FireWire Audio static

This is kind of a reverse post, in which I've found the solution and wanted to share my findings.
I have an Edirol FA-101, and (after not using it for a while) tried to use it and consistantly got static over the output. (not sure if the behaviour is new to 10.5.7)
(using firewire 400 to the interface, and optical channels 9-10 to a receiver)
the only way i could find to get rid of the static was to open the audio midi setup, under Audio Output click the drop down of the channel/bitrate (to the right of Format:) and click the option... it then magically plays clean.
not sure where fault lies in this one, but it drove me nuts.
Message was edited by: ianwilder

I've seen this issue on several IntelMac edit stations when FCP 6 was first released on through v6.0.2. Just to compare, the problem I've witnessed is that the Firewire audio out will suddenly be nothing but digital garbage; distorted, garbled, scratchy noise. Changing the audio routing to the internal speakers results in normal audio, but as soon as you change it back to Firewire (or Audio Follows Video), nothing but garbage again.
AFAIK, trashing preferences has always worked ... keep us informed on what you find out.
-DH

Similar Messages

Firewire Audio Static/Distorted

In the middle of a project today, during playback, audio through Firewire deck became static, distorted, too loud. Audio meters in FCP are fine, but meters on firewire deck are pegged. Tried other projects and they have same problem. Swapped firewire cable to no avail. Switched over to my MacbookPro but rest of my regular peripherals and played the same project without the problem... so it must be something in my MacPro Tower. If I set FCP to playback audio through computer, not firewire, it plays fine.
Ideas?

I've seen this issue on several IntelMac edit stations when FCP 6 was first released on through v6.0.2. Just to compare, the problem I've witnessed is that the Firewire audio out will suddenly be nothing but digital garbage; distorted, garbled, scratchy noise. Changing the audio routing to the internal speakers results in normal audio, but as soon as you change it back to Firewire (or Audio Follows Video), nothing but garbage again.
AFAIK, trashing preferences has always worked ... keep us informed on what you find out.
-DH

IChat AV doesn't work with M-Audio Firewire audio interface

I saw similar topics to this but none dealing with a Firewire audio interface and none with exactly the same problem.
Every other piece of software I use works with the M-Audio Firewire Solo, except for iChat AV. When it is the selected output device and I start a video chat with someone, I get just horrible, loud static when the person on the other end speaks.
Running 10.4.10 on a Macbook Pro (2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo).
Does anyone know of incompatibility issues with iChat and Firewire interfaces?

In Audio MIDI Setup (In applications/Utilities) the setting for my Mic is 44100khz 1Ch 16bit.
The Internal Audio connection also shows up at 44100Khz 2Ch 16bit
Are you looking in the same place or in the device itself ?
I would set it in the Audio MIDI Setup and then make sure it responds in System Preferences > Sound > Input tab.
Once the Blue bar moves to at least halfway there I would then check iChat > Preferences > Video Section to see if the green bar under the Vido pics is moving.
4:25 PM Friday; September 7, 2007

High pitch squeal related to Firewire audio device after 10.6.2 audio patch

So the recent Mac Pro audio update 1.0 (applied on 10.6.2) has reduced my CPU temperature with audio playback (Presonus Firebox Firewire audio interface) and that is great. Also haven't had any machine crashes (grey screens) recently which is also great.
The problem is that when the Firebox is plugged into the firewire port of the Mac Pro there is a constant high pitched whistle of slightly oscillating frequency. If I unplug the Firebox the whistle goes away in a few seconds.
After prolonged use in a quiet room (the kind of room you need for audio recording / mixing work!) the noise is enough to drive me crazy.
I read a post on another forum with other people having the same problem. Can anyone comment here on seeing the same thing? Is there any known work around or fix for this?
When the CPU is under heavy load (e.g. H.264 compression etc.) the noise subsides only to return when there is normal load (i.e. half a dozen apps running).
Help!
Thanks

So I was able to back out the update using "Kext Helper b7" and the original IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext and AppleHDA.kext files from a backup before applying the update. It's pretty easy - just drop the two files onto Kext Helper, hit "go" and then reboot.
My ears are no longer in constant pain and I can actually use the Mac Pro again albeit running quite hotter than before.
This is not a fix Apple. The problem looks unrelated to a specific device based on the posts in this thread. Please issue a usable fix for the Mac Pro Audio performance issue.

