The Heart of Your High-powered Recording Setup
With blazing-fast Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 connectivity, the MOTU 848 equips engineers with a powerful way to turn their computer into a world-class digital audio workstation. It offers stunning, ESS Sabre32-fueled sound with 24-bit/192kHz conversion, along with extremely low round-trip latency performance up to less than 2ms, and a host of creativity-enhancing features. With 28 inputs and 32 outputs, the 848 gives you plenty of I/O, including four high-performance mic pres and a plethora of additional analog and digital options. You'll value the 848's built-in 64-input, 32-bus digital mixer with onboard DSP effects, as well as its flexible signal routing via the patchbay and routing grid, and its advanced monitoring features. You also get two banks of 8-channel optical I/O and two independent front-panel headphone outputs. The 848 brandishes two Gigabit network ports, enabling you to daisy-chain multiple units using standard network cabling or add an AVB switch to build a network with multiple interfaces and computers with ultra-low latency. You also get a 3.9-inch front-panel TFT display with customizable metering, loopback for streaming and podcasting, DC-coupled outputs for controlling modular synths, and Wi-Fi control from your Mac, PC, or iOS device. Considering its unrivaled combination of pristine audio quality, expansive connectivity, and forward‑thinking control, the MOTU 848 stands as the ultimate hub for any modern, high‑performance studio.
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Teeming with high-performance I/O
The 848 supplies you with 28 inputs and 32 outputs — that's 60 simultaneous audio channels in total! Its four microphone preamps offer an impressive 74dB of gain, along with a -20dB pad, 48-volt phantom power, and polarity reverse. Each channel includes a hi-Z guitar input for effortless re-amping, and the last two inputs include dedicated inserts for integrating outboard hardware. The 848 features eight balanced TRS analog inputs, 12 balanced TRS analog outputs, and two front-panel headphone outputs with independently customized cue mixes with DSP effects. Moreover, two banks of optical I/O provide 16 channels of ADAT connectivity. To top it off, the 848 includes loopback functionality for livestreaming and podcasting, and its DC-coupled TRS outputs allow you to manipulate and sequence voltage-controlled synthesizers directly from your DAW.
Class-leading, 24-bit/192kHz conversion
We're discerning listeners here at Sweetwater, and we're struck by the superb audio quality of the MOTU 848's 24-bit/192kHz converters, which include ESS Sabre32 DAC technology with 125dB of dynamic range. You'll be duly impressed by the 848's high-performance drivers, which yield round-trip latency as low as 1.8ms at 96kHz. Did we mention this audio interface's analog circuitry is truly world-class? Its mic channels exhibit a super-transparent sound with -114dB THD+N, 118dB of dynamic range, and -129 dBu EIN. The 848 connects to a Mac, PC, or iOS device via a 40 Gbps USB-C cable, which is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and 4, USB4, USB3, and USB2, for up to 128 bidirectional audio channels, depending on your host computer connection. Finally, class-compliant firmware and industry-standard drivers work with the gamut of hardware devices, and the second Thunderbolt port allows you to connect additional computer peripherals, a USB hub, or a Thunderbolt dock.
Ultra-low-latency AVB networking
The 848 flaunts two Gigabit network ports, enabling you to daisy-chain multiple units using standard Ethernet cabling. Alternatively, you can add an AVB switch to build a network incorporating multiple interfaces and computers, with ultra-low latency, even over long cable runs. Thanks to the 848's AVB connectivity, you can use it to stream hundreds of audio channels among devices and computers on a network. Beyond that, the 848 offers backward compatibility with the 16A and MOTU's previous-gen, AVB-equipped audio interfaces.
64-channel digital mixer with onboard DSP
The 848 comes equipped with a 64-input digital mixer with 32 buses and onboard DSP effects, including reverb, a 4-band EQ, a highpass filter, a noise gate, and compression. This built-in DSP primes the 848 to be the central hub of your studio. You can connect all your microphones, guitars, synthesizers, drum machines, and effects processors, then record, monitor, and process all these live inputs with zero latency or processor strain on your computer. The 848's powerful DSP supplies you with independent monitor mixes for all the interface's analog output pairs, including its two headphone outputs, complete with onboard effects processing. What's more, you can operate the 848 as a standalone mixer with effects, and you can control everything over Wi-Fi from MOTU's CueMix Pro app running on your Mac, PC, or iOS device.
MOTU 848 Features:
- Next-gen audio interface built on 30 years of proven success as an industry-leading brand
- Connects via a 40 Gbps USB-C cable, which is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and 4, USB4, USB3, and USB2
- 28-in/32-out interface with 4 high-performance mic pres and a plethora of additional analog and digital options
- Class-compliant firmware works with a gamut of Mac, PC, and iOS devices
- High-performance drivers provide round-trip latency as low as 1.8ms
- ESS Sabre32-fueled sound with 24-bit/192kHz conversion
- Top-quality mic pres with 74dB of available gain
- Hardware inserts on inputs 3–4 make integrating outboard hardware easy
- hi-Z guitar inputs facilitate effortless re-amping
- Loopback functionality for livestreaming and podcasting
- DC-coupled TRS outputs allow you to manipulate and sequence voltage-controlled synthesizers directly from your DAW
- 2 dedicated headphone outputs with independent volume control and customizable cue mixes
- 2 Gigabit network ports enable daisy-chaining multiple units or adding an AVB switch to build a network with multiple devices
- Built-in 64-channel digital mixer with 32 buses and onboard DSP effects
- Signal routing and splitting with intuitive, virtual patch cords or a routing grid routes any source signal to any destination
- Advanced control room features with talkback and A/B/C monitor switching
- 3.9-in. front-panel TFT display with customizable metering
- Wi-Fi control from your Mac, PC, or iOS device via MOTU's CueMix Pro app
- Network discovery and management features
- Includes MOTU Performer Lite and Ableton Live Lite applications, plus 6+GB of loops, samples, and 1-shots
