Equipped with renowned ESS Sabre32 Ultra? DAC technology, the 8A has the same award-winning analog audio quality and proven performance as MOTU's flagship 16A interface - packed into a mobile half-rack enclosure.

34 simultaneous audio channels
You get 8 x 8 balanced analog, 8-channel ADAT optical and independent headphone out for 16 inputs and 18 outputs. The optical ports also support stereo TOSLink (optical S/PDIF).

Superb analog audio quality and high-end converters
Renowned ESS Sabre32 Ultra DAC technology delivers 123 dB dynamic range and the same proven, award-winning audio quality as MOTU's flagship 16A.

Ultra-low latency and proven, high-performance MOTU drivers
Round-trip latency (RTL) performance as low as 1.6 ms at 96kHz over Thunderbolt with high-performance DAW hosts.

Mobile operation and universal connectivity
Connects to your computer with Thunderbolt, super-speed USB 3.0 or AVB/TSN Ethernet for up to 256 audio channels (128 in and 128 out). Class-compliant firmware and Industry standard drivers work with any audio apps. Connects to iPad with a standard camera connection kit (adapter).

34 simultaneous audio channels
8 x 8 balanced analog, 8-channel ADAT optical and independent phone out for 16 inputs and 18 outputs.

DSP mixing and effects processing
Flexible 48-input digital mixer with 7 stereo aux busses, 3 group sends, access to 64 network inputs, and DSP effects, including reverb, 4-band EQ, gate and compression.

32-bit floating point processing
The 8A's mixing and effects DSP engine delivers virtually unlimited headroom and the utmost in sound quality.

Modeled vintage effects processing
Classic reverb. Compression modeled after the legendary LA-2A compressor. EQ modeled after British analog console EQs.

Flexible matrix routing and splitting
Send any input to any output, or multiple outputs. Includes routing to and from the computer, plus any devices on the audio network.

Stand-alone operation with wireless control
Connect an Apple Airport or other Wi-Fi router with a standard Ethernet cable for wireless control of device settings, powerful 48-channel mixing and DSP effects.

Web app control from any device
Control everything from your favorite web browser on a laptop, tablet and smartphone connected to your local Wi-Fi network.

System expansion
Add a 2nd MOTU AVB-equipped interface with a simple CAT-5e ethernet cable. Connect up to five MOTU interfaces using a MOTU AVB/TSN Switch (sold separately).

AVB/TSN audio networking
Build a network with multiple interfaces and computers using standard AVB/TSN switches and network cabling, with ultra-low network latency, even over long cable runs (100 meters point to point). Stream hundreds of audio channels among devices and computers on the network.

Optical I/O
Connect outboard digital processors, digital mixers or other gear. 8 channels of ADAT at 44.1/48 kHz, 4 channels of SMUX at 88.2/96 kHz or stereo TOSLink (optical S/PDIF) up to 96 kHz.

Comprehensive metering
The full-color LCD lets you view all signal activity at a glance with detailed metering for all analog and digital I/O. Access hardware settings from a simple and convenient menu.

AudioDesk
Includes AudioDesk workstation software for Mac and Windows with 24-bit recording, sample-accurate editing and 32-bit mixing and mastering.

Sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz

Analog inputs:
8 x 1/4" TRS line inputs (balanced/unbalanced)
Max level: +24 dBu (range -96 to +22)

Analog outputs:
8 x 1/4" TRS line out (balanced, DC coupled 5v)
Max level: +20 dBu (range -4 to +20)
1 x 1/4" TRS stereo headphone

Digital I/O:
1 bank (8 ch) of ADAT optical at 1x sample rates
1 bank (4 ch) of SMUX optical at 2x sample rates
Switchable to stereo TOSLink (optical S/PDIF)

Total I/O:
16 inputs / 18 outputs (34 total) at 1x sample rates
12 inputs / 14 outputs (26 total) at 2x sample rates
8 inputs / 10 outputs (18 total) at 4x sample rates

Computer I/O:
1 x Thunderbolt 2 (Mac and Win)
Thunderbolt 1 & 3 compatible
1 x USB 3.0 (Mac and Win)
USB 2.0 and iOS compatible (class compliant)
1 x AVB/TSN Ethernet (Mac only)
Requires OS X 10.11 or later

Computer I/O channels:
Thunderbolt (44.1 to 96 kHz): 128 in/out
Thunderbolt (176.4 to 192 kHz): 64 in/out
USB 3.0 (44.1 to 96 kHz): 128 in/out
USB 3.0 (176.4 to 192 kHz): 64 in/out
AVB/TSN Ethernet: 16 to 128 in/out
depends on host computer speed

Headphone:
1 x 1/4" TRS stereo phone (assignable)
Front panel 1 x 1/4" TRS headphone output
1 x digital rotary encoder
- main/phone volume
5 x switches
- menu navigation
160 x 128 pixel RGB LCD for level meters / menu nav
Power switch

Power:
External 12-18V DC power supply
1.0A max
- tip pos or neg

Dimensions and weight:
(width x depth x height, enclosure only)
8.6 x 7 x 1.75 inches
22 x 17.75 x 4.5 cm
2.2 lbs / 1.0 kg

Mac System Requirement
1 GHz Intel-based Mac or faster
2 GB RAM; 4 GB or more recommended
Mac OS X version 10.8 or later
Available Thunderbolt, USB or AVB/TSN Ethernet port*
A large hard drive (at least 500 GB for recording)
*AVB/TSN Ethernet audio interface operation requires OS X 10.11 or later

Windows System Requirements
1 GHz Pentium-based PC compatible or faster
2 GB RAM; 4 GB or more recommended
Windows 7, 8 or 10
Available Thunderbolt or USB port
Available Ethernet port for firmware updates
A large hard drive (at least 500 GB for recording)

Web App Support
Any web client platform: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
Any web browser: Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Explorer, etc.
Web client must be connected to the same network as the MOTU interface by wire or Wi-Fi.

Included Software
MOTU Discovery App for Mac & Windows (finds connected MOTU interfaces)
MOTU Discovery App for iOS (available from Apple App Store)
MOTU web app (served from the hardware itself)
AudioDesk 4.0 for Mac & Windows (separate download)

Operating Systems
For computer audio I/O: Mac OS X 10.8 or later; Windows 7 or later
For web app control: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android