Does 2 firewire audio and video interface can work together on FCP ?

hello,
My audio interface is a TC Electronic Konnekt 24D
my video interface is a Canopus ADVC 110
my hard drives are plugged in firewire too
and I use Final Cut Pro 5.0.4
So, the konnekt is recognized by FCP only when the Canopus is not plugged. And even then, the audio sometimes drop out and sometimes causes the app to crash, so that I have to trash the preferences
When I plug the Canopus, the Konnekt 24D is recognised by OS X but not FCP
I want to use the voice over tool with the konnekt 24D, so what should I do ?
Does 2 firewire audio and video interface can work together ?
If so, maybe I only have a driver problem from TC Electronic.
But if not, I have to change this interface. Let me know if only RME, MOTU, Presonus and Edirol work, as it is said on apple's webpage for hardware compatibility
thanks
eMac G4 1,25 Ghz Mac OS X (10.3.9)
eMac G4 1,25 Ghz 1 Go RAM DDR Mac OS X (10.3.9)

The 1082 does show up as a possible input when I open
the VO tool.
Ok. So an audio interface can be plugged to FCP without crashing the app. Because of the Konnekt driver problem, I wasn't shure of this.
I use my Aja box for export & external monitoring.
All my audio sources run back into the Tascam and I
use the analog mixer in the 1082 to monitor different
sources.
When I view external video, the audio follows it to
keep sync.
that's exactly what I want with other I/O interfaces. I'd like to monitor video with the canopus ADVC 110, and monitor audio with the Konnekt 24D (or another interface if this one is not compatible)
I also imput dailies with a deck or a camera (DV or HDV) but that's not the point here.
I want to imput audio with the Konnekt 24D because of its audio quality. Not audio sync to video dailies. But voice over, in sync with FCP video playback (for me, tha ADVC 110)

Digital distortion on external firewire audio Edirol FA-101 and 10.4.11

Hi
Not sure if this is the right forum but I have an Edirol FA-101 external firewire audio unit and it seems like prior to installing 10.4.11 update for Tiger the audio was perfect. Now however I get a constant level of what sounds like digital distortion even without any audio sources playing out of my FA-101.. I saw the forum/support notes regarding audio problem with 10.4.10.. just wondered if anyone has similar experiences..the audio device does not have it's own drivers but uses the mac built in firewire audio support.
Thanks

that's what outputs 3 and 4 are there for. You can't control one stereo output to do two different things at the same time... it says in the edirol manual that the headphone jack outputs the same as output 1 and 2 from the back.
Therefore if you want a separate stereo output pair to connect your speakers to, you must use outputs 3 and 4.
Edirol didn't make the unit for the pc - actually the hardware was designed for the mac (hence it's core audio compatibility out of the box).
Edirol's fa-101 and fa-66 (which I own) are mac product which just happen to work on the pc thanks to the driver they had to write after the fact to support windows xp. Plug the unit into a pc without the driver and nothing happens. plug it into a mac running osx and it's automagically configured for low latency, highest performance, midi and audio in and out.
Have fun owning the best interface you can get for the mac for the money!

IMac FireWire Audio Interface keeps disconnecting

I'm having an intermitten issue with my iMac, which worked (and still works) fine with my IBM based notebook. My firewire audio interface keeps disconnecting, it works fine for a while (could be anywhere between 5 mins to 2 hours) before completing not giving any output, it doesn't switch back to Core Audio during this time. However, if I turn in off and on again, it's fine again.
Any ideas?
More Info:
Audio Interface: Profire 2626
iMac 2011
OSX 10.6.8

PreSonus FIREBOX 24-bit/96kHz FireWire

Multi channel firewire audio interface

Hello, Is anyone using a multi channel firewire audio interface with a mac mini? eg alesis miltimix?

No issues. You'll probably want to invest in an external 7,200 RPM Firewire drive though since the Mini only has a 5,400 RPM SATA internal drive.
I used it with both TIger and Leopard as well as Logic Express 7.2 and Logic Express 8.
OS X supports it right out of the box so I didn't even need to install additional drivers.

