This guy gives the most efficient reviews. No messing around. Straight to the point in every feature.

I’ve owned the M4 for about 6 months now and it’s incredible. I can’t believe this interface sounds so good and has all these features for such a low price. The preamps are loud and clean. Loopback feature is super useful too.

Short story: I started looking for a new interface that wouldn’t break the bank about 2 months ago. When I saw the M4 on Sweetwater’s website I knew the search was over. Thank you Mitch & team for providing a solid overview video- even if I watched it after ordering ;) When I was first getting into studios it was MOTU everything. Since then I have seen a lot of other companies build on massive PR campaigns and offer over hyped overpriced gear to pay for it. I have used a few less expensive Audio Interfaces over the past few years just as a way to get my ideas recorded, and have been underwhelmed as everyone is selling the same thing with a different coat of paint.

Bought the first unit that came into my local music store after checking every day for a month and it is absolutely fantastic !! Love using the loopback feature to sample into Maschine !!

I was going to pick up a Scarlett but now I'm going to get one of these because I see such positivity and support in the comments from the company that makes these. When people have issues and they voice them in the comment section they often reply themselves. In this day and age of Silent companies well that matters to me.

The M2 is the best $150 interface by far. The ESS Sabre32 DACs are incredible! The headphone output is loud. The 5-pin MIDI connectors and the life saving Loopback feature put this interface so far ahead of the class it’s not even close. Long live MOTU!

This thing kills all other audio interfaces on this price range... Im sold!

Buying one of these ASAP, nothing but great reviews, ratings and specs on this little gem.

Great, I just found my new USB audio interface.

awesome! i had a MK2 years ago, one of the only pieces of gear i regret having to sell. nice that i can get back into motu for short change. :D

If they offered an M6, M8 or M10 in this format, I would consider buying it.

Just ordered one recently! Can't wait to get it

Great review. I saw this when I ordered my M4 and my son bought the M2. We use GarageBand with these on our Macs and they work really well! Sorry I didn't do a review sooner!

Great review and simple and straightforward explanation of the features. I have a couple of questions, though. I realise that this video was released more than two years ago, I just wondered if the MOTU M2 and M4 are supported on the latest M1 / Apple Silicon MacBooks yet (and by extension macOS Monterey)? Second question (and apologies if it's been covered elsewhere) the second pair of outputs 3 & 4, are these independent of the main outs 1 & 2 i.e not a duplicate? I have a use-case where I'd like to configure 3 and 4 as hardware effects sends out of my DAW (Reaper). Thanks in advance!

Yay for the software improvement!!🤘🏻

Was about to go with the focusrite Scarlett 2x12 but I think I just found my new audio interface

Thanks Mitch... but I really wanted to see the back panels:)

I take it there is no independent hardware volume control for input 3&4 to the monitor output so you use it as a line and microphone standalone mixer?

Great review!!!

Now, THAT'S a Review!!!!!

I already have this interface but I watch these reviews to validate my purchases even more lol.

Had my 2nd gen scarlet for about 5 years, still works fine but thinking about upgrading, hopefully this is a good replacement for it

Just ordered an M2!

Hi Mitch how ya doing? long time no see! Great video well explained! The only thing wrong? next time give the product a quick wipe down to get all the styrofoam and dust off. "Presentation is everything" or so I'm told lol :)

Sound pretty cool

This is very unique!

With these being USB audio class complaint that means they'll also work on Linux. I like being able to select phantom power on each channel.

Love MOTU

I feel like Mitch, Don, and "the Brit guy" are my friends even though I never met them. ;)

For a Neumann TLM-103, which is a better fit... Scarlett solo 3rd gen or Motu M2? Thanks!

How about the A/D side? ESS Sabre32 Ultra as well? Pre's usable?

Hi, I'm António Filipe from Portugal I follow your channel since 2018, I love the tone as you do your reviews. I saw your review on the Motu M2 sound interface, the Shuer SM7B microphone with the Fethead applicator and ended up buying them. I connected the Shuer SM7B microphone (+ the fethead) and my Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 250 headphones to the Motu M2 sound interface, installed the driver, and was able to record and listen to Adobe Audition, however when I'm not recording (and even recording) no sound comes out of the headphones. What am I doing wrong? Shouldn't sound come out of the headphones at the time of recording? Thank you very much and continued success with your wonderful channel.

Thanks for mentioning usb class compliant, I was wondering about that topic. That means this will work on Linux out of the box.

Nice review and thanks for it! I have a question, on the M4 are the input 3 and 4 always linked as a stereo pair or could they be used as 2 separate mono input?

