Considering going back in time with an old MOTU interface

[Artifacts]

Hi,

I am a musician who records himself and sometimes bandmates. I don't operate my small home studio professionally. That said, it's treated with rockwool panels, and I believe I get some good sounds.

My current setup is an Audient ID22 and the Audient ASP 800 8 pre ADAT which I bought second hand about 4 years ago. The ASP 800 worked great for a while for micing up my drums and allowing enough inputs (10) to do that and record with a bandmate so that we could have some semblance of a live performance.

But during the past year and a half, the first channel of the ASP 800 has begun producing bursts of noise/digital glitches. You can actually see this on the clip indicator led on the hardware unit. I got around this by just not using that first channel (which is kind of a bummer because it is one of the transformer color channels featured on the unit). That worked for a while, but now it seems to be affecting other channels randomly as well. You cross you fingers that you are going to get a take with the drums that doesn't have a flaw generated by this noise.

This is frustrating enough that I am considering ditching Audient and going back in time. I looked at some old reviews of multiple ins/outs interfaces and happened onto the old MOTU 828 mkii, and because it's a firewire device, the price has dropped considerably. I have read that with double dongles this will work on my MacBook Pro Air.

My question is do you think I will be disappointed in the sounds I would get using an old interface (with older tech and converters, etc) vs. the Audient setup? I do like the flexibility of routing with the Audient, and I have put in a lot of time learning how to use it with my monitors, outboard, and patchbay. Is the MOTU routing as capable as the Audient? Is it an option for me to connect the ID22 as master to the MOTU 828 mkii via ADAT which might give me the best of both worlds?

Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

[Nick Sevilla]

Hi Artifacts,

You are much better off buying a current interface, with no need for so many adapters. Current Macs do NOT support Firewire of any kind. So buying an older interface with Firewire would be a no-go anyways.

If you need 8 channels or more of audio inputs and outputs, there are tons of interfaces out there. Which connections does your Macbook Air have? That should inform what you can do.

I recommend you look at Focusrite Dante enabled interfaces. Solid drivers, compatible with many computers, including older ones, and there are adapters for Ethernet to Thunderbolt / USB 3 connections. And it is probably a format that will still be around in 20 years.

[The Scum]

First, are you sure it's not a clocking issue? From the description, it could be in that ballpark.

If you're confident in the clocking, and you liked the results you were getting, my vote would be to get the Audient fixed.

(And if Audient are difficult in that regard, please report back.)

The 828mk2 is from the very beginning of the era of modern conversion...it's probably fine for conversion. It's also mid-grade electronics that's 20+ years old, and potentially needs repairs of it's own. It's not some hidden secret gem, or anything to be especially nostalgic about. Are the drivers & control utilities even compatible with modern Macs?

[kslight]

I would definitely forget about any FireWire device unless you have a matching old computer to use it with, which is certainly an option if you don’t mind using old software - easy to find old Mac Pros, etc, at a good price.


Sound quality wise, unless you’re overly picky I’m sure it would be just fine.

[Artifacts]

Thank you very much for the replies. I did cycle through the sample rate settings on the asp 800 but keeping the sample size at 48 for both the 800 and the daw was the best option.

I think one thing I failed to emphasize is that I felt pretty disillusioned by the failure of this device in terms of how much I paid for it and the life of the preamp before it started giving me problems. And that is the real reason I started thinking about an older interface I could get for little outlay/risk. Because this experience has shaken my faith that spending a considerable amount on a newer adat pre would give me something long lasting, I am looking for a solid but less expensive solution.

I did see on this forum one person who was using the MOTU 828 mkii firewire with two dongles with Intel and M1 Macs, so I believe it's possible. (viewtopic.php?f=14&t=90612&p=725199&hil ... es#p725199) Of course, this is not officially supported. My Mac has 4 thunderbolt usb-c ports. I already have a firewire 400 to 800 cable so I might only need the Apple firewire 800 to thunderbolt dongle.

Looks like I could get this MOTU unit for about 100-150, and with all of the inputs and outputs it would seem to fit the bill. Not trying to be hard-headed, but maybe I have my answer if you think the conversion won't be a drastic step down. Thanks

[emrr]

The sonics of the generations following were a very obvious step up.

[Dr Rubberfunk]

Agree it could be a clocking issue - I would also try checking your ID22 firmware is up to date and that your Audient ID software is the latest version too. Check whether Audient recommend clocking the ASP800 from the ID22 or vice versa - I have an ID44 and a Cranborne 500 ADAT unit for additional inputs, and the Cranborne prefers being the Master - which the ID software sometimes disagrees with, so worth a check in the ID software control panel.
I did find Audient support very helpful when I had an issue with my mac recognising the interface was connected, so I'd also suggest getting the ASP looked at for possible repair.

