Motu 896 or 828mkII

[tenton]

I have an 896 that I like, but no longer need 8 mic pre's. I'm thinking of getting an 828mkII instead. The quality of the pre's and converters on the 896 are pretty good, though I've read elsewhere that others prefer the new 828.

Not much info but hope it helps.

Cheers.

[jbuntz]

How do you like the powercore? Specifically the reverb, eq's & Finalizer. I already have the UAD-1 for bomb compression!

[preben]

I really like the Powercore and the Megaverb and Classicverbs. The latter is alledgedly an emulation of a Lexicon 480L but of course the original sounds better. They are still, however, both a massive step up from the usual reverbs you can get in a vst-environment - unless you have the power to run a couple of altiverbs - which I don't. The Finalizer (hardware & plug) has been getting a lot of stick but I still like it for some things... It's NOT subtle, but I do find a lot of use for it.

EQ-wise: I bought the Sony Oxford EQ for powercore and it is hands down the best eq I have heard in software. Highly recommended.

In regards to the original thread: Tenton, where else have you been able to find any info on this..? I haven't had much luck apart from the Unicornation site... there's something substantial about the 896 that I really like (don't like the fact that it's been discontinued though), but I will go with whatever unit that gives me the best sound quality.

[tenton]

Preben - I've been getting my info off of the Unicornation site too.

I don't think the 896 has been discontinued. It's still on the Motu site and it's for sale elsewhere (unless they've discontinued it in Europe....).

FWIW, I've done some comparisons on the pre's in the 896 vs. a Langevin and a Summit on electric guitars and the 896, while not as rich or clear as the other two, still fared pretty well.

[fishman]

I own an 896 and love it. The only thing is that you can only monitor two of its inputs (zero latency) at a time. This really sucks if you're trying to record a band but only two of the instrumentalists can monitor themselves without latency. It means you either have to record in one room or buy an external mixer (which kind of defeats the point of the 896). On the other hand, if you're recording one or two instruments it's a dream piece of kit.

I don't have much experience with pres but I like the ones on the 896 better than anything else I've heard (Focusrite Trackmaster, Behringer desk, Mackie VLZ desks).

[preben]

thanks everyone.

I have actually gone ahead and bought a second hand 896. The 828 mkII isn't out in Europe yet and no one seems to know exactly when this will be. Not knowing what the 828 mkII will sound like all I can say is that the 896 definitely sounds a lot better than my old 828; there is a nice 'professional solidity' (what a crap description) about it - particularly in the low mid and bass area... So for now I'm happy. That obviously won't last long