Will UAD-2 Satellite be useable on M1 Minis???

[James Steele]

So I have a few UAD plugs that I run on a UAD-2 DUO PCIe card. I went by UA's webpage and it looks like they discontinued the UAD-2 Satellite series of external DSP boxes that connect via Firewire 400 and 800. So it seems the only external DSP option currently in production to use my UAD plugs should I one day go with a M1 Mac Mini are Apollo interfaces and I'm not really sure I want to go that (more expensive) route. I like the MOTU interfaces.

Is it possible that with proper adapters the Satellite boxes will connect to and function with Macs with Thunderbolt? I'm seriously considering buying one used so I can pull my PCIe card, transfer the licenses to the Satellite, and then be "future proofed" and be able to eventually use my UA plug-ins if/when I can get an M1 Mac Mini. There is NO doubt that my PCIe card is a dead end.

[James Steele]

Okay... I guess maybe UA still makes the Thunderbolt Satellite? I found a link to their DSP accelerators but it was not obvious how to get there.

https://www.uaudio.com/uad-accelerators.html

Some searching other forums suggest that you can indeed use a Thunderbolt to FW800 adapter with the older FW Satellite units. Maybe it's worth it. It's said that bandwidth is limited compared to Thunderbolt, but I don't use too many UA plugs. I was really just looking at a way to not have to completely abandon the UAD plug-ins that I own should I eventually upgrade to a new Mac (that WON'T have PCIe slots).

[dix]

The UAD Thunderbolt Satellite is working perfectly here with an M1 MBP. Picked up a new one for $600 on ebay...No need to think about FW ever again, thankfully.

[James Steele]

The UAD Thunderbolt Satellite is working perfectly here with an M1 MBP. Picked up a new one for $600 on ebay...No need to think about FW ever again, thankfully.

Cool. Don’t they have different price points depending on DSP power? I was thinking have different levels like the cards: DUO, QUAD, etc.

The main reason I was thinking of picking up a used FireWire unit was price and also I could make the transition while I’m still using my 12-core Cheesgrater and then someday throw a FW to TB adapter on it and use it on a modern Mac.

[dix]

I considered that exact same strategy for the same reason, but the FW Satellites, like many things FW, looked like nothing but trouble. I actually bought the Tb Satellite preemptively months before I bought the M1 Mac, and just kept it in the box, to make it at least feel like I was mitigating the cost of the transition to the M1 when the time came. With some eBay vigilance I bet you could get one even cheaper....I have a QUAD btw, same as my PCI card. Yes, there's other price/power points too.

One nice thing about buying a new Satellite is that it comes with four plugins of your choice. Only problem is I still can't decide which to get! I have all the UA plugins I need I think.

[James Steele]

I considered that exact same strategy for the same reason, but the FW Satellites, like many things FW, looked like nothing but trouble.

Not sure why you say that, though? Lots of reports of trouble? You had no *actual* trouble, but just it looked like it *might* be trouble? I might go ahead and test those waters.

I actually bought the Tb Satellite preemptively months before I bought the M1 Mac, and just kept it in the box, to make it at least feel like I was mitigating the cost of the transition to the M1 when the time came.

Yeah... my M1 days are a long way off, so I can't necessarily justify the expense right now of buying a piece of gear and just putting it in a box for what could be another year (or even more). Besides... by then there will be something later and greater and potentially less expensive. Who can tell? It's cool that it comes with 4 plugs, however.

I've seen used FW Satellites as low as $390/obo and even then sitting a while. I may just lie in wait for a CL "steal" from someone who wants to dump theirs. (I'll go set up a CL search and reminders now before I forget.) The other issue is although my UAD-2 DUO PCIe card is *almost* worthless, I could throw it up on eBay with no reserve and potentially get something for it. I certainly won't get anything once there's no more students and budget-conscious users driving old Intel Cheesegraters.

[Phil O]

The UAD Thunderbolt Satellite is working perfectly here with an M1 MBP.

Same here with my M1 mac mini. I think you'll be in good shape with one of these, but going back to a used firewire unit is a gamble. I don't know how much longer Mac OS will support firewire drivers. Perhaps someone knowledgable on that topic will chime in. I still have a firewire Apogee Rosetta running with adapters on my mac mini and I just installed Monterey on a test partition. It's still working under Monterey, so that's a good sign. Hopefully you could have the same luck with a Firewire Satellite.

You'll need two adaptors. Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire.
Just so you know the first one ain't cheap:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL ... 7%252B45b0

Your friendly neighborhood Phil

[James Steele]

The UAD Thunderbolt Satellite is working perfectly here with an M1 MBP.

Same here with my M1 mac mini. I think you'll be in good shape with one of these, but going back to a used firewire unit is a gamble. I don't know how much longer Mac OS will support firewire drivers. Perhaps someone knowledgable on that topic will chime in. I still have a firewire Apogee Rosetta running with adapters on my mac mini and I just installed Monterey on a test partition. It's still working under Monterey, so that's a good sign. Hopefully you could have the same luck with a Firewire Satellite.

