Topic: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

Hi folks -- I have two pieces of hardware to connect:

  • Mac Mini (2014) which has a Thunderbolt 2 port

  • Fireface 400 from about 2007 which has a Firewire 400 port (IEEE 1394)

It's hard to find a direct Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire 400 adapter, so I'm going to use a Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire 800 adapter connected to a Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 adapter in sequence.  Has anyone done that successfully, and is there any risk to the equipment if I try it?  Am I likely to introduce extra lag because I'm using adapters? 

I'll probably use these adapters:

FYI, I'll power the Fireface unit externally and I'm not using more than one Fireface unit in the setup.

I searched this forum for this situation but no one asked about this type of connection.  Thanks a bunch for any advice!

  Jack

Re: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

That's how it's done...

MB Pro - 2 X FireFace 400, FF800 & DigiFace USB
ADAT gear: Korg, Behri, Fostex, Alesis...

Re: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

Should work but I would recommend using a FireWire 800 to 400 cable instead of the second adapter. That way you only need one adapter to thunderbolt.

Re: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

Thanks folks!  Good idea on the adapters.  I'll use a male-male FW800 to FW400 cable with the Thunderbolt 2 male to FF800 female connector I mentioned.

Re: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

hselters wrote:

Should work but I would recommend using a FireWire 800 to 400 cable instead of the second adapter. That way you only need one adapter to thunderbolt.

Follow-up:  I tried this as you suggested, using a simple Firewire 800 to 400 cable instead of a second adapter.  But it did not work properly (see below).

But what DOES work is putting an actual FW 400 to 800 adapter (made by Elago, available on Amazon) in sequence between the Apple Thunderbolt 2/Firewire 800 adapter and a standard Firewire 400 cable.  So either my new FW 800->400 cable was bad or it needs more intelligence than a dumb cable.

FYI, here's what happened when the first configuration failed: 
TotalMix would seem to run but would not bring up any windows (I call it "lobotomized" TotalMix) and the Fireface Settings program would not run at all.  I've found over the years that this is typical behavior when the Fireface is not properly connected to the computer.  I've heard that these two programs actually run on the Fireface interface, not the computer (except for a stub), so lack of a connection would indeed lobotomize them.

My 12-year-old Fireface 400 is still running strong!

6

Re: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

How are you powering the FF400?

If you're relying on the Firewire connection instead of the external power supply, that could explain your failure with the FW800-400 cable.

Frank Lockwood
https://LockwoodARS.com
Fireface 800, Firmware 2.77
Drivers: Win10, 3.125; Mac, 3.36

Re: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

A FW400 to 800 "adapter" is just a cable. No electronics in there...

Could be the cable was on the edge and the TB2 to FW adapter added enough loss to push the combo over the edge?

MB Pro - 2 X FireFace 400, FF800 & DigiFace USB
ADAT gear: Korg, Behri, Fostex, Alesis...

Re: Safe to connect Fireface 400 to Thunderbolt 2 via Firewire 800?

Yes, sounds like you got a faulty FireWire cable.