MOTU 828X - Thunderbolt & USB 2 Audio Interface

MOTU 828X - Thunderbolt & USB 2 Audio Interface

The MOTU 828x takes the 828 - MOTU's all-time best selling, award-winning audio interface - into its 5th generation and adds Thunderbolt technology. Also featuring USB 2.0 connectivity, the 828x features 28 inputs and 30 outputs, MIDI I/O, Windows and Mac OS support and all housed in a strong, lightweight aluminium chassis.

Thunderbolt technology - The future of connectivity
Thunderbolt fulfills the promise of a truly state-of-the-art connectivity standard for personal computers. With massive bandwidth, Thunderbolt allows you to connect displays, hard drives, and other peripherals to your computer, along with the 828x, up to six devices total (with the 828x at the end of the chain), and the Thunderbolt bus won't even break a sweat. Thunderbolt combines plug-and-play convenience with massive bandwidth and low latency for truly professional audio interface performance.

28 inputs and 30 outputs
Two combo-style mic/guitar inputs with preamps, 8 balanced analog in/out, XLR main outs, 16 channels of ADAT optical (8 channels at 96 kHz), plus S/PDIF, word clock and MIDI. Connect all of your studio gear, including microphones, guitars, synths, keyboards, drum machines and even effects processors.

Studio-grade mic channels - Enjoy extras like sends and optional hardware limiting
Do you work with outboard EQs and compressors? Each 828x mic input offers a pre-converter send for mono or stereo mic channel outboard processing. The 828x's unique V-Limit™ hardware limiter employs a proprietary design to offer an additional 12 dB of headroom over digital zero with no digital clipping or harsh artifacts, for that added protection in dynamic recording situations. The 828x's preamps are clean and neutral, allowing you to use your favorite plug-ins and host software to color the sound just the way you want for each recording application.

On-board digital mixer with effects - Mixing and effects for monitoring and live mixing
Record, monitor, route and process all live inputs using the professional on-board CueMix FX digital mixer – with no latency and no processor strain on your computer. Apply DSP-driven compression, EQ and reverb to every input and output, independent of your host computer.

Stand-alone operation as a mixer - Go instantly from studio to stage
After programming the on-board mixing in the studio, unplug the 828x from the computer and take it on the road for operation as a stand-alone mixer with effects. All mixing and effects parameters are adjustable using the front panel backlit LCD.

MOTU 828X Features

• Thunderbolt connectivity - Take full advantage of all that Thunderbolt has to offer. Compatible with Thunderbolt 1 and 2.
• Don't have Thunderbolt yet? - Connect to any Mac or PC using High-speed USB 2.0 (compatible with USB 3.0).
• 28 inputs / 30 outputs (at 44.1/48 kHz) - There's no channel sharing in the 828x; the mic inputs, S/PDIF I/O, headphone out and main outs all operate as separate channels.
• CueMix FX - Flexible 28 input/16 bus mixer with on-board DSP effects, including reverb with sends/returns, plus EQ and compression on every input and output.
• Front-panel control - Access any setting in your entire 828x mix directly from the front panel.
• Stand-alone operation - Program your mixes at the studio and then bring the 828x to your gig — no computer needed. Need to tweak the mix? Do it on site using the back-lit LCD and front-panel controls.
• Multiple CueMix FX mixes - Create different monitor mixes for the main outs, headphones, or any other output pair. Or add send/return loops for outboard gear — with no latency. Up to 8 separate mixes are supported.
• Flexible mic/guitar inputs with preamps - Two front panel combo jacks provide hi-Z 1/4” guitar input or XLR mic input with phantom power, pad and plenty of gain.
• Mic/guitar instrument sends - Add your favorite outboard EQ, preamp, reverb or other processor to the two mic/guitar inputs, before the signal goes digital.
• V-Limit overload protection - Mic/guitar input limiter prevents digital clipping and distortion from overloaded signal levels up to +12 dB over zero.
• Plentiful analog I/O - Eight 24-bit 192kHz analog inputs and outputs on balanced/unbalanced 1/4" TRS jacks.
• Precision Digital Trim - Digitally controlled analog trim on all analog inputs (mic/guitar inputs + quarter-inch TRS inputs) provides accurate adjustments in 1 dB increments. Fine-tune the balance of your analog inputs and then save/recall trim configurations.
• Flexible optical I/O - 16 channels of ADAT lightpipe, 8 channels of SMUX (96 kHz) or two pairs of stereo TOSLink. Mix and match formats between the two banks.
• Sample-accurate MIDI - Connect a MIDI controller and/or sound module with no separate interface needed. MIDI I/O is sample-accurate with supporting software.
• Foot switch input - Connect a standard foot pedal switch (sold separately) for hands-free punch-in and punch-out while recording. Or map the pedal to any keystroke function in your host software.
• Expandable - Add additional interfaces for more I/O as your needs grow.
• Separate main outs - Connect your primary powered studio monitors to separate XLR main outs. Add additional monitor pairs connected to balanced TRS outputs. Control volume of all monitor pairs with the front panel MAIN VOL knob or your software.
• Two headphone outs - One phone jack is assignable: operate as an independent output or mirror any other output pair. The 2nd phone jack always mirrors the main outs. Both have front-panel volume control.
• S/PDIF I/O - Independent 24-bit RCA S/PDIF in/out at sample rates up to 96 kHz.
• Word clock I/O - Resolve to external word clock sources at sample rates up to 192 kHz. Output word clock that matches current rate, or corresponding 1x rate when operating at 2x or 4x.
• Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) - DSP-driven phase lock engine and internal clock source produces imperceptibly low jitter characteristics (below the noise floor), even when the 828x is resolved to an external clock source via SMPTE time code.
• SMPTE time code in/out - Dedicated Longitudinal TIme Code (LTC) input and output. Resolve to time code with fast lockup times and sub-frame accuracy.
• DC-coupled TRS outputs - Use the 828x with Volta™ (sold separately) to manipulate and sequence voltage-controlled modular synthesizers from a host DAW.
• CueMix FX cross-platform mixing software - Attractive on-screen graphic mixing with an instrument tuner and audio analysis tools including real-time FFT display, spectrogram "waterfall" display, oscilloscope, X-Y plot and linear or polar phase analysis.
• Universal compatibility - Includes 32- and 64-bit native drivers for Mac OS X and Windows 8/7/Vista, including ASIO, WDM, Wave, Core Audio, and Core MIDI. Supports all popular Mac and Windows audio software.
• AudioDesk - Full-featured workstation software for Mac with recording, editing, mixing, real-time 32-bit effects processing and sample-accurate sync.
• Plug and play operation - Connect to your Mac or PC with Thunderbolt (1 or 2 compatible) or high-speed USB 2.0 (3.0 compatible).
• Front panel volume control - Control stereo, Quad, 6.1, 7.1 or user-defined surround monitoring configurations.
• Comprehensive metering - Front panel meters or activity LEDs for all analog, digital and MIDI I/O, plus SMPTE sync tach and lock LEDs.
• Auto-switching power - International 100-240V, 50-60 Hz autoswitching power supply.

