IMac and USB or Firewire interface?

I'm close to purchasing a new quad core iMac. My only hesitation is that the iMac has only a single Firewire input. At the moment I use a MacBook 2 GHz with an Edirol UA-25 USB interface and two external Firewire drives, one for recording audio and the other for samples.
But what if I need to replace my interface? There are far more Firewire audio interfaces than there are USB offerings. I assume that daisy-chaining the two external drives plus a Firewire interface might over-tax the iMac's single Firewire input. On the other hand, the most I ever record at one time are two tracks. I guess what I'm really asking is this: Given my need for only two inputs, what's the difference between a USB and a Firewire interface?
Jim

It's a Firewire 800 port.
Daisy-chain or use a hub. For maximum performance in daisy-chaining, hook up your FW800 devices first, and hang the FW 400 device(s) off that. If you have more than on FW 400 device, use a hub.
Also, I don't think there's ever been a Mac that had more than one Firewire controller, i.e. even on machines with more than one port, all Firewire ports hook up to a single chipset, meaning it's just an integrated hub, with no speed benefit at all from the multiple sockets.

Similar Messages

USB or Firewire Interface for Logic

Hi,
I have a new iMac 20" dual core and am after a new audio interface to use with logic pro. Which would be the best to use with the iMac USB or Firewire?? I heard that the firewire ports are shared or something and I already have an external drive in one of the firewire ports so I was after some advice.
Many thanks

What you've probably heard is that the firewire bus is shared, not the actual port. All firewire ports on all Macs share the same bus. What this means is that if you are running a FW800 device and a FW400 device, the entire bus will only be running at 400.
I'd personally recommend going firewire. You can always daisy-chain your devices and the firewire connection is better suited for audio in terms of consistent speed.
There are plenty of posts throughout the board that talk about which ones are the most recommended. A simple search should yield an abundance of information on which interfaces are the best suited for what you want to do.

IMac and M-Audio firewire solo

Hi everyone!
I've recently bought an M-Audio firewire solo interface, installed the last certificated driver, shut down the system as recommended, plug in the interface and turn on again the system. Unfotunately Mac OSX doesn't recognize the interface.. I've tried it on my mac book pro and it does work perfectly, and the firewire 800 port on my iMac seems to work, cause I take my iMac to the assistance and they try a firewire hard disk that worked without problem.
Now my question is: how can i fixed this problem? does anyone suggest me to fotmat and reinstalling the OS or maybe try to install an update of the firmware? the iMac is new, bought on March of this year..
Thanks for your help, and sorry for my english!!
---Marco

The easiest way would probably be to put a pair of 6 pin to 4 pin adaptors (of opposite "genders") into the cable run, or to use a 6 pin to 4 pin cable with a single 4 to 6 pin adaptor on the end of it, vivajam. THis should cut the power supply from the Mac to the device.
http://www.granitedigital.com/catalog/pg20_firewiregenderadapters.htm seem to have the sort of thying you would need.
Cheers
Rod

IMac and USB woes

I have a 2GHz Intel Core Duo iMac 20-inch.
I seem to have problems with USB connections, specifically...
When I plug in my 80 Gig video iPod, the iPod says DO NOT DISCONNECT, but is not recognized on the iMac. I shut down, but the iPod still says DISCONNECT. I disconnect any way, reset the iPod, reboot, and then the iPod is recognized and everything works as usual.
I have a Belkin USB hub, and when I plug it in I experience kernel panics. Also, not everything plugged into the hub is always recognized. I will be trying a different hub, although have used this one without any problems on my older G4 iMac. No kernel panics as long as I don't use the hub (which I really need).
Any advice?

Try booting from the #1 disk that came with your computer, by inserting the disk, restarting computer and holding down C key until you get the Apple and spinning gear, then release. Go through a few screens until you see Apple at top left, go to Utilities and run disk utility, to see if there are any errors on your computer. If so and it doesnt fix them, run this program again (maybe twice). It should fix it. If not, consider an erase and install.

