DP5 + Firewire 410?

Mr. Quimper · Post by **Mr. Quimper** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:39 am

Hi, I'm currently in the market for an audio/MIDI interface, and I'm torn between the Ultralight & M-Audio's Firewire 410. I mostly need it for driving a 5.1 setup, so having six analog outs is a must. Ideally, I'd love to have the Ultralight, but in reality, through academic pricing I can get a Firewire 410+Pro Tools M-Powered 7 for less than the Ultralight alone, and I could certainly use the Pro Tools compatability.

All that said, has anyone used the two together? Any issues? They will work, correct?

dazzer · Post by **dazzer** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:30 pm

I can't tell you what you need for your setup but I can tell you about my experiences with Ableton Live/Powerbook/410.

used it for a while with no real problems apart from needing to use a high buffer size which led to high latency.

However, one day, MIDI timing just went kaput, huge latency that i could not adjust made my system completely unusable with external MIDI gear.

So i went to an audio dealer, hoked up an Ultrlite to my PB and bingo! MIDI timing back to how it should be. I bought the Ultralite and the 410 is now sitting here in a box, unloved. If you wanna buy it from me, please get in touch

Mr. Quimper · Post by **Mr. Quimper** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:47 pm

Hmm...thanks for the reply. You've given me something to think about, although I'd already assumed a MOTU interface would be the best thing to compliment DP, naturally. I'll wait for a few more responses, but my gut is telling me to go with the Ultralight...

The only reason I need Pro Tools is that I'm currently a student and my department is 100% Digi, and it'd be nice to work outside of their labs, but as far as my personal projects go, it's DP all the way. I guess I can just get the cheapest M-Audio interface I can find in addition to the Ultralight.

WSVP · Post by **WSVP** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:11 pm

I know I have seen quite a few posts on this forum, from people who are happy with the MOTU Ultralight. One of my brothers has a M-Audio FireWire 410 and it seems to be ok. My only issue with the Ultralight would be its price point. At $550 it is about $150-$250 higher than some of its competitors in the similar feature range...

Focusrite Saffire $400
M-Audio FireWire 410 $300

It is almost as expensive as some interfaces with features that outclass it...

Focusrite Saffire Pro 26i/o $700
Mackie Onyx 400F $700
PreSonus FIREPOD $600

I would have more confidence in the MOTU drivers than the M-Audio drivers on the Mac. I personally think the Ultralight is a better product than the Firewire 410 but at $250 more its a tough call.

Sergievsky · Post by **Sergievsky** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 2:36 am

I have both. The ultralite is rock solid and sounds great. The 410 and ProTools is also pretty amazing on my MacBook Pro. Problem I have now is I can't run DP5 without getting kernel panics. So I guess it depends on what computer you'll use it on.

dazzer · Post by **dazzer** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:37 am

Agree that it depends what system you'll be using it on, if you get lucky and avoid bad computer vodoo, etc.

As for a comparison of prices and features, the 410 has only got 2 simultaneous INs (despite the "4" in its name), the Ultralite has got 10. Not sure how the other cards mentioned by another poster compare.

I also think it's bad karma that M-Audio's new sequencer app is PC only. Kinda like PC 1st priority, Mac 2nd.

Mr. Quimper · Post by **Mr. Quimper** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:08 am

Sergievsky wrote:I have both. The ultralite is rock solid and sounds great. The 410 and ProTools is also pretty amazing on my MacBook Pro. Problem I have now is I can't run DP5 without getting kernel panics. So I guess it depends on what computer you'll use it on.

Were you saying the 410 gives you kernel panics w/ DP or the Ultralite? You are running DP5.1, correct? I'm also running an Intel machine, so this is somewhat important to me. Thanks!

The Sinner · Post by **The Sinner** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:50 am

I had a firewire 410 for a while and sold it. Had a TON of driver issues nearly everyday. Its a very sensitive piece of gear and I do not reccomend it.

Sergievsky · Post by **Sergievsky** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:01 pm

I'm getting kernel panics with DP5.1 and the 410. The setup (mcbk Pro/410) was working fine with PTmpowered and Ableton Live 5.2. So now as soon as I can get more than 2 hours of sleep a night I'll uninstall 5.1 and start troubleshooting. Or maybe I won't waste any more time with it I dunno.

I have yet to try DP5.1 with the Ultralite. Maybe next week I'll give it a shot.

Tomas E · Post by **Tomas E** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 12:57 am

I've heard a lot of complaints about the M-Audio 410 drivers. I've been looking at the PRESONUS FIREBOX which seems to be working well since it uses the Core Audio and is not depending on drivers.

greymantle · Post by **greymantle** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:08 pm

Been running a 410 and a MOTU Microexpress with a Korg X5, Yamaha QY100, M-Audio 88es controller, Mackie Universal and Extension on a G4 Dual 1Ghz and DP5 with MSI.

Over a year now, no problems.