The Mark Of The Unicorn (MOTU) Ultralite is the latest in their portable firewire soundcard range.

Like it’s big brother the Traveller, it’s packed with features and comes with a surprisingly low price tag, given all it can do. The unit itself is one of the more robust external soundcards I’ve ever seen.  Housed in a sturdy metal shell, and covered with a very grippy flat black paint, this is one soundcard you’ll have no worries about when it comes time to take it on stage.  At only 1 rack space high, and half a rack wide, it’s nice and compact for even greater portability.  In fact, my only reservations about this unit being not bomb proof, are the knobs on the front panel, which are slightly small and not as sturdy feeling as the rest of the unit.  Still, for the price it’s a compromise I can live with.

Here’s a quick rundown on the connections available on the Ultralite:-

• Two mic preamps with 48v phantom power, trim controls (+/-24dB), and a three way (0, 18 & 36dB) pad switch.
  
• Six 24bit/96kHz balanced/unbalanced 1/4" TRS input jacks.
  
• Eight 24bit/96kHz balanced/unbalanced 1/4" TRS output jacks.
  
• Stereo 24-bit 96kHz S/PDIF in/out.
  
• MIDI In and Out connectors.
  
• Front panel headphone jack with dedicated volume control.
  
• Separate 24bit/96kHz balanced/unbalanced 1/4" TRS main outs with dedicated front panel volume control.
  
• Power connection compatible with any DC power adapter (10-24 volts, tip positive or negative).
  
• Two Firewire ports for daisy-chaining other MOTU Firewire soundcards(Ultralite, 828, 828mkII, 896, 896HD or Traveler), or connecting other firewire devices.

I tested this card on an HP zt3010us laptop, running Windows XP SP2.  Installation was fast and easy, and updated drivers were available on the MOTU website.  I was worried that support for XP based systems would be an issue, as MOTU is primarily known for their Mac software and products.  However I’m happy to report that after months of use, not a single issue has appeared, and the unit has been very stable.  As my laptop does not have a 6-pin firewire connection, I was unable to buss-power the Ultralite over the firewire cable, and needed to use the included power supply. In addition to the ASIO drivers for the Ultralite, the MOTU software installer also installs the CueMix DSP software. This is the control panel you can use to set your input and output levels, change panning, and set up to 4 different monitor mixes for all card connections.  It’s very easy to use and straightforward, so you won’t even need to crack the manual to get up and running in no time. However, one huge benefit of the Ultralite, is that it can function as a standalone mixer if you don’t have it connected to a computer.  You can access all of the soundcards routing and connections controls (volume, pan, etc) right from the front panel of the device, in addition to controlling the headphone and main out volumes.  The front panel even has LCD metering for all audio and midi ins and outs, so it’s easy to see what’s going on without needing to open the CueMix DSP software. 

This is a great feature if you just want to, for instance,  play one of your hardware synths connected to the Ultralite without turning on your computer in order to hear it.

In terms of sound quality, the Ultralite is right up there with cards costing twice as much money.  Stereo imaging is precise, and the D/A’s are clean and full sounding.  My last soundcard was an Emu 1820m, and while I think the 1820m had a very, very slight advantage in the upper frequency range, the MOTU is only just a little bit shy of this clarity.  I’d have no issues recommending it to even the most professional user.  If you really feel the sound quality is an issue (and I certainly don’t!), blacklionaudio.com has some modifications they can perform that can improve matters even more, for a hefty price that is.

The only feature I think the MOTU Ultralite is missing, is a way to route audio internally among the available ASIO channels.  For instance, being able to route the output of a softsynth in your DAW directly to virtual ASIO input/output on the Ultralite, so you can record the VSTi output in real time to another DAW track.  Many of you familiar with the RME and Emu software mixers will know what I’m talking about.  I managed to get around this by creating a SPDIF loopback, which does more or less the same thing, though only on one channel.  Sturdier front panel knobs would be nice as well, but these are minor complaints regardless.

Overall I think the Ultralite is the best bang for the buck when it comes to firewire and portable soundcards.  The RME Fireface 400 is an obvious competitor, though at almost twice the price of the Ultralite, I think the MOTU is a much better deal.  The RME might have slightly better sound quality, but I think you can get 95% of the way there at half the price with the MOTU. It’s up to you to decide if that extra 5% is worth $500 more or not. Likewise Emu’s 1616m is another close competitor, but it’s only available via PCMCIA card connections, which are fast disappearing on today’s laptops. I’ve used my Ultralite in all of my musical activities, both studio and live based, with no issues at all to date. It’s one of those things you can truly plug in and forget about, which is a rarity in today’s computer driven studios. Lots of quality I/O, standalone mixing and volume control, study enough for the road, and a more than fair price make this a no-brainer recommendation for me.

Additional Resources

MOTU Website:-

http://www.motu.com/


MOTU Mailing List:-

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/motu-mac/


Related forums:-

http://www.unicornation.com/