User`s guide

User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME

16.5 FireWire Compatibility

RME's Fireface 400 should be fully compatible to any FireWire port found on Apple Mac com-

puters. An exception are MacBook, MacBook Pro and iMac from 2007 up to 2009 with Agere

FireWire chip revision 6 (FW643). Although we tested compatibility with lots of models, total

compatibility can not be guaranteed. In case of trouble please contact RME support.

16.6 Various Information

The current driver of the Fireface 400 requires 10.6 or higher.

Programs that don't support card or channel selection will use the device chosen as Input and

Output in the System Preferences – Sound panel.

Via Launchpad – Other – Audio MIDI Setup the MADIface XT can be configured for the sys-

tem wide usage in more detail.

Programs that don't support channel selection will always use channels 1/2, the first stereo pair.

To access other inputs, use the following workaround with TotalMix: route the desired input

signal to output channels 1/2. In the channel settings of outputs 1/2 activate Loopback. Result:

the desired input signal is now available at input channel 1/2, without further delay/latency.

Use Configure Speakers to freely configure the stereo or multichannel playback to any avail-

able channels.

17. Using more than one Fireface

OS X supports the usage of more than one audio device within an audio software. This is done

via the Core Audio function Aggregate Devices, which allows to combine several devices into

one.

The current driver supports up to three Fireface 400 or 800. All units have to be in sync, i.e.

have to receive valid sync information (either via word clock or by using AutoSync and feeding

synchronized signals).

• If one of the Firefaces is set to clock mode Master, all others have to be set to clock mode

Slave, and have to be synced from the master, for example by feeding word clock. The

clock modes of all units have to be set up correctly in the Fireface Settings dialog.

• If all units are fed with a synchronous clock, i.e. all units show Sync in their Settings dialog,

all channels can be used at once.

When using more than one Fireface 400/800 the FireWire bus might get overloaded. To prevent

this connect all units to different busses.

Note

: TotalMix is part of the hardware of each Fireface. Up to three mixers are available, but

these are separated and can't interchange data. Therefore a global mixer for all units is not

possible.