MOTUnation.com

Hi guys,

So after 15 years or so using an old 828mk2 firewire unit i finally upgraded to a new 828ES... I am going to be using it on a Win 10 system running Cubase Pro 10.5... I have an MSI Motherboard and have the MSI Thunderbolt M3 Controller card installed and ready to go...

My issue is that the unit did not come with a thunderbolt cable and i am quite new to thunderbolt... Which thunderbolt cable do you guys recommend first of all...? And second i have not found many cables calling themselves thunderbolt rather USB 3.1 Type C which looks right but i want to make sure it will work...

So basically - which USB-C/Thunderbolt cable did you guys use for the Motu 828ES...?

https://cplonline.com.au/startech-tblt3 ... BEQAvD_BwE

I think this will work but i am not sure... as i think i need Thunderbold on one end and USB-C on the other but i am having trouble finding cables like this...

Thanks guys for any help!

...So no one has bought a thunderbolt cable for thier 828ES... I dont believe it lol

Patience. Not as many are doing (fill in the blank) as you think.

MOTU Thunderbolt devices use a TB 1/2 cable. Since there are less expensive MDP monitor cables that look the same, make sure it’s an actual Thunderbolt cable. TB cables are backwards compatible to MDP but the reverse is not true.

Since you have TB over USB-C, you will need an adapter. The Apple TB3–TB2 adapter should work and plug into your card. There is at least one other on the market but I’ve never used it.

BTW, USB-C is just a port. You can get cables rated 480/USB2, 5K/USB3, 10K/USB3.1, 20K/USB3.2 and TB3. Again, the faster cables are backwards compatible but the reverse is not true. It’s ok to buy on price but, especially on Amazon, you need to read the specs. I’ve no idea hw many “defective” cables are returned because the buyer assumed that the $9 cable was going to work for TB3 or even USB 3.1.

How’s this for a Rube Goldberg setup?’My 828mkII goes to a FW400–800 cable into an Apple FW–TB adapter into an OWC TB2 Twin dock containing a pair of SSDs that goes out through a TB2 cable into the Apple TB2–TB3 adapter that plugs into my iMac Pro. And it works great.

Thanks for the reply and the breakdown of everything...

Do you have any links or cables i should search for as like i said i am having trouble even finding Thunderbolt cables lol... Of course i will keep looking, but ideally i would like to hear from someone using the 828ES that simply says "this is the cable i use and it works fine..." just so i know exactly what to look foor...

Again cheers for all the info, thanks for your time...

V

[EDIT]

So i ordered the TB3 - TB2 adapter and a TB cable from Apple - fingers crossed it all works, these cables/adapters are expensive lol

I tried the Apple TB3-to-TB1/2 converter with the TB2/2 cable on a W10 PC (Dell 5510 Precision, Xeon, 32GB RAM). It didn't work. Then I replaced the Apple converter with the Startech one. That worked! But now I'm over £150 poorer.

Good luck!

F

vonbleak wrote:Hi guys,

I have an MSI Motherboard and have the MSI Thunderbolt M3 Controller card installed and ready to go...

Hello
in the same config here with a MSI Z370 Gamer carbon Pro, with my 828ES through usb today.
Would like to try TB and just yesterday found the MSI M3 card...
So Vonbleak, how does it works finally ?

thanks for your feedback !
Bruno

In light of this thread, how might we extend the thunderbolt cable from a machine room to rack? I found this product but is is pricey. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... cable.html

labman wrote:In light of this thread, how might we extend the thunderbolt cable from a machine room to rack? I found this product but is is pricey. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... cable.html

This is one big reason I haven't gotten super excited by the developments in TB on the 5,1 Mac Pro. My 828es has performed very well via USB running 20 inputs and 18 outputs simultaneously. And a 15 foot (just long enough for my situation) USB cable cost me nominal $.

It strikes me that the best solution might be to install TB interfaces WITHIN the control room and run longer cables to everything else. Most, if not all, of AVB Interfaces' controls can be accessed via the web app, but an external monitor controller (which I find useful regardless) would be almost essential in such a setup.

