Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 + Saffire Pro 40 + Octopre MKII Dynamic - How connect??

markjohan

New member
Hello everyone,

I have a problem to combine this 3 "interfaces" What i want to do is this:

I want to connect the Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 (SL56) with Firewire to the MBP,
Then want to add the Saffire Pro 40 so i connect the ADAT out from the Pro40 --> ADAT in SL56)
And also the OctoPre ADAT out --> ADAT in SL56)

It will not work..

Problem 1:
I don't get signal from the Saffire Pro 40. (on the SP40 you will see the inputs, but on the MixControl you can not find anything..

Problem 2:
The sound from the OctoPre ADAT is like there is some distortion.. and some digital clicks.. I hope someone knows what i mean..

Can someone tell me how to connect this?

Thanks!
 
Problem 2:
I can solve this by:

Set Saffire Liquid to ADAT1 = Octopre
Set OctoPre to Internal (and Locked ON)

Now the problem with the sound is gone.

But how to add the Saffire Pro 40..?
 
Problem 1:
Can be solved by:

If you connect the Saffire Pro 40 - With FireWire to the computer, than you must change the routing. Set The ADAT1 OUTPUT to/from Input Anlg 1 (for every channel).
Now disconnect the interface. Connect FW to the Saffire Liquid, and is works!


BUT THE MAIN PROBLEM STILL REMAINS:

How is it possible to use this three interfaces together?

Can someone tell me how you should connect all the devices?

Thanks.
 
You've sorted the clock issue with the octopre and it's working now, yeah?
And you've worked out how to get the saffire 40 into standalone mode so it's working too, right?

What is the 'main problem'?

The octopre is a set of converters and the saffire 40 can be set up to act as a set of converters.
Once that's done you just plug both units into your main interface (56) via a pair of adat cables and set a common clock source.
 
Hello Steenamaroo,

Thanks for your reply.

Everything is working but i don't know how to set the Clocks, because when i set to ADAT1, what does ADAT2? Can you tell me the optimal settings for this setup?

Thanks
 
Everything is working but i don't know how to set the Clocks, because when i set to ADAT1, what does ADAT2? Can you tell me the optimal settings for this setup?

What is the problem/what are the symptoms at this stage?
If everything is working just carry on. :)
I'm not sure that there are optimal settings. It either works properly or it doesn't.

I presume the 56 interface should be set as master, but I don't know that much about it.
Tell us more and hopefully someone else will chime in. :)
 
If the problem persists, I have the same setup minus the Octopre (I'm actually using something over SPDIF though), I think I can fix the problem, but I'll have to check my Saffire mix control when I'm back from vacation on Tuesday. Replying to this so it shows up in my user panel when I get home.
 
Hey Guys! Just wanted to chime in on the sapphire 56. I love it! I have mine firewired to my daw. I run the Avid 11Rack unit via trs cable into the liquid 56 and it performs flawlessly with Pro Tools 11. I've not tried, or would like to, mess with the spdif, or adat, but I fear I may someday have to if I wanted to record live drums or live performances. I'm not sure about 3rd party connecting. I'd make the 56 the master. Have you used the liquid channels for vocals??
I run a Rhodes NT1 and a Behr B1 and it sounds stellar. Plus the preamps and mixing software is more than the average home studio requires. Apologize about cutting in with no help, but it's the first recent post about the focusrite 56 in a while ;-) Good Luck!
 
Hello Everyone, thanx for so far!

With the help of Focusrite - Netherlands (Total Sonic) we have found a good solution.

I have connected the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 & Focusrite Octopre Dynamic MKII to the Focusrite Saffire Liquid 56 (by Toslink optical cable ADAT)
I have also connected the firewire cable from the Saffire Pro 40 to the Liquid 56. And connected the SPDIF from the SP40 to the Liquid56 (out/in in/out)

Now i have the possibility to make a mix (direct monitoring from 24 channels!! )

On the MixControl of the Pro 40
I have route the analoge channel 1-8 on the mix console 1-8 and the DAW to channel 17-18 from the MixControle. I set the output from the SP40 to SPDIF.

On the MixControle of the Liquid56 I have:
route the analoge 1-8 to the mixcontrole 1-8 and the Analoge input 1-8 from the Octopre to the channel 9-16.
Than i have the SPDIF 1-2 to mixcontrole 17-18. And the total mix to the Monitor and Headphone.

You can have now 24 channels direct monitoring without any latency.