Mid-2011 i7. iMac and USB shuts down on sleep

Just got a refurb i7 21" and am loving it. But I was having trouble with it shutting down when going to sleep and therefore not waking from sleep without a full boot up.
After finding this closed thread (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2258706?start=0&tstart=0), I wanted to confirm that unfortunately even after the Lion 10.7.2 update, some powered USB hubs (for example Newer Tech 7 port powered about 1 year old) still cause the iMac to shut down on sleep.
A new Belkin 7 port powered ("high speed for 2.0 or 1.1 devices") does the trick and now the iMac will wake from sleep properly and not shut down.
Just wanted to pass this on to others who might be having trouble and wondering if their motherboard is fried or something.
Also, if a USB port stops working, do an SMC reset (unplug, hold power button down).

Just got a refurb i7 21" and am loving it. But I was having trouble with it shutting down when going to sleep and therefore not waking from sleep without a full boot up.
After finding this closed thread (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2258706?start=0&tstart=0), I wanted to confirm that unfortunately even after the Lion 10.7.2 update, some powered USB hubs (for example Newer Tech 7 port powered about 1 year old) still cause the iMac to shut down on sleep.
A new Belkin 7 port powered ("high speed for 2.0 or 1.1 devices") does the trick and now the iMac will wake from sleep properly and not shut down.
Just wanted to pass this on to others who might be having trouble and wondering if their motherboard is fried or something.
Also, if a USB port stops working, do an SMC reset (unplug, hold power button down).

User friendly usb or firewire interface for new garageband user

Hi, newbie here: sorry if this is redundant, but in my case i just ordered an imac 17" with lots of speed and i want to know what are easy but decent interface options that folks can use to record in Garageband.
I assume the new computers come with Garageband3?
I have a couple shure mics; 57 and 58, and some ukes with and without active pickups, and a p.a. system. I have a couple accoustic guitars too, and I do some vocals.
I am new to GB so will be looking at the video tutorial for GB as well.
Any recomendations for an easy but decent interface REALLY appreciated.
imac duo

PreSonus' hardware is plug and play:
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/Interfaces.html

Usb or firewire interface round up

Hi
i am asking this questions once more, only this time i am also asking with regards to also combining the possibilities of using Pro Tools software on the same machine.
So can anyone round up interfaces and or solutions which allows logic users to have Pro Tools software running on hardware with adat links to expand the number of tracks if desired, and can open Pro Tools sessions with out a problem?
would M-Audio gear, mixers or small interfaces to pro tools compatible hardware with a adat link do the job?

On the ProTools side, there really aren't many choices. Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, M-Audio Firewire 1814, M-Audio Project Mix I/O.
For the gadgets which expand the channels via ADAT, there are more choices, starting with Behringer ADA8000 (very cheap), Presonus Digimax LT, Focusrite Octopre, M-Audio Octane, etc.
I'm not fond of M-Audio interfaces, but they're probably more comfortable running Core Audio applications (such as Logic) than the Digi 002 series.

HT2494 imac and usb hub not working

My iMac won't recognize anything plugged into my powered usb hub. Its a dynex from Best Buy. Only 2 months old and gets more finicky with time. Nothing of significance power is plugged into it. Have a flash drive and small garmin gps I download info off of. Any suggestions?

Have you tried other ports to plug the hub into?

G5 iMac and USB Soundsticks

Hi
Have recently noticed distorted sound and intermittent 'scratch' noises from the Soundsticks when used with the iMac G5. Have tried both USB ports, same problem. Other USB devices seem to work fine with the iMac. Sound from internal speakers fine. The Soundsticks work fine with the MacBook.
The iMac has been running hot recently (High RPM Fan speeds), but have managed to rectify this by cleaning out the 'fluff' from the bottom ventilation holes. Have erased, reformatted drive and updated to Leopard 10.5.1. but sound problem remains.
Any thoughts on likely cause ? iMac Soundcard perhaps ?
Cheers

I just noticed today that my Soundsticks are distorting (maybe that's the same as your scratchy sound) on higher-pitched sounds at any volume. I never noticed this before when these were on my G4 Tower. It's upsetting, because these always sounded great until recently. I don't know if it's because they're on my iMac g5 or if it's the leopard upgrade.

Directly control three LEDs based on USB or firewire port in laptop

As USB or Firewire interface is popular gradually, I attempt to control three LEDs through the USB or Firewire port in a laptop. The power can be provided through the interface or extra device. It's a very simple experiment, but I don't know how I can do this. Are there any solvements from NI? If not, what kind of development tools do I need for this object? Thanks in advance!