Extremly good information. I wonder why not 3.5mm input jacks are available. The whole world of synths and external gear in the meanwhile is 3.5 mm stereo jack/plug oriented. I know this is an issue for 99% of all usb audio interfaces in the world until today in 2022 with the exception of the TX-6 from Teenage engineering which has 6 stereo, means 12 channels in a 3.5mm hw format.

Thanks for your review of the Motu M2! Question please. I recently bought the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 3rd Gen audio mixer for $229. Do you think the comparable Motu M4 mixer for $219 is "better" than the the Scarlett 4i4 in terms of feature set and audio quality? The Scarlett 4i4 does have a Loopback feature via the Focusrite Control app so I don't know if that makes any difference to you (the Scarlett 2i2 doesn't have that, I don't think). Also the Scarlett 4i4 has the "Air" feature. Anyway, I'm within the return policy period for my Scarlett purchase so I can exchange for the Motu M2 or M4 units. But unfortunately, both of those Motu mixers are out of stock and back ordered everywhere, so maybe this is a moot point? I'm using the Shure SM58 mics and the Audio Technica AT2005 mics (both dynamic mics) so I don't know if that makes any difference. But I notice if I crank up the gain dial on the Scarlett 4i4 mixer to maximum, there is positively a noticeable humming/hissing background noise. If I crank up the gain dial to maximum on the Motu mixer, will it produce the same amount of background humming/hissing noise compared to the Scarlett mixer? Your thoughts on this?

much love mitch.😃you are one by one sorting my core confusions ,you have at it like no other into the light, focus and understanding catylising my knoledge.concise inspired🐀🐁

Many interfaces promise very low latency, but once you decrease the samples to anything lower than 128, many of them start acting up. There is no way to really know how low latency you really can get. I know it depends on your computer, but a standard for an apples to apples comparison would be pretty cool. Glenn Fricker from spectre sound studios compared 5 sub-$200 interfaces and showed first hand that some perform way better than others.

I don't know what audio interface you are using to record your videos but that blows everything else out of the water. One other thing is I wished to see the Motu 4 in action with different settings but I haven't.

How does this compare to Audient and PreSonus?

Is the input monitor mix worth the extra $70? Could't you add a gain plugin on the vocal track to adjust?

Wonder if it will work on a M1 MacBook Pro? As I understand, this can either be used for recording into a DAW or stand alone without the computer with an external USB C charger. What kind of power would the external charger require to use this stand alone? I wish they had built in the DC input for stand alone use into the unit itself so that one could have used it stand alone as well as keep a permanent connection to the DAW through the USB C port. Kind of like the MOTU 828MK3 Hybrid that I had some years back. This is the one of the main reasons preventing me from buying this. I do have Apogee Element 88 and 46 but those don't work with the M1 for now and the driver update is only expected in July-August from Apogee. Plus the Apogee Elements don't have a stand alone mode and have to be connected to the DAW always to get sound. That's one of the biggest drawbacks of the Apogee Element units in my view. What other dual purpose Audio Interfaces/ stand alone mixer combinations are available?

THANKS for this review!!!!!! I'm thinking about replacing my "old" Motu audio express with the M4 model, would I have the same audio quality? Do these new devices use the same preamps (or even better)?

is there a way to monitor output 3-4 on the headphones on motu m4

Are these like the 3rd generation Scarlett where they can go from USB-C to USB2?

My old m-audio omni i/o interface had 2 simple and responsive light diode to indicate audio signal and clipping. I don't know why no one does that anymore, but I would have thought it'd be easier to do with LED. These visual display levels could be better for all I know.

Thanks.

I love my M2. I can record into my DAW with no latency and clear sound with no noise. The headphone output also has no latency and sounds super clear.

So this will be powered by the ipad pro (USB-C) and function as expected? Or will it need an additional power source via a hub of some sort...

For my M2, when plugged into the 1L input (XLR or instrument cable), the left channel's audio is significantly higher than the right channel's audio, no matter if 1) MON is not pressed, 2) MON is pressed, or 3) MON is held so there's a blue bar. How do I fix this? I use a Mac fyi.

Can someone recommend a Y-cable to use the M2 stand-alone and as a computer interface? However, an optional power supply would be nice.

the Loopback feature will save you US$99 for Loopback software to livestream or teleconferencing.

How is the software bundle package on these interfaces?

Hi there ! I see that in the package a USB-C to USB-A cable is included. And I am wondering if I could use a USB-C to USB-C cable to use this sound card ? Since I would like to free up a USB-A port on my laptop when using this. Thanks !

I'm buying this.

Do the 1/4 inch line-ins go straight to converters (no preamp circuit)? It has RCA outs...forgive my inexperience with these, can, say an FMR RNC get patched into this interface?

Could I go M2>USB hub (via USB C-3.0 cable)>iPad Pro? I'm trying to avoid a silly dongle as well as maintain power delivery to the iPad itself... Thanks!

