So does anyone use MOTU's 24io?

[Aloha]

In concept it looks real nice, but is it dependable, and does it sound good?

[cdog]

The MOTU stuff is OK... it all depends what you're tracking and what your expectations are.

Lets be realistic here, 24 A/Ds and 24 D/As for $1099? How good COULD they be?

I believe they're the same as the one in the 2408mk3, which I consider serviceable if you externally clock them.

I'd say if you're routing synth bass and drum samples and other blocks of cheese, no one will probably notice.

As a converter for acoustic materials and good mic, pres, etc... its gonmna be the weak link. I wouldn't route a mix through it personally, but YMMV.

All the MOTU stuff has crappy jitter laden clocks , so if you have a good clock that helps.

And crappy MOTU build quality. My 2408mk3's knobs started fritzing the day after I got it.

cdog

[zakco]

I had a 24i/o for several months before recently trading it in on a HD192.

To my ears the difference wasn't subtle. The 192 has a clearer bottom and a smoother top than the 24i/o.

Of course YMMV....

I'm very interested in hearing the 192 with an external clock.

-Z-

[KarlHoffmann]

Depends on your expectations and your market. In the "making silk purses out of sow's ears" land of demos and bottom feeding, it's just fine. My room affects the quality of what I can get out of it much more than it's converter quality. (That said, I'd like to hear it externally clocked, but where I am , I don't have the luxury of a pro shop at hand)

Build quality? Dunno. It doesn't have knobs to twist and break, it's got a metal chassis, what more do you want for $2000?

Maybe I got a good one, but after switching to XP pro (yes, MOTU on Windows....the kiss of death) I haven't had a lick of problems with it. YMMV

Karl

I think that Adam from down under has one too, maybe he can chime in....

[SLS]

Well I'm not the Adam mentioned above, but I used to have a 24i/o. As it has already been said, the sound quality is alright, but nothing great. My problem with MOTU is more in the reliability and support. I have had 3 MOTUS, of different models, and they were all quircky. Meaning they all had some kind of weird bugs or conflicts either in the PCI card or the physical unit itself that couldn't be easily resolved. I have also seen these problems in other MOTUS and have been on forums with other MOTU users, so its not uncommon. Not to mention their support sucks. After a while I just had to get rid of my MOTU gear.

Anway, it does depend on how you expect to use it. If you need 24 a/d's cheap, it might be an option. Should probably take her for a test spin first though.

[lang_dave]

I had negative experiences with MOTU customer service and reliability also. I was never able to resolve weird digital glitches with the unit I had so I sold it and my soul and got a Digidesign setup which has been rock solid.

ymmv

dave

[adamcal]

Im the Adam from down under... LOL

I also run one (24 i/o) on Windows XP and have had ZERO problems with it from day one. I also run a MTPAV along side it and it also runs just fine.

As for sound quality, well, sure there is likely to be better at much more expensive prices (isn't there always), but I think it sounds fine, Ive heard stuff and had to mix stuff done on apparently much better converters that hasn't sounded anywhere near as good as my multitracks IMHO.

The good thing about the PCI-424 card is it has 4 ports, buy a 24 I/O now, upgrade and plug in a 192HD or 2 later if you want better meters and converters, add a 2408 if you need lots of ADAT's or TDIF's, all from the same card and software in your computer, and all at the same time. and sure clock it all externally if you have the money to burn and higher paying clients to cover it.

The drivers are great and I run solid at 64 samples (or 32 on smaller projects) of latency in logic. you can also run it with the built in DSP cumix for near zero latency.

Another good thing is that it is MAC or PC so you are free to change if you ever need to.

Personally I feel a 24 I/O should do you fine unless you have the need or desire to spend a whole lot more to get 24 channels of higher quality I/O, in that case you should be look at the 192HD's, Prisms, Apogee or a HD pro tools system ECT.

Chime in Over

[adamcal]

Another thing or 2

A lot of people had big problems with the older card, no so much with the new 424 card.

and here is a old thread about the 24 I/O
http://gearslutz.com/board/showthrea...highlight=motu

[SLS]

Originally posted by adamcal

A lot of people had big problems with the older card, no so much with the new 424 card.

This is true, however, I do know a couple of people with the new 2408 that have had problems with the 424 card. The improvement of motherboards and thier chipsets have helped a lot too.

[Mario-C.]

I'm using the HD192
never had any problems, build quality is fine, meters are fine, not great but for the price they are ok, and it's no benchmark but it sounds fine too...