User guide
Quick Reference: 896mk3 Rear Panel
1. These AES/EBU connectors can handle any supported
sample rate up to 96 kHz, and they are also equipped
with a sample rate converter so you can input or output
at a different rate than the 896mk3. For details, see
“Syncing AES/EBU devices” on page 30. At the 4x
sample rates, (176.4 and 192kHz), AES/EBU is disabled.
2. These two XLR jacks serve as the MOTU 896mk3’s main
analog outputs. You can connect them to a set of
powered studio monitors and then control the volume
from the front panel MASTER VOL knob. These jacks are
always mirrored by the MAIN OUT headphone jack on
the front panel.
To hear disk tracks in your audio software on these main
outs, assign the disk tracks (and master fader) to these
main outs. Also make sure the Main Out Assign option is
set to
Main Out 1-2
. See “Main Out Assign” on page 44.
You can also use CueMix FX to monitor live 896mk3
inputs here as well.
3. The 896mk3’s eight analog outputs are XLR connectors
referenced to +19 dBU. They are equipped with 24-bit
D/A converters capable of 192kHz.
4. These XLR/TRS combo jacks accept either a mic cable or
a quarter-inch cable. The XLR jack is equipped with a
mic preamp. 48V phantom power and 20 dB pad can be
applied via the trim knobs on the front panel. The trim
knob provides 53 dB of gain. The quarter-inch jack can
accept a guitar or -10/+4 dB line level input. When
connecting a line level input, be sure to turn off
phantom power first, and engage the -20 dB pad.
5. Connect the 896mk3 to the computer here via either
FireWire or USB2, using the standard 1394 FireWire B or
USB cable provided with your MOTU 896mk3. If you use
FireWire, you can use the extra FireWire port to daisy-
chain up to four MOTU FireWire audio interfaces to a
single FireWire bus, or to connect other FireWire
devices. Keep in mind that the 896mk3 uses more
FireWire bus bandwidth when one or both optical
banks are enabled, or when it operates at higher
sample rates. These operating configurations will limit
the number of devices you can daisy chain on a single
FireWire bus. For details, see “Connecting multiple
MOTU FireWire interfaces” on page 35.
6. These optical digital I/O connectors can be connected
either to an ADAT-compatible “lightpipe” device (such
as a digital mixer) or to a S/PDIF optical (“TOSLINK”)
compatible device, such as an effects processor or DAT
machine. Be sure to set the format in the MOTU Audio
Console software (or using the front panel LCD). (See
“Optical input/output” on page 44 for details.) ADAT
optical supplies eight channels of 24-bit digital
I/O per bank (4 channels per bank at 96kHz). TOSLINK is
stereo at sample rates up to 96 kHz.
One special note: you can choose independent formats
for each bank, A and B, as well as IN and OUT within
each bank. For example, you could choose ADAT for the
optical A IN (for, say, eight channels of input from your
digital mixer) and stereo TOSLINK for the optical A OUT
(for, say, your DAT machine).
7. These jacks provide stereo, 24-bit S/PDIF digital input
and output at all supported sample rates (up to 96 kHz).
8. Use the word clock input and output for digital transfers
with devices that cannot slave to the clock supplied by
their digital I/O connection with the 896mk3.
9. The 896mk3 is equipped with an auto-switching inter-
national power supply.
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896mk3 Hybrid book Page 8 Friday, August 19, 2011 2:04 PM