MOTU UltraLite (Review)

[_controlfreak]

I just tested the UltraLite on Windows XP SP2 / P4 2.4 Ghz and it works fine.

[shaonjmr]

I bought ultralite few days ago through amazon.com . The item review indicated that it requires a non adaptable 6 pin firewire port in the computer . However , I was about to buy a laptop to set up my mobile studio. but i found that most of the laptops ( specially HP DV 5177 or 5242 ) available in the market has a 4 pin fire wire port.

Whether the ultralite will work properly if I hook it with the laptop with a 6/4 firewire cable or use a converter ( 4 pin to 6 pin ) to hook it up with the laptop( which has only a 4 pin fire wire input).

Thanking you

shaon

[_controlfreak]

Hi shaonjmr, your question would be a good one for MOTU Tech Support/Sales. You can call them at (617) 576-3066 (USA) 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. (EST) M-F, or email techsupport@motu.com or sales@motu.com

[nanashiwanderer]

Hi shaonjmr, your question would be a good one for MOTU Tech Support/Sales. You can call them at (617) 576-3066 (USA) 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. (EST) M-F, or email techsupport@motu.com or sales@motu.com

_controlfreak you mean your not part of Motu Sales?

[_controlfreak]

Shhhhh... and Yamaha, and Apple, and True Systems!

[Booda]

I replaced my M audio 410 with a Motu Ultralite yesterday. I have to say the difference in the sound quality is astounding. The preamps in the Motu make everything crisper, cleaner, sweeter, and I am one happy camper. I own a mac and it works great! I took controlfreaks advice and I was not steered wrong. I haven't put it through a lot of tests, but right out of the box, it is miles ahead of the 410. If you can pull together a few extra bucks, this is the way to go. Cheers!

[shaonjmr]

Anybody using Mac Book white 2.0 with ultralite? Does this mac support 24 bit sound quality recording ?

thanks

[_controlfreak]

Hi! I just recorded and played back 8 tracks of 24-bit audio on my White MacBook. I used Digital Performer 5.1 and the Intel MUA Drivers. Worked great!

[shaonjmr]

thanks freak..

what about HP DV 5000 models ( say DV 5242 / 5177 ) ? Does it record 24 bit quality ? any body?

[nanashiwanderer]

i wonder if this thread will out post the get to the last post thread.

[Speaker Posse]

Nice review id better get saving or selling the wife

[_controlfreak]

Or both! There's also the ol' buying it "for her" route too.

[destructive cactus]

thanks freak..

what about HP DV 5000 models ( say DV 5242 / 5177 ) ? Does it record 24 bit quality ? any body?

If the interface supports recording at 24bit (the ultralite does) it will record at 24 bit if you tell it to. It's a function of the audio interface, not the computer so much.

So...I'm buying my ultralite this friday...anyone care to give me a late-breaking reason NOT to? or a go-ahead?

Thanks.

[montsamu]

The bit depth is also a function of the software path -- both the drivers available on your OS, and your recording software on your DAW.

Assuming 24-bit driver support on your platform, from the audio interface, the operating system will then be able to deliver the 24-bit data to the consuming recording software program. However with some older software programs (and even some low-end ones produced recently) do not support 24-bit resolution.

This is particularly a problem when it comes to sampling rates instead of bit depth. The hardware might support 96 kHz sampling rate, but then, say, for Windows the ASIO driver doesn't support it, only the WDM driver will support it, and at that only unidirectional. Your recording software would have to support such a rate as well. YMMV...

As far as the go-ahead on the Ultralite -- depending on how many embedded mic pres you want, and how much Blinkenlights you want, and the importance of the form factor -- because MOTU's 8pre is released now... looks very nice...

[montsamu]

Or both! There's also the ol' buying it "for her" route too.

This actually works. Last night "we" used "our" MOTU 828 to record ourselves reading a few baby books so when we're away, the sitter can play them.

[_controlfreak]

Ohhhhhh yeah; top of the Google list, baby (for "motu ultralite review" as well as the loose keyword query).

[MackaM01]

hey guys,

im not a regular here, but i was wondering if anyone could answer this question concerning the UltraLite:

Ive recently got a Dell Inspiron 6400, and unfortuantely it only has a 4-pin firewire port. Im happy to buy a card for the express (PCI-e?) cardslot but have heard that not all firewire cards work with these firewire interfaces. Does anyone know of brands or cards that definately will or wont work? any input is would be great, thanks.

Matt

[_controlfreak]

Good question for MOTU Tech: 617 576 3066 (9am-6pm, Eastern, M-F)

[nanashiwanderer]

try the motu forums if they have one too.

[destructive cactus]

Ok, so I got my UltraLite, and I love it.

However, I wrote an email to MOTU support regarding a few questions I had and got a stupid form mail reply that answered none of my questions. it kind of sucks to spend a decent amount of money on a product and get a reply (obviously copy/pasted often). It was just a huge list of things to do if you have problems. While good to know, these are just repeats from the FAQ.

Anyhow, that's my two cents.

[_controlfreak]

When I email MOTU I get direct communication with the same guy every time. Try putting "Attn: Jonas" in the subject line (I'm sure he'll appreciate that). The email may be automated and your message has yet to be read by someone in the office (M-F). Their phone support is great too; easy to reach (again, when they're actually open).

[rotaryunison]

If I ever need MOTU support, I'm just going to drive to their offices and bang on their doors. They're located a mere 30 minutes from my home.

[destructive cactus]

So as not to appear overly negative (I realize I only briefly mentioned that i LOVED my ultralite), I just wanted to say:

I was going through some old recordings, trying to organize my 'Songs' folder, and I was surprised by how terrible everything sounded in relation to my newer recordings with the ultralite.

Now, I'm still broke, but at least it's justified

[knm336]

Hey controlfreak,

I own an ultralite, I actually saw your review before deciding on it in the spring and it definetely helped, so thank you for that. But I'm finding a few things inconvenient with my setup, I dont think it's the ultralite specifically, just the things u have to deal with when u dont have a mixer, but here's my problem:

I have my ultralite hooked up to a Macbook Pro and a Motif ES. That's pretty much the extent of my home setup. But one thing I find really inconvenient is there doesn't seem to be any way to control the output volume of my computer when I'm using Logic or just browsing the web and a some really loud audio starts blasting through my monitors without going to the front panel of my ultralite. I'm pretty sure I'm not missing anything, but am I right that there's no way to control your computer's output through software with the ultralite? I dont see why they couldn't make it so u can control it through the cuemix software. It really sucks.

It's the same thing with headphone mixes too. It seems like the only way to software monitor is to set ur headphones to monitor the main outs. I can't figure out how to do a separate headphone mix from the main outs that includes the computer output. Again, am I missing something, or is this just the way it works?

[_controlfreak]

Hi knm, you can turn the "Main Vol" knob (in the upper right; it's the knob that is also the power button) down or up as desired. It's always within reach, even though I've gotten used to turning it up when doing music things and down when doing consumer things. Buying another interface won't solve the problem; that's just how CoreAudio works, and it could be argued that an extra gain stage would be unnecessary. I just downloaded "Remote Buddy" from http://www.iospirit.com/ It lets me control the actual itunes volume with my remote (not just the system volume). This way, I can use my UltraLite and still have control over iTunes' volume without having to be within reach of the UL. Remote Buddy works for numerous programs including FireFox. I hope that helps you in some way; I too find the lack of a "system volume" annoying, but I can also understand why Apple made it that way.