Enter to Win a $8000 PA System!

MOTU M4 4x4 USB-C Audio Interface

4-in/4-out USB-C Audio Interface with 2 Microphone Preamps, LCD Screen, Hardware Monitoring, Loopback, and 6+GB of Free Content - Mac/PC/iOS
$269.95

Earn $14 back in Bonus Bucks OR pay $12/month with 24 month financing*

In Stock!

Add to Cart
Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

MOTU M4 4x4 USB-C Audio Interface
In Stock!
$269.95
Add to Cart
Add to list
Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

A High-quality Audio Interface That Won’t Break the Bank

Looking for a high-quality audio interface that won’t break the bank? The MOTU M4 fits that description to a T. This 4-in/4-out USB-C audio interface includes ESS Sabre32 Ultra DAC technology for top-shelf sound, along with optimized drivers that yield impressive low-latency performance. Two great-sounding mic preamps include individual gain adjustment and phantom power, while 1-touch hardware monitoring ensures smooth tracking. You’ll also benefit from convenient front-panel metering, by way of the M4’s full-color LCD screen. Podcasters will appreciate the built-in loopback functionality, which includes a mix knob for balancing your live input with your computer’s playback. Bus-powered for the ultimate in portability, the MOTU M4 packs a lot of performance into a compact, high-powered audio interface.

Best-in-class D/A, low latency, and ample I/O

Sweetwater and MOTU have enjoyed a long-standing relationship, due to MOTU's products offering our customers superb sound and solid performance. The M4 follows suit, packing top-notch sound, impressively low latency, and ample I/O into a single-rack enclosure. Renowned ESS Sabre32 Ultra DAC technology delivers 120dB of dynamic range, ensuring that the M4's analog audio quality can hang with the most impressive gear on the market. Optimized drivers yield round-trip latency as low as 2.5ms at 24-bit/96kHz with a 32 sample buffer. The M4 includes all of the essential connections, including two mic preamps, four DC-coupled analog outputs, and an ESS-driven stereo headphone output. MIDI I/O is also included.

Loopback functionality makes live internet streaming easy

If you do live streaming or podcasting, you’ll appreciate the MOTU M4’s loopback functionality. Loopback blends your mic or other input signals with the output from your computer, then sends the blended signal back to your computer. This enables you to record your computer’s output, along with the inputted material. The M4 also includes a mix knob for balancing your live input with your computer’s playback.

Hardware monitoring offers zero-latency operation

Latency can really take the mojo out of a performance — it’s a jarring sensation. That’s why the M4 includes 1-touch hardware monitoring. This feature enables all of the interface’s analog inputs to be routed directly to its analog outputs, resulting in zero-latency operation. This means that there is no delay between what you play and/or sing and what you hear in your headphones. The M4’s inputs can also be recorded simultaneously, allowing you to monitor with zero latency while tracking — a must for achieving a natural-sounding performance.

MOTU M4 USB-C Audio Interface Features:

  • 4-in/4-out USB-C audio interface
  • ESS Sabre32 Ultra DAC technology delivers 120dB of dynamic range and superb audio quality
  • Optimized drivers yield round-trip latency as low as 2.5ms at 24-bit/96kHz with a 32 sample buffer
  • Full-color LCD screen supplies convenient front-panel metering
  • 2 great-sounding microphone preamps with individual gain and phantom power
  • 1-touch hardware monitoring on all inputs
  • Loopback for live streaming and podcasting
  • Mix knob for balancing live input with your computer’s playback
  • USB bus-powered for the ultimate in portability
  • 6+GB of free loops, samples, and 1-shots from industry-leading libraries

Additional Media

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • Computer Connectivity: USB 2.0
  • Form Factor: Desktop, Portable
  • Simultaneous I/O: 4 x 4
  • Number of Preamps: 2
  • Phantom Power: Yes
  • A/D Resolution: Up to 24-bit/192kHz (32 sample buffer)
  • Analog Inputs: 2 x XLR-1/4" TRS (mic/line/Hi-Z), 2 x 1/4" (line)
  • Analog Outputs: 2 x 1/4" TRS (DC coupled, monitor), 2 x 1/4" TRS (DC coupled, line), 1 x Dual RCA Stereo (monitor), 1 x Dual RCA Stereo (line)
  • Headphones: 1 x 1/4"
  • MIDI I/O: In/Out/USB
  • USB: 1 x USB-C
  • Software: MOTU Performer Lite, Ableton Live Lite, Bundled Loops/Sounds
  • OS Requirements - Mac: OS X 10.13 or later
  • OS Requirements - PC: Windows 10 or later
  • Bus Powered: Yes
  • Power Supply: USB bus powered
  • Height: 1.75"
  • Width: 8.25"
  • Depth: 4.25"
  • Weight: 1.55 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 3140

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

Excellent small studio USBC audio interface

There's not a lot I can add to the plethora of other positive reviews. It was packed well and came with idiot-proof instructions. I downloaded the USBC driver for my new Mac Mini 2018 Intel without issue.
Installing the interface was as easy as plugging it in. I setup my Mac to use the interface by default - this took about 3 clicks to perform.

The unit itself is moderately weighed and felt like it was built well. No rattles or flexing noted. The LCD display is quite nice and the graphic is very smooth and accurate.