FWIW - my Audient & Cranborne set-up replaced a MOTU 828 MkII that I'd had since 2004, and it's a different level altogether. In terms of what you're trying to replicate, remember that the 828 only has 2 preamps, and both of mine had failed after about 6 years - a well documented issue, and something to do with the specific type of gain pots that MOTU used - so I was using the line I/O only most of the time I had it.

[darjama]

I had a motu 828 1st gen, it was not the greatest in terms of reliability or sound quality. Maybe the the 2nd gen was better in both regards, but I wouldn't throw too much money at some 20 year old budget digital audio converters.

[drumsound]

With very few exceptions, vintage digital technology isn't desired. Those MOTU boxes are mid grade at best, and when it goes to shit, no one is going to want to fix it. Plus you're asking about Firwire, and completely DEAD spec? You're kind of saying "I've got this brand new car, can I put drum breaks and a carburetor on it?"

[numberthirty]

With very few exceptions, vintage digital technology isn't desired. Those MOTU boxes are mid grade at best, and when it goes to shit, no one is going to want to fix it. Plus you're asking about Firwire, and completely DEAD spec? You're kind of saying "I've got this brand new car, can I put drum breaks and a carburetor on it?"

In addition...

(Least "Grumpy Uncle"/Most "I'm Saying This Because I Care" way that I can put this...)

Let's say that this "Pee Wee Herman Fixes Breakfast..." fix you are debating does work.

When it comes to Apple, would you bet that it will continue to work...

- In a month?
- In a year?
- In five years?

Because I would not bet a half a bag of Skittles on that.

(Don't wanna be a wet blanket. Just saying...)

[numberthirty]

Agree it could be a clocking issue - I would also try checking your ID22 firmware is up to date and that your Audient ID software is the latest version too. Check whether Audient recommend clocking the ASP800 from the ID22 or vice versa - I have an ID44 and a Cranborne 500 ADAT unit for additional inputs, and the Cranborne prefers being the Master - which the ID software sometimes disagrees with, so worth a check in the ID software control panel.
I did find Audient support very helpful when I had an issue with my mac recognising the interface was connected, so I'd also suggest getting the ASP looked at for possible repair.

FWIW - my Audient & Cranborne set-up replaced a MOTU 828 MkII that I'd had since 2004, and it's a different level altogether. In terms of what you're trying to replicate, remember that the 828 only has 2 preamps, and both of mine had failed after about 6 years - a well documented issue, and something to do with the specific type of gain pots that MOTU used - so I was using the line I/O only most of the time I had it.

Along this line...

I might try to replace the cable connecting the second Audient unit to the first one. It is probably not that, but it might be worth starting with the simplest stuff just to have it crossed off of the list.

[numberthirty]

All of that said...

This thread looks kinda familiar, and not in a good way.

https://gearspace.com/board/music-compu ... blems.html

[numberthirty]

From that thread...

Good evening fellas,

I know I'm a little late to the party but I just wanted to comment this because it might help other owners of an ASP800 unit:

What you describe (Birdlives1955) sounds exactly like an issue I had with channel one or two - I don't exactly remember which one but I think it was channel one in my unit.
I do a lot of vocal tracking and one time in the studio (brought my own preamp along - the ASP800 obviously) I noticed distortion. I think we even had to redo the take, but as I was just experimenting (mic shoot out) it wasn't a big deal. It had occurred very few times before that and a number of times afterwards (like when I was comparing a U87AI to another U87AI that I had just bought used. Imagine how shocked I was when I heard how distorted my new microphone sounded). What bothered me most was that I suspected that my unit was faulty.
I reached out to Audient and they responded insanely fast and were very friendly and helpful. I said that I would run some more tests before sending my unit in.

Here's what cured my problem (weird but true): I noticed that when my primary interface and ADAT host is switched on just a little later than the ASP800, somehow the ADAT connection is not syncing/functioning properly and the intermittent distortion occurs. Pressing the "lock" button again, cycling through the sample rates until it locks successfully again has completely solved my problem.
The unit has been working flawlessly so far (about a year) and sounds good.

[Artifacts]

Thank you. All of you. I will give the asp 800 some more attention.

The reason why I think the unit is faulty is that even when it's not connected to the id22 it is generating the self distortion randomly and showing up on the clip indicator LED of channel one.

But I will try what the guy above recommends.

[drumsound]

Thank you. All of you. I will give the asp 800 some more attention.

The reason why I think the unit is faulty is that even when it's not connected to the id22 it is generating the self distortion randomly and showing up on the clip indicator LED of channel one.

But I will try what the guy above recommends.

How's the power situation in your home? If it's older, that could be your problem.