MOTU 112D Audio Interface
MOTU·Model 112D·motu-112d
Photos
Manufacturer product photography — the drawn faceplate above stays true to panel layout; these show the hardware itself.
About the MOTU 112D
The MOTU 112D is a digital routing powerhouse that bridges virtually every digital audio format in a single 1UThe standard slice of rack height: 1U = 1.75″. A 3U box takes three slices; half-rack gear pairs two units side by side in one. box: MADIA pro digital format carrying 64 channels on one coax or optical cable. Point-to-point — one sender, one receiver, no network required. (64 channels), three banks of ADATOptical digital audio: 8 channels at 48 kHz down one Toslink lightpipe (4 at 96 kHz). The usual way to add more channels to an interface. (24 channels), and AES/EBUThe pro standard for stereo digital audio over an XLR cable — balanced, so it runs much farther than consumer S/PDIF., all accessible via Thunderbolt, USB, or AVBAudio Video Bridging — open network audio (MOTU, PreSonus) where the switch reserves bandwidth so streams can’t glitch. Milan is its pro profile. networking. It is designed for complex rigs where multiple digital formats need to coexist, such as connecting a MADI-equipped console to DanteThe most common audio-over-network standard: dozens of channels of uncompressed digital audio down one ordinary Ethernet cable between Dante boxes./AVB infrastructure or archiving to ADAT-based recorders. The 48-input DSPDigital Signal Processing — the number-crunching that does EQ, compression, and effects inside a box. More DSP means more processing at once. mixer adds flexible internal routing without touching the host.
The MOTU 112D is the digital format translator you reach for when your rig has to speak more than one language. In a single 1UThe standard slice of rack height: 1U = 1.75″. A 3U box takes three slices; half-rack gear pairs two units side by side in one. box it handles MADIA pro digital format carrying 64 channels on one coax or optical cable. Point-to-point — one sender, one receiver, no network required. over BNCThe twist-lock coax connector used for word clock and antenna runs — it locks, so it can’t be pulled out mid-show., AES/EBUThe pro standard for stereo digital audio over an XLR cable — balanced, so it runs much farther than consumer S/PDIF. on XLRThe standard 3-pin locking connector for mics and balanced line signals — pin 1 is the shield, pins 2 and 3 carry the balanced pair., ADATOptical digital audio: 8 channels at 48 kHz down one Toslink lightpipe (4 at 96 kHz). The usual way to add more channels to an interface. on optical, and AVBAudio Video Bridging — open network audio (MOTU, PreSonus) where the switch reserves bandwidth so streams can’t glitch. Milan is its pro profile. over standard Ethernet, while simultaneously connecting to a host computer via Thunderbolt or USB-C. That combination is rare. Most interfaces commit to one or two digital worlds; the 112D sits at the center of all of them, making it a natural hub for complex touring or fixed-install rigs where a MADI console, an AVB network, and a DAWDigital Audio Workstation — the recording and playback software (Logic, Ableton Live, Pro Tools) at the center of a computer rig.-based playback system all need to talk to each other without a pile of format convertersThe circuitry that turns analog audio into digital data and back (A/D and D/A). Converter quality sets a digital rig’s sound ceiling..
At load-in, that port count becomes leverage. You can clock the whole system from the 112D's word clockThe shared heartbeat keeping every digital box sampling in lockstep. One device leads, the rest follow — or you get clicks and pops. output, feed a MADIA pro digital format carrying 64 channels on one coax or optical cable. Point-to-point — one sender, one receiver, no network required. split to a redundantA second copy of anything critical — supply, computer, network path — already running so one failure can’t stop the show. console, pull stemsSub-mixes of a session grouped by instrument (drums, keys, vocals) — how playback rigs run tracks with live control over each group. from a laptop over Thunderbolt, and route monitor sends out over AVBAudio Video Bridging — open network audio (MOTU, PreSonus) where the switch reserves bandwidth so streams can’t glitch. Milan is its pro profile. to a remote stage boxThe I/O endpoint on stage: mics plug in there and one digital line (AES50, Dante) carries everything to the console. The snake, digitized. — all simultaneously, all in one rack space drawing at most 40 watts. The onboard 48-input DSPDigital Signal Processing — the number-crunching that does EQ, compression, and effects inside a box. More DSP means more processing at once. mixer means you can build internal routing that survives a laptop hiccup, which matters when you're the only thing standing between the band and silence. At 2.9 kg and 229 mm deep it fits without drama in a shallow pull-out rack drawer if needed.
