Mac Book Pro with Firewire HD + Audio Interface?

[vinco]

Hi there,

I'm about to purchase a mac book pro and I'm wondering what would be the best for my interface.

I'll be using an external firewire HD for my virtual instruments, most likely the 1Tb LaCie Extreme (FW800). This HD seems to be the most logical for my needs since I have a huge collection of sample libraries that I'd like to have with me all the time.

Now I'm not sure about the audio interface I should take.
I'll mainly use Protools LE to be compatible with my PT rig at home but I'll also use Logic Pro for my orchestral stuff since some libraries aren't available in RTAS (ex. VSL).

So I'm thinking about buying a Digidesign interface since I'm not a big fan of M-Audio. The ones I used in the past always had some problems.

However I'm wondering if I should take a USB (MBox) model or a Firewire (MBox Pro).
I'm not sure which one will work better with the HD mentioned above.

Will it be fine running a HD using the FW800 and the MBox Pro with the FW400?
Or should I just stay with the USB Model?

I never used USB 2 interfaces in the past (well I did with an old emagic Emi 2/6 on USB 1 but it didn't work that well) so I don't know much about them and I'm wondering if it will be less or more reliable than a FW interface.

Thanks!
Vincent

[wildpark]

usb2 is faster then firewire.

take a pcie expansion cards (for the freeslot left side your macbook located)and take a outside s-ata on your macbook for fastes drivest avalible.

thx pab.

[vinco]

Hi Pab,

Thanks for your advice!

Have you ever worked with USB 2 Audio interfaces compared to Firewire?

I usually don't have more than 32 tracks per project but I do run a lot of Virtual Instruments. I'll have 4Go RAM on the MacBook (same as on my G5) but I want to make sure the audio interface will have no problems buffering the output.

Also the PCIe card option seems interesting but how does it work exactly? Do I need a special enclosure for the driver after? I just want to make sure the system will be 100% reliable since I'll only be working with this system for 4 months (on the road).

Thanks!
Vincent

[wildpark]

hello vinco

my setup is allways changing

because i travel much and every year more and more.

at my studio in germany i have a hd accel rig but this helps not if your miles away from electricity.

most of the time i make preproduktion with soft instruments with logic and protools le

(protools le just for my expensive rtas plugs library only)

last time
i worked with 2 usb2 7200 rpm drives one for bfd drums streaming and one for other samples.

i recorded on a second partition on the macbook build in drive then

this iwas not the best way but worked
since i moved too outside s ata my setup works fine with 2 additional akkus for my macboo.

the protools le convertor quality is not that weapon

so you have too use a other mobile convertor.

i know some people use apogee ensemble but i mean this will be nearly soundwise

the same deal as the mbox!.

here is a link too the card pcie card i use

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA:IT&ih=014


pab.

[SFTPH]

If you got the cash Czech out the Metrio Halo stuff. Firewire is much faster for audio than USB2. USB2 is fast with LARGE files but chokes when dozens of smaller files are streamed at once. That is an Expresscard slot and not pcie, BTW.

[tclash]

Originally Posted by wildpark

usb2 is faster then firewire.

That's not necessarily true. While the spec for USB2 is better (max 480 vs 400), FW400 has a faster sustained transfer rate. USB2 does not sustain the 480 transfer rate. I don't believe that USB2 drives are supported for use with PT.

FW800 is of course faster than both. I'm not sure if the MacBook Pro has a separate bus for the FW400 & FW800 ports; you might want to check that. (not great to mix FW400 & 800 on the same bus) But if it does, then you would do pretty well having your PT interface on the FW400 port and your external drive on the FW800. Even if they are on the same bus you can still hook your drive to the FW800 port via FW800-400 cable.

[vinco]

Hi Tclash,

I'm not sure what you're talking about having 2 different bus for the FW800 and 400 on the Mac Book Pro.

Here's what the specs say:

Expansion

* One FireWire 400 port at up to 400 Mbps
* One FireWire 800 port at up to 800 Mbps
* 15-inch MacBook Pro
o Two 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports


Is that what you meant?

Thanks again to all of you for your help,
Vincent

[Akoppenheffer]

I have a MacBook Pro and got sick of using my external with USB2.0 so I went to the Apple store and asked if there was a Firewire port expander and they hooked me up with a piece of gear that has 6 ports on it and one of them goes into your FireWire 400 Bus. I now run my interface and hard drive through the same port. It works great! and the transfer speeds have improved. I still want to get a FireWire 800 drive to fill that bus, but that will come in time. I still have another 150 gigs to fill.

[tclash]

Originally Posted by vinco

Hi Tclash,

I'm not sure what you're talking about having 2 different bus for the FW800 and 400 on the Mac Book Pro.

Here's what the specs say:

Expansion

* One FireWire 400 port at up to 400 Mbps
* One FireWire 800 port at up to 800 Mbps
* 15-inch MacBook Pro
o Two 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports


Is that what you meant?

Thanks again to all of you for your help,
Vincent

Not exactly. Sometimes there is more than one port but they share the same bus, meaning there is only one path for the data, so they aren't independent from one another. You could try asking over on the Apple forums.

