MOTUnation.com

!!! !!!

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/8pre

Gotta say... Huge disappointment! The 8pre is one of the older members of their current lineup, still being based on mkII software. It's also the most expensive and least feature-filled product in its price range on the market (compared to presonus, FocusRite, etc). I would have thought they would have updated it by now, given it some extra features, etc. the fact that they've waited this long and then added nothing but replaced the FireWire port is a joke... almost makes me upset.

- no CueMix FX comparability
- no hybrid FireWire/USB setup
- cannot be used as standalone mixer (presonus, FocusRite, and every other MOTU unit can)
- no additional outputs... Always been a sore point with the 8pre over similar units

Don't get me wrong, I love my 8pre and have used it for years, though I often have wondered whether I would buy one again, given the chance, or get a FocusRite 8channel pre (whatever they call it). It's about $150 less, gets good reviews, has all the features the 8pre has and quite a bit more.

Not to be political but MOTU hardware is Made in USA - I'm amazed they're able to offer such competitive products given that factor.

Is this a digital trim ?
Klaus

No idea what consitutes a "digital trim". But no, I can definitively tell you it's an an analog pot with all pros and cons associated with that.

http://cdn-data.motu.com/site/images/8p ... dsp-lg.jpg
Cuemix DSP ... this pic has a trim knob in the software window...
Could this be only with the new USB 8PRE ?

Klaus

Yes, the 8pre USB has digitally-controlled Trim knobs. Since they are digital, they can now be represented in the CueMix FX GUI.

Cheers,

MOTU_Tech wrote:Yes, the 8pre USB has digitally-controlled Trim knobs. Since they are digital, they can now be represented in the CueMix FX GUI.

Cheers,

Thanks
Combined with an 896mk3H, would the 8PRE be presented in a seperate device ?

Klaus

Klaus wrote: Combined with an 896mk3H, would the 8PRE be presented in a seperate device ?

That depends.

If used as an optical converter, the 8pre's analog channels will be transferred to the 896mk3 Hybrid's digital inputs. It will not appear as a separate device.

If used as an interface via USB, however, it will of course appear as a separate device on the system.

Cheers,

?
In opt converter mode, how does Cuemix FX look with a 896mk3h host and 8PRE ?
Any pics ?
The adat channels of the 896mk3h have EQ and DYN, is their trim then the 8PRE's trim ?
best
Klaus

Klaus wrote: In opt converter mode, how does Cuemix FX look with a 896mk3h host and 8PRE ?

The same way CueMix FX looks without the 8pre connected. Remember, if the 8pre is in converter mode, it is not acting as an interface.

Klaus wrote: The adat channels of the 896mk3h have EQ and DYN, is their trim then the 8PRE's trim ?

The 8pre's trim knobs control the strength of the analog input signal. You can use the ADAT input trims in the 896mk3 Hybrid to provide additional boost to the signal, if necessary.

If you have more questions, give us a call!

Got it...
Thank you
and best regards

Klaus

Wait a minute, MOTU_Tech... you said "CueMix FX". But is the USB 8pre a mk3 unit? I'm not seeing any FX readout in the screen shot. Or has it been brought up to mk3 specs with some internal effects? My old 8pre uses CueMix DSP and has no effects.

I'm not MOTU_Tech... but
the USB 8PRE has probably digital trim but no FX,
thus the digital trim is displayed in it's Cuemix FX device window...
If it had analog inserts, I'd have bought now 2 of them...

Klaus

The promo and the manual for the 8Pre USB make no mention of digitally-controllable trims that I can see, and the online promo of CueMix doesn't show any trim control for it, so the reply from MOTU is a surprise...I posted a "suggestion box" at MOTU asking for them after seeing the announcement and thinking they were just analog pots (although, the lack of marking should have been a giveaway).

Lacking a front-panel alphanumeric of any kind also inhibits the repeatability of the digital trims, which I use quite a lot in other units, for lots of reasons.

The new manual doesn't include any specs at all...it would be nice to have EIN, maximum and minimum gain specs, frequency response, THD, etc. It appears to have 40 dB of gain, for doing classical room mics I sometimes need 60.