System Requirements

Mac

• A Mac with an Intel processor
• 1 GB RAM; 2 GB or more recommended
• Mac OS X version 10.6 or later required
• Available Thunderbolt or high-speed USB 2.0 (or 3.0) port
• USB cable included; Thunderbolt cable purchased separately
• A large hard drive (preferably at least 250 GB)

Windows

• 1 GHz Pentium-based PC compatible or faster
• 1 GB RAM; 2 GB or more recommended
• Windows 8, 7 or Vista, 32- or 64-bit; Vista SP 2 or later required
• Available Thunderbolt or high-speed USB 2.0 (or 3.0) port
• USB cable included; Thunderbolt cable purchased separately
• A large hard drive (preferably at least 250 GB)

Included software

• CueMix FX
• MOTU SMPTE Console
• AudioDesk (Mac only, optical CD drive required)

Operating Systems

• Mac OS X version 10.6 or later
• Windows 8, 7 or Vista (SP2 or later is required)

64-bit operation

• Available for Mac OS X 10.6 or later
• Available for 64-bit versions of Windows 8, 7 or Vista
• Requires a 64-bit CPU

MOTU 828X Specifications

• Converters: 24-bit
• Sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
• Analog inputs:
  • 2 x XLR/TRS combo-style mic/guitar inputs 
  • 8 x 1/4" TRS line inputs (balanced/unbalanced)
• Analog outputs:
  • 2 x XLR balanced main out 
  • 8 x 1/4" balanced TRS line out 
  • 2 x 1/4" TRS stereo headphone
• Digital I/O: 
  
  • 16 channels of ADAT optical at 1x sample rates 
  • 8 channels of SMUX optical at 2x sample rates 
  • 2-channel TOSlink (optical S/PDIF) up to 96 kHz 
  • 2-channel RCA S/PDIF up to 96 kHz
• Total I/O: 
  
  • 28 inputs and 30 outputs at 1x sample rates 
  • 20 inputs and 22 outputs at 2x sample rates 
  • 10 inputs and 10 outputs at 4x sample rates
• Computer I/O:
  
  • 1 x Thunderbolt (compatible with 1 and 2) 
  • 1 x USB 2.0 (compatible with 3.0)
• Sync I/O:
  
  • 1 x SMPTE time code in (LTC) 
  • 1 x SMPTE time code out (LTC) 
  • 1 x word clock in 
  • 1 x word clock out
• Headphone output: 
  
  • 1 x 1/4" TRS stereo phone (assignable) 
  • 1 x 1/4" TRS stereo phone (mirrors main outs)
• Phantom power: 2 x individual +48V
• Front panel: 
  
  • 2 x XLR/TRS combo mic/guitar in 
  • 2 x 1/4" TRS phone 
  • 2 x digital rotary encoders • phone/main volume 
  • 2 x digital rotary encoders • mic trim 
  • 4 x switches • Pad and 48V Phantom 
  • 4 x digital rotary encoders for LCD control 
  • 2 x 16 character LCD 
  • 8 x 4-segment ladder LEDs • 1/4-inch analog in 
  • 8 x activity LED • 1/4-inch analog out 
  • 2 x 4-segment ladder LEDs • RCA S/PDIF in 
  • 2 x activity LED • RCA S/PDIF out 
  • 2 x 10-segment LEDs • mic in with V-Limit 
  • 2 x 5-segment ladder LEDs • main outs 
  • 6 x LED • sample rate indicator 
  • 1 x LED • LOCK/TACH indicator 
  • 2 x activity LEDs • optical bank A/B 
  • 1 x activity LED • MIDI in/out 
  • 1 x AC power switch
• Power: International 100-240V autoswitching supply 50-60 Hz - 20 Watts