I've briefly used it on a demo project so far. The knobs/dials are easy to turn and have a bit of tension to them. They are not going to move unless you move them. They are quite accurate.

All the input/output jacks are solid and have no noticeable wiggle.

Using the interface with the USBC driver installed on Logic Pro gave me very good low latency. I had no issues recording my guitar and bass once I got my levels right. The headphone output is moderately powered and I had no issues driving my AKG cans. I didn't notice any major tone changes compared to my old Saffire 26 firewire interface. I didn't have to make any tone or EQ changes to maintain my tone. I might tweak my EQ a bit the more I use it, but the reality is that the preamps on the M4 are pretty much colorless. Adding gain was very silent and I noticed no unit-derived self noise while recording guitars through a Marshall amp.

I will admit that I didn't need to replace my old interface, but it wasn't supported any longer by the company under the latest Mac OS 11, which is what is installed on my new Mac mini.

I've always wanted a Mark of the Unicorn, ever since the mid-90's. Now I have one. I am happy to report the M4 works perfectly and I have had no issues at all with setup or function.

Mac Mini 2018, Intel i5
Mac OS 11.6 Big Sur
Logic Pro 10.6.2
Music background: Home Studio musician (former semi-pro)
Rated 5/5

Probably The Best Audio Interface

I bought Motu M4 last September 22, 2021 and arrived here at Antipolo City, Philippines last September 29, 2021. Comparing this with my Tascam Series 102i, Motu M4 is far more better in terms of sound quality. You can hear the details when listening to music especially orchestral music. It also has lots of gain even though it's usb powered. It's so easy to setup. Downloading and installing the driver to me less than 5 minutes. Also it's so easy to setup it up with my Cubase Pro 11. Thank you Sweetwater for your awesome service and to Jason Koon.
Music background: Music Professor and Jazz Pianist
Rated 5/5

Worth the wait.

I use some small Focal computer speakers for monitors, and they were already impressive going straight into my Mac Mini. Connected them to the Motu M4, and these little things dig deeper for some bass I didn't know they could tap into, and I've had these for years. It's a solid box, doesn't feel cheap at all, the knobs are smooth, and not to mention the LCD meters is the icing on the cake. Well worth the money.
Music background: Audio Engineer
Rated 4.5/5

It brought new life to my creativity and my studio space

First, wow. I have to admit I have been a fan of MOTU since getting to use the original 828 for recording "a few years back". Prior to owning this I primarily recorded all my tracks for myself and accounts using the IK Multimedia Stealth Pedal. I also had another active dual preamp interface which I thought was really good. When the M4 came out I knew it was time for a change, and it is a change for the better.
Sure, the MOTU M4 gives you some really cool eye candy with the full color digital meters. But that is only where the fun begins. It's USB-C connected, so with the right gear you can use it with a Phone or Tablet too. But wait, what's that? A power switch? I like that. Old school MIDI connections? Yeah, I'll take that. I have a small USB keyboard but being able to use my 76-key synth instead is a win.
All the control you want up front. The combo jacks work just fine with instrument or TRS 1/4 and XLR, with auto switching impedance. That was a pain on my previous interface.
Now, the important part.
CLARITY.
The output level from the M4 is clean, crisp, and loud. I thought the output from my previous device was really good. In addition to more output gain on tap it also has better definition in the mid frequencies (in the 800-2k range).
If you have another interface, you need to try one of these new M series. The Performer Lite software included is decent, and the access to loops and the current version of Ableton Live Lite probably pay for the interface alone.
Music background: 32 years performing and recording. The past 3 years I was a pro audio product specialist for a manufacturer, traveling across the United States and the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.
Rated 4.5/5

Worth its weight in Gold

The M4 is as good as advertised, and in some cases even better.

I bought this device right before global lockdown and was very lucky to receive it within a few days. I was very pleased with the simple packaging and solid build quality. It us more durable than it looks. My unit has taken a serious beating and besides a few scratches on one of the corners, you can't really tell. Besides the buttons and screen, everything is made of metal.

I didn't give it a full 5 stars because it came with one of the screws loose on the inside. I would usually return a unit if it rattled right out of the box, but the M4 was barely out in stores and the lockdown would have meant a long waiting time to have it replaced or repaired. Luckily I'm a bit of a gearhead, so I opened it up, found the screw and the matching hole, and screwed it back together in less than 5 minutes. When I turned it on, it worked perfectly. So no beef with MOTU.

I've used this unit in my home studio for recording vocals and guitar, as extra inputs on location whiles filming live concerts, and as an audio interface for my phone for Instagram live and zoom shows.

I used a USB-C to USB-C cable to connect the M4 to my cheap Samsung galaxy A20s and it was able to run two condenser microphones, both with phantom power, off bus power without breaking a sweat.

The preamps are clean and play nicely with outboard preamps, though it's also great on its own. The individual phantom power switches and a nice touch and so is the ability to link input 1 and two to be monitored as a stereo pair.

The monitor and line outs are impressive. They're clear and detailed, and a good boost for any decent pair of monitors.

So far I love this unit. It does all the things advertised and does them well. The drivers work without issue. This device should last as long as you want it.

I would recommend this to anyone who needs a pair of clean mic inputs and good converters in a portable bus-powered package.
Music background: Songwriter, Producer and Filmmaker.
Close Close $8,000 PA System Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Success!

Your email, test has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!