Firewire Recording Interface For Mac

Firewire Recording Interface For Macbook Pro
Firewire 800 Audio Interface For Mac
Firewire Recording Interface For Mac Windows 10
Firewire Recording Interface For Macbook

Firewire (IEEE 1394) has never reached quite the same level of adoption on Windows PCs as on the Apple platform, and direct support on motherboards has tailed off almost completely in recent years, meaning that users of Firewire interfaces acquiring a new desktop machine have to fit a third-party card. Driver for the FireWire Solo interface. Audiophile USB Driver: Drivers - Audiophile usb driver: Delta 1010 Driver: Drivers - Driver for Delta 1010. Fixed a problem where the FireWire 1814 does not send S/PDIF out with 1.7.2 driver on a Mac Intel. Fixed a problem where the Firewire 1814 ADAT input is mirrored out of 7/8 regardless of output.

TOP NOTCH
RECORDING WITH TRUE FLEXIBILITY

The Onyx Blackbird Premium 16x16 FireWire Recording Interface delivers professional-grade recording quality with performance, flexibility and expandability in mind. With eight boutique-quality Onyx preamps and high-end 24-bit/96kHz conversion in a sleek rackmount design, Blackbird gives your studio the tools and capability needed for world-class sound. Easily expandable via ADAT and Wordclock or device aggregation via the Blackbird Control™desktop application, the Onyx Blackbird can be scaled up for any need.

Features

The right Firewire audio interface for you will boil down to a few factors, including how much you plan to spend and how many channels you'll require. On the more compact, affordable side of things, there's the PreSonus FireStudio Mobile 10x6 FireWire Recording System.
Use FireWire devices with Mac. You can use FireWire (sometimes called IEEE 1394 or i.LINK) to connect external devices, such as a hard drive or a digital video camera, without needing to restart your computer.A FireWire port provides power, so the connected device usually doesn’t need its own power cord. Many Mac computers have one or more FireWire 400 ports that transfer data at up to 400.

Premium sound quality and I/O for the professional studio

FIDELITY

Boutique-Quality Onyx Preamps

Found on our most expensive studio consoles, Onyx pres are designed to meet or surpass expensive, esoteric standalone mic pres in terms of fidelity, headroom and transparency –as well as improved radio frequency (RFI) rejection and ultra-wide dynamic range. And with a full 60dB of available gain, would-be competitors are left in the dust.

DYNAMIC

High-Quality AD/DA Conversion

The Onyx Blackbird uses Cirrus Logic®converters offering 114dB dynamic range (A-weighted) –a specification other companies sometimes charge thousands of dollars to achieve. Our preamp circuitry is aligned precisely with the onboard analog-to-digital conversion to always provide you with the most headroom and the lowest noise and distortion possible.

CONNECT

Professional Digital I/O

Blackbird is the perfect front end to your DAW using the FireWire connection and if you get more preamps later (like another Onyx Blackbird), you can connect them via Blackbird’s integrated 8x8 ADAT I/O, delivering a full 16-channel 24-bit/96kHz resolution recording solution. There’s also onboard word clock I/O perfect for any scenario incorporating multiple pieces of analog/digital gear

SMART

Two 'Super Channels'

The two front-panel “Super Channels”offer extremely useful features, right within your reach. First off, both channels utilize combo inputs, dedicated 48V phantom power and true analog hardware monitoring, in either mono or stereo, allowing you to route the signals directly to your studio monitors or headphones. Zero-latency overdubs have never been easier to set up or control.

FLEXIBLE

Blackbird Control DSP Matrix Mixer

The Onyx Blackbird is powerful all on its own. However, for more complex applications, Mackie provides you with the custom-designed 18x16 Blackbird Control DSP Matrix Mixer application. This powerful graphic user interface (GUI) allows for customization and ease-of-use that the competition is simply unable to achieve.

ROBUST

Tough but Friendly

In true Mackie tradition, Onyx Blackbird features a “Built-Like-A-Tank”design, with a powder-coated, all-steel chassis that can get bumped around with the best of them. With tons of boutique-quality pres, unmatched AD/DA conversion and a host of flexible, professional features…it’s the perfect solution for any studio.

Applications

A solution for any studio

Studios, regardless of size, can’t usually afford to buy all the gear they want at once. That’s why investing in gear designed with performance, flexibility and expandability in mind is critical. Whether you have a small home studio or you’re taking on big clients, the Onyx Blackbird will deliver professional results. With its “Built-Like-A-Tank” design, it is made to last. You can feel confident taking it on the road for mobile recording or even part of a live recording rig on tour

Manuals

Owners Manual

Quick Start Guide

SPECS

SOFTWARE/FIRMWARE

Drivers

PC: Windows XP to Windows 8
Mac: OS X 10.5 to OS X 10.12

SUPPORT DOCS

PRODUCT PHOTOS

Blackbird

Suggestions

Onyx Blackbird is a premium, complete front end solution for your studio. But, good company is always appreciated.

Big Knob

Studio Monitoring

MRmk3 Series

Studio Monitoring

MCU Pro and XT Pro [old]

Recording

Whether you’re starting a new home studio, or improving an existing one…

There’s no single purchase more confusing than the audio interface.

Because among the dozens of options…

Each one is designed to meet the demands of a specific “type” of studio.

For example…

At one extreme, a small $100 interface might be perfect in a simple bedroom studio…

If all you need is a single pair of outputs for your studio monitors.

At the opposite extreme, a pro studio that requires dozens of INs/OUTs might need several interfaces, each costing $4000 or more.

