Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 Firewire Woes (crackling sound, distorted audio)

[evilsweeps]

Hey guys,
So I've been searching the net for a while on this issue and have tried just about everything. I'm about to throw up my hands and just get a USB interface. I hope someone can get me on the right track before that happens.

First of all my setup:

Software:
Win7 x64
Reaper with a handful of VSTs
Saffire MixControl 3.3

Hardware:
intel i7 3770k
MSI Z77A-G45 motherboard
16GB ram
POWERCOLOR AX7850 Video Card
TP-LINK TL-WN881ND PCIe WiFi card
SYBA SD-PEX30009 PCIe Firewire card with TI chipset
Focusrite Saffire Pro 40



I'm using the unit to record guitar at this point and I'm having the crackle/distorted audio issues plagued by many. The unit will work fine for 1min to 15mins then the audio signal will get all garbled. If I restart reaper, power cycle the focusrite unit or change the settings for the unit in the Reaper ASIO settings it will work for another 1-15 mins.

Here's what I've done to try and fix the issue with no luck:
-Changed latency and sample rates
-Switched between normal and legacy firewire drivers
-Tried VIA chipset PCIe Firewire Card
-Tried all Firewire ports on PC and unit
-Disabled all PC power saving features
-Uninstalled and reinstalled Focusrite Drivers
-Verified all software and firmware is up to date

From what I've read what I'm experiencing is a FW syncing issue but can't figure out whats causing it. I managed to get my hands on a Firestudio from a friend to test and it exhibits the same symptoms. I have a little 2x2 USB presonus audiobox that has no issues, but not really happy with features and overall performance. I really really really want to get this Saffie Pro working, but I need to get down to recording soon and if I can't figure this out I'll have to turn to a USB interface.

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[Simon Focusrite]

Hi,

Sorry you seem to be having some problems.
As you're having the same issues with another firewire interface, the issue does point to a hardware conflict perhaps.
As a matter of course, you may wish to install the latest beta of Mix Control to see if this manages the conflicts any better

(please Google 'beta focusrite', I cannot post links until 10 posts)

Further to this, if you contact the support team, we can send you our OHCI tool to test the compatibility of your FW card. I understand you've tried a second FW card, and the likelihood of testing two incompatible cards is small, but still possible.
Once tested over a support ticket, we can troubleshoot further with you. Please visit the Support link on our website (I cannot post links yet)

Best regards
Simon // Focusrite Technical Support

 

[delirium trigge]

I have had that happen with the saffire pro 40. But the only time it happened was when I had it in a firewire port that wasn't as good as another one. For example, the firewire port on my apple thunderbolt display, after a few hours, it will start cracking like that.

But if I plug it straight into my mac, it NEVER happens. And I think it has to do with the syncing issue of the monitor, to computer, instead of directly to the computer. It can be the firewire port on the saffire also.

did you try the other firewire port on the back of the saffire? I know that one of mine went out fairly quickly. So mine only has one firewire port, the other one just went out for no reason.