MOTU 8pre

The bottom line for me on this is the lack of quality with the firewire port. It has broken on me twice now. The first time was replaced by warranty after a painstaking 6 month process. Then four months later, the same problem, only they are asking $100 plus shipping to fix the issue. I don't think it's worth investing in a unit that has a faulty design in the firewire port. Might be a good option for immobile studio use only, but for me I need portability and presonus is in my near future.

Somewhat portable, but not really. I used it a couple times to record off boards, and the firewire port broke very easily. Motu replaced it, but after 6 months of hassle.

The 8 pre is only firewire 400, slightly disappointing with 800 being twice the speed.

Preamp quality good. Only one out for headphones.

AC powered, phantom power works good.

For $550 not worth the money. Haven't tried Pre-sonus, but it seems a bit more sturdy. Motu creates a good interface if you plan on never moving it and walking on eggshells every time you touch an input,

Initially the unit was fairly easy to get going, the manual was clear, easy to follow, and I was up and running in a minimal amount of time

I'm using multiple sound modules, virtual instruments, and when i record live it's one instrument or mic at a time. There is always noise associate with using a mic, but I cannot tell what the source of that noise is.

THIS UNIT IS COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE! It's less than a year old, and now often when starting up, it will get stuck in the mode as if it's trying to get going, the lights flash on and off continuously as if someone is turning it on and off over and over. MOTU has no clue, they say to send it in for repair. Sure, then I'm out of business while they try to figure out what's wrong. So far it works more often than it doesn't but I never know when the next time is that it's going to freak out on me again.

MOTU Tech support is difficult to reach by phone (the line is always busy) and they OCCASIONALLY do return email requests for support

I chose this unit because I use Digital Performer and thought that having the same manufacturer's gear would make support more seamless. I WOULD NOT BUY THIS UNIT if I had it to do over.

I had no problem getting my MOTU 8pre to work properly. And this was my first interface experience. I am also using an old pc. My guess is that if you are having trouble it's probably on the user end of things.

No noise...no coloration in the pre's. This is what I want. Clean sounding pre amps. If I want to color the sound I'll use outboard gear or plug ins. I have to say for the price range I'm extremely happy. I will say that if you are experiencing any pops and or clicks, check your power supply. You should use a power conditioner or something to deliver adequate, smooth power.

I have not had 1 issue for over a year now of heavy (almost daily) use. It works the same as it did when I first got it.

I have not had to use this service yet.

I am glad I got this. I like the universal inputs. I like that it has 8 pre amps. I like that all channels have phantom power and attenuation. I like the headphone mixing software that comes with it. Overall I am extremely pleased with this unit. I would consider using a comparable interface and wil probably try others in the future. But I will not buy a discount interface. Why take the chance? You want reliable, clean sound so you can spend your time recording. Not fighting with crappy gear.

The unit takes two cords to get working, and after that you plug stuff in and sound goes into your computer. EZMODE.

The unit is completely toneless; the preamps in the mic pres have no coloration but capture the sound accurately. For super high quality sound, you want to run a dedicated mic preamp before this unit.

It survived me moving, and me being a clutz around the thing. I never had a single problem with the unit, be it latency problems, sudden noise appearing in the mic pres, or the software being all sorts of wonky.

The plastic gain knobs on the front always have felt cheezy for me though.

Never had to deal with them

For what it is (a very very nice 8-channel A/D converter) it doesn't suck. For recording straight from the unit, the preamps are dry. Incredible for recording guitar, since the mic and the amp are going to give you all the tone coloration you need, but for vocals/acoustic instruments, it sounds clinically dry and no amount of outboard processing ever got rid of that sound for me.

Overall, this unit doesn't suck at all.

8 channel preamp, it is mainly for expanding on other motu or other interfaces. And can be used as your own interface/converter.

Rack mountable, and portable.

Takes up one rack space, is made of metal as well as plastic in places, pretty solid, but it isn't the kind of thing to play football with. Though it would survive the road, knobs seem pretty strong as well as the switches.

Phantom power is separate on each of the 8 channels. As well as a -20dB pad.

Firewire interface, and it comes with software, which would mainly be used LIVE imo, it's thrown in free, so it's a plus..... though I have not used it at all, I have only used it in my own DAW (Logic 8).

Stereo outs and separate headphone out, 0 latency.

Runs smoothly with 0 latency on my mac, though in PC's I have heard of latency nightmares. Anyone I know using it on a MAC doesn't get this (and no I am not an endorsee for mac), my windows partition suffers the same fate on my laptop.

XLR/TRS combo inputs on each channel, for mics as well as synths/guitars etc.

So make sure if you can, test one with your own setup first.

Firewire 400, what more can i say?

Preamps are all MOTU quality, you don't have to go for the more expensive unit for better preamps. These are pretty decent preamps for the price and will do your microphones justice.

Has a midi I/O and this is also 0 latency provided it is setup properly in your DAW. 16 channel midi interface.

It does what it says on the tin and then some, although no send/return functions it has 8 XLR/TRS combo inputs as well as stereo out and can be used as a standalone interface....it's quite versatile compared to it's competition on the market.

Digital I/O makes it a total of 16 inputs and 12 outputs

Comes with it's own lead for power, takes mains.

And phantom for each channel, a big plus

44.1khz up to 96khz

Direct monitoring too.

There is additional software, I don't use it nor do I need to, but it seems pretty versatile with this software for live setups.