Unstable timeline movement using FireWire audio (MOTU 828mk3)

I'm using a 32 bit system with Windows 7 Home Premium and Service Pack 1. An AVI that I captured with my DV camera will not play in Premiere Elements. I can see the time line making a loop every 10 seconds or less whenever I use FireWire for audio. If I use Windows Sound Card, it plays well.
The same AVI plays well on Windows Media Player with or without the FireWire audio interface.
I'm new to Adobe but have used AVID Liquid Pro before. It seems like I'm missing a CODEC but I'm not sure if that is the problem. NOTHING plays right with the FireWire Audio selected regardless of the many settings I have tried.
Thanks,
Joseph Balsamo

I'm using Premiere Elements 12.
The 828mk3 is a FireWire audio interface. I'm actually using IEEE 1384 connection vs USB. I use it for my audio (PC to mixing board) mostly for Sonar.
I found out today during a chat with Adobe that Premiere Elements does not support MOTU. That must be my problem.
I am not trying to capture, just play an AVI in the timeline. The timeline does not move smoothly enough to do that without audio and video problems. However, the same AVI will play in the organizer of Premiere Elements. Also the same AVI also plays in Media Player. I also have no problems with audio or video using YouTube or Vimeo or any video on the web with Chrome or IE 11.
I am using Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit with Service Pack 1.
828mk3 Hybrid Firewire Audio Interface
I am told that Premiere Pro can support MOTU. I just don't have a 64 bit system for it yet.
Thanks,
Joseph Balsamo

10.4.11 external firewire audio device noise/distortion

Hi
Subsequent to upgrading to 10.4.11 I now have persistent noise from my external firewire audio device. It's an Edirol FA-101 and worked perfectly in 10.4.10 and earlier. I tried replacing the firewire cable with no effect.
The FA-101 is a class compliane device so uses Apples built in firewire audio drivers.. has anyone else had firewire audio problems with 10.4.11?
Thanks
Mark

No I doubt it... FW can be strange sometimes.
Look in Sytem Profiler, if it says you don't have FW at all, then remove all power from the iMac, let it set a few hours to Drain down, plug back in everthing.
Or...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301733

FireWire Audio Heat Problem (Macbook Pro, Late 2008) VIDEO proof

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYHnX3CGUoo
After a lot of hours of trying to figure out WHY my macbook pro heats up (a lot) when i connect my newly bought Apogee Duet firewire audio interface, i found out that actually what was happening is that there are CPU spikes of extremely short period (so short that Activity Monitor and iStat could not catch) constantly spiking the CPU frequency from 1596Mhz (Idle) to 2572Mhz (Maximum). Apart from the frequency spike there is also a VOLTAGE spike from 1.0v to 1.15.
I know that this is normal due to speedstep technologies and such BUT the rapid spiking and alterations of frequency and voltage ALWAYS happening when i have my Firewire audio plugged is not normal to me. There is nothing else running, everything's idle and i only plug the firewire interface.
Also this is not happening when i restrict OSX from loading AppleFWAudio.kext (either by deleting, moving, renaming it). I connect the firewire audio interface, the leds are illuminating but no heat problem (thats to show you that is not because the interface is self-powered)
Whats going on seems to be similar with the problems occurred after Mac Pro Audio Update to users that was using FW audio devices. They were hearing a sine noise coming from their macpro and propably that was because the same thing was happening. Constant spikes of voltage to the CPU. I dont have a macpro thought so i cant apply the update Apple released for that issue.
Also, my macbook is using Lucent / Agere (LSI) firewire chipset (the particular and known revision 6) but i dont think that this is the cause since Apogee didnt have any problems with the chipset
Info: The app im using to monitor the Frequency and Voltage is CoolBook, can be found here: http://www.coolbook.se/CoolBook.html