If someone wants the files or screenshots, or has a better solution, let me know.

Gr,
Mark
 
Hello Mark,
thank you for your explanation on connecting 3 saffire units.
Do I have to use LS56 + Pro40 + Octopre to run this configuration? Or could it be e.g. LS56 + 2x Octopre MK2 Dynamic (with ADAT port changed to SPDiF)? I understand physical connections you have described. It is close to Dual Unit mode with two Pro40's.
I do not understand all of MixControl manipulations you did. It is a little bit complicated.

Did you start two instances of MixControl, separate for LS56 and Pro40 ?
Or did you switch tabs in MixControl to set separate "mixes" for both units?
Today I received an answer from Focusrite's Tech to my question about MixControl's limitation to use 18 channels in total when monitoring:
"You can only monitor a maximum of 18 channels simultaneously, but you can definitely record more than 18 channels of audio simultaneously."

How did you do this? Could you explain step-by-step ?

I would be grateful for your (or maybe anyone else) help.
 
Last edited:
Hello,
there was no answer for my question so I took a risk and bought 3 Focusrite units to have 24 input channels with direct monitoring.
Here are my comments:

- it is possible to connect Liquid Saffire 56 + Octopre + Pro40 to have 24 input channels with direct monitoring (I use Windows 7 64-bit)
- this is the only and proper configuration due to Saffire's limitation (software and processor)
- you have to switch LS56 to master clock mode
- you have to connect Octopre to LS56 with ADAT and switch Octopre to slave clock mode
- you have to connect Pro40 to LS56 with ADAT and switch Pro40 to slave clock mode
- you have to redirect all Pro40's inputs to S/PDIF output (do it in MixControl in stand-alone mode) and connect Pro40 via S/PDIF to LS56
- DO NOT connect Liquid Saffire 56 with Pro40 via FireWire !! It does not work. It causes master/salve conflict.
- MixControl settings for direct audio monitoring : LS56 = channels 1-8; Octopre = channels 9-16; Pro40 = channels 17-18 (stereo S/PDIF)
- This configuration means you CAN NOT use DAW input while S/PDIF input from Pro40 is set on channels 17-18.
- I wish I had two more software inputs in MixControl for DAW but Focusrite said it is impossible due to LS56's processor bandwidth limitations.
- If youy want DAW input, you have to disable Pro40 S/PDIF on channels 17-18 or other :)

I hope this will help.
 
Hello Mark,
thank you for your explanation on connecting 3 saffire units.
Do I have to use LS56 + Pro40 + Octopre to run this configuration? Or could it be e.g. LS56 + 2x Octopre MK2 Dynamic (with ADAT port changed to SPDiF)? I understand physical connections you have described. It is close to Dual Unit mode with two Pro40's.
I do not understand all of MixControl manipulations you did. It is a little bit complicated.

Did you start two instances of MixControl, separate for LS56 and Pro40 ?
Or did you switch tabs in MixControl to set separate "mixes" for both units?
Today I received an answer from Focusrite's Tech to my question about MixControl's limitation to use 18 channels in total when monitoring:
"You can only monitor a maximum of 18 channels simultaneously, but you can definitely record more than 18 channels of audio simultaneously."

How did you do this? Could you explain step-by-step ?

I would be grateful for your (or maybe anyone else) help.

I have had a Focusrite PRO 40 (Firewire) and Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 (USB) running simultaneously, with both MixControls on screen. I had no problems at all with that. I also had the OctoPre connected via ADAT to the PRO 40 and all was well.

Now I have an RME Fireface 802 and can still connect other interfaces however I want to. As long as your ADAT clocks are ok, everything should work fine.
 
Edit: I wrote "you have to connect Pro40 to LS56 with ADAT and switch Pro40 to slave clock mode".
This is incorrect.

For proper use of all 3 units with direct monitoring and all synced without drop-outs and other strange behaviors the Saffire Pro40 MUST be set to INTERNAL and Liquid Saffire set to ADAT2 (LS56 still as a main interface, connected to computer via FireWire). Now it works 100% fine.

Hope this will help.
 
Hi Mark, thank you for the helpful info !!!
I would like some screenshots of your dual setup using 2 Mix Control, and maybe some more detailled instructions in doing so. Thank you very much for your help !
 
Just popping in here to keep track of this info.
I have 1 saffire pro 40 and may inherit another. All this linking info is useful.
:D
 
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