MOTU UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid

These units show signs of heavy wear but are in good working condition.

The Ultralite-mk3 Hybrid is MOTU's most compact and versatile audio interface, featuring hybrid FireWire/USB2 connectivity to your Mac or Windows computer, on-board mixing and effects, superb sound and reliable performance.

Hybrid Connectivity and Flexible I/O

Connect to your computer via either bus-powered FireWire or hi-speed USB2, making it easy to integrate into different studio or mobile rigs. With 10 inputs and 14 outputs, there is no channel sharing: the mic inputs, S/PDIF I/O, headphone out, and main outs are all handled as separate channels for predictable routing in your DAW or live setup.

CueMix FX DSP Mixing and Effects

CueMix FX provides a flexible 10 input/14 bus mixer with on-board DSP effects, including reverb with sends/returns, plus EQ and compression on every input and output. Classic Reverb offers five different room types, three frequency shelves with adjustable crossover points, shelf filtering, and reverb lengths up to 60 seconds.

For dynamics, you get two forms of compression: a standard compressor with threshold/ratio/attack/release/gain controls and the Leveler™, an accurate model of the legendary LA-2A optical compressor, which provides vintage, musical automatic gain control. Modeled EQ provides 7-band parametric EQ modeled after British analog console EQs, featuring 4 filter styles (gain/Q profiles), plus LP and HP filters with slopes that range from 6 to 36 dB.

The CueMix FX cross-platform mixing software adds graphic mixing, graphic editing of parametric EQ, and a convenient tabbed interface for quick access to all features in one window. It also provides full-screen real-time FFT display, spectrogram "waterfall" display, oscilloscope, X-Y plot, and linear or polar phase analysis.

Front-Panel Control and Stand-Alone Mixing

Access any setting in your entire UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid mix directly from the front panel. Effects can also be applied when the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is operating stand-alone (without a computer) as a complete stand-alone mixer. A dedicated "Reverb return" stream allows users to record or mix UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid reverb output separately in their DAW.

Create multiple CueMix FX mixes, for example, different monitor mixes for the main outs and headphones, or add send/return loops for outboard gear with no latency.

Inputs, Outputs, and Monitoring

Two combo jacks provide hi-Z 1/4” guitar input or low-Z XLR mic input with phantom power, pad, and plenty of gain. Eight 24-bit 192kHz analog inputs and outputs are available on balanced/unbalanced 1/4" TRS jacks, with Precision Digital Trim on all analog inputs for accurate adjustments in 1 dB increments and the ability to save/recall trim configurations.

Monitoring features include separate TRS main outs with front panel volume control, a front panel headphone jack with volume control, and support for stereo, quad, 6.1, 7.1, and user-defined surround monitoring setups. Stereo 24-bit 96kHz S/PDIF in/out is included for digital I/O.

DC-coupled TRS outputs can be used with Volta™ (sold separately) to manipulate and sequence voltage-controlled modular synthesizers from a host DAW.

Sync, Time Code, MIDI, and Expansion

Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) is a DSP-driven phase lock engine and internal clock source that produces imperceptibly low jitter characteristics (below the noise floor), even when the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is resolved to an external clock source via SMPTE time code. Time code support lets it directly resolve to (or generate) time code via any quarter-inch input or output, without the need for an extra synchronizer.

Sample-accurate MIDI lets you connect a MIDI controller and/or sound module with no separate interface needed. The system is expandable, so you can add additional interfaces for more I/O as your needs grow.

Compatible Systems and Included Software

The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid includes native 32- and 64-bit drivers for Mac OS X and Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP, including ASIO, WDM, Wave, Core Audio, and Core MIDI, and supports all popular Mac and Windows audio software. It is 100% compatible with all host-based effects processing in today's popular audio programs and includes AudioDesk full-featured sample-accurate workstation software for the Mac and Windows with recording, editing, mixing, real-time 32-bit effects processing, and sample-accurate sync.

Power and Size

Enjoy plug-and-play operation with your Mac or PC via FireWire or USB2. The unit supports bus-powered FireWire operation, with no need for external power when operating as a FireWire interface connected to a computer, and a power supply is included for stand-alone operation.

Chassis dimensions, excluding rack ears and front and back panel knobs and connectors: 9.5 × 7 × 1.75 inches (24.13 × 17.78 × 4.45 cm). Knobs and connectors extend up to 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) from front and back panels, adding 1 inch (2.54 cm) to depth. With rack ears attached, fits one half of a standard 19 inch (48.26 cm) rack at 1U high.