MOTU UltraLite (Review)

[_controlfreak]

I don't think so, what would you like to know? I'd be happy to scan and send a section to you.

[IndianTweakhead]

anyone here have a firepod AND an ultralite for comparison?

[_controlfreak]

I compared it to the firebox - what did you want to compare? The preamps?

[IndianTweakhead]

latency and preamps, thanks.

[_controlfreak]

Well with my Mac's CoreAudio, latency goes all the way down to 1ms (yes, I said one) in Reason. The preamps were slightly better than the firepod's... slightly more definition in the highs. The color was quite a bit different, hard to say which one was better... UL's had a better low-end, and had a darker quality - but there was more defintion in the highs and the UL preamps took EQ MUCH better than the PreSonus Pres.

[IndianTweakhead]

interesting. well obviously with your mac you got latency lower than mine!

[_controlfreak]

If I had a PC withe firewire i would test the latency there too. Sadly, I don't... wait... maybe I can get my hands on one. Don't hold your breath though

[Murahachibu]

I don't think so, what would you like to know? I'd be happy to scan and send a section to you.

Thanks for the offer. I was just hoping to read up on it a little more in general, but one thing I'm interested in is the section on assigning outputs in Cuemix. Is that a scanable section or is it too long.

Thanks!

[tojoba]

I just got an Ultralight (upgrading from M-Audio 410) and so far have been very pleased. My question is about daisy-chaining hard drives. I have an Intel Duo Mac Mini with only one firewire port. So, I've tried both scenarios (Mini -> Ultralight -> LaCie HD.....and.....Mini -> LaCie HD -> Ultralight) with equal success - although I haven't really tested latency, # of tracks, etc.

It would seem more intuitive, to me, to have the Ultralight be the first in the chain coming off the Mini. However, when the Ultralight is turned off the hard drives dismount from the desktop. Obviously, if I reversed the order and had the Ultralight last in the chain (I'm using two LaCie HD's) it wouldn't affect the mounting/dismounting of the HDs when I turned the Ultralight on/off.

What do you guys recommend I do for the order? If keeping the Ultralight first is the best route - no problem - I'll just keep the Ultralight powered on when I'm working on the Mini and then when I put it to sleep, I can turn off the Ultralight. I then just have to remember to power it on when I want to use the HDs.

Thanks for your comments.

[_controlfreak]

The UltraLite is bus-powered; so leave it "on" all the time. It will shut itself off when you turn off the computer (it's no problem to leave it on all day). So, leave the UltraLite first in the chain, and leave it on and let the computer decide when to shut it off.

Murahachibu, I haven't had a chance to sit down and scan the pages, but it's right here on my to-do-list!

[tojoba]

The problem with that is the Ultralight still stays on when the Mini is shut down....it doesn't shut off when the computer does. This happens both in sleep mode and a full shut down. And I'm not using the power adapter. I understand I can leave it on for hours, but I didn't want to leave it on permanently.

I was planning on turning it on when I needed it and off when I didn't, but it looks like I'm going to have to keep in on at all times when the computer is on to be able to use the HDs - if I keep it first in the chain.

[_controlfreak]

OHHHH. Strange! On my Power Mac all firewire devices get killed when it shuts off. In that case, leave it second in the chain, and if you notice any performance problems simply put it first. It gets the same amount of electricity whether it's in the first or second spot on the chain.

In your case, I'd leave it second - that's very interesting that firewire devices still get power when it's shut off - guess that goes to show you aren't saving much money on electricity when you just shut it off!

[tojoba]

Okay.....here's the twist.....I'm actually using two LaCie firewire drives chained together. One for Logic tracks and the other for overall (and Logic) backup. So, it would actually be third if I wanted to put the Ultralight at the end.

I guess I could kill the backup (only plug it in when I needed to do a backup) and just go with one LaCie then the Ultralight.

So many options! Thanks for your ideas. I appreciate them.

[redheadbass]

Is there a setting on the Mini that can make it shut off the Firewire power when the Mini is powered down?

BTW, startup is the hardest thing on a hard drive. Leaving your HD's powered up will make them last longer. Durability is rated in power up/down cycles. I doubt the Ultralite will be adversely affected by constant power on.

The only time I power down is wheen I record with my LDC, I power down my PC, 'cause my LDC picks up the fan noise. (All of my recording is now done on my Powerbook).

Also when going mobile for field recording.

MOTU support told me it's OK to hot plug your Firewire. I've read that some don't recommend it, but if your Mini is powered down, you could pull the Firewire.

My Traveler stays on 24/7, unless I'm going mobile.

[tojoba]

The only reason I thought about powering down the Ultralight was I didn't know if keeping the LCD display on all the time was good for it. Otherwise, I'm with you, I rarely power down my system.

What is an LDC?

So, do you have the setting in System Prefs/Energy Saver to put your disks to sleep when possible? Or is that the same as powering them down?

[_controlfreak]

LDC = Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone. They pick up EVERY noise in the room, and quite often ones outside of it.

[redheadbass]

LDC = Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone. They pick up EVERY noise in the room, and quite often ones outside of it.

Yeah, thats how I discovered that my desk chair squeaks. And I also discovered that one of my mandolin players' strap squeaks. And Harleys have caused more than one re-take here, too.

[_controlfreak]

My brother has 3 cockatiels in the adjacent room.

[redheadbass]

My brother has 3 cockatiels in the adjacent room.

And you haven't fried them on the sidewalk?

(Just kidding)

[Murahachibu]

Murahachibu, I haven't had a chance to sit down and scan the pages, but it's right here on my to-do-list!

Thanks!!!

[scadh]

MOTU ULTRALITE REVIEW
Seriously, it weighs less than a block of cheddar cheese (mmmm).

Hehe, what an unusual yet strangely specific analogy! I love it. I'll be buying an interface soon and the UL was already among the finalists. Now this clinches it.

[_controlfreak]

^That's the first thing I thought when I picked it up. It's very rugged too. Not just because of the material used, but because of the actual design/construction/location of everything. It seems like you could throw this unit at a brick wall and a hard reinforced corner or edge would take all the trauma.

[_controlfreak]

The CueMix section of the manual: http://www.alexts.net/UL/

I'd link to each picture, but they're huge.

[Murahachibu]

Thanks again for the pictures!! One more question:

There are 2 Mic/Instrument Ins and 6 Regular Line Ins on the unit. Can the Mic/Instrument Ins also be used as Regular Line Ins as well? I assume not...but it would be great if that were the case.

Thanks!!!

[_controlfreak]

Yes they can! Just set them to the right gain level. I use both of my UltraLlites to record 16 individual tracks out of my 1604VLZpro.