MOTU ultralite vs. Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1

[mkelly]

One is Firewire and the other is USB

May make a difference down the line considering the new Macs dont have Firewire

Talk about a sweeping statement. The latest unibody MacBOOKS don't have Firewire. The MacBook White, Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro lines all have FW400 or FW800 (backward compatible with 400).

[aburgener]

man, i dunno if i'd pick tc over native instruments or motu. i say this having never owned any of their stuff but the last time i was shopping for an interface i swung by their online forum for the konnekt series stuff and shit was getting pretty ugly in there...

[fishmonkey]

man, i dunno if i'd pick tc over native instruments or motu. i say this having never owned any of their stuff but the last time i was shopping for an interface i swung by their online forum for the konnekt series stuff and shit was getting pretty ugly in there...

yeah, i wonder if they've sorted out their driver problems yet? that's what put me off getting a TC konnekt a while back...

[mikemc]

man, i dunno if i'd pick tc over native instruments or motu. i say this having never owned any of their stuff but the last time i was shopping for an interface i swung by their online forum for the konnekt series stuff and shit was getting pretty ugly in there...

I got a Konnekt 8 a while back and had to go thru a couple of driver updates, but got to a point where it sounds great. That was with XP, tho'.

I think there is zero chance of an OOBE with interfaces, but that is what people expect: I mean you plug a new guitar into a new amp and you're all set, should work that way with all "music stuff", right?

But an interface is not music stuff, it's computer stuff-- when you buy an interface, don't even bother installing the drivers that came in the box with it, check the website first to see if updates are available and read the damn readme.

[dazzer]

I'm just fascinated by this parallel universe where swan808 lives in which MOTU are considered dodgy and M-Audio shine for making quality products. Can truthfully say that my experience (on a Mac) has been totally the opposite.

FWIW the Ultralite did work straight out of the box for me, only updated drivers when I bought a new computer.

[paq]

I'd like to know if anybody has checked the new Focusrife Saffire Pro 40 or can compare this one with an Ultralite (they'r nearly same price, i tend to the focusrite pecause of the 8 mic preamps).

Anybody out there?

Thx

[mkelly]

I'd like to know if anybody has checked the new Focusrife Saffire Pro 40 or can compare this one with an Ultralite (they'r nearly same price, i tend to the focusrite pecause of the 8 mic preamps).

I bought the Saffire Pro 40. I can't say it's not been without problems - the first unit seemed to blow because of a dodgy firewire cable supplied with the unit (blew the Saffire and an external hard drive when I tested it). Replacement unit is still working though I had some OS X lockups which corresponded to massive dumps of log messages to system.log. I've not seen these since I moved to a Mac Pro running Leopard (I was on a MacBook Pro running Tiger), although I have also updated the Saffire Pro firmware.

I enjoy using the Saffire Pro, however, I can't compare it to the Ultralite in terms of audio quality and usability as I've never used an Ultralite. I considered the Ultralite, but I wanted the 8 preamps - planned drum recording which I have yet to do - and I wanted something rack mountable. I actually have the Audio Kontrol 1 for on the go stuff, so I didn't need anything particularly portable in my "studio" interface

Feel free to ask me further questions about the Saffire Pro 40, either here or by PM.

Cheers,

Maurice

[nebulae]

I love my AK1 - versatile, built like a tank, and great for gigging. Since I have a workstation with an RME, that's where I create most of my work. But when I gig, I always use my AK1. Also, when I do mobile recording, I use the AK1, and for both those purposes, it's a great choice. What I don't want to do is to lug around a $1000 soundcard solution for gigging or mobile recording. For that, the AK1 is the perfect choice.

[elxicano]

I love my AK1 - versatile, built like a tank, and great for gigging. Since I have a workstation with an RME, that's where I create most of my work. But when I gig, I always use my AK1. Also, when I do mobile recording, I use the AK1, and for both those purposes, it's a great choice. What I don't want to do is to lug around a $1000 soundcard solution for gigging or mobile recording. For that, the AK1 is the perfect choice.

So glad you said this.... I picked up an AK1 a couple weeks ago as I needed to build a portable setup. I had no idea it would be as small as it is (which was a good surprise), but definitely feels rock solid. Good to know it actually is rock solid.

Sorry... don't much about the Motu, so I'll attempt to gracefully bow out now.

[nebulae]

^ yeah, and it's also great because it has no power source - everything runs off the USB bus, so it's great for portability.

[dootdoot]

I used the AK1 sine right around it's release and I also use a MOTU 896HD as my main interface. The AK1 can be a really nice solution to portable DJ/Live work. The monitor/main setup is excellent, the dial and buttons can be programmed to Live functions, the sound quality is OK, and it works great on bus power. The downside is that you are kinda married to NI to make anything work on it, and you only get a single mic preamp. I have switched back to lugging my 896HD around, and will be picking up an Ultralite as a portable rig. MOTU still gives me the best bang for the buck out of the gear that i have owned. it has been pretty much a process of elimination. NI is too much of a "lock in" business model for me, MAudio hardware has always been too flaky for me (though my MicroTrack has been pretty solid), and my experience with TC will take some time to get over. But to the OP's question: MOTU is going to have better sound quality and be a better device for recording mics and instruments. The AK1 is a good choice if you need a upgraded output device with cueing and want to sample from analog devices.

[SWAN808]

I'm just fascinated by this parallel universe where swan808 lives in which MOTU are considered dodgy and M-Audio shine for making quality products. Can truthfully say that my experience (on a Mac) has been totally the opposite.

FWIW the Ultralite did work straight out of the box for me, only updated drivers when I bought a new computer.

its not a parallel universe - its just the universe is constantly evolving. Yes M Audio is considered a prosumer brand more so than MOTU. That said whilst MOTU are solid interfaces their conversion is not highly regarded. Whilst the new Profire range is a big step up in quality for M Audio and great value - said to be comparable to RME Fireface (which most regard as an upgrade from MOTU 828). I was surprised myself to hear about M Audio Profire...

I also agree with another poster that initally the TC Konnekt range had horrible driver issues - but if it works on your system (and they are said to be sorted now) it is a to grade interface. Again - TC converters are very highly regarded - and when those interfaces work - they are said to be very good. Great value like the Profire.

[dootdoot]

I'd like to let the Profire get proven out in the wild before calling it a step up from MOTU's converters, and before I believe that it is some big leap forward in stability. My experiences with the MAudio external units was very frustrating, and MOTU has won me over with a big upgrade in sonics and stability. I'm more than happy to let folks rag on the converters in my 896HD because all it has ever done is run like a swiss freakin watch. No driver issues, firmware issues, or hardware issues. The converters don't suck, and I wasn't blown away by the supposedly far superior Apogee units to make an "upgrade".

Again, back to the OP, everything has strengths and weaknesses, and my experience with the AK1, which I used for almost two years before sending it to a bandmate who needed an interface, was that it was very convenient, the mic pre wasn't bad at all, and the output was more than adequate to drive monitors or a PA. It didn't cut it in my setup for mixing or critical work. The 896HD images a lot better and had better overall clarity. I have tried a Ultralite MK2 and will be buying a MK3 because it sounds better than my 896HD on both input and output and lets me do location recording/playback that has been a hassle with my full sized 896HD rack rig. Both the AK1 and the Ultralite have their place, but they are so far apart in specs that I don't consider them to be a "fair fight".