Okay - so with some further investigation and a brief chat with sonnet it looks like my issue may actually be a physical defect with the Xma Mini Server . i am awaiting a replacement unit from sonnet ! will keep you posted when it arrives

HI all

A quick update from my previous post . it would appear that the problem i was having was purely related to hardware . Having received 2 new Sonnet Xmac Mini Servers , both are running mac mini's on OSX10.8.1 , both recognise the HDSPe  madi card and work without issue . The first sonnet Xmac mini server rack i received has obviously had a problem with its thunderbolt to pcie interface within the rack hence it occasionally recognising the card .

Hello Alex,
Thanks for following up, it looks like a great combination.  We're interested in using the MadiFX in the same type of configuration but it must be an all-coax version of the MadiFX which RME has not come out with yet.  We need 128 I/O and we need coax and don't want to move around madi converters.
Thanks again,
Hugh

Hi adam

I am not sure as to the size of the daughter board on the madi fx card . More importantly does the madi fx card require any sort of pcie edge mounting . With the HDSPe version the daughterboard is simply connected via a ribbon cable hence the ability to mount it internally . if you require multiple mounting options for card maybe the Magma PCIe to thunderbolt external chassis or the sonnet one might be a better call . i know the magma unit will allow you to have 3 full size cards , not such a compact device , but might solve your problems .

I guess there is only one way to find out. We found the mounting process very straight forward and it seems to be secure enough , our system has been out on the road for a few weeks now and as far as i have been informed  no issues . Let me know once you have tried it i would certainly be interested for the future .

Hello,

We gave one of our units a somewhat thorough recording and playout test here in Los Angeles on a high profile tv show as a backup to the backup recorder.  Recording 128 tracks to two firewire drives using a MadiFX card in Nuendo, worked very well, 12 hours recording per day for 4 days.  Total machine cpu usage was around 11%.  One thing I didn't know because there are no rear pictures on their site and none available in stores, the firewire and Line In/Out are not cabled to the rear panel.  Kind of a pain but there's plenty of space on the back panel to add connectors when we feel like warranty-voiding.

An odd issue we need to solve is the ventilation.  The included fans are VERY LOUD, ridiculously so, and only move a moderate amount of air; we'll need to replace those at some point.  We know they're temp regulated because when it's first powered up the fans wind up even louder then drop back as things initialize.  It will live in a rack but it's still in the audio room so can't be stupid loud.

The fans are only in front of the expansion side; the Mini side of the chassis looks like it has vents but they're not through the front.  Odd to me.
To make things stranger, the new MacMini style ingests air from the front of the unit at the bottom, in the gap formed between the plastic bottom cap and the case.  However this air inlet is not enough when the machine is under constant load, even the 11% continuous while recording.  The CPU temp as measured by iStat was as high as 92degC which is one drawback to using this type of physical construction vs. a MacPro.  Needless to say 92degC won't do, even if it can survive the machine's life will be dramatically shortened.

We found an odd thing - removing the MacMini from the chassis but leaving it plugged, the air around the Mini did not improve the heat dissipation indicating the Mini's airflow is to blame, not the chassis as I assumed.  Or we have a defective bottom cap.  Removing the bottom plastic cap and putting a couple of spacers in the chassis to lift it the same amount above the chassis' floor, the unit ran around 10degC cooler.  The Mini's ventilation is not adequate for it's laptop architecture.

Other than connectivity and ventilation, solvable, the unit performed very well and everyone likes it.

Hugh

Hi Timur - Sorry for not having been in contact , i have been busy with the latest version of the Mac mini server / RME playback machine .

So being inspired by Hugh's build , when we required some more new machines , i jumped at the chance of building a similar solution utilizing the RME HDSPe MADi FX card. The mirroring option on Madi Out's 2 & 3 are ideal as redundant outputs and along with the extra functionality now available through total mix it was a no brainer to go down the route of the FX card . (along with a bit of encouragement from Mr Borelli at Synthax UK )

So I have attached some pictures of our latest build which is currently in testing . all seems well with the system , but I will you give some updated reports once it has been out on the road for a little while . In terms of problems , the mounting of the daughterboard was not as straight forward as with the HDSPe Madi. The very short ribbon cable and orientation of the card was problematic, remembering that mounting the card is pointless unless you have enough room to get the connections on and off it . We really did not want to have to modify the chassis too much, or butcher the outer casing , but needed to ensure the mounting would be rugged enough to survive rock'n'roll touring. The solution is like most in this situation - simple but brilliant . I'm afraid i can take no credit for it - Mr Steve Perry - who is far more than a Service Engineer came up with this genius mounting solution and even fitted it for me - Thanks Steve, you've surpassed yourself this time .

Spex are as follows ..

mac Mini I5 2.5Ghz with 256 Crucial SSD  8GB Ram
Fitted into Sonnet XMac Mini Server
with RME HDSPe Madi FX main and daughter card fitted
Running  QLab 

This sends out 32 channels of playback madi / timecode .

Timur - i'll drop you a line once this gets out onto the road and we can talk with you some more

  Alex

Hello,

Since Alex's pictures are so good I decided to post our not-as-good pictures.:)

We decided to mount it differently, attaching the expansion board to the rear board slot where it would be held in place at a good height.  The bottom power raceway cover keeps it from shorting on the case.  We made a longer ribbon cable to accommodate.

Apple did a thorough (supposedly) test on our test mini to make sure we weren't having an abnormal heat issue and said it's fine.  The 3rd-tier service engineer I spoke with, a very competent person, said Apple doesn't publish specs on how hot the CPU die can get but I maintain 85-90 degC is simply too hot for sustained use.  We did a bunch more testing yesterday to determine exactly where the airflow issues exist and how to mitigate.  We of course would never void any warranties .

The next challenge will be dealing with the connectors.  The firewire is not on the rear panel and neither is the analog I/O.  The coax for the third Madi port is also not there but we can mount BNCs on the rear panel.  The displayport > vga adaptor dangles from the other thunderbolt port, not a robust assembly when pulled in and out of racks; we'll need to find a way to make that permanent.  The rear shelf helps but it needs some mounting points.

Hugh

Layout -

Daughter card detail -

We can not guarantee that a ribbon cable of 2 or 3 meters will work. The one in the photo obviously must work, or the shipped one would already be on the edge of operating correctly. There is some reserve...