Product Highlights
- 24 Balanced Analog Inputs
- 48 Channels ADAT I/O, Wordclock I/O
- Onboard DSP
- Digital Mixer with Effects
- Expansive Matrix Routing
- USB 2.0 and AVB Compliant
- Standalone Mixing with Wireless Control
- Includes AudioDesk DAW Software
- Up to 24-bit/192 kHz Resolution
- Mac OS X, Windows
- Overview
- Tech Specs
Audio Interface with 24 analog channels in one rack space, superb audio quality, AVB audio networking and large console style mixing with 48 channels and 12 stereo busses
The 24Ai from MOTU is a single rack space USB 2.0 interface with industry-standard AVB networking for sub-millisecond network latency, and offers twenty-four channels of analog audio input combined with three banks of ADAT optical, for a total of seventy-two channels of I/O. The unit connects to a computer through USB 2.0, which provides more than enough bandwidth for the twenty-four analog channels, and when connected through AVB networking, supports hundreds of network channels.
All devices on an AVB network can stream audio to and from a computer, and everything can be controlled simultaneously from any computers, tablets, and smart phones connected to the network. The interface delivers excellent analog performance with digitally controlled analog trim on the analog inputs, and includes a forty-eight-channel software mixer modeled after large format mixing consoles, DSP effects with 32-bit floating point precision, flexible matrix-style routing and splitting, stand-alone operation, and Wi-Fi control.
- Employs the same analog design as MOTU's 1248, 8M and 16A audio interfaces
- Seventy-two simultaneous audio channels: Twenty-four balanced analog inputs on three banks of multichannel connectors (D-sub and Phoenix), plus three banks of eight-channel ADAT optical
- Connects to a computer with audio class compliant high-speed USB 2.0 (compatible with USB 3.0 and iOS)
- Discovery app and web app software works alongside any host audio software
- On-board DSP with mixing and effects
- Flexible forty-eight input digital mixer modeled after large format mixing consoles, with twelve stereo busses and DSP effects, including reverb, four-band EQ, gate and compression
- DSP-driven mixing and effects engine delivers virtually unlimited headroom utilizing 32-bit floating point processing
- Modeled vintage effects processing with compression modeled after the legendary LA-2A compressor and EQ modeled after British analog console EQs
- Add a second MOTU AVB interface (24Ai, 24Ao, 1248, 8M or 16A) with a simple Cat-5e Ethernet cable
- Connect up to five MOTU interfaces using a MOTU AVB Switch (sold separately)
- Build an AVB network with multiple interfaces and computers using standard AVB 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
- Matrix routing and splitting allows for sending any input to any output, or multiple outputs, including routing to and from the computer, plus any devices on the AVB network
- Control on-board DSP, mixing, device settings and network audio routing from web app software running in a preferred browser on a laptop, tablet or smart phone connected by wire or Wi-Fi to a local area network
- Standalone mixing with wireless control - connect an Apple Airport or other Wi-Fi router directly to the 24Ai with a standard Ethernet cable and control mixing and DSP effects from a smart phone or tablet, without a computer, great for live sound mixing
- Use the 24Ai as a twenty-four channel optical expander for other gear (24 channels at 44.1/48 kHz or 12 channels at 88.2/96 kHz)
- Large backlit 324 x 24 LCD allow for viewing 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
- Includes AudioDesk workstation software 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 | 24 channels (balanced/unbalanced) 3x DB-25 D-sub and 6x 12-pin Phoenix Max level: +24 dBu (digitally adjustable -96 to +22) |
Digital I/O | 3 banks (24 ch) of ADAT optical at 1x sample rates 3 banks (12 ch) of SMUX optical at 2x sample rates Stereo TOSLink (optical S/PDIF) on Bank A (optional) |
Total I/O | 24 analog + 48 digital (72 total) at 1x rates 24 analog + 24 digital (48 total) at 2x rates 24 analog + 0 digital (24 total) at 4x rates |
Computer I/O | 1 x USB 2.0 audio class compliant USB 3.0 and iOS compatible 1 x AVB Ethernet (requires OS X Yosemite) |
Computer I/O channels | USB 2.0 (44.1 to 48 kHz): 64 in/out USB 2.0 (88.2 to 96 kHz): 32 in/out USB 2.0 (176.4 to 192 kHz): 24 in/out AVB Ethernet: 16 to 128 in/out, depending on host computer speed |
Sync I/O | 1 x word clock in 1 x word clock out |
Network I/O | 1 x RJ45 AVB/TSN Ethernet (1 Gbps) |
AVB streams (8 channels per stream) | 4 in / 8 out @ 44.1 or 48 kHz 4 in / 8 out @ 88.2 or 96 kHz 2 in / 4 out @ 176.4 or 192 kHz |
Front panel | 5 x switches • menu navigation 324 x 24 pixel LCD for level meters / menu nav 1 x AC power switch |
Power | International 100-240V autoswitching supply 50-60 Hz • 0.5A max |
Dimensions and weight | (width x depth x height, enclosure only) 19 x 7 x 1.75 inches 48.3 x 17.75 x 4.5 cm 4.6 lbs / 2.08 kg (24ai) with rack brackets removed: 17.25 inches (43.8 cm) wide 4.5 lbs / 2.04 kg |
Mac System Requirements
- 1 GHz Intel-based Mac or faster
- 2 GB RAM; 4 GB or more recommended
- Mac OS X version 10.8 or later
- Available high-speed USB 2.0 or AVB Ethernet port*
- A large hard drive (at least 500 GB for recording)
- *AVB Ethernet audio interface operation requires OS X Yosemite
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 USB 2.0 or 3.0 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 AVB interface by wire or Wi-Fi.
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 AVB interface by wire or Wi-Fi.