MOTU UltraLite-mk5 Review (Audio Interface)

[NTTY]

Interesting, I thought they were all the same, I checked mine and they are:

But anyways, sure, I can test all of them. I should find time in the course of the day.

EDIT: The 10 outputs are all pretty much the same, very minor variations in distortion. Here below are Line 6 and Line 9 out (4Vrms out in both cases):

You can see a variation of 0.05dB in the output between the two above, and that's the worst case scenario. But per pair (eg Line 7 and Line 8) the output are at the exact same level:

 

[NTTY]

And here we go into an easier 200kohms load (4.2Vrms output which is -6dBFS attenuation from the Line out of the Motu):

This is a SINAD of 112.2dB, extremely close to what Amir found.
The distortion is much lower (-131dB!) than my previous measurements because the input load of the analyser is easier for the output stage of the Motu interface. So now you have the worst and best case scenarios, and it is good to see such very good results whatever the load is on the Motu.

And again, similar to Amir, I found the best SINAD at 7Vrms output:

That is a SINAD of 115dB. It is equally good to see such similar performances from accros the globe.

Note that my interface has a lower distortion profile that the one Amir reviewed, as all spikes at 4.2Vrms are below -130dB. But it does not change the SINAD which is dominated by noise.

 

[redeyes]

I use this interface all day every day. Since day one. Not a single issue. I also leave it on.. so its been on for a year plus. Im a bit more about functionality than pure ratings, but overall, it rates well.

Best interface I've personally owned!

 

[DrSpan]

I use this interface all day every day. Since day one. Not a single issue. I also leave it on.. so its been on for a year plus. Im a bit more about functionality than pure ratings, but overall, it rates well.

Best interface I've personally owned!

Just as a side note. It consumes around 10 watts idling while you are sleeping if it is on all the time

 

[redeyes]

10 watts is the least of my worries tbh

 

[DrSpan]

10 watts is the least of my worries tbh

Nice

 

[Pancreas]

I leave my on all the time, had it since feb 2023. No problems. I does feel a bit warm when I put my hand on it even when not using it.

I wonder if there is a way to monitor the temperature. There is nothing on the motu software

Too bad they increased the price when I bought it was $595, after a few months they raised it to $650, literally the same nothing changed lol

 

[richpjr]

I leave my on all the time, had it since feb 2023. No problems. I does feel a bit warm when I put my hand on it even when not using it.

I wonder if there is a way to monitor the temperature. There is nothing on the motu software

Too bad they increased the price when I bought it was $595, after a few months they raised it to $650, literally the same nothing changed lol

I plug my studio monitors and Ultralite into a smart power strip and have it programmed on Alexa and Siri - "Turn on the speakers" turns the power strip on and "Turn off the speakers" turns it off. Simple, fast and saves a tiny bit of energy.

 

[Pancreas]

I plug my studio monitors and Ultralite into a smart power strip and have it programmed on Alexa and Siri - "Turn on the speakers" turns the power strip on and "Turn off the speakers" turns it off. Simple, fast and saves a tiny bit of energy.

I don't care about saving energy. I live it on all the time, so I don't have to hear the pops and wait for to start, having to press button on and off, even with a smart power strip, it will pop every time it start including the studio monitors.

I read of people who have had their interface on all the time for 10 years lol

I have genelec 8030c, if I connect to a switch power strip and turn on and off with that, it will pop and take time restart.

What I do is I have them go to sleep mode after inactivity

I wonder if cutting power to the device while is on and then giving it power again while is still on, could damage the device in the long run. This can't be good for speakers either.

The only thing I turn off manually is my computer mainly cause im used to doing that

I just dont like the stupid pops interface and speaker can make when the power on and off, I have yet to find one that doesnt do it all, they all do at least one pop

I have it all connected to a advanced series mode protector which is on all the time

 

[Pancreas]

What I'm thinking about is putting a USB fan on top of the interface like this and then connecting it to my PC, so it runs whenever my PC runs, when the interface is being used

makes more sense to put it at bottom, also is hidden

I would get something like Noctua with USB adapter, one of the quietest fans out there

 

[AnalogSteph]

Last time I checked, axial fans had kind of a hard time sucking air through a hard surface...