I would buy it again if lost or stolen, though there are always bigger fish on the market... it is a very pleasing interface to use. I would recommend it to others.

Wish it a coffee maker for late night recording sessions, but that's about it....it doesn't need anything else, it has everything an extension of channels needs.

This unit was very easy to install - absolutely no probs, syncs to computer instantly after connecting.
Manual is good, covers all necessary topics in an understandable manner.

As opposed to other reviewing this thing I have zero noise problems. I recorded without connented mics, preamps open, and had very, very low hiss - even the dithering plugin made more noise. No 60cycle hum or high pitched squealing to be observed on my side. The Mic Preamps are nothing to write home about but for the price... gimme a break! They sound good and neutral, low noise. No comparison to the rather dull preamps of the Behring ADA 8000 for example.
Gain knobs make noises while turned but I guess they had to skimp somewhere to arrive at this price.

Makes a great impression out of the box, worked flawless for me so far. Internal power supply is a big plus. Had much less hassle with installing and runnig the unit than with my old Presonus Firepod.

Never had to deal with them.

Amazing for the price. Good sound quality, easy installation, great operation. The drivers kick ass. On my "old fashioned" 3 Ghz PC with Win XP SP2 im able to run the thing click-free with a total latency of 4 ms input to output!!! Thats amazing and even lower than whats possible with my Delta PCI card. And significantly lower than what my Firepod was able to obtain (apprx. 12 ms input to output.).

I found the 8pre to be very easy to set up. If you are familiar with software mixers, you will have no problem getting this guy going. The manual is very clear and well written. I have to admit that this is my first experiance with MOTU, and I am very impressed.

To tell you the truth, I've used several different interfaces in this price range over the years, and none of them have come close to the quality of the 8pre. The preamps are the quietest I've ever used - amazing. I do professional orchestral recording, so quiet equipment is a must for me, and this unit delivers.

I've been using this unit for the last month now with no glitches or problems. I'll admit that I still bring along a backup unit, but I've never had to use it (and maybe that's just good practice anyway).

Haven't had a need to call for support.

My overall rating is a 9 mainly because the channel 1 pot does not turn smoothly - its kind of hard to turn. The other 7 pots are just fine. The other thing I don't like is the pad and phantom power switches. They are definitely solid, but I would have preferred a button. Oh well, as you can see, I am very pleased with the sound quality - and that's all that matters to me in the end.

I've had this for a month, and i've decided to return it. It has been a huge pain. I've tried everything I can think of, but i still get pops or clicks during playback, during recording, even when i'm not playing back or recording. It also will occasionally loss connection with the computer, for no reason that i've been able to determine.

Having said this,please note that I've owned the Motu 828, the Motu Traveler, and the Behringer fca202. I've used them all on this same computer and have not had these problems before. I am also a former professional in the Audio Industry (audio systems design, circuit design and repair, programming). Now that i'm returning this 8pre, i'm using my behringer fca202 in the meantime, and let me tell you that it is working flawlessly and is a joy to use after my recent struggle with the 8pre. (i know...it's behringer)

But that's not all!

I could live with the clicks, if it's just a "new product with buggy drivers" issue, but the real killer is the buzz. Buzz as in annoying hum from the powersupply. The 8pre has a built in, on board power supply, so it's not powered via firewire. The problem is that you can hear both a higher pitched buzz (think flourescent lights) and a lower pitch buzz (60 cycle hum?). I'm guessing it's from the power transformer. It's a problem for me because i record acoustic guitar and vocals in a 100 sq. foot room, and the buzz is picked up in my recordings. it's no so noticible on one track, but as you begin to stack the tracks, the buzz becomes more noticible. (8 tracks of buzz is louder then one track of buzz). I hear the buzz through my monitors as well. The buzz is present with nothing plugged into the 8pre, (except for the AC cord).

I doubt this is a fluke. I base this on the fact that this is the exact sound that my 828 used to make. The MOTU 828 also has an internal powersupply. I called motu about this and they had no idea what i was talking about. Well, i returned the 828 back then, and thought it was maybe a bad unit....but now i think this is just inherant in the design and i'm guessing they are using the same design as the 828.

so....

i'm giving this catagory a 5 because when it works (no clicks) it's a piece of cake, but when it doesn't, it's very very frustrating.

I will say that the preamps are pretty quiet. I feel like they are subpar compared to the motu traveler, but i guess you can't expect 8 channels of traveler pres for $550.

They seem sort of flat, or dull to me. i think the sound alot like the original 828's preamps. I chose not to use them because my electroharmonix 12ay7 tube pre and my art mpa tube pre blows the 8pre's out of the water. i'd say they are good for less important stuff like micing an entire drum kit or backing vocals. (i guess you can see i'm not a drummer...haha)

i've found this unit to be very unreliable, and for the sake of all of you that buy this unit, i hope it's just a software driver issue. i'm guessing they'll have to address it, and maybe this review will help speed up the process.

I gotta say that motu support is awesome.

so, i've said some pretty bad stuff about this unit.

on the postive side i very much like:

how you can control the volume of the headphones or the monitor outputs via the same control. If you press the button down a few times it controls the monitor (main) outs, press it a few more times and you are controlling the headphone mix. very nice feature when you a recording without a mixer.

every channel has it's own phantom power switch.

every channel has it's own -20db pad

every channel has it's own trim knob on the front of the unit

the zero latency monitoring is awesome. works great and is one reason why i bought this to begin with