MOTU ULTRALITE , What is your opinion?

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 3:35 pm

I actually went from an 1820m to the Ultralite, as I needed a mobile solution since I was going laptop only. Here's my take:

- The Ultralite sounds really good, but the 1820m does admittedly sound a tiny bit better. More "open" I would say.

- The routing on the 1820m is MUCH more comprehensive, albeit at the expense of being complicated. So much so that the new new EMu cards no longer offer as many routing options with the new patch mix panels, Emu agreed it was too complicated. That said, the routing on the Motu is no slouch, you can set up 4 different output busses.

- The motu can be used as a standalone mixer, and has a dedicated volume and headphone knob.

- The motu was FAR easier to install, and worked perfectly with the very first drivers they released. Worked great for me with both XP and OSX based laptops.

Let me know if you have more questions.

grassnose · Post by **grassnose** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:05 pm

just curious, but where can we score the new firmware for the ultralite?

joshuajames · Post by **joshuajames** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:46 pm

i see a slightly used one on ebay for 400 bucks is this a bad idea? i'm a poor mofo and i know that this may be a bargain for some of you, but it's a rather significant investment on my part. i'd like to find one as far under $500 as possible. do you think the retail price will drop soon?

mikemc · Post by **mikemc** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:26 pm

joshuajames wrote:i see a slightly used one on ebay for 400 bucks is this a bad idea? i'm a poor mofo and i know that this may be a bargain for some of you, but it's a rather significant investment on my part. i'd like to find one as far under $500 as possible. do you think the retail price will drop soon?

It is unlikely. An alternative to suggest would be the Konnekt 8 interface. It is a new product, but the firmware/drivers seem well shaken out at this point. It does not have the features of the MOTU (which really is a good unit, good sound and so many inputs/outs for the price). But it is firewire, sounds good (very good coverters), and the construction/brand reputation are good.

[edit] that said, if you think you will need the ins/outs at some point in the next couple of years, then go ahead and pony up for the MOTU.

joshuajames · Post by **joshuajames** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:34 pm

yeah i'm pretty much sold on the idea of the motu. never heard anything bad, and i really trust tarekith's advice on tech stuff.

but i was just wondering if it will go down in price 'cause all this new gear coming out these days, would a used one be a bad idea? it's not a matter of finding a cheaper substitute, i just don't want to be the sucker putting down $500 toady and seeing it on sale for $380 next month...

mikemc · Post by **mikemc** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:56 pm

joshuajames wrote:yeah i'm pretty much sold on the idea of the motu. never heard anything bad, and i really trust tarekith's advice on tech stuff.

but i was just wondering if it will go down in price 'cause all this new gear coming out these days, would a used one be a bad idea? it's not a matter of finding a cheaper substitute, i just don't want to be the sucker putting down $500 toady and seeing it on sale for $380 next month...

It is always something of a risk. The Ultralight recently came down to $549 from $599 just about everywhere, which is why I say it's unlikely, and Motu just introduced the 8pre without further adjusting the Ultralight's price. If I were thinking about buying any music gear right now, I'd wait until NAMM was over and all the announcements that might be made are made, but if you are set on it then it is a good piece of gear, no question.

leandrogonza · Post by **leandrogonza** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:30 pm

Anyone has used the PRE-8 by motu??

i mean, i was about to get Ultralite, but i wonder if the pre-amps of the pre-8 are better??

Would the pre8's mic imputs allow for hi or low z connections, without the use of a DI box???

Cause i don't really need 8 outputs from the ultralite.
It might be better to have 8 inputs. with xlr.as in the pre-8.

But the pre-8 i saw it has lightpipe in's and out's i don't see the use for this.
In their website says (to be used with a digital mixer), but what besides this??

let me know your opinion thanks!!

mikemc · Post by **mikemc** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:28 am

here's what I'd suggest... you need to look at what's available feature wise in which price range, then assess your real needs (midi y/n or just audio, number of ins/outs, lightpipe, etc) and then consider possible future needs, and buy accordingly, considering you may stick with that piece of gear for 3-5 years.

randrohe · Post by **randrohe** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 6:53 am

the 8 pre can accept either kind of connection. it has neutrik sockets. take inventory of the gear you will be connecting and go from there. I have the ultralite and the 8pre, and they have both been rock solid. good luck with your decision. Rand

tricil · Post by **tricil** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:27 am

ok, so 2 macs, one on serato, one on ableton, a xone 3d, a trigger finger, 2 cdj's (probably on double duty... audio and scratch control), ultralite, xboard25, but WHAT is that on the left?!?!

looks like the ultimate dj rig for the new era to me...

grassnose · Post by **grassnose** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:16 pm

looks like the ultimate dj rig for the new era to me...

Looks like a lot of unneeded equipment to me...he could probably do what he's doing now with half that gear...

suspended childhood · Post by **suspended childhood** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:29 pm

metapathik wrote: however, i have been experiencing issues when copying files via the firewire bus (even when i'm not using the ultralite as a soundcard): halfway through a transfer, the entire firewire bus disappears and i have to reset everything. i'm working with motu support to resolve the issue and i'm sure it will be sorted out soon...

i know this isn't an isolated issue as glitchrock-buddha had posted some similar troubles with his unit. at any rate, until the issue is resolved, the ultralite is still an amazing soundcard for the money - just use caution when daisy-chaining it to other firewire devices...

I hooked up my seagate hard drive to my ultralite and now my hard drive doesnt work at all...the light on the drive is a different color than the other seagate drive I have that still works, and the now it doesnt show up on my computer.

good thing the drive was a backup anyway.

I havent had time to look into it to see if i can fix it yet. Ill check the motu site and see if the dl is available yet.

suspended childhood · Post by **suspended childhood** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:44 pm

tricil wrote:

ok, so 2 macs, one on serato, one on ableton, a xone 3d, a trigger finger, 2 cdj's (probably on double duty... audio and scratch control), ultralite, xboard25, but WHAT is that on the left?!?!

looks like the ultimate dj rig for the new era to me...

he needs just about everything here. he uses the x board to actually play while hes dj'ing and make live tracks right there while hes in the mix.

he probablly perfers the TF for the pads.

needs a mixer, so why not the xone 3d

ultralite...obvious

cd players and serato on lappy #1 is probably a backup.

dunno what that thing is on the left though. probably some kind of prototype.