You'll need two adaptors. Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire.
Just so you know the first one ain't cheap:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL ... 7%252B45b0

Your friendly neighborhood Phil

Ahhhh... okay... good information. Thanks. Looks like maybe I just might be better off putting off the transition until I actually go M1 and by then there will probably be plenty of used Thunderbolt Satellites on the market. I know I see a lot of them for sale already.

Thanks for all who contributed advice and my apologies if I seemed a little contrarian. If the adapters are going to be expensive and the Firewire spec may not be supported in a future MacOS, then it looks like unless I can pick up a FW Satellite for "throwaway" money... like $100 or less allowing me to dump my PCIe card for a few bucks on eBay... I'm better off just staying where I am for now.

I've long since stopped purchasing new UAD plug-ins... but I don't want to just lose the ones I already have paid for with a transition to a newer Mac.

[CharlzS]

Slightly off topic, but speaking of adapters . . . how much has Apple made from the TB 1/2 to TB3 adapters? They are the only source for such a beast and it's good in both the Mac and PC universes. I use one for my 828es on PC. Maybe a patent thing or something, but definitely a captive audience.

[HCMarkus]

And another thing on the Apple Silicon Front...

The MOTU Audio Interfaces are Thunderbolt 1 protocol. But no one makes TB1 cables anymore. I cannot find a 3 Meter TB cable anywhere because the more current versions of TB (2,3,4) support cables no longer than 2 Meters. 3M gets me from my gear rack to the machine closet in my studio. 2M falls short.

I have reached out to a cable manufacturer and advised they might have a decent musician market for 3M TB1 cables. Doubtful they, or anyone, will bite.

This leaves one with the option of buying a TB Hub and using it to extend, or connecting via USB.

[CharlzS]

And another thing on the Apple Silicon Front...

The MOTU Audio Interfaces are Thunderbolt 1 protocol. But no one makes TB1 cables anymore. I cannot find a 3 Meter TB cable anywhere because the more current versions of TB (2,3,4) support cables no longer than 2 Meters. 3M gets me from my gear rack to the machine closet in my studio. 2M falls short.

I have reached out to a cable manufacturer and advised they might have a decent musician market for 3M TB1 cables. Doubtful they, or anyone, will bite.

This leaves one with the option of buying a TB Hub and using it to extend, or connecting via USB.

There's this at Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Cable-Matters- ... r=8-3&th=1
I saw it when I was looking for a cable for the 828es. Since I only needed a 2 meter, I went with Apple since it was a known. The TB2 cable works fine with the 828es.

[HCMarkus]

And another thing on the Apple Silicon Front...

The MOTU Audio Interfaces are Thunderbolt 1 protocol. But no one makes TB1 cables anymore. I cannot find a 3 Meter TB cable anywhere because the more current versions of TB (2,3,4) support cables no longer than 2 Meters. 3M gets me from my gear rack to the machine closet in my studio. 2M falls short.

I have reached out to a cable manufacturer and advised they might have a decent musician market for 3M TB1 cables. Doubtful they, or anyone, will bite.

This leaves one with the option of buying a TB Hub and using it to extend, or connecting via USB.

There's this at Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Cable-Matters- ... r=8-3&th=1
I saw it when I was looking for a cable for the 828es. Since I only needed a 2 meter, I went with Apple since it was a known. The TB2 cable works fine with the 828es.

Thanks!

[mikehalloran]

And another thing on the Apple Silicon Front...

The MOTU Audio Interfaces are Thunderbolt 1 protocol. But no one makes TB1 cables anymore. I cannot find a 3 Meter TB cable anywhere because the more current versions of TB (2,3,4) support cables no longer than 2 Meters. 3M gets me from my gear rack to the machine closet in my studio. 2M falls short.

I have reached out to a cable manufacturer and advised they might have a decent musician market for 3M TB1 cables. Doubtful they, or anyone, will bite.

This leaves one with the option of buying a TB Hub and using it to extend, or connecting via USB.

A TB2 cable is backward compatible to TB1. Here's your 3M TB2 cable in black ($55.99) or white ($52.49).
https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Cable- ... ref=sr_1_4


I bought a 2M cable from Apple ($38.99) last week to replace an old one that had frayed. OWC has 1M & 2M but they cost $10 more than Apple who only has .5M and 2M.

[mikehalloran]

An FYI: Apple does not support FW and hasn't since 2012 or 2010 depending on the Mac. With the exception of the cheesegrater, FW support on the 2011s was through a built in FW to TB adapter as on my 2011 iMac. FW on all Intel Macs was a kludge because Intel has never supported it.

Thunderbolt supports much of the FW spec and that's where any future support will be found. One of the exceptions was bus power—TB1 supports 7.7V while FW spec was 24V. Fortunately, except for the original 8pre, all MOTU FW devices work with the subset that passed through the TB–FW adapter.
MOTU rewrote the drivers to accommodate the 8Pre later (why the hell do I remember this?) which is why it works still.

I am making a blind guess here but the original 8pre is the only MOTU FW device I'd steer clear of regarding future compatibility. I can easily be wrong but we won't know till that happens (and it hasn't happened yet).

[Phil O]

Good info. Thanks, Mike!