Antelope Audio Zen Go VS Motu Ultralite Mk5

today we're taking a look at two top tier audio interfaces in the 500 ballpark we'll compare specs do a vocal test a latency test look at these similarities and the differences not to determine which one is better but which one may be better for you let's roll that intro [Music] what's up youtube universe this is jacob dark and if you're new here i'm somebody who's always trying to get my hands on the latest gear to test review and give my opinion to help everyday people just like me make that final purchase decision if you find today's video helpful and want to support this channel you can do so by using the links in the description now let's not waste any more time and get into today's video the main differences you'll find between the two is that the zengo is made in a desktop friendly format with controls on top and is easy to transport it's lightweight with a small footprint but has a metal body which can most likely handle some abuse the ultralight mark v on the other hand is heavy and has a steel and cast aluminum body which is clearly more tailored to those who won't do much traveling as it also has optional rack ears for mounting the knobs on the mode 2 are easy to grip and weighted however i would have preferred a big knob here as the volume knob is kind of in an awkward spot where the mic pre one knob and any headphone cord you might have plugged in can get in the way the xengo shines here with its big knob on top of the unit that's impossible to miss making it easy to work in the dark while the zengo has a nice led display which shows your input output and spdif levels the ultralight mark v when a step above with an oled display which is crystal clear and accurate and hopefully won't burn in over time the zengo is usbc powered which means there's a potential to introduce some bus noise while the mo 2 needs to be plugged into the wall which means you'll need another outlet if you have a desktop setup and plan to be mobile the zengo is probably the way to go while the mo 2 is great for anyone who's stationary and may want to put it in a rack [Music] both units have two mic pre-line inputs both are usbc both have spdif ins and outs and well the only spot where the zen go wins here is with the extra mirrored rca outputs and having two headphone outputs while the ultra light has one from here on it's a runaway for mode two in addition to what's been mentioned you're also getting midi in and out adat in and out 10 line outs and six line inputs for an extra 95 dollars you're getting all the connectivity you could ever need in future proofing your setup does that mean game over mo 2 wins not exactly we'll talk about the huge advantage the zengo has over the mo 2 a little later in the video the zengo has up to 65 db gain while the mo 2 has 74 db both units deliver clean transparent gain which means you're not likely to notice much of a difference here in fact you're more likely to hear the character of the mic that you're using than any character these pres might introduce with so much gain both units can handle hungry mics like the sm-7b without the need for a cloud lifter either way you're set but as i do in every video let's do a vocal test what you're hearing right now is the sm7b plugged into the mo 2 ultralight mark v and what you're hearing now is the warm audio wa87r2 into the zengo i realize that the characters of the mic are going to be so substantial it might take away from the preamp comparison but i wanted to show that regardless of which mic or interface you choose you're going to get a clean signal so it was either due to takes which are going to sound different anyway or do the same take using two different mics because that's what i have and see what we get before we move on to converters let's compare latency [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the mo 2 uses ess saber 32 with a line out dynamic range of 125 db while the zen go uses their 64-bit acoustically focused clocking technology and has a dynamic range of 127 db honestly in this day and age we're spoiled when it comes to converter quality i started out with a tascam porta studio mark ii recording on cassette so you can imagine just how drastic the change has been either way you go you're going to get professional results remember i mentioned that huge advantage the zengo has over the mode too let's talk about it the ultralight mark 5 comes with qmix 5 which allows you to set up your routing options create custom mixes and add simple eq compression and reverb once installed it's simple plug and play and honestly i like not having to mess around with the control panel but now it's time for the zen go to shine if you happen to have a compatible antelope microphone you get mic modeling options which give the microphone different characteristics and emulate different popular legendary microphones one microphone now becomes a locker with each preset you choose changing the way your mic behaves but in my opinion the real value of the antelope environment is using the suite of synergy core fx which you can dial in real time as you record you get 37 of them included with the zen go including a poltec eq clone and 1176 compressor using these effects allows you to have a virtual channel strip at your disposal which uses the dsp chip in the interface so you don't have to put any more strain on your computer if your long-term goals don't include spending thousands of dollars on outboard gear the zen go makes sense [Music] as i said you're going to get professional results no matter which way you go it really comes down to what you want if you plan to be mobile and you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on analog gear but you still want that analog environment well the effects with these zen go can help you create that without the need for all that external gear on the other hand if you want to spend thousands of dollars and build around your interface and add preamps and compressors and all those good things over time then the motu may be the option for you either way you go you're going to be set and quality will not be an issue that's going to do it for today so as always be sure to hit that subscribe button and that notification bell so you can be alerted each time i upload more content so until next time thank you for watching stay tuned and have a great day

Channel: Jacob Dark

Views: 2,731

Rating: 4.909091 out of 5

Keywords: motu, motu ultralite, motu ultralite mk5, motu ultralite mk5 review, motu ultralite mk5 unboxing, audio interface, best audio interface, ultralite, ultralite mk5, ultralite mk5 review, antelope audio, antelope audio zen go, antelope audio synergy core, synergy core, antelope zen go, antelope zen, antelope audio zen, zen go review, zen go, zen go interface, best interface, usb interface, motu vs antelope, which interface, best interface 2021, cuemix 5, synergy core fx

Id: S1CNiLcaqOY

Length: 8min 57sec (537 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 02 2021