#12

Yeah, but a class-compliant USB interface would have more uses, PD for Android & iOS, for example. Also, I have an Organelle that works with USB audio interfaces.

#13

second hand motu all the way my old 2408 mk2 is still delivering like the first day

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#14

just bought a 828Mk3 Firewire, then grabbed a Firewire to thunderbolt converter and works fine.

I havent tried sending CV out, but the difference between second hand (boxed and with all documentation/cables) FW and a new thunderbolt 828 was about £700

#15

There’s the Ultralite Mk3 but it needs MOTU’s drivers.
http://motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite-mk3

The Ultralite Mk4 is usb class compliant but don’t know if it has been tested for DC coupled outputs.

There are certainly way more (cheaper) options if you go with an old firewire interface.

Alternatively, maybe look into one of the Expert Sleepers ADAT based modules (ES3 is pretty cheap second-hand these days as everyone seems to want the ES8) in conjunction with the USB Streamer which has Linux drivers.
https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/usbstreamer

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#16

can confirm the usbstreamer & ES3/ES6 is a workable solution under linux to interface ADAT soundcard. You need access to a windows box (maybe mac would work) to update the driver firmware for ADAT mode iirc.

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#17

The ES-8 will allow you to skip the USBStreamer and uses less HP/costs less than the ES-3/ES-6 combo. I kind of wish I had gone that way, but the ES-8 had just come out when I bought the ES-3/ES-6/USBstreamer second hand.
http://www.expert-sleepers.co.uk/es8.html
Class compliant, works on Linux.

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#18

I’m on the fence right now about whether a DC-coupled audio interface is even the right thing for controlling modular (or CV-enabled guitar pedals) from a laptop. This kind of setup is just amazing for lab use though - you can build one heck of an audio-band scrolling storage scope on linux/openGL.

On the other hand a monome-serial-ish CV output could be made hot-pluggable from linux laptop like a grid. You could send pairs of numbers [CV-level, slew-rate] as OSC messages or similar.

The aleph may eventually fill this if CV-DAC driver issues can be surmounted but I think it could also be done with a teensy. Yanking USB soundcard on low-latency jack is a sure recipe for weird hard crashes…

#19

Thanks for all the suggestions – I think ES-8 fits the bill best, but I’m also surprised there are no cheaper options around. I suppose with VCV becoming more popular, more choices will surface.

Like @rick_monster said, perhaps a Teensy-based option already exists, using this:

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#20

As a non-performing musician, I’m curious why that bill is the best fit. I have a studio setup, which was in the video but I haven’t moved it from that space. Why would a obsolete but functional firewire 19" rack mount interface be less interesting than a USB class compliant interface?

#21

I think it’s brilliant that the old MOTU interfaces get a second lease on life this way, but since there isn’t a working USB-to-Firewire solution available, I can’t use them with my Organelle or iPad, which is what would interest me the most.

#22

I’ve had an ES8 for a while now and I love it but I experience unavoidable and frequent distortion while recording. I don’t know how to fix it. I’ve recorded into other interfaces before and never experienced this. I also just read this:

“DC-coupling provides the flexibility required by CV but can potentially introduce drift in the bias, low frequency rumble and distortion”

Is there any validity to this? Would anyone know how to troubleshoot and fix this kind of problem?

#23

@photofractal check out this page on Noise Engineering’s site.

You may want to use use a high-pass filter or eq out very low frequencies to see if that helps.

#24

Wow thank you… I knew it had something to do with ultra low frequencies. I really don’t understand why it’s designed this way if that is a potential problem though. I send audio to all 4 inputs at the same time quite often. I would need 4 high pass filter modules that are capable of cutting 20Hz and under to solve this. Seems really impractical and a little ridiculous. I haven’t heard a single thing about other people having this problem so I’m really curious what others have experienced regarding this.

#25

You might want to read this thread, where @Simeon mentioned the DC offsets when discussing mastering the Solstice LCRP. The rest of the thread goes into more detail.

#26

It’s not a flaw, it’s a trade off. if you want your input to handle DC then DC offset is unavoidable, and the only solution would be to add switches to the hardware to activate/remove the DC coupling, increasing the cost. However if your signal has sufficient headroom you can remove the DC offset in your DAW.

#27

Awesome thank you. I have a much better understanding of this now. Only problem is that I’m getting the distortion at the input of the ES8 and not in my DAW. So maybe it’s not the DC afterall and another problem entirely.

#28

Are you using the ES-8 as a soundcard, or via ADAT? I had some distortion via ADAT once, but I believe it’s because I turned on my soundcard after the ES-8: cycling the power on the module fixed the problem.

#29

I’m going directly into the ES-8 most of the time. I haven’t noticed any distortion via ADAT but I also haven’t used it that much.

#30

Have you contacted Expert Sleepers? I think they’re pretty responsive to questions.

#31

are there any dc coupled audio interfaces having DC inputs?

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