There is someone selling this locally for £75 and it has peaked my interest. However, they have it listed as a "mixer" and seems to be just the main unit. In looking on YouTube, there are no videos really due to it being 10+ years old and it's also been discontinued and disappeared off the MOTU site.

I. Am trying to work out whether the unit is the audio interface or whether it also needs a PCI card. Some Googling suggests it can be connected straight into a FireWire socket whereas others contradict that by saying it needs a MOTU PCI card to connect the FireWire socket into.

Anybody know for definite as don't wanna buy if it doesn't work without the PCI card and it's not supplied.

Cheers in advance for any help!

 

From what I read the 2408 needs an interface card like the MOTU PCI-424. Here's some more tidbits => http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct03/articles/motu.htm

 

Q: Can I plug my MOTU 2408mk3 directly into my computer’s firewire port like the 828 or 896?… without using the PCI424 card?
A: No. The 2408mk3 is an Audiowire interface only. It will only work when connected to the PCI424 card.
source: sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/motu-audio-2408mk3-frequently-asked-questions-faq/

the price is nice though

 

great price, it's less than I recently payed second hand for my mk2 and I thought I got a good deal

 

I just checked with them and they said for £140 they can include the PCI-424 too. Is it still worth purchasing nowadays?

 

if your on windows the answer would be no. Motu drivers are crap in windows and if its firewire you have to get a firewire card with a texas instruments chipset- and even at that , be ready to run it at 512 samples to get any kind of track count at all. i had one , I loved it when i had it but was shocked at how much better performance i goto out of a Presonus & Steinberg audio interface.

 

Can't i just use the firewire socket on the back panel of my motherboard (Asus Sabertooth X79)?

I have been looking at a couple of other alternatives too, like the Native Instruments Komplete 6 Audio which has enough inputs to plug my Virus and Nova synths into it and the Steinberg Mk2 interfaces do look and sound nice from what I've looked at.

 

Komplete 6 is pretty solid! The connectivity between K6 and Steinberg UR242, I'd choose the K6. Though the Steinberg ADDA and Preamps I think would be a bit better. And, K6 has a big volume knob for your monitors. You know K6 & Steinberg drivers will be solid!

I don't like to suggest Behringer gear, but this will be available in March, and looks pretty interesting - especially if you have a lot of hardware synths.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...=b&network=g&gclid=CN6LqcXih8sCFQUIaQodk3YDfw

 

Last edited: Feb 21, 2016

you can but, if it dosent have a TI chipset you will experience some weird stuff, its pretty well known that motu windows drivers are crap, although My Motu was solid i did Have the Lacie FW400 firewire card with the TI chipset. but the latency i lived with for too long. I spent a fair amount of money upgrading my PC to get better performance , and come to find out the weak link was the drivers for my motu. its really a pain when you have to render or freeze tracks to slightly bring down the CPU load and still have to run at 512 samples for second and still get glitches. compared to the same song now with this steinberg UR 242 running solid 50% cpu @ 96 samples 2. 97 ms latency. Ill be honest i was very hesitant to change, The Motu had a lot of features but the performance just wasn't there. the 242 has only 4 inputs but that was easy to solve by assigning 2 mono inputs and then the other 2 in stereo being fed by a small 8 channel Mixer for all my outboard gear.

 

What about the Mackie Onyx 400F? Old, but still seems to have relevant connections and, well, is a Mackie. No idea on driver situation though?!?!

 

I usually avoid Behringer, but that device does look interesting!

 

used the ol mkII for years on pc without issues BUT as already answered its not an firewire interface! You will need the PCI host card - the price is superb, all the connectivity possibilities you wont get anywhere else for 140 quids - even if you think its not good youll get way more reselling it, you could ask at least twice the price for it, even more with the pci host card

 

Hold on to that!

 

Hmm not all Behringer is bad
The ADA 8000 also the new version 8200 with Midas preamps
The X32 mixer and some other stuff is really good products for a decent price not everyone is rich you know.

 

Yeah I'm aware but you know preamps alone don't make for a good mixer.
Using Midas preamps but not changing the rest of the cheap circuits is all smoke and mirrors. Ok, I have to admit, if crosstalk and noise floor is no issue for you, there is probably not much to say against behringer. When it comes to mixing desks you don't need to go for ssl but saving up and buying Mackie instead of Behringer is worth every penny. Buy cheap, buy twice, you know.

 

have you ever read about the x32 it sure beats most mackie mixers

 

If it helps, I have been using a Komplete Audio 6 for a few years, not bad for the price, as someone above mentioned, Solid.