User Manual

ABOUT THE 8A
24
AVB/TSN system expansion and audio
networking
AV B stands for the IEEE 802.1 Audio Video
Bridging Ethernet standard for high-bandwidth,
low-latency audio streaming over Ethernet. You
may also hear AVB referred to as AV B / T S N or
simply TSN because the IEEE is in the process of
renaming the standard to Time Sensitive
Networking to accommodate the expanding scope
of the specification to applications beyond audio
and video.
The AVB Ethernet network port on the 8A lets you
add a second AVB-equipped MOTU interface
using any standard CAT-5e Ethernet cable. You can
network up to five MOTU interfaces together using
a MOTU AVB Switch™ (sold separately), and then
run them as a stand-alone network or as an
extended bank of I/Os for your computer-based
production system (or both). You can even connect
multiple computers, each with full access to all
devices on the network (including the other
computers).
With additional standard AVB switches (from
MOTU or other brands) and standard Ethernet
cabling, you can build an extensive AVB audio
network. The entire network operates with near-
zero network latency, even over very long cable
runs. MOTU’s AVB implementation allows you to
stream hundreds of audio channels among devices
and computers on the network with guaranteed
Quality of Service (QoS), prioritizing audio
streams over less important traffic.
Matrix routing and multing
The 8A provides completely flexible matrix-style
audio routing and multing. You can route any
analog or digital input, computer channel, or
network stream to any other output, computer, or
network device. You can also mult any single input
to unlimited multiple output destinations.
Web app control
You can control the 8A’s on-board DSP, mixing,
device settings, clock/sync settings and network
audio routing from the MOTU Pro Audio Control
web app software running in your favorite browser
on a laptop, tablet or smart phone. Multiple devices
can be used simultaneously on a shared Wi-Fi
network to access any audio interface settings.
Optional password protection prevents
unauthorized access from the network.
Stand-alone mixing with wireless control
If you connect the 8A to an Apple Airport or other
Wi-Fi router with a standard Ethernet cable, you
can control its powerful mixing and DSP effects
from your smart phone or tablet, without a
computer — great for live sound mixing from your
iPad, tablet, or other wireless device.
ADAT digital input
The 8A provides 8-channel optical digital I/O.
Connect outboard digital processors, digital
mixers or other gear: 8 channels at 44.1/48 kHz or
4 channels at 88.2/96 kHz. Alternately, the optical
ports can be independently configured to support
stereo TOSLink (optical S/PDIF).
Comprehensive metering
The color LCD displays all signal activity at a
glance with detailed metering for all I/O. You can
access many hardware settings directly from the
front panel.
Headphone output
The 8A front panel provides an independent
headphone jack with separate volume control. You
can program the phones to mirror another set of
outputs or act as its own independent output.
Precision Digital Trim™
Analog inputs are equipped with digitally
controlled analog trims, adjustable in 1 dB
increments. Analog outputs offer 32-bit trim in the