PCIe 424 + Thunderbolt adapter?

[mikerbaker]

I ain't a dsp/computer guy so could someone explain?

When someone touts a "transparent expansion system" with no need for drivers - how come certain cards work (UAD) whereas others (PCIe424) aren't recognised?

[mikerbaker]

There are a number of thunderbolt chassis's or is that CHASS-I out there currently qualified with the likes of Uaudio/Focusrite/Protools etc etc etc.

No, there are not.

Many have been announced. The only one that I know that is shipping adds no functionality to the FW peripheral that it bolts into - oh, it adds $500 to the cost.

Everyone is waiting on those inexpensive TB chip sets that Intel promised over a year ago. They have all have samples - that's what those product announcements are based on. This reminds me of the great vaporware storm of the late 1980s.

Like a few others around here - my G5 is ready for a retirement home and i sure aint got the cash or the will to spank out on a very outdated MacPro!

There are rumors positive abounding on that front. None of the Apple employees I know will confirm a new Mac Pro with 6G SATA and Thunderbolt. It's the way that they can't confirm it... I have no idea when.

I neither work for MOTU nor Apple, by the way, and have no affiliation with either company. I have paid attention to what is shipping and I live 2 miles from the Cupertino Mother Ship, that's all.

Bumperty - bump!
Ok - so if the thunderbolt chips are the blockage - why not adopt USB 3.0 - the bandwidth is up to it!
USB 2.0 interfaces were flaky initially but MOTU managed to sort that out with their interfaces.
I don't care what the interface is, so long as it connects to a laptop or tower and lets you connect a 424 or direct to the audiowire protocol with either thunderbolt or USB3 or.....!!

[Anton_Pereyra]

OK, now there ARE Thunderbolt devices from Avid and Apogee, shipping at the same prices of their PCIe versions:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search. ... &Go=Search
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search. ... &Go=Search

Any news from MOTU? I am waiting for a Thuderbolt 424, but patience is running out.

[bayswater]

OK, now there ARE Thunderbolt devices from Avid and Apogee, shipping at the same prices of their PCIe versions:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search. ... &Go=Search
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search. ... &Go=Search

Any news from MOTU? I am waiting for a Thuderbolt 424, but patience is running out.

Interesting. If an adaptor costs the same as the original interface, I think I'm better off spending the money on a new TB interface that doesn't need an adaptor.

[mfromwhere]

OK, now there ARE Thunderbolt devices from Avid and Apogee, shipping at the same prices of their PCIe versions:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search. ... &Go=Search
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search. ... &Go=Search

Any news from MOTU? I am waiting for a Thuderbolt 424, but patience is running out.

Possibly a stupid question... But it seems the latency is greater in the Thunderbolt interfaces than the PCI interfaces.

Other than usability with computers that aren't compatible with pci devices, what is the benefit of Thunderbolt over PCI?

[MattyD]

Hi all,

I've recently bought an OWC Mercury Helios for my PCIe-424. I couldn't find many first-person accounts of how other people have fared with these chassis' at purchase time, so for what its worth I thought I'd share my experience.

I can confirm MOTU is still not giving away anything on those "Thunderbolt Aware" drivers for OS X - to me anyway. They are also not commenting on any other possible external Audiowire interfaces at this time (no surprises here). Previews of the new Mac Pro have been released without third-party PCI Card support - so hopefully this will force an announcement from MOTU at some point.

If anyone who is doing their homework is tempted to just add the IOPCITunnelCompatible switch to the appropriate kext (in attempt to trick OS X into believing the driver is thunderbolt ready) - don't bother. It doesn't work!

Theoretically the Windows drivers work happily albeit without hotplug support. So long as the device is plugged in at boot time there should be smiles all round.

But 90% of the time my iMac refuses to boot into my windows partition with that thunderbolt device plugged in! The option boot screen appears happily, then it will freeze when booting to windows. On the three or four times I've managed to get in, the 424 works as it should.

I just want to press this behavior could just be happening for me - I can't find much feedback about people's experiences. For those interested, I'm up-to-date running version 1.3 of the Thunderbolt firmware.

Hopefully someone else has a happier story.

Cheers,
Matt

[bayswater]

The good news is that you've shown it can work.

[James Steele]

Any news from MOTU? I am waiting for a Thuderbolt 424, but patience is running out.

Then do what you gotta do. This isn't a MOTU run forum so I don't need to plead with you to have more patience. When MOTU releases something they generally take their time to do it right and make sure it makes sense for their product lineup. Go buy something now if you can't wait.

[mikehalloran]

The perception is that this is something that needs to happen. It doesn't, really. It was never promised - never even hinted at.

Oh it would be nice, I am sure...

[mikerbaker]

From another thread:

Marc7777 wrote:
I had a nice conversation with a MOTU guy who is deep on the inside.

He's going to ask around and get a more detailed timeline for me in the next day or so.

Stay tuned!

PS - he says they are definitely working on this. It's just a matter of time.


Well! - i'm getting a little bit bored with this wait!
Contacted MOTU support by email recently - and here's the answer!

"Hi Mike,

MOTU has not announced any plans for a PCIe-Thunderbolt adaptor. I will pass your interest along to the design team.

Cheers,

Lorne
MOTU Tech Support"

Starting on my hackintosh when i get home tonight!

[MattyD]

This is from a couple of months back, but it certainly looks like there might be something in the works.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-co ... 424-a.html

[MattyD]

The new driver for 10.9 is out and it seems they have added in the switch that flags it as thunderbolt aware. I will be testing it out tonight!

[James Steele]

The new driver for 10.9 is out and it seems they have added in the switch that flags it as thunderbolt aware. I will be testing it out tonight!

That would be great!

[MattyD]

Hey James & Co,

The short story is I havn't got this working, but I'm not admitting defeat yet.

I'm hitting quite a few kernel panics when I deviate from a set procedure though I'm miles ahead from my last attempt. All of the gear is finding one other, but it all comes crashing down when attempting to launch cuemix. My next step will be to try older versions of cuemix and then upgrading to mavericks - I probably won't get a chance to do this for a few days though.

BTW If anyone would like to know said procedure (for what its worth) let me know and I'll happily post it. Perhaps a different rig won't be as disagreeable.

Cheers,
Matt

[James Steele]

Well if the PCIe-424 will work in a Thunderbolt to PCIe expansion chassis some day it would be like Christmas. I think my HD192 is a wonderful interface and I see no reason to junk it unless it just gives up the ghost one day.