MOTU UltraLite-mk5 Review (Audio Interface)

[Atanasi]

I wouldn’t be so sure. When I attempt to use the UL Mk5 on a raspberrry pi 4 running raspberry pi OS it knocks out the WiFi on the pi. I don’t have the issue on the same pi with different a different operating system (Ubuntu) or on Mac/PC but there does seem to be issues related to internet connectivity.

Maybe the Pi is configured such that it uses only one network interface and prefers an Ethernet interface to Wifi, even if the Ethernet is not routed to Internet or any other network. I don't think this is the best practice: the Pi should only replace the Wifi if the Ethernet interface has a so-called default route, which usually means a route to the Internet.

The reason Motu decided to implement a network interface is probably compatibility with iPads and similar devices. Apps on these cannot access arbitrary USB devices, only a limited set of device features. Network interfaces are one of the allowed device types, so these can be used to configure Motu audio interfaces.

RME also has some method of implementing compatibility with iPads, but I don't know about its technical details.

 

[charlielaub]

I believe that under the current default Linux networking configuration multiple active ethernet interfaces are not supported. This is maybe on purpose: for example if you have WiFi enabled and then you plug an ethernet CAT5 cable into the Pi the WiFi interface is turned off and the ethernet one takes over. Makes sense I guess. But you can configure networking for other types of situations, like WiFi hotspot forwarding/bridging where the WiFi AND the ethernet are both active and some packets are routed in between. But this is does not happen "automatically", you have to set up the configuration and it is not always straightforward. Because of this, I would assume there is a way to configure the MOTU ethernet interface to allow CueMix access from the localhost while leaving the WiFi connection untouched and available for regular web activity. I do not know exactly how to do this and it might require days worth of frustrating Google searches and failed attempts before finally getting the approach to work.

As far as why MOTU would do this, it might be related to their AVB interfaces for which there are web-based configuration tools. I can only guess. They don't really support Linux IIRC, otherwise they would come up with an installer that would create the required networking setup to not affect other interfaces.

 

[Pancreas]

The issue went away maybe it was something else lol

Anyway, does anyone know how long it takes for the interface to go into pingball sleep mode?

 

[yllanos]

Is there a way to hack a volume remote control for this device?

I'm interested but I really need to integrate a remote with this device.

 

[somebodyelse]

How good is your coding? Search this thread for websocket to find how it is controlled via a USB network connection. It appears it could be controlled by something other than the CueMix application (which is in effect a web app) but I don't think anyone has actually done it yet.

 

[yllanos]

How good is your coding? Search this thread for websocket to find how it is controlled via a USB network connection. It appears it could be controlled by something other than the CueMix application (which is in effect a web app) but I don't think anyone has actually done it yet.

Interesting. Actually, I used to be a developer. I'm rusty though.

I don't mind messing with computers but in terms of audio, I usually prefer a plug and play solution. I was thinking more in line of trying a device like this, then convert to USB-c. The idea is to program commands and then control from remote.

 

[pos]

A question for ultralite Mk5 users: can the device be operated in standalone mode through its ADAT ports?
I read that Mk3 could, but needed to be configured via USB each time it was powered-on, which somewhat defeats the purpose...
The manual for the Mk5 mentions standalone operation, but I wonder if this limitation still holds. I wonder if things like routing or clock mode and rate can be set directly on the device.

 

[BLMN]

Hi all! In the frequency response graph Amir started at 20Hz, so, I can´t see the MK5 behaviour near DC. Does anyone know if this interface is DC blocked in their line inputs? Tks in advance.

 

[charlielaub]

Given that the power supply is a single voltage type it is likely that both ADC and DAC are AC coupled.

 

[BLMN]

Given that the power supply is a single voltage type it is likely that both ADC and DAC are AC coupled.

Tks, but, actually, it´s not diffcult to obtain symmetrical voltages power sources from a a single one supply. I suspect the inputs are DC protected because they explicit stated in the manual that the outputs are not and can be used as a CV control. Regards,

 

[charlielaub]

@BLMN On the rear of my mk5 I see "15V Dc" where the wall wart plugs in. I am familiar with how to get two symmetrical (e.g. positive and negative voltages, both ground referenced) supplies from a single AC input but not from a single DC one. Can you (or anyone) point me to some info on how that is done such that it would be suitable for this sort of product? Not trolling here, just curious what might be inside the black box...

EDIT: OK, I see that there are DC-DC converters that can produce both positive and negative supplies from a single positive input, like this:

https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/slvs493e/slvs493e.pdf

Is that what might be used internally in this sort of product?

 

[BLMN]

@BLMN On the rear of my mk5 I see "15V Dc" where the wall wart plugs in. I am familiar with how to get two symmetrical (e.g. positive and negative voltages, both ground referenced) supplies from a single AC input but not from a single DC one. Can you (or anyone) point me to some info on how that is done such that it would be suitable for this sort of product? Not trolling here, just curious what might be inside the black box...

EDIT: OK, I see that there are DC-DC converters that can produce both positive and negative supplies from a single positive input, like this:

https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/slvs493e/slvs493e.pdf

Is that what might be used internally in this sort of product?

Yes, probably two DC converters and an internal ground reference. You might be right, because the CV voltage can be positive only (I don't know how it works), but, for this level of product and performance, I think the use of non-symmetrical power supply in the linear portion of the circuit (input and output operational amplifiers etc) is not the better way to go. Tks again and regards.

 

[cajadas]

Does this really sound better than MOTU M4?

 

[BLMN]

Well, I put the interface in loopback (line IN 7,8 to line OUT 1,2) and, using white noise, I measured -3dB at 0.01Hz... using Virtins analyzer. It seems there is a blocking capacitor at very low frequency there. Regards,

 

[Pancreas]

Does this really sound better than MOTU M4?

sounds way better than the 18i8 i had

 

[MCH]

Hi, anyone switching off/on the ultralite by just cutting/resuming DC power to it? I know it is not the best practice, but does it work normally?
Thanks.

 

[sarieri]

Did anyone ever figure out how to connect Ultralite mk5 through ip in Cuemix 5? Seems odd that in the setting menu of Ultralite mk5, the ip there is something like "169.254.xxx.xxx". Doesn't this mean the device is not assigned with an ip address by the DHCP server?

 

[MCH]

Is there a way to make the ultralite to accept spdif 192khz?

 

[mdsimon2]

Is there a way to make the ultralite to accept spdif 192khz?

No, TOSLINK and coaxial SPDIF I/O are limited to 88.2/96 kHz. The channels don’t even exist if you set the clock frequency to 176.4/192 kHz.

Michael

 

[MCH]

No, TOSLINK and coaxial SPDIF I/O are limited to 88.2/96 kHz. The channels don’t even exist if you set the clock frequency to 176.4/192 kHz.

Michael

I realized that after setup and then reading it in your tutorial, i should had read it first... :-/
Hardware limitation then i guess...