A slight breeze going sideways across the interface would probably be more than sufficient. Maybe a pair of Arctic P8 Silent or Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 80mm with a fan pot, or two Pure Wings 2 PWM 80mm with a PWM fan controller thingy (+ 4-pin or 3-pin fan splitter cable as required). Make some provisions for vibration decoupling using thin rubber strips or whatnot. You could get a pair of Noctua NF-A8 ULN and just use the included 7V adapter, too... Noctuas are a bit ouch on the wallet but they do come with a nice package of accessories and have basic decoupling in the corners (while e.g. the Pure Wings come with a bare minimum package of 4 fan screws). I'm not sure I would trust the Arctics' fan bearings long-term when laid horizontally, but vertically I don't see a problem.

I pimped my office PC with Pure Wings 2 PWM 80 / 92 mm as case fans (using rubber nipples for decoupling) and a Noctua P9 PWM on the CPU. The Noctua can be slowed down even further and its tachometer signal seemed a bit more stable, but purely noise wise I have zero complaints about the Pure Wings. (The 120/140 mm versions have had some reports about some variability regarding bearing noises.)

Hmm, the Ultralite is a bit deeper than I thought at 17.5 cm, I might go up to 92 mm fans then. Arctic doesn't make any 92s, but Pure Wings 2 are available both as 3-pin and PWM (which is how I ended up with one to begin with), and Noctua's counterpart to the NF-A8 ULN would be the NF-A9 FLX.

 

[gfinlays]

I leave mine on 24/7. Barely warm to the touch.

 

[Keith_W]

What I'm thinking about is putting a USB fan on top of the interface like this and then connecting it to my PC, so it runs whenever my PC runs, when the interface is being used

I see you have a Presonus Firebox. What do you think of it?

I had an Audiobox USB. It was the biggest pile of trash, almost unusable because of driver issues. I bought a Focusrite 2i2 to replace it which I am still using. Then I upgraded to an RME, but only because I needed more channels. The RME has been a real eye opener, now I know what all the fuss is about.

 

[tillhout]

I am trying to get cuemix to work on android per post 679 Page 34. I have the apx installed and network enabled in cuemix on the pc that is connected to my ethernet, but I am unable to connect the android cuemix app to the ULMK5. I have tried the I.P. of the computer but no luck......
Any advice.
Thank you
p.s i have installed all the latest firmware and drivers.

 

[gfinlays]

I am trying to get cuemix to work on android per post 679 Page 34. I have the apx installed and network enabled in cuemix on the pc that is connected to my ethernet, but I am unable to connect the android cuemix app to the ULMK5. I have tried the I.P. of the computer but no luck......
Any advice.
Thank you
p.s i have installed all the latest firmware and drivers.

Hmm, I had a problem connecting with mine until I realised that the Network Control option on mine was disabled on the host PC. Is your Android's Wi-Fi connection on the same subnet as the Motu's host PC? Lots of folks have Mesh Wi-Fi networks which run on a different subnet from cabled devices connected directly to the router/switch.

 

[Pancreas]

I see you have a Presonus Firebox. What do you think of it?

I had an Audiobox USB. It was the biggest pile of trash, almost unusable because of driver issues. I bought a Focusrite 2i2 to replace it which I am still using. Then I upgraded to an RME, but only because I needed more channels. The RME has been a real eye opener, now I know what all the fuss is about.

those are just random photos

All I have is mk5

 

[tillhout]

Thanks, good idea. I will look into that and get back....Thanks!

Hmm, I had a problem connecting with mine until I realised that the Network Control option on mine was disabled on the host PC. Is your Android's Wi-Fi connection on the same subnet as the Motu's host PC? Lots of folks have Mesh Wi-Fi networks which run on a different subnet from cabled devices connected directly to the router/swit

 

[Evgenioni]

MOTU UltraLite-mk5 Review (Audio Interface)

Hi! I made an application for Android based on an application for Linux from Jared from MOTU. Test what happened )) There are some interface upgrades: 1. Support double tap. 2. Double tapping on the knobs resets the values/returns them to default. 3. I set the monitor (1-2) to -24dB by default...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Here are the latest versions, correctly signed

 

[tillhout]

Thanks, good idea. I will look into that and get back....Thanks!

I figured it out. There was a privacy setting on the phone under network details, privacy, that was set to "use randomized MAC (default)". I changed it to "use device mac" and then the router saw it and now it Works! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

 

[mmotti]

I use a Python script in combination with a TP-Link Kasa smart plug / scheduled tasks on Windows to turn my interface on when my PC boots up and off at shutdown. Seems to work quiet well although can't really understand why they don't offer an option to power the device down when it loses the USB C connection.

Hate leaving things turned on for no reason.