This unit is built for engineers who have already decided on a multi-format digital infrastructure and need one device to knit it together — a monitor engineer bridging a MADIA pro digital format carrying 64 channels on one coax or optical cable. Point-to-point — one sender, one receiver, no network required. split into an AVBAudio Video Bridging — open network audio (MOTU, PreSonus) where the switch reserves bandwidth so streams can’t glitch. Milan is its pro profile. IEMIn-Ear Monitor — earpieces that replace floor wedges, feeding each player their own mix. The reason this whole rack exists. system, a playback operator feeding multiple console formats from one machine, or a systems tech consolidating a cluttered converterThe circuitry that turns analog audio into digital data and back (A/D and D/A). Converter quality sets a digital rig’s sound ceiling. shelf. It is not the right call if you need analog I/O, even a single mic pre; the 112D is purely digital in and out. If your rig is straightforward — one console format, one DAWDigital Audio Workstation — the recording and playback software (Logic, Ableton Live, Pro Tools) at the center of a computer rig. connection — a simpler interface will cost less and add less complexity. But if the cable run between your systems already reads like a format soup, this is the box that cleans it up.
In the rack
- Make the 112D your system clock master and run word clockThe shared heartbeat keeping every digital box sampling in lockstep. One device leads, the rest follow — or you get clicks and pops. out to every other device in the rack — its BNCThe twist-lock coax connector used for word clock and antenna runs — it locks, so it can’t be pulled out mid-show. word clock output is there for exactly this, and having one authoritative source eliminates the sample-rate negotiation headaches that plague multi-format rigs.
- If you're running AVBAudio Video Bridging — open network audio (MOTU, PreSonus) where the switch reserves bandwidth so streams can’t glitch. Milan is its pro profile. alongside MADIA pro digital format carrying 64 channels on one coax or optical cable. Point-to-point — one sender, one receiver, no network required., use a dedicated managed switchA network switch you can configure — VLANs, QoS, IGMP — so audio traffic gets priority. Dante rigs beyond a few boxes want one. between the 112D's two AVB ports and your network — consumer-grade switches won't honor AVB's precision timing protocol and you'll get glitches that are maddening to diagnose mid-show.
- Map your internal DSPDigital Signal Processing — the number-crunching that does EQ, compression, and effects inside a box. More DSP means more processing at once. mixer routing before doors and save it as a standalone preset; if the host computer goes offline for any reason, the 112D can continue passing audio between its hardware ports without the computer in the loop, which is a useful emergency fallback to rehearse.
- Label both BNCThe twist-lock coax connector used for word clock and antenna runs — it locks, so it can’t be pulled out mid-show. pairs clearly at patch time — MADIA pro digital format carrying 64 channels on one coax or optical cable. Point-to-point — one sender, one receiver, no network required. and word clockThe shared heartbeat keeping every digital box sampling in lockstep. One device leads, the rest follow — or you get clicks and pops. both live on BNC connectors and the connectors sit close together on the rear panel. A wrong patch under pressure at load-in will cost you more time than the label takes.
112-ch digital interface. Thunderbolt/USB/AVBAudio Video Bridging — open network audio (MOTU, PreSonus) where the switch reserves bandwidth so streams can’t glitch. Milan is its pro profile. with ADATOptical digital audio: 8 channels at 48 kHz down one Toslink lightpipe (4 at 96 kHz). The usual way to add more channels to an interface., AES/EBUThe pro standard for stereo digital audio over an XLR cable — balanced, so it runs much farther than consumer S/PDIF., and MADIA pro digital format carrying 64 channels on one coax or optical cable. Point-to-point — one sender, one receiver, no network required..
I/O Ports (13)
| Port | Connector | Direction | Signal | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MADI In (BNC) | MADI BNC | input | digital audio | — |
| MADI Out (BNC) | MADI BNC | output | digital audio | — |
| AES/EBU In 1 (XLR) | AES3 XLR | input | digital audio | — |
| AES/EBU In 2 (XLR) | AES3 XLR | input | digital audio | — |
| AES/EBU Out 1 (XLR) | AES3 XLR | output | digital audio | — |
| AES/EBU Out 2 (XLR) | AES3 XLR | output | digital audio | — |
| AVB Network 1 (RJ45) | RJ45 | bidirectional | digital audio | — |
| AVB Network 2 (RJ45) | RJ45 | bidirectional | digital audio | — |
| Thunderbolt | THUNDERBOLT | bidirectional | data | — |
| USB-C | USB C | bidirectional | data | — |
| Word Clock In (BNC) | BNC | input | digital audio | — |
| Word Clock Out (BNC) | BNC | output | digital audio | — |
- Power (IEC) (IEC C14)
Deciding between two?
Rack space, watts, weight and every connector, side by side.
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