But like I said, if you get a FW800-FW400 cable you can use your drive with the FW800 port without risk of mixing things up.

Hope that helps.

[vinco]

Actually the La Cie HD will be FW800 so that will solve the problem:
- FW800 Port for the HD
- FW400 Port for the Audio Interface.

Or I just don't get it :-)

Vincent

[tclash]

Originally Posted by vinco

Actually the La Cie HD will be FW800 so that will solve the problem:
- FW800 Port for the HD
- FW400 Port for the Audio Interface.

Or I just don't get it :-)

Vincent

What I am trying to say is that if you mix a FW800 device with a FW400 PT interface on the same bus, there could be problems. To be safe, buy a cable that is FW800 on one end and FW400 on the other. Hook that into the FW400 connector on your La Cie drive (I assume it has both).

I can't explain it any better than that.

[vinco]

Okay I understand now

What about buying the USB MBox instead?

We talked about reliability for the USB HD but not really about the audio interfaces...

Vincent

[Mr B.]

I have a mbox 2 with usb connection and I also run my master keyboard axiom 25 on it when i travel and I have some problems with audio clicks and pops when i use the Kb but if you don t have any other periph on the usb bus I think it would be allright just take mbox2 mini if you don t need lots of inputs and midi connection.

[teknosmoker]

Originally Posted by tclash

I'm not sure if the MacBook Pro has a separate bus for the FW400 & FW800 ports..

They share the same bus on a Macbook Pro.

[siloo]

Originally Posted by wildpark

usb2 is faster then firewire.

take a pcie expansion cards (for the freeslot left side your macbook located)and take a outside s-ata on your macbook for fastes drivest avalible.

thx pab.

While it is true that the stated maximum transfer rate is slightly faster with USB 2.0, the protocol itself is not conducive to moderate to heavy audio work. Firewire is far more robust when handling the transfer of large amounts of information in both directions simultaneously, which is extremely important in working with a DAW. USB 2.0 will give you pretty decent recording OR playback of moderate track counts, but when trying to do both, or when hitting the processor relatively hard with plug-ins, etc., USB 2.0 folds up and starts crying like a little girl.

I've been working with this stuff both as a producer and as a tech consultant for the better part of 15 years now, and I have never recommended USB audio interfaces of any kind because of the above reasons. USB MIDI is a whole different matter, but with audio, forget about it!

J-Wil
Riverwind Productions
Spring Hill, TN

[jslevin]

J-Wil speaks the truth. Firewire by design was meant for heavy-streaming multimedia data. USB2 by design is a multi-purpose interface for all types of devices.

Nobody even attempts to sell video pros USB-based storage systems, even though many of them are still standardized on Firewire 400, not 800. Theoretical maximums don't have much to do with actual performance.

I would stay away from Lacie, whose drives seem to double as frying pans. Ask anyone who works in a Mac repair shop or retail outlet, the failure rate on Lacie drives is just spectacular.

There is a new generation of enclosures hitting the market that house SATA drives rather than the old PATA drives, and that include the new 924 bridge chips. We are just now trying them out, but there is every reason to believe they will provide the best throughput (through eSATA or Firewire 800) for high-performance applications. Check out the "quad interface" enclosures from G-Technology or Other World Computing.

For the best and most consistent and reliable high-performance applications, check this out. Great people, and serious about support.

JSL

[vinco]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the info.

I just found out with the Digidesign support that the MBox Pro won't work fine if you also attach a Firewire drive on a Mac Book Pro.

I'm waiting for answers from them to see what would be the best solution.
I'll post it there once I get the answer.

Thanks again!
Vincent

[mattc41]

hi,
this is my first post, but i thought i didn't need to create a new thread for this. i have a new macbook pro and i want to get an external firewire 800 drive to run on the 800 port and run an interface(apogee duet when it comes out) on the 400 port. will this cause any issues? It would only be 1-2 tracks at a time. thank you!

matt

[SFTPH]

Originally Posted by mattc41

hi,
this is my first post, but i thought i didn't need to create a new thread for this. i have a new macbook pro and i want to get an external firewire 800 drive to run on the 800 port and run an interface(apogee duet when it comes out) on the 400 port. will this cause any issues? It would only be 1-2 tracks at a time. thank you!

matt

I have a MBP and run a FW800 drive and FW400 interface with no problems. I'm prolly gonna get a Duet when it comes out, too (just like a lot of other cats) so we will all find out together if the action is go.

[PlatinumSamples]

If you're not running Pro Tools check out the Symphony Mobile

http://www.apogeedigital.com/product...honymobile.php

Rail

[mattc41]

Originally Posted by SFTPH

I have a MBP and run a FW800 drive and FW400 interface with no problems. I'm prolly gonna get a Duet when it comes out, too (just like a lot of other cats) so we will all find out together if the action is go.

.


sweet thanks for the info. i figured it was fine, but it's always nice to hear what other people are running. looking forward to the duet, seems like a sweet little interface.