Users' Opinion - Motu 2408
If you use Direct-to-Disk, the Motu is really good (if you want to put some money in a performing sound card).
Description :
It is a PCI card and an external rack connected by a rather long cable (about 2 meters long).
The connectors : 2408 = 24 inputs and 24 digital outputs in TDIF format (used by the Tascam DA 88...), 24 inputs / outputs in ADAT format, 8 RCA analog inputs / outputs (cinch), 1 input / output Spdif plus an Spdif output which uses the analog outputs 1 and 2. You can use 24 inputs and 24 outputs simultaneously : ex : 8 ADAT in, 8 tdif in, 8 analog in, 24 ADAT out... or all that you want. The possibilities are numerous.
What is really important too is that the analog to digital and digital to analog converters (of very good quality, without any noise) are located in the external rack : no interference noise like for the SB, for example.
It has at its disposal several synching systems : word clock, adat sync, digital synchro, timepiece (synch engine is also made by Motu), which really make it a professional soundcard. A lot of professionals whom I know use it and are very satisfied.
Another interesting point : the latency time between the output and the input : it can be reduced to less than 10 ms (750 for a SB Live). On the other hand, you must have another card for Midi because it doesn't have any Midi in / out interface (in this case, an old SB 16 could be useful if you need 1 Midi in / out only).
As a conclusion, in my own opinion, it is the best current sound card especially for the price you'll pay : about 1143 euros VAT included, in Germany (about 1311 euros minimum in Paris in France) and about 884 euros in the United States (for those who are used to go there sometimes...)
Always ready to help !
Nicolas BOURGEOIS
First thing : the system is divided in 2. A PCI card that you have to put in the PC and a 1U-19" rack that you can place everywhere you want in a 3-meter radius circle (it's the length of the Fire-Wire cable between the card and the rack). No particular problem when installing if you carefully read the manual. I won't talk about the multiple inputs / ouputs, if you read this article it's because you want to know a little more about it.
Personally, I'm very satisfied with this system. The analog inputs and outputs are fairly correct (no noise, good dynamic range, ...) but the drawback is that they are in RCA format. Some balanced inputs would have been welcomed. Well, you can't have everything. I don't use the direct monitoring either in Cubase because my system is adjusted with a latency of 20 ms. You can reduce it a bit more but only if you have a powerful system. I work personally with a PII 333 Mhz, 128 MB of RAM and an Ultrawide hard disk drive at 7200 rpm. Well, it is possible to make some direct routing from the imputs to the outputs with a software bundled with the package : Cuemix. So, the discharge of the inputs is done ahead of Cubase. With this system, no latency problem.
The last and, in my own opinion, the biggest piece of advice is that this system was made to be evolutive. A good base for a system which could be extended. I explain myself : you have 24 simultaneous inputs / outputs but only 8 analog ones because the other 16 are in ADAT and TDIF format. You could start with this base and your analog mixboard and then you would buy some A/D and/or D/A converters in ADAT format or a digital mixboard with its own converters. You could also buy some other racks from Mark of the Unicorn (another MOTU 2408 rack, 1224, 24i, ...) which can be connected directly to the PCI card of your computer. This famous card has 3 external connectors, so it can receive 3 racks. A really evolutive system, then !!!!!
Personally, our little studio works with a PC for Direct-to-Disk (you all have one), a MOTU 2408 interface (your future "sound card") and a Yamaha 03D mixboard with an ADAT card (you could use an 01V or a Roland 3100 Pro too). I assert you that you have here a "killing" system. In short, the Motu is a very good choice and I recommend it to you blindly.
Benoît LAGARDE BOURGEOIS