Differences between 816c and MR816x

Steinberg Hardware UR-C Series
1

So, I’m disappointed that support is ending for my bulletproof MR816x.

In general, I’m curious what the differences are, aside from the FireWire vs USBc connections.

Specifically - does a line in bypass the pres and go straight to the converters now, where the MR816 did not?

I know the DSP includes the RevX reverb, like the MR816x and the sweet spot morphing channel strip like the MR816CX.

Are the converters the same or better?

Are there any quality compromises given that the 816c is less expensive than the MR816 was, and the UR824 currently is?

My current processor is an Intel Pentium G3220 at 3ghz. Spec wise, it seems right on par with the i3 3220 processors. Will that be okay?

Thanks!
Chris

2

Well, I took a chance and pulled the trigger. It arrived today. Although I have not yet set it up, I have given it a good look-over and spent some time with the manual.

In case anyone else is following along:

  1. +48v phantom power no longer selectable on each channel. Now either on or off for channels 1-4 and either on or off for channels 5-8.
  2. Pad function no longer selectable individually on each channel. Now, just individually on channels 1-4. There is no pad function for channels 5-8.
  3. Rear connectors on back: Lost S/PDIF in/out. Gained Midi in/out.
  4. If the “loop-back” function means what I think it does (being able to record source music from your PC into Cubase without fiddling with connecting outputs back into inputs, etc.), then this is a nice additional feature.
  5. No more “push button” integration with Cubase. Although a neat idea, it was one that I never really used that much myself.
  6. It appears (just from manual reading) that the functionality for adding monitoring FX has been simplified and streamlined.

I’ll report more later once I’ve tried it out.

Has anyone been able to determine yet if the line-ins on the combo jacks bypass the preamps and go straight to the converters, or if the signal still passes through the preamp first?

CT

3

The optical in/out ports on the back are switchable between S/PDIF and ADAT (in case you need them…)

4

They can, but with the MR816X, you had adat via toslink connectors and spdif via coaxial connectors and could use both simultaneously.

I guess I should have said “lost spdif functionality via coaxial connectors.”

With the new devices, you could use spdif but at the cost of abandoning Adat and requiring new fancy cables.

5

If you look in the manual at the BLOCK diagram you can see that the AD converter is AFTER the gain of the input.

6

Hey there,

Thanks for confirming that. I’m not that good with block diagrams, but I was fairly sure that’s what I was seeing.

7

I’ve waded a little more into the pool here…

Stability - seems fantastic. Loading up current projects in process and they’re all handling very well.

Nice add: The sweet spot morphing channel strip was part of the MR816CSX but not the 816X. It is now standard in all of the UR-C series interfaces, apparently.

Nice add: standard midi I/O. Was a shocking oversight on the MR816 interface.

Quirk that takes getting used to: The MR816 interfaces came with an app called MR Editor. This is what you used when you were NOT using Cubase. When using Cubase, MR Editor was basically redundant as Cubase could do everything.

The new interface comes with DSP-MIX-FX, another app. It is NOT AT ALL the same thing. It is REQUIRED for a lot of routing needs between the UR816 and Cubase. (Ex. Routing to the headphone jacks on the front of the unit).

Shocking oversight: It seems that being able to monitor with REV-X reverb on the input bus has been much more nicely integrated than in the past. EXCEPT - it seems that this can NOT be done when Control Room is enabled. WHHHHAAAATTT?!!!