How would you say an audio interface like one of these compares to say, a zoom H5 or an H6? If you had to rank a MOTU M2 on a scale of 1-10, and then rank the H5, where would they be? I have a cheap behringer (~$90) at home but I find myself using the H5 for just about everything these days. However, I'm very new to this and don't know if that's silly or not.

My old M-Audio Delta series interface finally gave up the ghost so looking for something to replace it. With the M2 could I listen to KZfaq vids and play along with a guitar running through a DAW at the same time?

Like it.

Would I be able to plug this into an iPad (with lightning connection w/USB Camera dongle) and record a live stream from Skype and my own out of XLR mic on 2 separate tracks?

So what can I plug into the 3rd and 4th input on the m4? The idea would be to use two mics up front and two (acoustic) guitars through the back. Is that doable straight up with how the interface is set up? otherwise I think I saw a comment somewhere where you would just have to put another preamp between your instrument and that line in. Any info would be helpful!

Can you use this on the 2020 ipad pro with two mics for a podcast?

I'm having trouble with the Audient EVO 8. With WA-87 R2 LD condensor mic -- not getting full level even with preamp the maxed out The headphone level into my earbuds is low and the sound is full of hiss! Was thinking of returning for MOTU M2. Advice?

Great video, I am interested in the MOTU M4, but how do I connect 2 mics + 2 instruments (input 1-4) at the same time?

Finally Made in USA

My iPad has only got a lighting port, will this unit work ok if I get a lighting to USB c cable...will it get enough power from the iPad ?

Which one do you think is best for MOTU M2or FOCUSRITE Scarlett 2i2 3 rd gen

I really need to know where i can find something to explain how i can update the firmware on my motu M4, because the software they provide on their website does not detect my motu m4, only the basic quality software under motu m series, and with that software you do not have the firmware update option.

Will the MOTU work with OS 10.9.5? Thats the deciding factor on whether or not I'll get it. Otherwise, I'll get the Audient ID14 because it supports 10.9.5.. Really wanted this interface too but don't think it supports my OS (I record my music on an older OS because quite a few of my really old plugins aren't supported by the latest OS).

Is this good and compatible with gig performer,?

Do you really need the mix knob on the M4 to hear currently recorded DAW tracks while you are adding new ones?

what kind of headphones should I buy for these units? 32, 80 or 250 ohms? :)

do you have apollo usb mk2?

These are amazing. U bai.

Will the loopback function offer the output of a 2ch downmix of the computer (coming in through USB) and the other channels (coming in through XLR)? Or do I have to mix them in the DAW software?

How well does the M Series work with Logic Pro X...would you recommend it?

Is there advantage for using an interface simply for monitoring my edits’ audio (through headphones)? I don’t have a need for recording through it, just yet anyway. LoL Glad I found this option to consider before making a purchase.

Hello! Do you Guys think it’s compatible with iPad Pro 2018 equipped with USB c port ? Should I expect any issues? All the best.

Should i go for the m4 just for the direct monitoring mix knob?? Or can that thing be done in the software itself for the m2, I'm confused between m2 and m4,and the maybe the mix knob is the deciding factor,would love to know your opinion

Hi, two questions: can the interface handle 600 ohms headphones?, and... does it has enough power for an sm7b mic?, thanks!

Would this be a good first audio interface??

What is the best audio interface Motu m2 or Audient id14? Please help me to choose! 🙏

I know these are desktop interfaces but I would love to get my M4 into my rack.

2.5ms of latency round-trip, but at what settings? What is the sample rate for that latency result?

The input-monitor knob, Is It possible to control on the m2 via software?

Question about the M4: How do I regulate the gain for the two line input channels on the back? I only see knobs to regulate gain for the two combination inputs, but not for the two line ins in the back...

Can this connect to an iPad Pro with the USB C cable?

Loop back feature? Is it like virtual channels in apollo console?

Hey there! Will this interface work correctly and offer all its low latency advantages with the Acoustica Mixcraft DAW? Thanks!!!

HI, The M4 has the "Input/Playback" mix knob, as the M2 doesn't have the knob, is it controlled/adjusted in software on your PC?

Can i connect the m4 to the American Audio DB display mkII?

What is being monitored on headphones on the m4? Is it out 1-2 or 3-4 or is it switchable?

It is preferable to have a separate and dedicated power input.

And the sound tests?

whats better: motu m2 or focusrite clarett pre2 usb? headphones amplifier, mic preamp mainly talking bout

Is it possible to toggle monitoring between stereo and mono to check your mix in mono.?

where can you switch between the line-level and instrument (hi-z) input?

M2 or Audient ID14? I will just want a nice DI input to record guitars without having a di box.

Will this connect directly into my MacBook m1 2021 14inch ?