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Banjo · Posted - Mon Jun 09, 2003 9:37 am

I'm curious if anyone is using a MOTU 828 Firewire set-up with C.E.P.
and what you like AND dislike about the unit. Details please.

Bruce · Posted - Mon Jun 09, 2003 12:19 pm

I've had my 828 for a couple of years and have no complaints except that my version has no midi i/o. The recently released 828MKII has midi i/o, is a 96/24 device, and has two additional inputs. If it performs as well as the original, and there's no reason to think otherwise, it would be my first choice for a device in its price-range (approx. $750). Cool

tmcanu · Posted - Mon Jun 30, 2003 3:21 am

Bruce · Posted - Wed Jul 02, 2003 8:02 pm

Sorry, I haven't been back here in a while.

If you're still having problems here's a few things to keep in mind:

1) Make sure "Enable full Wave support for legacy (MME) software" is checked in the MOTU control panel because CEP does not utilize ASIO.
2) Tracks will show up in pairs (e.g. inputs 1&2 will show up in track 1, inputs 3&4 in track 2....) also due to lack of ASIO.
3) You have to go into the "options - Device order" menu to make sure the MOTU's inputs and outputs are in the "used" lists.
4) You need to use "track properties" to assign the tracks to the desired inputs and outputs.

The rest is "cake." 8)

Banjo · Posted - Thu Jul 03, 2003 6:03 am

Bruce, Thanks for your input. I don't record music, no need for MIDI..I just do voice-overs for commercials, narrations and broadcast imaging so the The MOTU 828 is a great little box when it's working...for me. There is a problem with mine. Off-and-on I get audio "glitches", i.e. momentary audio drop outs when recording. I can't tell that this is happening when I'm recording. Can't hear it through the head-phones. Playback is the only time you can hear AND see the glitches. For the most part the "burps" only seem to happen on words with hard consonants or phrases with a little sibilance when "RECORDING". Not a problem in playback whatsoever (?)

I don't go "direct" into the MOTU. It's mic to mic-pre to mixer then out to the MOTU. This set-up works best for me and what I do. My MOTU control panel is set-up correctly and all works fine except for the increasing occurences of those darn audio glitches. It's almost e-bay time for my MOTU 828. The "friendly" folks at MOTU Tech haven't been able to help. You have any idea what is going on? Anyone out there having a similar problem?

Bruce · Posted - Thu Jul 03, 2003 9:14 am

Mike,

The puzzling part is that you say you don't have any playback problems.

Are you monitering through the mixer? That would explain why you don't hear the glitches while recording. Is there any compression between the mixer and the MOTU? Have you reduced the mixer output level to prevent overdriving the MOTU's input stage?
It can also be a matter of adjusting Cool Edit's playback/record buffers. Did you have success with other sound devices previously?

There are a number of possible reasons for your problems which may, or may not, be related to the MOTU. And then there's always problems associated with individual equipment/software configurations (The ubiquitous, "YMMV"). Cool

Banjo · Posted - Thu Jul 03, 2003 9:41 am

I errored in mentioning that I didn't have playback problems. I was more intent on finding the problem with "recording" than "playback"
since playback glitches don't occur as much. I can playback an audio segmant and get a glitch. I replay the same segment and hear no audio glitches at all at the same place in the same audio clip.

I monitor through my mixer (Behringer Eurodesk MX 8000. Total buffer size in CEP is "16 seconds using 32 buffers. In "SYSTEM" my CEP set-up is: Preview buffer is 250ms, Cache Size is 32768. My CEP "MULTITRAK" set-up is: palyback buffer size (response time)2 seconds, playback buffers 10, recording buffer size 2 seconds, Recording buffers 10.

The MOTU 828 is the only card I've used in this PC. Very slight compression and limiting before the mixer through my mic-pre. Audio out from mixer to MOTU "IN's" is from main mix L & R on the mixer.

Graeme · Member Location: Spain

Bruce · Posted - Thu Jul 03, 2003 9:41 pm

Okay, I got a couple of things for you to try,

1) In CEP system reduce the buffers settings to match what you have in multitrack (2 seconds, 10 buffers).
2) Increase samples per buffer size up one setting in the MOTU FW Audio Console (e.g. if you're setting is 256 samples per buffer increase to 384). If that doesn't help try decreasing one setting from the original.

Hope one of these helps! Cool