Two new audio interfaces from Motu

Motu is now shipping the 24Ai and 24Ao, two audio interfaces that offer 24 channels of high-quality analogue audio input or output in a single rack space, combined with three banks of ADAT optical, for a total of 72 channels of I/O. All analogue I/O is supplied on standard DB-25 D-sub connectors or 12-pin Phoenix (Euroblock) connectors for studio and industrial installations alike. Similar to the 1248, 8M and 16A models released by Motu earlier this year, the 24Ai and 24Ao are equipped with DSP-driven mixing/effects and AVB Ethernet. With all five interface models, users can mix and match complementary I/O configurations and unify operation on their shared AVB audio networking platform.

"If you need lots of high-quality line-level analogue I/O, the 24Ai and 24Ao are the perfect solution," said Jim Cooper, director of marketing at Motu. "They’re incredibly flexible, too. You can use them as an audio interface, optical expander, or network extension for a MOTU AVB system, complete with internal mixing, routing and effects, plus wireless control over all settings."

The new 24Ai and 24Ao connect to a computer through universally compatible USB 2.0, which provides more than enough bandwidth for 24 analogue channels, even for a system that includes both a 24Ai (24 analogue inputs) and a 24Ao (24 analogue outputs). For expanded systems, users can employ a Thunderbolt-equipped interface, such as the 16A, for 256-channel computer I/O, with the 24Ai and 24Ao units connected through AVB networking, which supports hundreds of network channels. All devices on such a network can stream audio to and from the computer, and everything can be controlled simultaneously from any computers, tablets, and smart phones connected to the network.

The 24Ai and 24Ao share the same feature set and technology platform as the 1248, 8M and 16A, including high-quality analog performance, digitally controlled analog trim on analog inputs, 32-bit DAC trim on analogue outputs, 48-channel mixing modeled after large format mixing consoles, DSP effects with 32-bit floating point precision, flexible matrix-style routing and splitting, stand-alone operation, WiFi control, and industry-standard AVB networking with sub-millisecond network latency.

The 24Ai and 24Ao are now shipping. The price for each interface is $995.