Mark of the Unicorn has released MOTU 896, a US$1,295 96kHz FireWire audio interface for Mac and Windows systems.
The 896 is expandable; you can add additional 896 or 828 interfaces for more I/O options. It boasts eight built-in mic pre-amps with individually switchable phantom power and no-latency CueMix Plus monitoring, so you don’t need a mixer for portable recording, according to MOTU.
The MOTU 896 includes a double rack space I/O unit, a 15-foot FireWire cable to connect the 896 to your computer, software drivers for both Mac OS and Windows.
Included with the 896 is the AudioDesk workstation software for the Mac. And the audio interface ships with Sound Manager, ASIO and WDM drivers for compatibility with other software.
AudioDesk is software for recording, editing, mixing, processing, and mastering an audio project on a Power Mac. It includes MOTU’s PureDSP time-stretching and pitch-shifting technology and several real-time, 32-bit effects plug-ins.
AudioDesk includes multi-track waveform editing, sample-accurate placement of audio, a virtual mixing environment with up to 64 stereo busses, automated mixing, graphic editing of mix automation, scrubbing, trimming, spotting, crossfades, support for third-party effects plug-ins (in the MOTU Audio System and Adobe Premier formats), unlimited digital track bouncing (including effects and automation), and more. (Thanks to MacCentral reader Christopher Kerian for the heads-up on this item.)