m1/interface/adat question

[saltybrian]

I've just bought myself an m1 macbook air (16gb/1tb) off the apple refurb store.

To go with this, I'm looking at the Audient ID44 https://www.thomann.de/gb/audient_id44.htm

Am I correct in thinking I'd be able to connect my old 16 channel firewire MOTU 8pre / Behringer ADA8000 set up to the Audient via ADAT to bring me up to 20 preamp inputs? I could do with this kind of number, would be good to know there aren't any issues due to the older units' age / firewire connections.

Any general thoughts on the proposed set up also welcome. I presume there'll be a fair old difference in quality between the three different sets of preamps? Is there anything else on the market that's a comparable / more sensible starting point?

Cheers for any thoughts

[James Perrett]

From looking at the manuals, it appears that you can do exactly what you want to do. The ADA8000 has a reputation for sounding poor if clocked from an external source so you may want to make that the master and have everything else synced to it. You may need to set the MOTU up via Firewire to set the clock source.

If you could do without the Audient's monitor control functions then I'd suggest taking a look at the RME Digiface USB which should work with the Behringer and MOTU units.

[saltybrian]

Thanks James,

I've actually managed to get the Motu working via a series of adapters and using drivers that aren't supposed to work but seemingly do. I'll put the set up through its paces before any serious use.

Guess the ADA8000 will probably work connected to the Motu as well. The Cuemix software doesn't seem to be compatible but I have my ins at least. I'm not sure how to route to the outs on the Behringer without Cuemix.

I am keen on the monitor switching capabilities of the Audient so it may well be added shortly, but in the meantime I have something to be getting on with.