MOTU M4 3-stars Reviews

Headphones only monitor 1-2

It is really disappointing that the headphone socket on the front only monitors outputs 1-2 and there is no hardware option to monitor outputs 3-4 so really this interface isn’t particularly flexible for live situations. Cable supplied was usb A to usb C, so again a bit frustrating would have preferred c-c as the interface outputs on c. Sounds good though. So a game of two halves.

Great audio interface but with it's cons

This interface is basically only choice I can make on market when I was looking for

Type-C usb powereded + Midi I/O + 2 stereo out + 2 stereo in configuration.

And I must say - MOTU made great hardware job on that one!

PROS:

- Rock solid, i'm not afraid to take it in my backpack.

- LCD screen is very neat and nice to watch

- Love knobs and combo jacks!

- Sound quality is great

CONS:

- Line-In range input on rear panel (channels 3,4) is NOT complying with conventional +4dBu. Instead it's somewhere around +12dBu. If you plug FX unit or anything else that has +4dBu output to that input, you will hear get very weak signal, somewhat 8dB below full range. Hence, in Ableton, even adding +6dB from mixer panel won't get you full range. And you cannot adjust it.

Losing two stars for me at this, because I have to plug in line-level devices to channels 1 and 2 and set gain with knobs instead.