Specifications

8PRE
COMPUTER AUDIO HARDWARE
MOTU
1239
[phone] • 1-800-947-9901 • Quick Dial 91
PHOTO - VIDEO - PRO AUDIO
16x12 FireWire Audio Interface
The 8pre is a 1RU Firewire audio
interface that turns a laptop or
desktop Mac or PC into a 24-bit,
96kHz recording studio with
eight mic inputs, 8-channel
ADAT optical digital I/O and
MIDI I/O. When not connected to
a computer, the 8pre can also
function as an 8-channel A/D converter, making it two products in one. Designed for convenient desktop or rack-mount
operation, 8pre provides a variety of controls and status LEDs on the front panel for easy access and connectors on the
rear panel for efficient studio installation. Use the included CueMix software to mix all 16 inputs from your computer.
Eight channels of ADAT optical I/O make the 8pre an ideal companion for a digital mixer. Two ADAT lightpipe connections
work together to support a full 8 channels of optical digital I/O at any sample rate up to 96kHz.
FEATURES
Inputs/Outputs
◆ 16 inputs with 8 mic preamps and 12
outputs including separate phone and main
outs for a powerful desktop studio.
◆ Eight 24-bit/96kHz analog inputs equipped
with TRS/XLR combo jacks accept either a
low-impedance XLR or high-impedance 1/4”
TRS input. Each input has switchable 48v
phantom power (to mix and match con-
denser and dynamic mics), 20dB pad and a
trim knob that provides up to 40dB of gain.
◆ Two balanced/unbalanced 1/4” TRS
24-bit/96kHz analog main outs and
front-panel headphone jack, each with
independent volume control.
◆ Eight channels of ADAT optical I/O -
provides two sets of optical connectors to
provide eight channels of optical digital I/O
even at high samples rates (88.2 or 96 kHz).
◆ Simply plug in your FireWire cable, and both
MIDI and audio are ready to go. Connect a
MIDI controller and/or sound module with
no separate interface needed. Timing is
sample-accurate with supporting software.
◆ No channel sharing in the 8pre; the mic
inputs, ADAT optical I/O, headphone out
and main outs are all handled as separate
channels.
◆ Daisy-chain up to four units on a single
FireWire bus without a hub.
Operation
◆ When the 8pre isn’t connected to a computer
via a Firewire, the front panel “Mode” LED
changes from “Interface” to “Converter”.
In this mode, the 8pre acts as an 8-channel
analog-to-digital converter that can add 8
mic inputs to another ADAT optical-equipped
audio interface, digital mixer or other device.
◆ 5-segment LED meters for the analog inputs,
in addition to phone and main out volume.
Other status LEDs indicate clock source and
other settings.
Timecode
◆ Slave the 8pre to SMPTE time code without a
synchronizer via any analog input. The 8pre
also generates time code, which can be sent
to any analog output. The 8pre provides a
DSP-driven phase-lock engine with sophisti-
cated filtering that provides fast lockup
times and sub-frame accuracy.
◆ Included SMPTE Console software provides a
complete set of tools to generate SMPTE for
striping, regenerating or slaving other
devices to the computer. These sync features
are cross-platform and compatible with all
audio sequencer software that supports the
ASIO2 sample-accurate sync protocol.
CueMix DSP
◆ Connect mics, guitars, synths, keyboards and
drum machines, and then use the 8pre’s
built in 8-bus mixer to monitor all of these
live inputs via the 8pre's main outs,
headphone jack or any optical output pair —
with virtually no monitoring latency and no
processor drain on the computer. Users can
even create up to four separate (stereo)
monitor mixes for the main outs, head-
phones and optical outputs. Everything,
including talk-back and listen-back, can be
controlled from the included CueMix
Console software, just like a conventional
mixer.
Additional Features
◆ Includes drivers for Mac & PC, including
ASIO, WDM, Wave, GSIF, Core Audio, and
Core MIDI. Supports all popular Macintosh
and PC audio software.
◆ 100% compatible with all host-based
effects processing in today's popular audio
programs.
◆ Includes AudioDesk full-featured sample-
accurate workstation software for Mac with
recording, editing, mixing, real-time 32-bit
effects processing & sample-accurate sync.
8pre: FireWire Audio Interface/Converter for Mac and Windows
(Mfr # 8500 • B&H # MA8PRE) ...........CALL
8pre with Digital Performer for Mac
(B&H # MA8PREK) .................................................................................CALL