Needless to say, matching the right interface with the right studio is tricky even for the experienced. And for beginners, its 10x worse.

Which is why for today’s post, I’ve created an in-depth guide to help you find the perfect option for your studio.

So let’s get started. First off…

The 5 Key Features to Look For

Because of the fact that audio interfaces have so many features, it’s difficult to know which ones matter, and which ones don’t.

So let’s talk about that now. In particular, these are the 5 key specs to focus on:

DAW Compatibility
Interface Connectors
Input/Output (I/O) Count
Input Channel Types
Form Factor

And here’s why:

1. DAW Compatibility

In general, most DAW’s work with most interfaces…but not always.

If you don’t yet have a particular DAW that you are loyal to, then you need not worry here.

Because 90% of the top DAW’s will be compatible with any interface you choose.

However if you alreadyhave a DAW you want to continue using, be sure to verify compatibility on the company’s website. And just to warn you, this info is often hard to find.

You would think they would just post DAW compatibility in the interface’s product description, right? But it rarely happens. Usually it’s buried somewhere within an FAQ page.

While it’s not clear why this is done, my best guess is that these companies prefer not to advertise their current DAW compatibility, because they have no guarantees of future compatibility.

A particular interface might be compatible with your DAW today, but it may not be in a future release. And while that’s not likely to happen, it’s always possible.

Which is why personally, I prefer to use a DAW/interface combo made by the same company. Later in this post I will give you some good examples of these.

However, since there are only a few companies that make both, the downside to this solution is that it severely limits your options.

Up next…

2. Interface Connectors

When connecting an audio interface to a computer…

There are 4 cable options commonly used:

USB– which is typically seen on cheaper home studio interfaces, and offers the slowest data transfer rate.
Firewire– which is used on more expensive home studio interfaces, and offers a significantly faster transfer rate (nowadays these are becoming less common).
Thunderbolt– which has recently become popular with newer semi-pro interfaces, and is way faster than either USB or Firewire.
PCIE– which has long been the standard connection for professional interfaces, because it offers additional processing power and extremely fast data-transfer.

While USB is by far the slowest of all 4 options, it is still more than fast enough to get the job done for the vast majority of home studios.

So if you’re on a budget, USB is what I recommend.

But whichever type you choose, remember to double-check that your computer has the appropriate connection.

3. Input/Output (I/O) Count

On a typical interface, I/O counts can range anywhere between:

1-2 on a simple interface, to…
20+ on a professional one.

And the number you need for your studio depends mainly on the number of tracks you plan to record/monitor at once.

For example:

Solo musicians – may need only 2-4.
Songwriting teams – who work in small groups, want at least 4-8.
Engineers who record bands – should have as many as possible (16 at least).

Also…electronic drum kits alone can sometimes require 8 inputs if they offer separate channels for each part of the kit. So take that into consideration if you plan on using one.

4. Input Channel Types

One thing recording newbies often fail to realize is…

Firewire Recording Interface For Macbook Pro

When counting the input channels of an audio interface, manufacturers could be referring to any number of different input types.

Firewire 800 Audio Interface For Mac

However in almost all cases, it includes some combination of these 3:

Mic Input – which allows you to connect a mic directly to the interface.
Line Input – which requires the addition of an outboard mic preamp to be used as a mic channel.
Optical Input – which is a type of “digital” input that requires the addition of BOTH an outboard mic preamp, and digital converter w/ “optical out” to be used as a mic channel.

Now here’s what this means for you:

If you want to use your interface “as-is” without adding a multi-channel mic preamp, you might have less available inputs than you think.

Because as you’ll notice, interfaces often have 16 or more total input channels, but only 2-8 mic inputs.

So without any additional gear, the “real” number of inputs on your audio interface is the mic preamp count, NOT the same as the input count.

Now that you know…make sure you actually have enough channels for your purposes. Otherwise you will be sorely disappointed.

NOTE: Two other input types that you should also look for are DI inputs (if you play guitar/bass), and MIDI inputs (if you use any type of keyboards/MIDI controllers).

5. Form Factor

A fancy jargon term used by computer geeks…

“Form factor” simply refers to the physical size and shape interface.

The two form factor options are:

Desktop Interfaces – which are smaller, and sit on your desk next to your computer.
Rackmounted Interfaces– which are larger, and mount in a standard size rack unit.

For beginners, I recommend starting with a desktop interface, because they’re cheap, easy-to-use, and require no special mounting or peripheral devices. You just plug them in and start recording.

With intermediate/advanced studios, rackmounted interfaces are typically better, as they tend to offer more I/O’s, as well as greater flexibility with signal routing and organization.

Now that you know what to look for, let’s check out some specific models.

Starting with…

Best Desktop Interfaces

For the vast majority of people reading this article, who only want a cheap interface that will allow them to record their music at home…

I recommend a 2-6 channel USB desktop interface, which normally costs between $100-$300 on the low-end, and $500-1500 on the high-end.

Currently, the top brands for these “types” of interfaces are Presonus, Focusrite, Avid, Universal Audio.

Here are the models I recommend from each brand:

Presonus AudioBox (USB connection)

(includes Presonus Studio One Artist DAW)

AudioBox USB – (Amazon/GuitarC/MusiciansF/Thomann)
AudioBox iTwo – (iPad Compatible) – (Amazon/GuitarC/MusiciansF/Thomann)
Audiobox 44VSL – (Amazon/GuitarC/MusiciansF/Thomann)

Who do I recommend these for? – Beginner studios on a tight budget who want a bundled interface/DAW combo.