MOTU · Pro · Thunderbolt · From 2014
MOTU launched the 1248 in July 2014 with the 8M and 16A, a trio of Thunderbolt interfaces built around AVB, the Ethernet audio-networking standard that lets you add another MOTU box with one network cable. The 1248 was the flagship. It has four XLR mic preamps on the back with 63 dB of gain, two front hi-Z guitar inputs, eight line ins, twelve balanced outs including separate main and monitor pairs, two headphone jacks, 16 channels of ADAT, S/PDIF with sample-rate conversion, and word clock. MOTU quoted 123 dB of dynamic range on the outputs, and its 48-channel DSP mixer, with an LA-2A-style compressor and British-style EQ, runs in a web browser. It connects over Thunderbolt or USB 2.0, and there's no MIDI. Pick it for lots of line I/O and four preamps in one rack space.
In the photos
The 1248 is a single rack space with a long backlit LCD meter bridge, MAIN, MONITOR and two phones knobs, two guitar jacks and four mic gain knobs with their own 48V and pad buttons. Its siblings share the look, so count the inputs: the 8M has eight mic inputs and the 16A has sixteen line ins and outs with no preamps. The 828es and 8pre-es have two color LCDs and a talkback mic instead.
Mac and Windows
Over USB it's class compliant on a Mac. MOTU's Pro Audio installer for Mac (March 2026) supports macOS 12 through macOS 26 on Apple silicon and Intel, an older build covers macOS 10.13 to 10.15, and the Windows installer (January 2023) covers Windows 10 and 11 64-bit with ASIO drivers for USB and Thunderbolt (MOTU added Windows Thunderbolt support in 2016). MOTU lists the 1248 as compatible with macOS Tahoe and macOS Golden Gate.
Power, cables and licences
Check the listing photos against this list, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. A missing power supply or a licence that won’t transfer should come off the price.
We found no documented hardware fault pattern. Sound On Sound's review called the browser-based mixer slow to switch pages, and noted it has no MIDI, monitor control or talkback features.
Buying your first one? How to pick a first used interface covers inputs, mic gain and drivers, and the power supply guide covers which ones need their adapter.
Buying guide
Only three 1248s are for sale on eBay US today, so the $820–1,380 delivered they ask isn't a market read. We'd buy the one with its original box at $849 with free shipping from a 99.9% seller, or the $820 one with Best Offer if you don't need the box. The supply is built in, so any standard IEC mains cord runs it, and USB 2.0 works on any current Mac or PC, while Thunderbolt on a USB-C Mac needs Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, which no title here includes. Count four mic gain knobs and two guitar jacks on the front in the photos, which separate it from the 8M and 16A, and ask for a video turning each gain knob with a mic connected. Skip the $1,380 one titled as a 4 channel microphone preamplifier, which asks about $530 more than the boxed unit with nothing extra named.
$820.00delivered
The lowest-priced 1248 here at $820 with free shipping and Best Offer, from a 100% seller. The photo shows it racked with other gear, and the title names no mains cord or cables, so ask what ships with it.
MOTU 1248 Rack Mountable Thunderbolt/USB Audio Interface
$849.00delivered
Sold with its original box at $849 with free shipping from a 99.9% seller, only $29 more than the cheapest. No mains cord is named, but any standard IEC cord runs it.
Motu 1248 Thunderbolt / USB2 Pro Audio Interface 32 in / 32 out - Original Box
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 14, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Snapshot
Checked . Some may have sold.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 14, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Used$820.00delivered
$820.00 · free shipping
Buy It Now$820.00
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
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Good buy
Racked with other gear in the photo. No cord or cables named.
Seller: concertistafredie
100% positive
Used$849.00delivered
$849.00 · free shipping
Buy It Now$849.00
Good buy
With the original box. No cord or cables named.
Seller: bloomplus2011
99.9% positive
Used$1,379.95est. delivered
$1,349.95 + $30.00 shipping
Buy It Now$1,349.95
Priced high
Seller's title calls it a 4 channel mic preamp. Asks about $530 more than the boxed one.
Seller: wolfnsx
99% positive
Prices change daily. The live eBay search shows everything listed now, including anything new since Oct 14, 2026.
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