The MOTU 896mk3 provides flexible connectivity to any Mac or PC via FireWire or high-speed USB 2.0, with eight channels of pristine 24-bit 192 kHz analog recording and playback, combined with sixteen channels of optical digital I/O, stereo AES/EBU, S/PDIF and separate analog main outs. Expand your system by connecting the 8pre mic input expander or other MOTU audio interfaces.

Flexible operation

The MOTU 896mk3 is equally well suited for studio and stage, with or without a computer. As an interface or standalone mixer, the 896mk3 provides 28 separate inputs and 32 separate outputs, including dedicated main outs on XLRs and two front panel headphone outs.

On-board digital mixer with effects for monitoring and live mixing

Connect all of your studio gear, including microphones, guitars, synths, keyboards, drum machines and even effects processors. Record, monitor, route and process all of these live inputs using the professional on-board CueMix FX digital mixer Ð with no latency and no processor strain on your computer. Apply hardware DSP-driven effects processing to inputs, outputs, and busses independent of your host computer. Add Classic Reverbª with lengths up to 60 seconds. Further sculpt your sound with 7-band parametric EQ featuring filter types carefully modeled after British analog console EQs. Choose between two forms of compression: a conventional compressor and the Levelerª, an accurate model of the legendary LA-2Aª optical compressor that provides vintage, musical automatic gain control.

When recording from the analog inputs, the 896mk3Õs signal overload protection gives you an extra 12 dB of headroom above zero with no clipping or harsh artifacts.

Advanced audio analysis tools

Analyze and scope your audio with advanced diagnostic tools, including a full-screen real-time FFT display, spectrogram “waterfall” display, full-featured oscilloscope, X-Y plot, and linear/polar phase analysis graphs.

Stand-alone operation as a mixer

After programming the on-board mixing in the studio, unplug the 896mk3 from the computer and take it on the road for operation as a stand-alone mixer with effects. All mixing and effects parameters are adjustable using the front panel backlit LCD.

Across-the-board compatibility

The 896mk3 provides cross-platform compatibility with Mac and Windows and all of your favorite audio software and host-based effects via WDM/ASIO/Core Audio drivers. Or you can use the included AudioDesk workstation software for Mac, with 24-bit recording/editing and 32-bit mixing/processing/mastering.

FireWire has long been recognized as a reliable, high-performance connectivity standard for professional audio interfaces like the 896mk3. Meanwhile, high-speed USB 2.0 has also developed into a widely adopted standard for connecting peripheral devices to personal computers.

To fully support both formats, the 896mk3 hybrid audio interface is equipped with FireWire jacks and a high-speed USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) connector, and you can use either port to connect the 896mk3 to your computer. This gives you maximum flexibility and compatibility with todayÕs ever-expanding universe of Mac and Windows computers.

If your computer does not have a FireWire port, then obviously you will need to connect the 896mk3 to one of its high-speed USB 2.0 ports.