HCMarkus wrote:
It strikes me that the best solution might be to install TB interfaces WITHIN the control room and run longer cables to everything else. Most, if not all, of AVB Interfaces' controls can be accessed via the web app, but an external monitor controller (which I find useful regardless) would be almost essential in such a setup.

Great info Markus! That is what MOTU tech suggests too. Its about the same $ i suppose either way,. Sigh...., Hate buying extra interface to reside in machine room for no reason than pass thru.

labman wrote:

HCMarkus wrote:
It strikes me that the best solution might be to install TB interfaces WITHIN the control room and run longer cables to everything else. Most, if not all, of AVB Interfaces' controls can be accessed via the web app, but an external monitor controller (which I find useful regardless) would be almost essential in such a setup.

Great info Markus! That is what MOTU tech suggests too. Its about the same $ i suppose either way,. Sigh...., Hate buying extra interface to reside in machine room for no reason than pass thru.

Actually, do you need direct physical access to the interface? If not, you could put it in the machine room and all you would need are some longer audio cables... and a patch bay.

Yeah, about same $.

Was MOTU suggesting the second interface, then connect via Ethernet (AVB)? That is a good solution, but, like you say, another interface expenditure is required.

The MOTU stuff uses TB 1, and longer cables are available for not too much money. How long do you really need?

For me running via USB, I'm as happy as a puppy with two peters.

HCMarkus wrote: Actually, do you need direct physical access to the interface? If not, you could put it in the machine room and all you would need are some longer audio cables... and a patch bay.

Yeah, about same $.

Was MOTU suggesting the second interface, then connect via Ethernet (AVB)? That is a good solution, but, like you say, another interface expenditure is required.

The MOTU stuff uses TB 1, and longer cables are available for not too much money. How long do you really need?

For me running via USB, I'm as happy as a puppy with two peters.

Yup we need access to the interface in our rack of the other interfaces. We probably need 35-40 feet off new 2019 MacPro to be safe distance wise. (which is TB3 native, but understood that MOTUB boxes are TB1 or 2). Aren't some of them TB2???

labman wrote:Aren't some of them TB2???

You may be right. I thought all were TB1 but could be mistaken.

I know at least one was USB3, and that was causing issues for some.

Nice you have (or are getting) a 7,1!

labman wrote:In light of this thread, how might we extend the thunderbolt cable from a machine room to rack? I found this product but is is pricey. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... cable.html

If you need extended runs, powered USB cables are a more economical way to go. There are many on the market.

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Extensi ... ooghydr-20

mikehalloran wrote:

labman wrote:In light of this thread, how might we extend the thunderbolt cable from a machine room to rack? I found this product but is is pricey. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... cable.html

If you need extended runs, powered USB cables are a more economical way to go. There are many on the market.

Thank you Mike! We have a bunch of those kinda things for webcams etc. And have the USB amp over cat6 units too. Motu suggested that we dont use USB, since we need to use high sample rates, but to use thunderbolt instead.

Hi guys, thanks for all the replys and discussions - ive been away from the studio from a while which is why i have not replied...

Anyway - where to begin... Its been a bit of a headache to say the least. So as stated in one of the abouve posts, the apple thunderbolt converter/cables dont seem to work (windows wont detect anything) so ive ordered the Startech one (and a new Startech cable too) as they have been reported to work, but i have to wait 3-4 weeks for those to come so fingers crossed...

Anyway, i decided to setup the 828es using USB for now but even that is giving me issues, serious issues... i have no sound!

So both the Motu discovery app, and windows itself sees the unit, and i can go into the control panel web app and everything seems fine. However i get no audio playback, either in windows itself (youtube, spotify ect...) or from Cubase Pro 10.5...

Windows seems to be playing ok - i can see the meter moving when i look at sound settings but nothing seems to getting to/from the motu... Cubase is a even a little stranger, it sees the motu driver and detects the ins/outs (even though they are only labled as numbers) but not only do i get no sound playback - Cubase shows no metering at all in its mixer! In both cases there is no sign of activity/metering on the motu unit itself either on the hardware or software...

The motu drivers and firmware are up to date and im pretty my routing settings in the motu app are ok (but im hoping they are not and im just missing something really simple)...

If anyone has any ideas or tips i would love the help!

Cheers and thanks for you time...

N