The MOTU Ultralite is an awesome audio interface. It may not have quite the sound of an apogee, but it is nice. I have had virtually no problems using it on both windows and mac machines. It is picky about the firewire chip you are using. MOTU recommends using a Texas Instruments based firewire port, but i did have a problem with a built-in firewire port on a Gigabyte motherboard, and it was a Texas Instruments chipset. However, once i plugged it into a port on a PCI card everything was great, and every other firewire port i have ever plugged it into (weather it was a pc, Mac, Desktop, Laptop, whatever) it has worked flawless. It does work best with my MacBook Pro (Duh!). It would be nice if the "Cue Mix Console" had some EQ's on the channels, or supported some plug-ins on the channels.

The UltraLite came with everything i would need. The included "AudioDesk" software is actually just Digital Performer with the MIDI functions stripped out. I don't use it beacause i need the Virtual Instruments. I personaly recommend Digital Performer 5.11 with the Intel based Macs. Another cool thing is that they give you the longest firewire cable i've ever seen come with any device.

If you have any experience with external audio interfaces, the Ultralite is going to be a walk in the park.

The Ultralite is housed in a very rugged cast aluminium chassis. But i am very careful with mine as i am always using it in various clubs and venues.

Awesome price for this high quality unit.

I have never had any problems with the Ultralite unit. I did have a problem using it with a certain buggy firewire port, as i have previously mentioned. The MOTU techs were quick to work with me on an unsolvable problem.

This is a nice looking unit. It is ultra portable. I carry a 15" MacBook Pro, The UltraLite, Headphones, A Lacie 320GB External Hard Drive, a 6 outlet power strip, all my cables and power supplies in my wenger backpack.

Active performing musician

Trans Genre

didn't use "10" because there may be better mic pre's out there. but this is 9.5...

see "Sound." lots of inputs, tiny box.

the interface is far from intuitive and requires a bit of twiddling, but i haven't found a sound i want that i couldn't create. admittedly, this is not for noobs. experience with similar is required, but if you grok the "page & value" stuff, it's not a challenge. interfaces flawlessly with logic & coreaudio, but that's no surprise, since everything motu has been meant for mac for 25 years. probably a kludge with kludgy systems.

amazingly robust for its weight & profile. don't know where the "brittle knob" complaint comes from. suggestion: don't try to hang your guitar on the knobs, maybe?

for the features, & for those who can afford a mac shop, it's perfect. probably not recommended for the windows world. you'll have problems, and there are other, less elegant solutions for you. don't buy one, i'd say, only to complain later that it's a "mac thing" or too expensive. instead, use google to find "windows firewire audio interface." or you might consider why so many happy, successful folks never have to wrestle with drivers & security patches...

motu support has always been knowledgeable and accessible, although they can be impatient with dumb questions. hell, so am i.

certainly a sexy bit of gear. so tiny & capable. "all you brought is THAT?!"

composer

music

The sound of this unit is impressive, especially at this price point. I've gotten impressive, near commercial quality vocal tracks running a Studio Projects C1 through a Studio Projects VTB1 into this unit. Playback of mixes and other audio also sounds great. It's accuracy has allowed me to produce better mixes.

**** One problem I've had with the Ultralite is that it's drivers won't work with over 3 Gig of RAM. I have 4, but I can only use three because of this "known issue" (according to MOTU support, although they mean, "known to us, but we're not telling anyone about it until after they buy one"). Not wanting to waste memory, I recently bought a Focusrite Saffire, because their drivers don't care how much memory you use. But I ended up returning it, because the sound just couldn't match the Ultralite - the Saffire sounded very thin in comparison. Another area the Saffire didn't measure up in was the headphone level. I'm a loud singer and I need plenty of level to track vocals, and I would've had to buy a headphone amp to be able to work with the Saffire. The Ultralite's are way loud enough.

It's true, the knobs are too close together. Once you get over that, it's a non-issue. The MOTU is pretty easy to dial in.

I've had some issues, but none with build quality. It's solid. **** I will say if you're using Vista, turn off the Aero interface. I was having a lot of pop/hiss/click noise issues as a result of the MOTU drivers conflicting with Vista and the graphics card. Once I turned off Aero, no problems.

Worth the going price on sound quality alone.

MOTU support leaves a lot to be desired. Expect to wait 48 hours for a response, and don't expect it to be too overly helpful when you get it. With regard to my memory issue, their response was basically, "Yeah, we knew about it all along. Guess you'll have to wait and hope for a driver update." Thanks, MOTU.

Not the prettiest interface, or the best aesthetic design.

Singer, Songwriter, Vocalist, Guitarist, Mastering Engineer

Alternative Pop Rock

I must mention that I was also [I]floored[/I] at the quality of the included AudioDesk software! This isn

Producer

Trance / New Age / Worship / Rock / Pop

Sounds okay. I have problems with it bubbling and blipping when I switch from one app to the next. It pops and flicks when it turns off in a major way. The quality seems okay when its working.

Seems to be as featured as the others I've owned in the past.

The mapping is okay but the software they give with the thing is stupid.

