Best Audio Interface for Mac with Firewire

emcquaid · #1 12-26-2019, 10:27 AM

Hi y'all. It has been awhile, maybe a year, since I recorded with my M-Audio Profire 610 on my macbook pro (2012 version) with logic pro.

I upgraded macOS to Catalina and the profire won't be seen anymore. Even before the upgrade, it was a chore to keep the 610 working and it had to be connected and removed while the laptop was powered off. I am open to pointers to get the 610 working again, but I think I have decided to move on and look for something used or new.

What would you recommend that will connect to firewire(the fastest interface on my macbookpro) and has a similar feature profile to the 610?

Thank you and Happy New Year to all.

Eric

jim1960 · #2 12-26-2019, 02:56 PM

I believe choices are pretty limited for Firewire interfaces these days as Firewire has now become old tech. I had the UA Apollo Firewire for some years. That was very good. I eventually upgraded to one of their new X series unit. I know MOTU and RME still make Firewire interfaces but I've never used either so can't comment on their quality.

guitarman68 · #3 12-27-2019, 09:09 AM

I still use a RME interface in my studio (older Mac Pro, Logic) since 2012 and never had one issue.
Did not try it on my new MacBookPro so far.

KevWind · #4 12-27-2019, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emcquaid

Hi y'all. It has been awhile, maybe a year, since I recorded with my M-Audio Profire 610 on my macbook pro (2012 version) with logic pro.

I upgraded macOS to Catalina and the profire won't be seen anymore. Even before the upgrade, it was a chore to keep the 610 working and it had to be connected and removed while the laptop was powered off. I am open to pointers to get the 610 working again, but I think I have decided to move on and look for something used or new.

What would you recommend that will connect to firewire(the fastest interface on my macbookpro) and has a similar feature profile to the 610?

Thank you and Happy New Year to all.

Eric

The issue is the drivers for that M-Audio unit are probably not Catalina compatible, in fact looks like OS 10.10.1 is the last supported driver update
Going forward make sure any unit you do get will have drivers for Catalina

keith.rogers · #5 12-27-2019, 11:46 AM

I am not upgrading to Catalina because of my old (2010 MBP, 2012 Mini) systems. Well, my MBP won't even go to Mojave, so not a problem. I just ignore the little red dot on my System Preferences icon on the Mini because I'm using an old Focusrite Saffire Pro (Firewire), and already on thin ice.

I don't think anyone should rush to Catalina that's using their system for audio. Too many issues and no upside is what I get. I know this doesn't help OP, but maybe there's a way to put Mojave back on that system?

KevWind · #6 12-27-2019, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

I am not upgrading to Catalina because of my old (2010 MBP, 2012 Mini) systems. Well, my MBP won't even go to Mojave, so not a problem. I just ignore the little red dot on my System Preferences icon on the Mini because I'm using an old Focusrite Saffire Pro (Firewire), and already on thin ice.

I don't think anyone should rush to Catalina that's using their system for audio. Too many issues and no upside is what I get. I know this doesn't help OP, but maybe there's a way to put Mojave back on that system?

I likely will not be going to Catalina on my studio Mac Pro because so far it is unknown if a mid 2010 mac pro will actually work. While it is a generally accepted rule of thumb that if your machine can run Mojave then it can run Catalina , however the Apple list for Mac Pro states "Late 2013 or newer"
But as you say in the audio world there are still a number of apps and plugins that are not yet upgraded for Catalina. I will likely stay where I am on 10.14 .3

Steev · #7 12-28-2019, 05:47 AM

Check out the Apogee Quartet webpage.

"Faster than FireWire
Quartet features USB 2.0 High-speed connectivity to Mac. Advances in the Mac’s Core Audio driver have made USB faster than FireWire 400 with incredible latency performance. And there’s a USB port on every Mac.

…and as fast as USB 3.0
While USB 3.0 offers approximately 10x the bandwidth of USB 2.0, USB 2.0 far exceeds the bandwidth Quartet requires for its 12 inputs and 8 outputs, delivering exceptional audio performance without compromise."

https://apogeedigital.com/products/quartet

There's more info and pretty pictures too...

emcquaid · #8 12-28-2019, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind

The issue is the drivers for that M-Audio unit are probably not Catalina compatible, in fact looks like OS 10.10.1 is the last supported driver update
Going forward make sure any unit you do get will have drivers for Catalina

Haha yes.

