Howard1
07-27-2003, 07:26 PM
I've never posted to this forum before but used it extensively when trying to decide on a new recording interface. This is a great forum an I got a lot of useful information from it during my search. I owe it to everyone to report on my experiences with the MOTU 828 MkII which I finally bought this weekend. I have a dual 2.8 GHz Xeon computer system with built-in firewire running XP Pro with Sonar 2.2, Arturia Moog Modular V, Reason 2.5, and Reaktor 4. The computer has traditionally been somewhat picky about the hardware hooked up to it. I previously owned an Echo Layla and when I upgraded to this computer, the Layla would automatically cause a crash of XP whenever the card was accessed by any software. This problem could not be resolved by tech support and I wound up selling hte Layla. I got an M-audio Delta 410 in the interim which worked fine, but wanted an outboard recording interface again. I began looking and the search culminated with my decision to buy the 828 MkII. It was with some trepidation that I plunked down the cash for the 828 after my experiences with the Layla, not knowing if it would work at all.
I have to report that I am extremely happy with the 828 MkII. The installation went flawlessly. I followed MOTU's instructions to install the driver first before hooking up the unit. I plugged in the 828's firewire cable and Windows found it, installing about 4-5 drivers. It took a few minutes before I was able to figure out how to get sound out of the unit but all of a sudden it was there and has worked perfectly ever since. My firewire host adapter shares an interrupt with the video card and I was worried that this might cause conflicts but so far I have not had any problems with glitches. I get about 3-4 ms safe latency with my audio applications and although I could probably get better I am very careful of clicks and pops so have not tried to push it. I have tried it out with all the above mentioned pieces of software both in standalone and DXi mode within Sonar. No problems at all and no glitches to speak of. The mic preamps also sound good with my Blue Kiwi and I have laid down several tracks in Sonar with no issues.
The sound quality of this unit really blows me away. I have owned the Layla, the Delta 410, and an M-audio Audiophile 2496 sound card and the 828 blows them all away for sound quality. The Layla sounded dead with a small soundstage by comparison. The 828 has a huge soundstage, very tight bass, a lot of punch, and a sweet, musical sound. I use a Tara Labs Temporal Continuum power cord which is a tweako audiophile cord with it and find it sounds better with this, getting more punch to its sound and deeper bass. When listening to music through the 828 I find I can hear quite a ways down in the music. The D/A's appear to be very good, allowing me to follow echoes for a longer time than my previous soundcards. There is also a lot more channel separation than with the Layla; I hear sounds coming from the center as well as from each of the speakers. In some music, it seems the soundstage has a wrap-around effect as in some of the audiophile gear. Last night I hooked the 828 up to the stereo and streamed internet radio. It sounded so good I kept turning up the volume. Even the compressed mp3's were rendered musically and with an interest that made me want to stay up late. Again, I have not had this experience with any of my other soundcards. While the Delta 410 sounded richer than the rather thin Layla, it still rendered the music without much interest so I never had the desire to turn the stereo up.
In short I would heartily recommend the 828 MkII to anyone in the market for a recording interface. I don't have experience with a lot of sound cards and recording interfaces but from the ones I have owned, the 828 stands head and shoulders above the others. Its flawless operation with my non-standard computer says a lot about the stability of its drivers. I have heard the MOTU 896 sounds very good as well but have not had an opportunity to compare. For the price the 828 MkII will serve me well for a very long time. Again thanks for the excellent forum.
I have to report that I am extremely happy with the 828 MkII. The installation went flawlessly. I followed MOTU's instructions to install the driver first before hooking up the unit. I plugged in the 828's firewire cable and Windows found it, installing about 4-5 drivers. It took a few minutes before I was able to figure out how to get sound out of the unit but all of a sudden it was there and has worked perfectly ever since. My firewire host adapter shares an interrupt with the video card and I was worried that this might cause conflicts but so far I have not had any problems with glitches. I get about 3-4 ms safe latency with my audio applications and although I could probably get better I am very careful of clicks and pops so have not tried to push it. I have tried it out with all the above mentioned pieces of software both in standalone and DXi mode within Sonar. No problems at all and no glitches to speak of. The mic preamps also sound good with my Blue Kiwi and I have laid down several tracks in Sonar with no issues.
The sound quality of this unit really blows me away. I have owned the Layla, the Delta 410, and an M-audio Audiophile 2496 sound card and the 828 blows them all away for sound quality. The Layla sounded dead with a small soundstage by comparison. The 828 has a huge soundstage, very tight bass, a lot of punch, and a sweet, musical sound. I use a Tara Labs Temporal Continuum power cord which is a tweako audiophile cord with it and find it sounds better with this, getting more punch to its sound and deeper bass. When listening to music through the 828 I find I can hear quite a ways down in the music. The D/A's appear to be very good, allowing me to follow echoes for a longer time than my previous soundcards. There is also a lot more channel separation than with the Layla; I hear sounds coming from the center as well as from each of the speakers. In some music, it seems the soundstage has a wrap-around effect as in some of the audiophile gear. Last night I hooked the 828 up to the stereo and streamed internet radio. It sounded so good I kept turning up the volume. Even the compressed mp3's were rendered musically and with an interest that made me want to stay up late. Again, I have not had this experience with any of my other soundcards. While the Delta 410 sounded richer than the rather thin Layla, it still rendered the music without much interest so I never had the desire to turn the stereo up.
In short I would heartily recommend the 828 MkII to anyone in the market for a recording interface. I don't have experience with a lot of sound cards and recording interfaces but from the ones I have owned, the 828 stands head and shoulders above the others. Its flawless operation with my non-standard computer says a lot about the stability of its drivers. I have heard the MOTU 896 sounds very good as well but have not had an opportunity to compare. For the price the 828 MkII will serve me well for a very long time. Again thanks for the excellent forum.