This, I give the worst rating. My volume knob broke off within days of owning it...it was weakened before I got it, I suppose. I've owned other equipment with similar knobs and it took years before they weakened. I don't think these cheap plastic posts with long jutting out knobs are good designs. They need to think of something better, especially for equipment designed to take out on the scene.

Kinda expensive for what you're really getting. I would shop around for similar products and compare the features.

Hobbyist

Electronic/Folk

Mic pres sound good and general sound from the output is very good.

-Build-in Mixer: It does include a build in mixer but not very usefull. Better get a small mixer, unless you are very tight in space. More as a gadget, cause you can't control any OUTPUT except the master. Only the input is controllable. So you can't even have a mix of 2 Output with a one input. -Driver/software: On PC side, i found them limited feature on the driver. Even with the software the output are not controllable. Also all the volume control from software using WDM doesn't work. Also WDM doesn't have access to Output individually except if you put the driver in a special mode not recommand by motu for performance. -Sample Rate: At this price I was expecting a full range up to 96K. but only support 44K, 48K, 88.2K, 96K. So if for any reason you have audio file with different sample rate, it won't be support. -Power supply: Bad design, I hate those Wallplug, take 3 ACplug! -Hot pluging: When connecting the device, it lock the PC for 10 Secondes. So not fully Hot plugging compare to other device. -Firewire: Been using a firewire card TI with FW HDDrive on one controller and Ultralite on other. Had some pop noise, sometime application hang or HD was very slow. Using the ultralite only, fix the issue.

Ease of use was in general easy, but I think there still improvement to be made on control. I won't use the control for LIVE application except for the master output control. Will have been good if with the Master output control button we were able to control output of different output but pushing the button and select the output. But again there is not control on the output witht the mixer and the software. Only master control the 2 output.

Case is very well design and solid. All connectors are professional and gold plate. Except for the Rack ears, are in kind of plastic. As for suggestion, I will add 2 handlebare on each side to protect the button and face and also been a half-rack is not very

I found this unit a little price, I paid $699 Canadian, and was expecting more from the Driber/Software and mixer build-in. Reading a lot before buying it from all the Magazine comment and internet saying it had all kind of feature..hummmm.

Call them cause the serial number was unreable, the ink didn't stick to the label. There send me another SN withtout any problem. Also contact them for all the other issues mention above.

I putting a five, cause it nice and do his job. But I found it not very versatile, and price so unfortunatly I send it back. And will try another Audio Interface.

Hobbyist Musician

Playback through both my monitors and headphones was very good. Recording pre's sounded thin.

Lots of features. More system than I needed (I decided on a Mackie Onyx Satellite) and more complicated than necessary. Has MIDI in/out and two Firewire ports (the Satellite has no MIDI and only one Firewire; hello Firewire hub!)

There are so many features and settings that it was a turn-off. I prefer something simpler in an audio interface. Too much is crammed onto the interface (both front and back), leading to a pretty jammed up situation when cords are plugged in.

I felt it was overrated. VERY finicky about the systems it will work with. The mic pre's didn't blow my hair back. It seems a bit fragile. The buttons feel brittle and the casing is kind of lightweight. I would fear bumping or, god forbid, dropping it.

I don't think the quality justifies the price. It isn't a piece of junk, but it isn't mind-blowing, either.

I had many questions to ask tech support and they were helpful.

I think there is irony in its name: Ultralite. It was a lightweight compared to its hype (what music-related magazine hasn't had it on its back cover in the past few months?). I tried it and did not like it. I would have been willing to spend the time to learn its many features if the mic pre's sounded better. I thought the Onyx Satellite was a cut above (and a lot of money below) the Ultralite.

Hobbyist

Avant Jazz/Funk and Spoken Word

Error message: No MOTU hardware has been detected! This thing was a typical POSh made for Mac headache. Their driver for my 6 pin fire wire card is not compatible with it. Not to mention that they don

Active Musician

Jazz, Funk, Grunge, Classic Rock

The mic preamps in this unit are excellent and very quiet, given the price and the fact that they're solid-state. A/D conversion is noticeably better than other units I have used (PreSonus and especially M-Audio). Zero-latency monitoring.

For my needs, and for just about any home/project studio, the features of this unit are perfect. I record 24/96 in Logic, and having 12 inputs available (with built-in mixer functions) is exactly what I need.

I installed the software and plugged it in. Note: I have a Mac-based studio...doing anything in Windows is more of a pain in the ass, so YMMV.

Unlike some other reviewers here, I found the unit solidly built. It's lightweight (hence...the name) for portability. That doesn't mean it's cheap or flimsy. Software drivers seem rock-solid so far.

There are many cheaper alternatives with similar features, but all the ones I've used are sonically inferior to MOTU. For project studios, you have to go with what you can afford, but this one is really worth the $.

Active Musician

It's all good

Those guys that rated this badly are obviously rookie producers. Take a few classes, or in your case....maybe just stop trying to produce your own music. Some people should not even tempt to be a producer/sound engineer. MOTU is one of the best companies for cross-platform interfaces !!!

I'm da dopest producer round dese pars

CRUNK

between good and great.

too many to mention. but i do got to mention it comes with DAW software, but it only works with MAC'S.

simple.

built like a TANK. metal cover. love it.

with it's many ins and outs and 2 mic's ins, well worth it.

no need yet.

producer

all types