MOTU 828 MkII - MacOS Mojave

[JamesR69]

Hi there,

I'm a long time MOTU 828 MkII user but, given its age, I am always anxious about its drivers being discontinued. Given that MacOS Mojave will no longer support 32 bit apps, I am even more anxious about the 828s getting left behind.

Does anybody know if - and possibly, when - the 828 MkII will be compatible with Mojave?

Thanks for any help and advice.

Kind Regards,
James

[mikehalloran]

32 bit is not an issue (yet?) as Mojave does support most 32 bit apps and libraries. Yes, we know what Apple promised last year but they blinked. The 828mkII uses the same driver as many other MOTU interfaces, some still current—no reason to believe this will change.

Historically, when MOTU needs to release a driver to be current with the latest Mac OS, they do it within a few days after the OS release. Sometimes it takes longer (Mavericks, Yosemite) for them to get it right but they have always come through so far.

Otherwise, the newest 828mkII is over 12 years old. If looking for a reason to upgrade, now is as good a time as any. Newer preamps and direct TB/USB connectivity are what I’m looking at... when I upgrade my iMac (my 2010 & 2011 cannot run Mojave).

Not in a big hurry...

[JamesR69]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly and so comprehensively. I was not aware that Mojave would still support 32 bit apps, so that's great to know.

I am also glad that I can be confident my 828 will still be supported. Of course, I would love to get a newer interface but I really need 8 analogue ins and outs and other such interfaces are currently way outside of my price range or nowhere near the quality of a MOTU machine.

Thanks for all of your help! Love my 828, glad its not going anywhere anytime soon.

Kind Regards,
James

[mikehalloran]

At the risk of being labeled an enabler, here's what I am looking at:

828es — latest and greatest with more functionality and upgraded mic pres, still has DIN 5 MIDI
http://motu.com/products/proaudio/828es

8pre-es — 6 more of the new mic pres and the additional features of the unit above but no MIDI
http://motu.com/products/proaudio/8pre-es

"Oh yes, I'm the Great Enabler (Oooh, ooooh)..."

[waine]

So, you think, I could be lucky an have my mk3 ultralite (FW only) again up and running under Mojave?

[Floyd]

I know this thread may be a little old but if anyone is still listening....

I would consider a more modern interface than the 828mk2 but I also would like to have an interface to use with my legacy Mac OS9 system (I have some projects still withing the Opcode Studio Vision framework) as well as a newer system.

So it looks like a used 828Mk2 may work with the old world and the new world for a while. I do have a couple of questions:

1. In order to work with Mac OS9, is there any concern about firmware updates making it incompatible? (I have this problem with an M-Audio firewire device.)

2. Does the 828Mk2 work connected to a newer system with thunderbolt using a thunderbolt-to-firewire adapter?

Thanks, in advance.

[JamesR69]

Hi Floyd,

Sorry for the slow reply! I don't know if your question is still relevant - but I have since bought a Firewire 828 MKII (to link with my USB unit via ADAT) and it connected to Mac via FW/Thunderbolt adapter just fine. However, if you try to use an extension chord on top of that, it will not connect. So if distance is an issue (as it was for me initially) you are better off getting a long firewire cable rather than trying to use another adapter.

Kind Regards,
James