On September 26th we had another DP Club session. This time we decided it was time to present what MOTU has to say about hardware. I usually stay in touch and arrange sessions with Matthew Davidson, and when we were scheduling the time for this session, he insisted on the latest possible date in September. Of course, I didn't know why but later I found out that it was because of the release date of the new 2408mk3, which they wanted to show during our meeting.
So naturally, the presentation featured mainly 2408mk3 but also Mackie Control, working version of DP 3.1, and a stock of other audio and midi interfaces made by MOTU. This was a particularly good chance to see their products. Sometimes a picture in the catalog doesn't quite do the product justice, and itšs good to "feel" the box. It was also a great chance to ask questions and have them be answered by a MOTU representative.
We were lucky to have Magic Dave (aka Dave Roberts) as our guest. I had heard about him before and knew he had a good reputation. He began the session by saying that he is mainly a salesman, but he felt good about not having to sell anything that night. He gave us a lot of technical information and insider comments, but it didn't feel like a sales pitch. Thank you for that Dave.
Letšs go to the details. I don't intend to give you technical specifications here; you can find it everywhere. Instead, I decided to share with you my comments and impressions. First of all, choosing hardware for your system is a hard thing. There are always questions about compatibility and expendability. And of course, there is the budget factor, which for many of us, diminishes the number of options. In my opinion, when choosing a DAW setup, one should look at the software side first and then choose hardware that will work the best with that program. It's because you'll be working and interfacing with the software possibly thousands of hours while the hardware will stay "untouched." If DP is your choice, then MOTU hardware makes the most sense simply because it comes from the same company and chances are, it will work.
There are other factors to consider; one of them being portability. If you have a laptop computer then you should look at 828 or 896 interfaces. The choice between the two should be mainly decided upon by whether or not you need: 8 mic pre's (896), your budget, digital I/Ošs (S/PDIF on 828 vs. AES/EBU on 896), and possible sampling rates (up to 96KHZ on896). Being a desktop user gives you a choice between Firewire and AudioWire connections. AudioWire is a proprietary communication protocol that uses firewire cable to connect a PCI card with the interface.
The idea is this: a PCI card is the heart of the system. What you connect to it depends on your specific needs (analog or digital I/O configuration). MOTU offers a couple of PCI-324-based interfaces like 1296, 308, 24i, and PCI-424-based 2408mk3. If you bought an older system (PCI-324), you can connect any interface to it except for the new 2408mk3. If you buy the new 2408mk3 with PCI-424, you can hook up any unit to it, even the older ones.
So what's the big deal about the new PCI card? One word: latency. Specifically, near-zero latency. Simply put, PCI-424 lets you use a mixer-less setup without worrying about the system's latency. When youšre recording, there is a time difference between the signals going in and out of your computer (it takes time for the computer to move data around, process it, and route it to the outputs). Therefore, depending on your buffer settings, the latency can be barely noticeable or unacceptable. There is always some latency in any digital system but what the PCI-424 has is a new DSP-driven digital mixing and monitoring matrix. It simply allows the incoming signal to go right to the output so there is almost no latency (no drain on either CPU or PCI bus power, 1.6 ms delay throughput). CueMix is the program that lets you control I/O assignment.
The new 2408mk3 itself is an interesting proposition for those who need a high number of I/Ošs with up to 96Khz sampling rate, don't have an external mixer for monitoring, and need some synchronization options. The interface can clock to Video Ref., Word Clock, and SMPTE (LTC), and ADAT sync. It has the RCA SMPTE in and out that serves as a copper S/PDIF at the same time. What I like about the 2408mk3 is that even if you use this connection for S/PDIF you can still send or receive SMPTE on any input or output. The box itself looks good and although the meters are small they help to see what's going on with your inputs and outputs a great deal (unlike my 828).
So, as you see there, is a lot to consider when buying an audio interface and it all comes down to our specific needs. Moving on, I honestly expected to see more about the Mackie Control. We were supposed to see its integration with DP 3.1 but we didn't so I can't really tell you anything about it other then, it works. The only information I was able to gather was that even though it uses MIDI for communication, the resolution is much higher then 128. That's promising, but we have to see how it works under the studio pressure.
After the official presentation, Dave opened himself to questions. Obviously, a good bunch of them were related to OSX. First of all, they have been running DP under OSX for a year and it runs, but not very well. Moreover, only 70% of the 828 features work under OSX as of now. Magic Dave also confirmed officially that DPX (or whatever they call it) will be out by the end of this year. I personally think and hope that they will not rush and release it at the expense of the quality of this very important update.
Here are some other comments and free observations from Dave about OSX and Apple technology. As we all know, FreeMidi and OMS will be gone, replaced by the Core Midi. Apple implemented MOTU's MTS (Midi Time Stamping) technology so it will work with any application and USB midi interface. On the audio side, Core Audio will replace all the different audio engines used today (i.e. MAS, DAE, Sound Manager). It will be the only way to get audio in and out of the Mac. According to Dave, this part of the new operating system is not quite polished yet. Even some Apple applications such as iTunes, DVD-Studio, and Final Cut Pro run using Sound Manager under OSX. And as far as the new plug-in format goes (Audio Units), it seems like the companies are holding back to see how it will evolve before writing the code for Applešs Audio Units. Dave confirmed that OMS emulator works only with Reason and Soft Sample Cell (for more on OMS emulator, see my article) and that PCI-324 will be supported under OSX.
To conclude, let me share with you my general and personal feelings I had after the session. MOTU is definitely pressing on in the hardware business, which should be beneficiary for all of us as long as they keep Digital Performer on the cutting edge, too. Moreover, with the switch to OSX, we are experiencing a transition period that may cause some bumps and bruises, but hopefully by next summer, we all will be able to run audio programs on OSX without fear and frustration. And one last thing; here is what Dave said when asked about integrated virtual sampler as a part of DP: "Anything is possible in the future".
DP Club at Berklee would like to thank Dave Roberts and Matthew Davidson from MOTU as well as Claire Steger (MS Lab Manager) for making this event possible.
