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What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2023 10:40 pm
by cyril
Hello
I have all my Motu interfaces crying in a box on the side of my music desk. (2408 MK2 and MK3, 1296)
They would love to be used by a 424 PCIe in a Thunderbolt enclosure.
Is it possible now ?
Best
Cyril
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2023 10:44 pm
by James Steele
I’m pretty sure it is not possible and not likely to change. From what I understand it would require a firmware update to the card and they’re not flashable.
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2023 10:34 am
by mikehalloran
What James said—not possible and there's no workaround.
MOTU would have to make a new version of the 424 card that's compatible with the 2019 and current Mac Pros 7.1 and 8.1. The 424 cards and interfaces were discontinued ten years ago.
Besides 2012 and earlier Macs, there are PCs running Windows with compatible slots.
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 5:26 pm
by cyril
It's pity because Motu is loosing clients, like me
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 5:50 pm
by HCMarkus
cyril wrote: ↑Sun Nov 12, 2023 5:26 pm
It's pity because Motu is loosing clients, like me
Don't forget, you can still use the interfaces in sand-alone mode as converters if you have any Litepipe I/O on whatever interface you end up buying.
So maybe all your old MOTU units won't have to be crying.
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 6:34 pm
by mikehalloran
cyril wrote: ↑Sun Nov 12, 2023 5:26 pm
It's pity because Motu is loosing clients, like me
Really?
They're losing you because of hardware that was discontinued eleven years ago that last worked on a Mac also discontinued the same year? Uhhhh... not much of a threat, is it?
I believe that ship has already sailed.
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2024 11:17 pm
by jjplosay3
Can you explain how to utilize older hardware further?
I had a setup with a 2408mk3 and two 24i/o interfaces (used with several rack synths). Due to life circumstances it all went into storage for 15 years but I recently got it setup again. I understand the 424 PCI ship has sailed but I see other hardware interfaces/cards that use the ADAT lightpipe. Is there a way to use a different interface and have it link to my older hardware? How would it be recognized in Digital Performer or CueMix?
I apologize for the noob-ish quality of this question but I am kind of starting over in my home studio. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.
- Rack.jpg (2.04 MiB) Viewed 2160 times
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2024 8:06 am
by HCMarkus
You should be able to use the MOTU 2408 as a stand-alone 8 channel converter, as it has optical I/O. See pages 7, 50, 57 of the manual:
https://cdn-data.motu.com/manuals/pci-a ... de_Mac.pdf
I don't believe the 24i/o is going to work for you, however; it has no optical I/O.
Any audio interface with an optical input port should allow you to connect the 2408. Assuming you have a newer computer, the new 828 (5th gen) would be a great choice for an audio interface, and if you can get by with 18 analog inputs, the 2408-828 pairing would be a very good one. With this setup, you would not use Cue Mix to control the 2408; you'd use the new variant that runs the 828 to handle all Cue Mix functions.
Re: What is now the status of 424 PCIE card in a Thunderbolt enclosure
Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2024 11:22 am
by mikehalloran
jjplosay3 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 11:17 pm
Can you explain how to utilize older hardware further?
…
HCMarkus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 8:06 am
You should be able to use the MOTU 2408 as a stand-alone 8 channel converter, as it has optical I/O. See pages 7, 50, 57 of the manual:
https://cdn-data.motu.com/manuals/pci-a ... de_Mac.pdf
I don't believe the 24i/o is going to work for you, however; it has no optical I/O.
Any audio interface with an optical input port should allow you to connect the 2408. Assuming you have a newer computer, the new 828 (5th gen) would be a great choice for an audio interface, and if you can get by with 18 analog inputs, the 2408-828 pairing would be a very good one. With this setup, you would not use Cue Mix to control the 2408; you'd use the new variant that runs the 828 to handle all Cue Mix functions.
I used my 2408 as a stand alone front end Analog/ADAT converter to my ancient FOSTEX FD8 — only way it could record or playback 8 discrete tracks.
The 2408 does not have CueMix, unfortunately — that's part of the 424 card. The first gen 828 does but won't run in stand-alone. It can still connect to a Mac using the driver found for the 828mk3 Hybrid under downloads—even Apple Silicon over Sonoma. An adapter or three may be required but it does work as I verified yesterday on my own M2 Studio.