Uses FireWire or USB 2, handles up to 96 kHz

Audio hardware and software house MOTU is now shipping a half-rack hybrid audio interface and mixer called the 4pre, which features four mic inputs with preamps and a total of six inputs (including two S/PDIF digital I/O ports) and eight independent outputs. It sports an instrument tuner, front-panel mixing and two stereo headphone outputs. Mixing can also be done using the included CueMix software on attached computers.

On the back, the 4pre has four XLR/TRS combo jacks that offer 48V phantom power and -20dB pad. The inputs can either offer preamp input for up to four mics, or two of the inputs can be used as hi-Z guitar inputs with the other two acting as balanced line-level inputs. The four quarter-inch TRS outputs can work with stage wedges, powered monitors, analog recording equipment or other outputs. The back panel also has two S/PDIF digital ports that can sample up to 96kHz.

The front features four front-panel volume knobs, along with an independent input trim knob. There are also volume controls for the main and headphone volumes, LED readouts and two stereo headphone outputs. The unit mixes all six inputs to any output pair. The CueMix software works on both Mac and Windows platforms and offers additional audio analysis tools such as real-time FFT, spectrogram, oscilloscope, X-Y plot and linear or polar phase analysis. The unit works with or without the accompanying software, and resolves to or generates time code without the need for an extra synchronizer.

The 4pre includes 32- and 64-bit drivers for Mac OS X and Windows 7 or Vista, and features either bus-powered FireWire operation or USB2 operation with included power supply. The unit is now shipping and retails for $495.

By Electronista Staff