Firewire Audio disconnected / or AppleFWAudio.kext unloaded = Idle temp arround 50 celcius (iStat)
Firewire Audio Connected with AppleFWAudio.kext loaded = Idle temp arround 60 celcius (iStat)
If theres a possibility that this is due to bus powered firewire device (cause i have an external FW hard drive that is self-powered and temps are not rising when i connect it) then AppleFWAudio.kext maybe manages something with bus powered firewire.
Maybe when i have the interface connected but the kext not loaded the mA sucked by the interface are too little for causing a temp rise but by the time the kext is loaded and the interface is converting audio the mA required tops up so the temp rise comes from the mA load on the firewire bus and not the cpu itself.
*Even if that's the case, the rapid spikes of throttling on the cpu by the time the Firewire Audio interface is connected bothers me. This isn't something that should normaly happen on an idling machine.*

Playing DVDs in 5.1 With Firewire Audio Interface Connected for Logic Pro

This is exactly the same q as asked by plantwebguy in July 06, link
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2696970#2696970...
I'm struggling to get an answer on this anywhere... I have Logic Pro running 5.1 Surround Mixes on a g5, using a Metric Halo Mobile IO Firewire audio interface - its 6 analog outs are connected to a M Audio LX4 powered surround system. It all works great - until... the problem is when I need to listen to DVDs with 5.1 soundtracks (for reference), or even HD trailers (with 5.1 soundtracks). With the Mobile IO selected as audio interface, DVDs only play in stereo. I think this is because the 5.1 soundtrack is only output thru the optical out - but connecting the optical out to the Mobile IO and selecting 'Digital out' on the g5 brings silence.. Im told this is because the MIO's optical in wont decode 5.1. I'm interested to hear from anyone with a Pro Audio interface - like a MOTU etc - who needs to switch between mixing their own music in 5.1 and then listening to DVDs in 5.1.. I cant be the first, surely?
Plantwebguy said he solved his issue with VLC. Do we know if VLC willl decode 5.1 and then output it to the Interface via Firewire? I've searched the net for a Pro Audio interface with (1) 6 analog outs & mic inputs etc (2) firewire connection and (3) optical in that reads AC3/5.1 etc (rather than just ADAT).... nada. Sorry to be long-winded but I cant get a solution anywhere..
Thanks in advance
g5 dual 2.5 Mac OS X (10.3.9) Logic Pro/Mobile IO 2882 FW Interface/M Audio LX4

This is exactly the same q as asked by plantwebguy in July 06, link
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2696970#2696970...
I'm struggling to get an answer on this anywhere... I have Logic Pro running 5.1 Surround Mixes on a g5, using a Metric Halo Mobile IO Firewire audio interface - its 6 analog outs are connected to a M Audio LX4 powered surround system. It all works great - until... the problem is when I need to listen to DVDs with 5.1 soundtracks (for reference), or even HD trailers (with 5.1 soundtracks). With the Mobile IO selected as audio interface, DVDs only play in stereo. I think this is because the 5.1 soundtrack is only output thru the optical out - but connecting the optical out to the Mobile IO and selecting 'Digital out' on the g5 brings silence.. Im told this is because the MIO's optical in wont decode 5.1. I'm interested to hear from anyone with a Pro Audio interface - like a MOTU etc - who needs to switch between mixing their own music in 5.1 and then listening to DVDs in 5.1.. I cant be the first, surely?
Plantwebguy said he solved his issue with VLC. Do we know if VLC willl decode 5.1 and then output it to the Interface via Firewire? I've searched the net for a Pro Audio interface with (1) 6 analog outs & mic inputs etc (2) firewire connection and (3) optical in that reads AC3/5.1 etc (rather than just ADAT).... nada. Sorry to be long-winded but I cant get a solution anywhere..
Thanks in advance
g5 dual 2.5 Mac OS X (10.3.9) Logic Pro/Mobile IO 2882 FW Interface/M Audio LX4

I'm looking for a great sounding FireWire Audio/midi interface.....

Does anyone have experience with the
Mackie Onyx 400F FireWire Audio Interface and Logic 7 ?
I'm hoping to get the very best i can for around $700.
Some reviews i've read say that the sound is some of the best
around. (for the price) Namely, the mic pre.
I need simple but great/reliable midi... i simply need to send my midi controller into Logic, so the simple in/out seems fine for me.
Is it reliable and good with Logic ?