I laugh because M-Audio declared about 2014 they would no longer maintain the mac drivers for the Profire (and other products as well).

Since then, there has been a complex work around to use the last released drivers with newer versions of macOS, thanks to a cadre of Profire mac passionistas. (kudos to that polish genius wherever he is)

Mac users would have forgotten this hardware long ago if not for the internet.

thank you!

emcquaid · #9 12-28-2019, 11:16 AM

Thank you for other mfrs like UA, RME, Focusrite, Apogee. I will check them all out.

emcquaid · #10 12-28-2019, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steev

Advances in the Mac’s Core Audio driver have made USB faster than FireWire 400 with incredible latency performance. And there’s a USB port on every Mac.
https://apogeedigital.com/products/quartet

Thank you that info on the latency of USB 2.0 vs firewire 400 is quite interesting and I had assumed f400 still outperformed 2.0 on this 2012 mac.

emcquaid · #11 12-28-2019, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind

I likely will not be going to Catalina on my studio Mac Pro

alas a lot of my silly questions would be moot if I had a side hustle to support my side hustles.

emcquaid · #12 12-28-2019, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emcquaid

Thank you that info on the latency of USB 2.0 vs firewire 400 is quite interesting and I had assumed f400 still outperformed 2.0 on this 2012 mac.

well I actually have 2 usb 3.0 on this bad boy (macbookpro9,2) which apparently blows the FW out of the water.

FrankHudson · #13 12-28-2019, 01:41 PM

Just to hit again to a couple of points made above in the thread and focusing in on the Mac OS/Apple part of this.

As has been pointed out, USB, even USB 2 seems to work well. I just retired my Mac 2010 Mac Mini from my studio space recording duty where is supported multitrack live recording via a Focusrite Scarlett plus an Octopre chained off the Scarlet. That was all USB2. I never had to host VI or software effects while tracking on the Mini hosting the interface, but USB worked as well or better than the older (Digi002 and an inexpensive Presonus unit) FireWire interfaces I've used in the past. I still have some older FW mechanical hard drives, but that's about all I use Firewire on my "vintage" Macs these days.

Yes, look into a good USB interfaces. They should serve you well. Even if you move up to a newer Mac, USB should continue to be workable in the foreseeable future via adapters and hubs.

MacOS Catalina is going to be trouble for those of us who don't keep up with the inexorable movement of technology obsoleting old software and devices. This is one of the reasons that it's still worthwhile in my world to keep audio computers separate from the computers that I do general computing tasks on.

emcquaid · #14 12-28-2019, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

J
...

Yes, look into a good USB interfaces. They should serve you well.

Thank you for the feedback.

ljguitar · #15 12-28-2019, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emcquaid

Hi y'all. It has been awhile, maybe a year, since I recorded with my M-Audio Profire 610 on my macbook pro (2012 version) with logic pro.

I upgraded macOS to Catalina and the profire won't be seen anymore. Even before the upgrade, it was a chore to keep the 610 working and it had to be connected and removed while the laptop was powered off. I am open to pointers to get the 610 working again, but I think I have decided to move on and look for something used or new.

What would you recommend that will connect to firewire(the fastest interface on my macbookpro) and has a similar feature profile to the 610?

Thank you and Happy New Year to all.

Eric

Hi Eric

I got rid of my last Firewire audio interface earlier this year. From here on out I'll be using USB.

I used MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn) Firewire interfaces for 8 years in studio. When Apple updated their system software, the studio didn't update our system until the software engineers & developers at MOTU told us it was safe (usually 6-8 months down the line after release).

It's up to the engineers and software developers to re-write their programs to help the existing interfaces operate with new systems. Depending on how well the software works with an existing system, and how stable it is using that system, developers seem to take their time bringing gear up to date.

If you are happy with the Profire interface, perhaps an Apple Store tech could help you revert your PowerBook's operating system to the point it will work with your existing interface.