The MOTU 8pre-es connects all your studio gear, including microphones, guitars, synths, keyboards, drum machines, outboard processors and optical expanders. All I/O is available simultaneously.
Renowned ESS Sabre32™ DAC technology delivers measured 123 dB dynamic range and the same proven, award-winning audio quality as MOTU's flagship 1248. Eight transparent mic preamps deliver superb -108 dB THD+N, 118 dB dynamic range and -129 dBu EIN performance. Each mic channel has individual preamp gain, pad, 48V phantom power and digital remote control.
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).
Take control of your recording sessions with the built-in talkback mic and front-panel talk button. Connect two sets of speakers and check your mixes instantly with front-panel A/B speaker select buttons.
MOTU 8pre-es Features
- 24 inputs and 28 outputs, all independent
- 8 mic preamps
- High-performance Thunderbolt and USB drivers for Mac and PC
- Ultra-low latency and renowned rock-solid performance
- Console-style mixing with 48 channels and 12 busses
- Touch Console™ mixing
- Vintage processing with 32-bit float precision
- Flexible matrix routing and splitting to route audio anywhere with one click
- Control from your laptop, tablet or smartphone
- Stand-alone operation with wireless control (no laptop needed)
- Solid metal chassis
- 8pre-es Thunderbolt/USB2 8-Mic Pre Audio Interface1
- Sample rates 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
- Mic/line/instr inputs
- 8 x XLR/TRS "combo style" mic/line/instr inputs
- Preamp gain: 0 to +63 dB (digitally controlled)
- TRS max level with pad: +17 dBu
- Analog outputs
- 8 x 1/4" TRS line out (balanced, DC coupled)
- Max level: +20 dBu (digitally adjustable -4 to +20)
- 2 x 1/4" TRS stereo headphone
- 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
- Switchable to stereo TOSLink (optical S/PDIF)
- Total I/O
- 24 in / 28 out (52 total) at 1x sample rates
- 16 in / 20 out (36 total) at 2x sample rates
- 8 in / 12 out (20 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 (44.1 to 48 kHz)
- 128 in/out at 2x (88.2 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)
- Sync I/O: 1 x BNC word clock in/out
- Network I/O1 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
- Headphone2 x 1/4" TRS stereo phone (assignable)
- Phantom power8 x individual +48V
- Front panel
- 2 x 1/4" TRS headphone output
- 2 x digital rotary encoders • phone vol
- 4 x digital rotary encoders • mic/instr input gain
- 2 x large digital rotary encoders • main vol / menu
- 8 x small switches • (4) Pad / (4) 48V Phantom pwr
- 10 x large switches • menu nav / A-B 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 (W x D x H, enclosure only)
- 19 x 7 x 1.75 inches
- 48.3 x 17.75 x 4.5 cm
- 4.6 lbs / 2.05 kg
- with rack brackets removed:
- 17.25 inches (43.8 cm) wide
- 4.5 lbs / 2.04 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
