB2/view ... black+lion

gearboy · Post by **gearboy** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:49 pm

I heart Black Lion.

edweird · Post by **edweird** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:29 am

Thanks for the help and info. I bought this 24i second hand from a guy on Tape Op so warranty isn't an issue now. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do this. It's just a matter of when at this point.