Question about FW Solo, 400 v 800 stuff, etc...

[YepHAHA]

Hey guys, I had a few questions I wanted to ask you. I'm a newbie here, so go easy on me.

First of all, is there much of a difference between balanced and unbalanced TRS cables? I mean, will I notice a better quality sound or better volume control if I go to a balanced cable vs the unbalanced guitar-to-amp TRS cables I have now? This is in regard to my M-Audio Firewire Solo to my M-Audio BX5a monitors. Also, is there a recommended brand of balanced cables or does it not matter? Does Monster make balanced cables and if so, are they worth it? Some of not all of Monster's stuff seems overrated to me personally...


Now...I'm lost on this one... trying to figure out the best route for my Firewire chain setup. On my MBP, I have 1 Firewire 400 port and 1 Firewire 800 port.

Currently, my setup looks like this: Seagate external hard drive FW 800 > Firewire Solo via 800 to 400 adapter. Then it goes Firewire 400 from the Solo to my FW 400 port on my Mac. I did this because it was suggested to me elsewhere on the M-Audio forums. I was having issues having the hard drive hooked up to my 800 port and the Solo hooked up to my 400 port. Apparently the computer can't handle that and it wasn't working out too well.

But I bought my hard drive FW 800 for a reason. I want to use my 800 port on my computer. I know I can hook up an Express Card 34 FireWire to my Mac and then the computer could handle it, right?

Thing is, should I get an Express Card 34 FW 800 or 400? And how should I hook it all up? Would it make any difference where the HD or Solo is hooked up via FW... meaning, does it matter if it goes in the Express Card slot or stays connected to my MBP?

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[dgatwood]

First of all, is there much of a difference between balanced and unbalanced TRS cables? I mean, will I notice a better quality sound or better volume control if I go to a balanced cable vs the unbalanced guitar-to-amp TRS cables I have now? This is in regard to my M-Audio Firewire Solo to my M-Audio BX5a monitors. Also, is there a recommended brand of balanced cables or does it not matter? Does Monster make balanced cables and if so, are they worth it? Some of not all of Monster's stuff seems overrated to me personally...

Monster's cables are just plain overpriced. I used to have a list that told where the interconnect cables fall in signal quality. IIRC, it was just above the phase of the moon and just below the color of the singer's shirt. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.

As for balanced versus unbalanced, how much it matters depends largely on how long the cables are. If we're talking about a 3 foot cable, don't waste time thinking about it. If we're talking about a 30 foot cable, you definitely want to be balanced. There's a nice continuum between those two extremes.

Now...I'm lost on this one... trying to figure out the best route for my Firewire chain setup. On my MBP, I have 1 Firewire 400 port and 1 Firewire 800 port.

Currently, my setup looks like this: Seagate external hard drive FW 800 > Firewire Solo via 800 to 400 adapter. Then it goes Firewire 400 from the Solo to my FW 400 port on my Mac. I did this because it was suggested to me elsewhere on the M-Audio forums. I was having issues having the hard drive hooked up to my 800 port and the Solo hooked up to my 400 port. Apparently the computer can't handle that and it wasn't working out too well.

M-Audio's FireWire devices are pretty badly broken in my experience. They usually have to be the first device on the chain or they misbehave in bizarre ways, but it's possible that FW800 interacts in even more fascinating ways with them. Probably the FW400 port in that unit looks a little too much like a hub or something.... Like I said, they're cranky.

But I bought my hard drive FW 800 for a reason. I want to use my 800 port on my computer. I know I can hook up an Express Card 34 FireWire to my Mac and then the computer could handle it, right?

That's certainly what I'd do. Hook the M-Audio to the card. Get one with a TI FW400 chipset. That's pretty close to how I have my FW1814 hooked up (on a TI FW400 PCIe card in a G5 tower). Should work just fine.

 

[YepHAHA]

Monster's cables are just plain overpriced. I used to have a list that told where the interconnect cables fall in signal quality. IIRC, it was just above the phase of the moon and just below the color of the singer's shirt. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.

Haha, yea I get it. I think most of Monster's stuff is all hype. I mean, they want mega bucks for even simple things like USB cables!

As for balanced versus unbalanced, how much it matters depends largely on how long the cables are. If we're talking about a 3 foot cable, don't waste time thinking about it. If we're talking about a 30 foot cable, you definitely want to be balanced. There's a nice continuum between those two extremes.

Thanks for clearing that up. I think my current unbalanced cables are 5ft. I am looking around for some balanced cables...trying to research the best brands, etc. Then I'm running into the option of doing the XLR to TRS cables as well. Don't know if there's any difference there.

M-Audio's FireWire devices are pretty badly broken in my experience. They usually have to be the first device on the chain or they misbehave in bizarre ways, but it's possible that FW800 interacts in even more fascinating ways with them. Probably the FW400 port in that unit looks a little too much like a hub or something.... Like I said, they're cranky.

Well this explains why no one over at M-Audio could answer my question! Yea, the FW800 external hard drive I had hooked up seemed to sort of "take over" if it was hooked up at the same time as the FW400 port (FireWire Solo). I mean, I would always be able to access my hard drive... it's just the sound output going through the FW400 port out to the Solo would just stop working every few minutes. It was weird. Thanks for clearing that up for me

That's certainly what I'd do. Hook the M-Audio to the card. Get one with a TI FW400 chipset. That's pretty close to how I have my FW1814 hooked up (on a TI FW400 PCIe card in a G5 tower). Should work just fine.

Right on. So definitely go for a FW400 express card for the FireWire Solo, meanwhile leaving the FW800 port on my Macbook for the external hard drive? Would there be any reason or difference in going with a FW800 express card and doing the hard drive there and just keep the Solo on the 400 port on the Macbook? I ask this for quality and compatibility reasons, but also in case I end up with more FW800 devices in the future as it seems that 800 is becoming the norm and 400 is out the door?

I'm sorry for asking so many questions. I'm all kinds of new to all this. I'm glad I found this site though! Alright last question: what is a TI FW400 chipset?

 

[dgatwood]

It shouldn't matter whether you get a FW400 or 800 card so long as you have gotten the M-Audio hardware to work correctly by itself on one of the laptop's built-in FireWire ports. I suggested FW400 just because it's cheaper.

As for the TI part, you should always get cards that use a Texas Instruments FireWire chip if you have a choice. They're the hardware that everybody tests their devices against, so they are the least likely to give you grief in the future.

 

[YepHAHA]

As for the TI part, you should always get cards that use a Texas Instruments FireWire chip if you have a choice. They're the hardware that everybody tests their devices against, so they are the least likely to give you grief in the future.

Thank you. I've been looking, but I can't find any information on whether or not the Express Cards I've been looking at have TI chipsets.