I currently have a MOTU 828MKII and the preamps are fairly lifeless, as
if the two ends of the frequency range are cutoff and the middle has no
punch (btw, I have great mics!). The ads and literature about audio
interfaces don't say much about the quality of the preamps, so maybe
they are also hellish. But there's got to be at least a couple
rack-mounted OSX-compatible interfaces with quality preamps. Any
suggestions? Thanks.

wrote:
I currently have a MOTU 828MKII and the preamps are fairly lifeless, as
if the two ends of the frequency range are cutoff and the middle has no
punch (btw, I have great mics!).

I can assure you that unless your unit is broken (unlikely) the
frequency range is not cut off. "Punch" may be distortion that you
aren't getting. Nothing wrong with that.

Don't try to find an audio interface with a mic preamp that has special
characteristics that you like. They are all designed to be as neutral
sounding as they can be at the price point. Think "Mackie" and you'll
have the sound of most audio interfaces with built-in mic preamps, or,
in fact, most mic preamps that cost less than about $500 for a pair of
channels, or that costs $100 and have a very characteristic distortion
that you might like or might not (like the ART tube preamps).

Keep your MOTU 828 and try a few external preamps to see what you like
and what you don't.

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I currently have a MOTU 828MKII and the preamps are fairly lifeless, as
if the two ends of the frequency range are cutoff and the middle has no
punch (btw, I have great mics!). The ads and literature about audio
interfaces don't say much about the quality of the preamps, so maybe
they are also hellish. But there's got to be at least a couple
rack-mounted OSX-compatible interfaces with quality preamps. Any
suggestions? Thanks.


You need external mic preamps with the Motu 828.

The Motu 896 has the mic preamps.

david