Clever USB/FireWire Interface with I/O!

You could show up at anybody's house with the MOTU UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid and be sure you can plug in, rock it out, and go. MOTU made a wizard-like decision to pack this UltraLite with both FireWire and USB connectors... pretty slick. Many folks only have one or the other available — or they're already up to their necks with USB connections, so they'd rather use a fast, free FireWire port. Anyhow, this UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is the cure for those woes. And it's also an action-packed audio interface on its own right, aside from its who double connection dealio. How's that?

The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is the latest version of MOTU's best-selling UltraLite. The UltraLite has been wowing audio engineers for a long time, because it seems to have the perfect combination of I/O options onboard — plus expandability, which is important. You can connect two microphones from the get-go, and at the same time you can have six other line inputs connected. And that's just talking about analog goodness. You can pipe in two more channels via the S/PDIF input, MIDI I/O is a welcome addition, and again — you've got USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 to choose from as you connect the whole beauty into your computer and start with your DAW recording.

Another feature that scores major points on the "cool" scale is the built-in DSP mixer and effects. That's right, the UltraLite-mk3 can spit out any combination of the input signals on any combination of the eight outputs, using the included CueMix software. And all that mixer power comes from the UltraLite-mk3 itself, so you're not tapping into your computer's horsepower in the process. A reverb, a killer-sounding compressor, and a flexible EQ is also built in (tweakable via the front panel or CueMix again). Annnnnd, since you can save all of your routing/mix settings as different presets and call them up, your MOTU UltraLite-mk3 works a full-on standalone mixer/effects processor/what have you. Serious value here.

MOTU Ultralite-mk3 Hybrid FireWire and USB 2.0 Audio Interface Features at a Glance:

• Hybrid FireWire and USB 2.0 audio interface
  
• 10-input, 14-output audio interface with FireWire bus power
  
• Included power adapter for when connected via USB 2.0
  
• Two microphone preamplifiers with 48V phantom power
  
• Six balanced line-level TRS inputs
  
• Ten analog TRS outputs
  
• Stereo 96kHz S/PDIF I/O
  
• Latency-free monitoring with four monitor mixes
  
• Onboard 14-bus digital mixer with effects
  
• Can operate as a standalone mixer with effects
  
• Program with CueMix Console software or computer-free via front panel
  
• Slaves to SMPTE time code
  
• Compatible with Mac and PC computers

MOTU UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid Specs: Computer Connection Type FireWire and USB Form Factor Desktop Simultaneous I/O 10 x 14 A/D Resolution 24-bit/192kHz Built In DSP/FX Yes Number of Audio Inputs 8 Audio Input Types 2 x Combo (Mic/Line/Hi-Z), 6 x TRS Number of Audio Outputs 11 Audio Output Types 8 x TRS, 2 x TRS (Main), 1 x TRS (Headphone) Number of Digital Inputs 2 Digital Input Types 1 x S/PDIF (Coax) Number of Digital Outputs 2 Digital Output Types 1 x S/PDIF (Coax) Number of Mic Preamps 2 Phantom Power Yes MIDI I/O In, Out Bus Powered Yes Depth 7" Width 9.5" Height 1.75" Weight TBD