MOTU 828es Thunderbolt USB 2 Audio Interface with DSP

Connect all your studio gear, including microphones, guitars, synths, keyboards, drum machines, outboard processors, MIDI gear, optical expanders - even a foot pedal. All I/O is available simultaneously.

New in the 828es, renowned ESS Sabre32 DAC technology delivers 123dB dynamic range and the same proven, award-winning audio quality as MOTU's flagship 1248.

Round-trip latency (RTL) performance as low as 1.6 ms at 96kHz over Thunderbolt with high-performance DAW hosts.

Universal connectivity
USB and Thunderbolt for Mac, PC and iOS
Connect to your Mac or PC with Thunderbolt or Hi-speed USB 2.0, with up to 256 audio channels (128 in and 128 out) over Thunderbolt. Or stream dozens of audio channels to and from your Mac over AVB/TSN Ethernet using a standard, affordable CAT-5e cable up to 100 meters long. Class-compliant firmware and industry standard drivers work with any audio apps. Connect to your iPad with a standard camera connection kit (adapter).

Technical Specifications

Sample rates
44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
Mic/line/instr inputs
2 x XLR/TRS "combo style" inputs
Preamp gain: 0 to +63 dB (digitally controlled)
Analog inputs
8 x 1/4" TRS line inputs (balanced/unbalanced)
Max level: +24 dBu (digitally adjustable -96 to +22)
Analog outputs
8 x 1/4" TRS line out (balanced, DC coupled)
Max level: +20 dBu (digitally adjustable -4 to +20)
2 x male XLR with +20 dBu max
2 x 1/4" TRS stereo headphone
2 x 1/4" TRS sends (pre-converter)
Digital I/O
2 banks (16 ch) of ADAT optical at 1x sample rates
2 banks (8 ch) of SMUX optical at 2x sample rates
1 bank switchable to TOSLink (optical S/PDIF)
1 x stereo S/PDIF on RCA (up to 96 kHz)
Total I/O
28 in / 32 out (60 total) at 1x sample rates
20 in / 24 out (44 total) at 2x sample rates
10 in / 14 out (24 total) at 4x sample rates
Computer I/O
1 x Thunderbolt 1 (Mac and Win)
Thunderbolt 2 & 3 compatible
1 x USB 2.0 audio class compliant
USB 3.0 and iOS compatible
Computer I/O channels
Thunderbolt
128 in/out at 1x or 2x (44.1 to 96 kHz)
64 in/out at 4x (176.4 to 192 kHz)
Computer I/O channels
USB
64 in/out at 1x (44.1 to 48 kHz)
32 in/out at 2x (88.2 to 96 kHz)
24 in/out at 4x (176.4 to 192 kHz)
MIDI I/O
1 x MIDI IN
1 x MIDI OUT
16 MIDI channels to/from computer host
Foot switch
1 x 1/4" pedal input
Sync I/O
1 x BNC word clock in/out
1 x 1/4" time code in/out
Network I/O
1 x RJ45 AVB/TSN Ethernet (1 Gbps)
AVB streams (8 channels per stream)
4 in / 4 out @ 44.1 or 48 kHz
4 in / 4 out @ 88.2 or 96 kHz
2 in / 2 out @ 176.4 or 192 kHz
Headphone
2 x 1/4" TRS stereo phone (assignable)
Phantom power
2 x individual +48V
Front panel
2 x 1/4" TRS headphone output
2 x XLR/TRS combo inputs
2 x digital rotary encoders phone vol
2 x digital rotary encoders mic/instr input gain
2 x large digital rotary encoders main vol / menu
4 x small switches (2) Pad / (2) 48V Phantom pwr
8 x large switches menu nav / A/B mon select, etc.
2 x LCD (128 x 160) for level meters / menu nav
Power
International 100-240V autoswitching supply
50-60 Hz - 0.5A max
Dimensions and weight
(width x depth x height, enclosure only)
19 x 7 x 1.75 inches
48.3 x 17.75 x 4.5 cm
4.1 lbs / 1.9 kg
with rack brackets removed:
17.25 inches (43.8 cm) wide
4.0 lbs / 1.8 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 1/2/3, USB 2/3 or AVB/TSN Ethernet port*
A large hard drive (at least 500 GB for recording)
*AVB/TSN Ethernet audio interface operation requires OS X El Capitan 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 1/2/3 or USB 2/3 port
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.
Included Software
Thunderbolt and USB 2.0 drivers
MOTU Discovery App for Mac & PC (finds connected MOTU interfaces)
MOTU Discovery App for iOS (available from Apple App Store)
MOTU Pro Audio Control web app (served from the hardware itself)
MOTU Audio Tools (FFT, oscilloscope, X-Y plot, phase analyzer)
AudioDesk 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