MOTUnation.com

Ok so this has been going on for over six months and I'm now at breaking point to be honest...

No matter how hard I try, a stable connection via FireWire on Mac OSX just seems impossible.

I can't get stable audio for more than 5 minutes before it drops out and emits a high pitched whine.

I've got an iMac (Sierra), a MBP (Mojave), 828 MKII and 828 (original) and have tried every single setup combination; they all produce the same result. They all work fine standalone but as soon as they're connected to a Mac they cut out within five minutes

I've tried swapping power cables, power extensions and plugs etc, factory resets as well as re-installing drivers plus using older drivers. The only thing I haven't tried swapping is the FireWire to Thunderbolt adaptor and FireWire cable but since these are Apple and Belkin and were purchased new six months ago I highly doubt these are at fault.

Anyone got any suggestions? My patience with Motu is wearing very thin.

Call MOTU support. There are many of us using our old FW interfaces over High Sierra and Finale.

My gues is that you have a loose connection somewhere. I push my adapters together and, if the connection doesn’t feel firm (inline FW connectors are the worst), I use heatshrink tubing and a hair drier on them.

I don't think it's anything to do with a loose connection as the cables and connections can withstand a fair bit of wiggle. The audio drops when I'm not even in the room! I've got 3 FireWire ports to test this with and it does it with every single one.

But I'll ring Motu and see what they say.

Other than getting another Apple FW to TB adaptor and FW 800 to 400 cable I don't really know what other troubleshooting I can do.

I have FW issues with a new 10’ FW800 cable that disappear when I use shorter cables. I wonder what happened to the ferrite coils/chokes some cables had?

I also have better luck in a mixed 800/400 setup when I make my Traveler (with a FW400 connection) the closest to the Mac; I suspect that one of the FW800 jacks on my 896 is a little iffy? I’ve always been a little suspicious of the tiny 800 contacts compared to the much larger 400 contacts. Check the jacks on your interfaces and see if there’s a hair or something in there.

And in the end, just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s not the cause. It seems that as FireWire recedes into the past, the manufacturing is getting sloppier. Maybe old tooling that needs to be replaced—and why would they?

Can you borrow a FireWire device from someone. One that isnt a MOTU and see if it works or does the same thing.