• Registered: 2018-06-26
  • Posts: 5

Topic: FireFace 400 with a laptop question

Hi, my MacBook pro is a bit too slow these days 2011 i5 model, so i recently bought a laptop with an i7 7700HQ. However it doesn't have a firewire port or a means to add one. I understand I can use the Fireface 400 in standalone mode for monitoring (which is all it's used for anyway) so I'm thinking about something like a USB to coaxial SPDIF to get the digital output from my DAW to the FF400 for mixing on my monitors and headphones.

Anyone know of a small USB to SPDIF device that would do the job? Some have outlandish prices but all I want is to get the zeros and ones to my FF400 via a coaxial SPDIF cable

  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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  • From: USA
  • Registered: 2007-05-21
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Re: FireFace 400 with a laptop question

https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-au … reamer-box

This one can do ADAT mode to get 8 channel, but this is output only.

Did you consider selling the FF400 towards purchase of Fireface UC or UCX?

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

3 Reply by extropy (edited by extropy 2018-10-09 01:13:51)

  • Registered: 2018-06-26
  • Posts: 5

Re: FireFace 400 with a laptop question

I did think about this a while ago yes, but the prices are out of my reach at the moment. It'd be a lot of money to change the interface, I think the FF400 spec is pretty much the same as the UC so it's be a lot of money to switch. I'm fine with using it on my desktop, I just wanted to do a little work on my laptop.

I just found something this evening that may be worth me looking into. There is a way to add a firewire port in a laptop, but it takes a fair bit of planning and some modification to the laptop, it basically involves using the mPCI-E port in the laptop, you sacrifice the wifi/Bluetooth and use an LSI/Agere mPCI-E card. It'd mean I have to find a way to cut a neat hole in the side of my brand new laptop but I don't mind doing that if it'll work