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Mackie onyx Firewire tech question.

  • 05-03-2013 10:55am
    #1
    The bearded clam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41 ✭


    I have a mackie onyx 1640i and i'm about to buy a custom pc. Now i've heard that a lot of people have had problems with firewire on windows 7 and from what i can make out it's caused by a combination of the way windows 7 is set up and particular firewire drivers.

    I have two options:
    The first option is to buy a motherboard which already has a firewire port that has a via vt6308s chipset.

    The second option is to buy a slightly cheaper motherboard and also buy a separate PCIe firewire card which has a Texas instuments chipset.

    I was doing some research and i heard that texas instruments firewire ports tend to be very stable, i also heard that VIA driven ports carry some recommendations.

    I just wanted to know if anyone who uses a mackie onyx mixer has any advice before i go a fork out a load of cash.

    Any help will be appreciated.


Comments

  • #2
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭GTE


    Windows does not have a problem with firewire. It is the fact that manufacturers can put one of many firewire cards into their computers which is invariably not Texas Instruments. Mac would have the same problem if they put different FW chips into their machines. Even then it is not the fault of the Mac or Windows OS. It is how the firewire chip deals with the requirements of an audio interface plugged into it.

    You do need a TI firewire chip so get the PCI or whichever option does not create a compromise in your system. If there is another recommended manufacturer then that is fine but I am only going to talk about what I have experience with.

    A second thing which seems to be a quirk of some Focusrite FW interfaces but is worth knowing is that you may have to switch to Legacy FW driver from device manager which is a simple job.


  • #3
    The bearded clam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41 ✭The bearded clam


    bbk wrote: »
    Windows does not have a problem with firewire. It is the fact that manufacturers can put one of many firewire cards into their computers which is invariably not Texas Instruments. Mac would have the same problem if they put different FW chips into their machines. Even then it is not the fault of the Mac or Windows OS. It is how the firewire chip deals with the requirements of an audio interface plugged into it.

    You do need a TI firewire chip so get the PCI or whichever option does not create a compromise in your system. If there is another recommended manufacturer then that is fine but I am only going to talk about what I have experience with.

    A second thing which seems to be a quirk of some Focusrite FW interfaces but is worth knowing is that you may have to switch to Legacy FW driver from device manager which is a simple job.

    Ah, i see. I had to do a little research about this before i went out and splashed a load of cash. The general concensus i seemed to find was that it was more likely to happen on windows 7...i don't know why people were saying that. I haven't had this particular problem but i thought it would be wise to avoid any problems i might encounter down the line rather than trying to fix it later on.

    I got in touch with mackie technical support and they advised me to get a TI based firewire card but they said not to get an 800/400 combo card. They reckon the combo cards can cause cracks and pops too. So i have to find a card that only has the fw400 port.

    You've been very helpful with all of my questions, it's very nice of you.


  • #4
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭GTE


    The 800 400 combo is an interesting. I was thinking of getting one in the future.

    Windows 7 is linked to firewire problems as that is the OS that is installed on machines which could have a huge amount of different hardware components. So many brands, so many options.

    If Macs could be run on all Windows 7 machines you would see the same problems. It is a real plus point for Apple that they are the only people who build Macs so you rarely if ever get a problem with them.

    Windows needs some more tinkering and know how but it doesnt do any harm knowing it.

    No problem, I have gone through this all before so happy to help others with it. Clears up a lot of the mud that you can read online as I am sure you have regarding people blaming things that dont have anything to do with the problem.

    Maplin does a Texas Instruments Firewire 400 express card for laptops which defo works. For desktops, I am less sure. Sound on Sound forum would be a good shout.


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