MOTU 8A

SKU: 8A

Equipped with renowned ESS Sabre32™ DAC technology, the 8A packs the same superb analog audio quality and proven, award-winning performance as MOTU's flagship 16A audio interface into a sturdy, mobile half-rack enclosure. With 34 channels of audio I/O (16 ins and 18 outs), the 8A connects to any computer or iPad™ with Thunderbolt™, super-speed USB 3.0 or AVB/TSN Ethernet. Class-compliant firmware and new optimized MOTU drivers work with any audio apps, delivering industry-leading, ultra-low round-trip latency (RTL) performance as low as 1.6ms at 96kHz over Thunderbolt with high-performance DAW hosts. Powerful DSP delivers large console style mixing with 48 channels, 12 stereo busses, and 32-bit floating point effects processing, including modeled analog EQ, vintage compression and classic reverb. Extensive routing patches ins to outs, or splits inputs to multiple destinations. Use the 8A as a stand-alone mixer and control everything over Wi-Fi with an innovative web app running on your iPad™, iPhone™, tablet, smartphone and laptop. Connect a second AVB-equipped MOTU interface with a simple Ethernet cable. Add more I/O with the MOTU AVB Switch (sold separately). From studio to stage, the 8A delivers exceptional sound quality, state-of-the-art operation and rock-solid performance.

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Equipped with the renowned ESS Sabre32™ DAC technology, the 8A delivers the same superb analog audio quality and proven, award-winning performance as MOTU's flagship 16A audio interface, giving you everything you need to turn your computer into a powerful 24-bit/192 kHz digital audio workstation.

The 8A connects to any computer or iPad™ with Thunderbolt™, super-speed USB 3.0, AVB Ethernet or USB class-compliant firmware. New optimized MOTU drivers work with all your favorite audio apps, delivering industry-leading, ultra-low round-trip latency (RTL) performance as low as 1.6 ms at 96 kHz over Thunderbolt with high-performance DAW hosts.

Housed in a rugged, compact enclosure you can take anywhere, the 8A provides eight channels of pristine analog I/O and a front panel headphone jack, combined with eight channels of ADAT optical digital I/O, for a total of 34 simultaneous audio channels.
Connect all of your studio gear, including synths, keyboards, drum machines and effects processors. Record, monitor, route and process all of these live inputs with no latency and no processor strain on your computer. Extensive routing features let you patch ins to outs, or split inputs to multiple destinations. Powerful DSP delivers large console style mixing with 48 channels, 12 stereo busses, and 32-bit floating point effects processing. Add Classic Reverb™ with lengths up to 60 seconds. Further sculpt your sound with 4-band parametric EQ carefully modeled after British analog console EQs. Choose between two forms of compression: a conventional compressor and the Leveler™, an accurate model of the legendary LA-2A™ optical compressor that provides vintage, musical automatic gain control.
After recording and mixing in the studio, unplug the 8A from the computer and take it on stage for operation as a stand-alone mixer with effects. Control everything over Wi-Fi from your favorite web browser running on your laptop, tablet and smartphone.
Through AVB/TSN Ethernet, connect another MOTU AVB interface for more I/O — or connect to an expanded MOTU AVB network with multiple interfaces and computers.
From studio to stage, the 8A delivers exceptional sound quality, state-of-the-art operation and rock-solid performance.

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Technical Specifications

Sample rates44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
Analog inputs8 x 1/4" TRS line inputs (balanced/unbalanced) 
Max level: +24 dBu (range -96 to +22)
Analog outputs8 x 1/4" TRS line out (balanced, DC coupled 5v) 
Max level: +20 dBu (range -4 to +20) 
1 x 1/4" TRS stereo headphone
Digital I/O1 bank (8 ch) of ADAT optical at 1x sample rates 
1 bank (4 ch) of SMUX optical at 2x sample rates 
Switchable to stereo TOSLink (optical S/PDIF)
Total I/O16 inputs / 18 outputs (34 total) at 1x sample rates 
12 inputs / 14 outputs (26 total) at 2x sample rates 
8 inputs / 10 outputs (18 total) at 4x sample rates
Computer I/O1 x Thunderbolt 2 (Mac and Win) 
    Thunderbolt 1 & 3 compatible 
1 x USB 3.0 (Mac and Win) 
    USB 2.0 and iOS compatible (class compliant) 
1 x AVB/TSN Ethernet (Mac only) 
    Requires OS X 10.11 or later
Computer I/O channelsThunderbolt (44.1 to 96 kHz): 128 in/out 
Thunderbolt (176.4 to 192 kHz): 64 in/out 
USB 3.0 (44.1 to 96 kHz): 128 in/out 
USB 3.0 (176.4 to 192 kHz): 64 in/out 
AVB/TSN Ethernet: 16 to 128 in/out 
      depends on host computer speed
Headphone1 x 1/4" TRS stereo phone (assignable)
Front panel1 x 1/4" TRS headphone output 
1 x digital rotary encoder • main/phone volume 
5 x switches • menu navigation 
160 x 128 pixel RGB LCD for level meters / menu nav 
Power switch
PowerExternal 12-18V DC power supply 
1.0A max • tip pos or neg
Dimensions
and weight		(width x depth x height, enclosure only) 
8.6 x 7 x 1.75 inches 
22 x 17.75 x 4.5 cm 
2.2 lbs / 1.0 kg

Mac System Requirements

  • 1 GHz Intel-based Mac or faster
  • 2 GB RAM; 4 GB or more recommended
  • Mac OS X version 10.8 or later
  • Available Thunderbolt, USB or AVB/TSN Ethernet port*
  • A large hard drive (at least 500 GB for recording)
  • *AVB/TSN Ethernet audio interface operation requires OS X 10.11 or later

Windows System Requirements

  • 1 GHz Pentium-based PC compatible or faster
  • 2 GB RAM; 4 GB or more recommended
  • Windows 7, 8 or 10
  • Available Thunderbolt or USB port
  • Available Ethernet port for firmware updates
  • A large hard drive (at least 500 GB for recording)

Web App Support

  • Any web client platform: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
  • Any web browser: Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Explorer, etc.
  • Web client must be connected to the same network as the MOTU interface by wire or Wi-Fi.

Included Software

  • MOTU Discovery App for Mac & Windows (finds connected MOTU interfaces)
  • MOTU Discovery App for iOS (available from Apple App Store)
  • MOTU web app (served from the hardware itself)
  • AudioDesk 4.0 for Mac & Windows (separate download)

Operating Systems

  • For computer audio I/O: Mac OS X 10.8 or later; Windows 7 or later
  • For web app control: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
 

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