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MOTU M-2 and M-4 Interfaces


Larry Shelby

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1 hour ago, kitekrazy said:

And it's still USB 2.  It would be interesting what kind of buffer size one can run with stuff like Serum and Spire.  Usually something in this price range does not run well under 512 samples.  I doubt you would get the low latency of a Babyface or the mk4. 

The specs for the M4 say

Computer I/O - 1 x USB-C (compatible with USB Type A) 2.0 audio class compliant

USB-C 2.0 FWIW

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5 hours ago, RSMcGuitar said:

Does roundtrip latency really make when using virtual instruments though?

Yes, if you want to play them without delay.  You can get away a bit of latency on strings but on drums I can't stand any latency at all.

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1 hour ago, RSMcGuitar said:

But doesn't round trip latency imply input latency and output latency combined? (i.e. A>D conversion and D>A conversion) With virtual instruments there is no A>D conversion

sorry - what I meant was that round trip latency is still dependent on out latency, obviously :)

A>D - USB transport buffer - driver buffer ........then the same going the other way.  Output latency is always going to be AT LEAST half the the total round trip latency, usually more - so there is a relation between the two.  But of course input latency has no direct relevance to virtual instrument (in most real case uses)

these numbers:

"Optimized drivers yield round-trip latency as low as 2.5ms at 24-bit/96kHz with a 32 sample buffer."  ?

IF true these are incredibly good IMO - the imply very optimised drivers.  I can't see why these numbers wouldn't satisfy most people - but of course just because they claim that is possible we all know in real life that it is very dependent on system load. This might be more of a theoretical number than real world usable number.

I also find that midi interface themselves have their own latency - often more than the 2.5ms quoted for these Motu units.

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got my M4 from sweetwater yesterday.  Very compact and solid with nice textured grippy knobs.  It only came with a USB-A to USB-C cable.

For a quick initial check I plugged the included cable into my mid 2012 macbook pro (still on High Sierra) with Reaper and it just works!  Input/playback knob is going to be cool I can tell already.

When I have a couple hours I'll get it set up on my newer lenovo yoga on windoze with Bandlab Cakewalk and use my pixel phone USB-C to USB-C cable.  And I'll get something midi plugged in because I'm curious about that feel too.

Is there not a misc equipment forum anymore?

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3 hours ago, Triangleman said:

Got my M4 from sweetwater yesterday.  Very compact and solid with nice textured grippy knobs.  It only came with a USB-A to USB-C cable.

For a quick initial check I plugged the included cable into my mid 2012 macbook pro (still on High Sierra) with Reaper and it just works!  Input/playback knob is going to be cool I can tell already.

When I have a couple hours I'll get it set up on my newer lenovo yoga on windoze with Bandlab Cakewalk and use my pixel phone USB-C to USB-C cable.  And I'll get something midi plugged in because I'm curious about that feel too.

Is there not a misc equipment forum anymore?

I want to see if the latency is as low as they claim.

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8 hours ago, Triangleman said:

When I have a couple hours I'll get it set up on my newer lenovo yoga on windoze with Bandlab Cakewalk and use my pixel phone USB-C to USB-C cable.  And I'll get something midi plugged in because I'm curious about that feel too.

Let us know how it goes.

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2 hours ago, John Bohlen said:

They list a key ingredient... the ESS Sabre32 Ultra DAC and nobody talks about it?

The converter isn't the only thing that matters in audio interfaces. Other things of the same importance to consider are preamps, quality of power supply and drivers. Poorly designed preamps can ruin all advantages AD/DA converters may have.

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One thing I find interesting is that there doesn't seem to be a noticeable difference in latency between their USB 2 and USB C interfaces. I've been looking at the Ultralite Mk4 and the M4.

Ultralite Mk4 - the UltraLite-mk4 delivers an astonishing round trip latency (RTL) of 1.83 ms (milliseconds) on OS X and 1.84 ms on Windows over USB (at 96 kHz with a 32-sample host buffer)

M4 - thanks to MOTU's expertly engineered USB drivers, which deliver class-leading, ultra-low 2.5 ms Round Trip Latency (at 96 kHz with a 32 sample buffer)

 

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2 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

I'm still waitin for someone that has one.   Usually in budget interfaces low latency is often labeled 512 samples with over 20ms round trip.  

I'd definitely pick them over the Scarlett line. Though, I don't need any budget audio interfaces at the moment.

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