Hey man.
I've tested many of the mid range interfaces including the Onyx 400f. In terms of sound quality I would say the Onyx is the best and reprasents new standards in terms of audio quality at that price point. The pres smoke everything else i've tried (except outboard pres of course). The converters sound highly musical. I prefer them to the sound of higher specced units. BUT! Stability has been a major problem for this unit. Check the Mackie forums under Support on the Mackie website. Its full of horror stories. From high pitched whines, to clicks and pops to phantom power issues latency. Apparently some defective units were released.
I'm currently trying to get hold of one that works, cause I need that sound! But, it's not easy. I've hired two and both had issues, but sounded killer- dow! Anyway another problem is I don't think they have intel drivers yet.
Here are the ones I tested in my preffered order.
1. Onyx 400f
2. Metric Halo ULN-2
3. RME FF 400/800
4. Presonus firepod/ firebox
5. MOTU Traveler
Hope this helps. Cheers.

Lowest latency Firewire audio interface for Logic... which should I choose?

Hi Guys,
I'm about to replace my trusty Yamaha n12 with a dedicated firewire audio interface.
My main requirement is super-low latency for running BFD and other virtual instruments, along with monitoring through Logic directly sometimes (to add effects to vocals in real-time, etc).
I've narrowed down my choice (I think!!) to:
- RME Fireface 800
- Apogee Ensemble
- MOTU 896 Mk3
I have been told that the RME drivers are incredible, and hence it has the lowest latency.
I'd love to hear from other Logic users who own any of the above! What kind of latency do you get (round trip in ms)? What is the lowest buffer setting you can use?
Any downfalls or problems you've had with any of these interfaces?
Thanks heaps guys, can't wait to hear some opinions!
Cheers and thanks,
Mike

Thomjinx wrote:
If yeloop is using BFD, then direct monitoring isn't going to help him. That is for audio in.
Exactly.
FWIW, on MOTU Ultralites, I get a little (less than 1 ms) less latency with the Mk 1 rather than the Mk 3.
Perhaps the built-in DSP slows the Mk 3 down?
Interesting--thanks for the info (one more reason not to upgrade MOTU, frankly...)!
It is still 4.3 ms at 32 samples with the Mk 3. For MIDI controlled VIs, it would be less than that.
I think I measured 3.9ms with my Traveler mk2 at 44.1k with a 32 sample buffer. So, it's a bit faster than the mk3. At 96k I can use a 32 sample buffer to get 2.5ms latency, but I can't run BFD2 with a 32 sample buffer. Best I can do with BFD2 is a 64 sample buffer at 96k... 3.16ms.
But, you're exactly right, Thomjinx: with a VI, you won't hear that full amount of latency. Assuming the MIDI latency is negligible, the VI response time will be roughly 1/2 the full analog audio latency. (Logic reports both of the these figures--output latency and full roundtrip latency--if you click on the latency info in the Audio preferences. Be aware, though, that some devices report this information correctly, while others do not. For instance, with the Apogee and Metric Halo products I've used, the numbers reported by Logic are exactly correct, while with MOTU, the numbers shown in Logic are lower than reality: with a 64 buffer at 44.1k the Traveler mk2 indicates 4.3ms roundtrip latency with Logic, but I measured it as 5.6ms... so you may be misled if you try to use the latency values reported by Logic to compare products... in that regard, MOTU seems to cheat, while Apogee and Metric Halo follow the rules
-James

Nothing but line in/out trying to use firewire audio interface

Hi all, hoping someone can help me out here. I just got and am trying to use a Behringer FAC202 firewire audio interface. It's documentation says all I have to do is plug it in and OS X is supposed to recognize it. Well it doesn't. I have no core audio control panel, and in the sound control panel all I have is the default line in/out for internal audio (I do have system sound through the built in sound card)
Anyone have an idea why the firewire device isn't showing up? I did check the firewire bus and I see:
Unknown Device:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown Device
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
The FAC202 is the only firewire device on the system.
Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks.

Thanks for your reply Jean,
I did try that and saw no luck there either, but it actually turns out that the unit may well be defective. I tried it on several macs of various makes, as well as a couple of PCs and no joy all around, so I'm sending it back for replacement.
Thanks again for your reply.
Jeff

FireWire Audio static

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