Combining an 896mk3 and a 8pre

[mn0001]

I have an 896mk3 and would like 8 more inputs so I researched it and found that if I get an 8pre I can somehow connect these 2 devices together so they show up as 16 inputs to Sonar.

My question is, 3 actually:

1. Any tricks to connecting the 2 interfaces together or are they daisy-chained via firewire ports?

2. Will Cuemix display both interfaces in the same window or do I need 2 instances of Cuemix running, 1 for each interface?

3. Can I obtain the zero-latency effects from the 896 via the inputs on the mk3 somehow?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

PS I must say that this forum is great, if it wasn't for all of the technically-savvy folks in this group I am certain I would have returned my MOTU gear a long time ago. MOTU owes its loyal user base a lot of credit for halp in retaining its customers.

[Pappy725]

I have the 828mkII and an 8Pre. I lightpipe the 8Pre into the 828 and it shows up in CueMix Console as ADAT 1-8. CueMix FX doesn't work with my 828.
HTH,
Pappy

[mn0001]

Thank you for the prompt reply! How would I go about connecting these together via lightpipe? Is it a special cable and does it come with the 8pre or something I need to buy?

[Mark S]

You need a couple toslink (lightpipe) cables. You can see a rough idea of how it's accomplished here:

http://www.harmoniccycle.com/hc/sound-motu_driver.htm

[mn0001]

Thanks for the info! I happened to notice on the printscreens that the firmware version on the 896 was 1.02 and mine is 1.01, is 1.02 the latest and greatest and where do I get it and how do I install it? Also my software is 1.01, is that the latest and greatest (the print screen you referenced said 1.00) so my software is newer and the firmware is older.

As for the lightpipe cable, I will track one down and give it a try. I would then expect that I would have 8 ADAT inputs via MK3 and and 8 firewire inputs via 896mk3 giving 16 total. Is there a different driver for the 8pre or does it use the same WaveRT driver as the 896mk3?

[Pappy725]

is 1.02 the latest and greatest and where do I get it and how do I install it? Also my software is 1.01, is that the latest and greatest (the print screen you referenced said 1.00) so my software is newer and the firmware is older.

MOTU.com/downloads

Pappy

[1nput0utput]

Thanks for the info! I happened to notice on the printscreens that the firmware version on the 896 was 1.02 and mine is 1.01, is 1.02 the latest and greatest and where do I get it and how do I install it? Also my software is 1.01, is that the latest and greatest (the print screen you referenced said 1.00) so my software is newer and the firmware is older.

The screenshots show 896HDs, not 896mk3s. The firmware and bootloader versions are not the same.

[mn0001]

I was able to get the 2 interfaces connected using a lightpipe cable and making a change to the MOTU Audio Console app for the 896mk3 to use Optical A and set it to ADAT, and setting the sample rate on the 8pre to 44 (not the default of 48). I now have 16 inputs through the 896mk3, very nice. I noticed there was a 64-bit Vista firmware update to 1.03 for the 8pre, I downloaded it but didn't see any release notes of what was actually fixed in 1.03. Is there a way to tell what version I have on my 8pre -without- having to load the Windows drivers and connect it up via firewire to my system? Along those same lines is there way to apply the firwmare update besides connecting it up firewire and loading the Windows drivers on my system? I really don't want to add any new changes to my working configuration (in case that wasn't obvious!). I suppose I could connect the 8pre temporarily to a different machine running 64bit, or is that even necessary? Could I load the 64bit firmware update to the 8pre via firewire from a Windows machine running XP 32bit? Thanks again to all the pros on this forum to helping enabe novice users like myself to leverage the features of the MOTU gear.

[Mark S]

glad to hear the light pipe worked. Maybe someday we'll get reliable 64 bit drivers too.

BTW, you should be able to get a total of 16 channels at 96/24 using both a/b i/o's from each device. Still, it's good to know things are working well for you this way

[wackocrash5150]

I am kind of curious to hear results on this as I just picked up an 896mk3 on the weekend and was looking into into a 8pre for additional inputs. My first question was how to connect them (firewire or ADAT) I use Sonar as well.

[Mark S]

I am kind of curious to hear results on this as I just picked up an 896mk3 on the weekend and was looking into into a 8pre for additional inputs. My first question was how to connect them (firewire or ADAT) I use Sonar as well.

save yourself the major headache and connect them light pipe. As I posted above this link will give you a fair idea of how this is accomplished.

http://www.harmoniccycle.com/hc/sound-motu_driver.htm

If you opt for the light pipe situation you'll be dealing with installing 3rd party firewire drivers to replace Microsoft's which don't allow two units to sync with firewire daisy chaining. See thread for this here:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 14&t=34558

and

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 14&t=31518

and then you have the issue of the driver not working in asio, even though both use the same driver, for both units, you'll need WDM

Again, save yourself the headache, go optical.

With the light pipe you'll also get the benefit of all 16 channels show up in one screen in Cuemix