I believe this was one of the first consumer oriented external firewire devices on the market. It originally sold mail order for $800.00. I bought mine around 2001 or 2002 and am still happily using it (2008) to record onto my home computer. It features two preamp inputs with individual adjustable gain with phantom power switch and XLR or 1/4 inch inputs, 6 more balanced inputs with 1/4 inch jacks and level controls for each pair of two, LED in/out lights, headphone jack, master volume level knob, monitor level knob, stereo main out jacks, 8 individual balanced out jacks and some optical and Adat jack options I don't use or know much about. It has 24 bit 64 and 128 oversampling converters. It has a software control panel that is easy to use.

UTILIZATION

I have installed this on two different Macintosh computers and have never had any difficulty whatsoever with the installation or functionality. The manual is clear.

GETTING STARTED

I have never had any issue with the Motu 828 except that often when I turn it on the clock does not sink up with the computer and the clock lights continue to flash. This requires me to turn off the Moto 828 and turn it back on again. The second time I turn it on it always sinks right up to the computer. My drivers are updated and I have had this issue with 2 different computers each running Tiger OSX. I have no idea if this issue is peculiar to me or an issue with Tiger or a characteristic of the unit. It is annoying but not terribly bad. I use the 828 with Logic software.

OVERALL OPINION

The Motu 828 sounds great to me! I don't hear any negative coloration of the sound whatsoever. I don't have a lot of experience with soundcards but it sounds professional to me. It sounds better that my Tascam US-122. I don't know how it compares to the newer products but overall it is a great product and I've been very happy with it.