User`s guide

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Quick Reference: 896HD Front Panel
This is a standard quarter- inch stereo headphone jack. From the factory, it matches the signal going to the main outs. However, via software, you can program it to serve as its own independent output.
The MOTU 896HD provides four independent mix buses. Via the included CueMix Console software, these four busses can be programmed to mix any combination of the 896HD’s 18 inputs to any output pair of your choosing. The MONITOR LEVEL knob lets you control the volume of each mix from the front panel. Push the knob repeat- edly to cycle among the four different mixes (1, 2, 3 or 4). When you do so, the analog input meters (1-4) show the current volume setting, with the red clip light illuminated over the bus you are currently adjusting when you turn the knob. The programmable meter bank provides live metering for each bus.
This toggle switch provides phantom power for a condenser mic plugged into this input. Up is on.
These 10-segment level meters are dedicated to the 896HD’s eight analog inputs. The top red ‘over’ LED lights up when the signal reaches full scale—for even just one sample—and remains illuminated until you clear it in the software. The second ‘over’ LED below only lights up momentarily so that you can continue to adjust level even after clipping has just occurred. These level meters can also show you the current volume setting for the 896HD’s four on-board mix busses. To view the bus volume settings, push the MONITOR LEVEL knob.
These lights indicate the global sample rate at which the MOTU 896HD is operating. Use the MOTU FireWire Audio Console to set the sample rate or to choose an external clock source, from which the sample rate will be set. When no sample clock is currently present, these lights flash. For example, if you’ve set the MOTU 896HD to slave to an exter- nal clock, such as ADAT, but there is no clock signal currently being detected, these lights will flash.
FireWire is a “plug-and-play” proto-
col. That means that you can turn off the MOTU 896HD and turn it back on (or even unplug it) without restarting your computer. Keep in mind, however, that if you wish to change the MOTU 896HD’s settings in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console, the MOTU 896HD needs to be plugged in and switched on.
These eight trim knobs provide gain adjustment within a range of about 42dB for each analog input (when the 3-way switch on the rear panel is set to either MIC or LINE. If the 3-way switch is set to +4/FIXED, the corresponding front-panel trim pots is bypassed). Because each input also has a microphone preamp, you can plug just about anything into them: a microphone, a guitar, a synth — you name it. For a microphone or unamplified instrument pickup, set the rear-panel 3-way switch to MIC, plug in your mic (XLR or quarter-inch plug) flip on 48V phantom power (if necessary) and use the trim knob as needed to adjust the level. For -10dB (unbalanced) inputs (like synths) or +4 (balanced) signals, set the rear panel 3-way switch to LINE and use the trim knob to adjust the level. You can use either an XLR or quarter-inch plug. (Note: the complete trim range, from all the way down with the MIC setting to all the way up with the LINE setting is around 55dB total. The MIC setting provides a 40dB range (approximately -37dBu to +5dBu) and the LINE setting offers a 30dB range (approximately -16dBu to +15dBu) with some overlap between them.) If you have +4 inputs for which you’d like to maintain unity gain (for levels up to +18dBu), set the rear-panel 3-way switch to +4/FIXED. You can use either an XLR or quarter-inch plug.
Connect a standard foot switch here for hands-free punch-in and punch-out during recording. For details about how to set this up, see “Enable Pedal” on page 43.
If the toggle switch is down, the volume knob affects the headphone out (and the main outs operate at a fixed volume). If the toggle switch is up, the volume knob controls the main outs and the headphone out. Analog input meters 7-8 display the current headphone (7) and main out (8) volume setting as you turn the volume knob. Push the volume knob to cycle through the various settings for the programmable meters (both the 8-channel bank and the stereo AES/EBU meters).
This bank of level meters can be programmed to display one of three different banks: analog output, ADAT optical input, or ADAT optical output. Use the MOTU FireWire Audio Console to choose which bank you’d like to view with these meters. The LEDs to the left show which bank you are currently monitoring. These meters can also provide stereo output meter- ing for the 896HD’s on-board mix busses (by press- ing the MONITOR LEVEL knob).
The light that is illuminated here tells you which bank (analog in, ADAT in, or ADAT out) you are monitoring with the programmable meter bank to the right.
These meters display the level for the 896HD’s main outs.
These meters can be programmed to display either AES/EBU input or output. Use the MOTU FireWire Audio Console to choose. The LEDs to the right indicate what you are currently monitoring.