Paris,
National Instruments offers USB digital I/O devices that should work for this application. I have included links to these product pages below:
DAQPad-6508
DAQPad-6507
Since you only need to control three LEDs, you may want to also consider one of National Instruments FireWire multifunction DAQ devices. Besides eight digital I/O channels, they also include analog input, analog output, and counter functionality. I have also included links to these product pages below:
NI DAQPad-6070E for FireWire
NI DAQPad-6052E for FireWire
Good luck with your application.
Spencer S.

USB/Firewire Interface for MIDI and audio (Garage Band)

I want to connect a Roland Handsonic (electronic drum) and Shure microphone to a Mac Pro for recording in Garage Band. What is the best USB/firewire interface for MIDI and audio?
Mac Pro desktop Mac OS X (10.4.8)

If you click one of the links you can read all about it in depth.
three guitarists
That's not what you asked for B-)>
Once you want more than 2 audio inputs, the prices start jumping up dramatically.
would this be the best interface to use?
If you really want "Best" then it's a simple answer:
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/FirePod.html

Connecting iPod Classic to iMac with USB 1.1 and Firewire

I've just read the specs for the new iPod Classic and the requirements call for USB 2.0 to connect to a Mac. My older iMac does not have USB 2.0. Is the iPod backward compatible to 1.1 or Firewire or is this just not going to work?

Only way for you to use the newer "iPod Classic" is to buy a newer machine if yours can not be upgraded. It is how to make money now, new product means buy new machine to run them, gone are the days of making hardware backwards compatible, no profit in it. What Apple could have done was use its R & D center to make either the Firewire chip smaller or install a Firewire and USB 2.0 Chips in a Dock and have the iPod's internal USB 2.0 chip to switch off when dock connected and allow the electrons to pass through circuit and have the task of delegating to the dock to which ever format it is plugged into the machine. Remember when calling something "Classic" you are referring to the features that made it popular to begin with. Not only was its ease of use but it was for its Firewire connection was the fastest way to get hundreds of music files transferred in a matter of minutes not hours. That was the only choice until the 3G ipod and remained until the ipod photo. I have told Apple a thousand times by e-mail, phone and snail mail I would gladly pay extra to have the iPod with Video and firewire syncing through a dock or a custom iPod. But for now the only way for you to get what you really want is to build it yourself.

I have an old iMac and am thinking about getting an iMac intel do I need a different kind of usb and firewire cord?

I have an old iMac and am thinking of getting an iMac intel. Do I need a different type of usb and firewire cords to work with the new one?

What type of Firewire cable do you have?
If our not sure then first look up your computer with the serial number here,
http://support.apple.com/specs/
Then take a look at the specs for the new iMac here and see if you have compatible cable,
http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html

Wanted: Multi-Channel Audio Interface for iMac & GB (USB)

I am looking for an affordable multi-channel audio interface for my iMac for use with Garageband. My goal is to playback old songs from my old computer (Atari ST) through my Yamaha gear and record the audio into GB so I can mix it. (READ: Not interested in transferring MIDI.)
My goal is to get at least 4 and ideally 6 channel/track recording in GB. I’m not sure if the multi-channel units I see, such as the Alesis MultiMix 4 or the Behringer Xenyx Q802USB send all channels to the Mac or if they mix it down to two channels first.
I’d prefer to mix all the channels in GB rather than pre-mix it. Also, I’d prefer to have 1/4” jacks; XLR would be a nice bonus. USB; since Firewire is going away and Thunderbolt is too new.
Any suggestions? I’m trying to keep this under $100. (Also, I know I can use multiple low-budget devices and aggregate them in Audio/Midi, but I do NOT want to go that route.)
Thanks.

As you imply, keeping it below $100 makes it tough.
Generally only the two channel interfaces are close to $100.
Check out Hang Times FAQ:
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/Interfaces.html

Firewire and USB hard drives won't mount on Xserve - 10.5.8

I have a triple interface drive set for rotating backups, and they've stopped mounting on my Xserve. Disk Utility can't see them at all, but System Profiler sees when I plug them in. The drive specifics for the volume are missing, but they ID correctly. Same drives plugged into an iMac and a MacBook Pro mount perfectly every time, both over USB and Firewire. Disk Utility via the iMac shows no problems at all. I've tried rebooting the Xserve... doesn't help.
I kinda need my backup to run on my server. Thoughts on how to resolve?

Sounds like you should be posting to the Xserve forum.

IMac and USB or Firewire interface?

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