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Simon Morrison

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  1. Hi Kel! Here are my recommendations: USB Cables Mac to USB HD Use a good quality cable Does not affect audio Do not disable the power conductors Mac to USB audio interface Use a high quality cable Does affect audio Do not disable the power conductors Some high quality audio-specific USB cable manufacturers: AudioQuest Cardas Esoteric / Mexcel Kimber Kable Locus Design Group WireWorld FireWire Cables Mac to FireWire HD Use a good quality cable Does not affect audio Do not disable the power conductors Mac to FireWire audio interface Use a high quality cable Does affect audio With certain cables, disabling the power conductors can improve audio quality Most audio-specific FireWire cables do not require modification Some high quality audio-specific FireWire cable manufacturers: AudioQuest Crystal Cable Esoteric / Mexcel Locus Design Group Oyaide Siltech Standard USB and FireWire cables include active power conductors.
  2. Hi Dave, You can use standard/unmodified FireWire cables to connect your FW HDs. The FireWire cable connecting your audio interface is the one that can affect audio quality.
  3. Dave, Excellent question! The FireWire protocol supports both asynchronous and isochronous data transfers. Asynchronous transfer provides acknowledged, guaranteed delivery of data, and includes error detection/correction - FireWire hard disks use this. Isochronous transfer provides guaranteed bandwidth for time-critical data, but does not allow for error detection/correction or retransmission - audio streaming is performed isochronously. If there is a problem with a FireWire cable when transferring data to a hard disk, the FireWire controller(s) and OS will attempt to correct the issue. If the error cannot be corrected, the transfer will be halted by the OS, and an error message displayed. If there is a problem with a FireWire cable when streaming audio data, the audio signal can become compromised - packets can be dropped, and both noise and distortion can be introduced. Your ripped CDs should appear on your FireWire hard disk(s) exactly as they were extracted. Playback, however, can definitely be affected by the quality of the FireWire cable(s) and interface.
  4. I am new to this forum, but have already benefited from my first visit! I record guitar and keyboards using an Apple Mac Pro and Prism Sound Orpheus (FireWire audio interface). I found that the quality of the FireWire cable plays a significant role in signal quality, sample accuracy and roundtrip latency. I had used several different brands and configurations, including Oyen, GoldX, Monster, Granite, Verge Labs and AWM (generic). A recent Google search led me here, and exposed me to Oyaide NEO d+ FireWire cables. I purchased a 6pin-9pin 1.0m cable. At first audition, I found the Oyaide to be a little "soft" - the transient articulation seemed a little blurry. After a few hours of break-in, the articulation and clarity both improved. I also found that I could run my interface at higher sample rates (without adjusting the I/O buffer size) without experiencing digital artifacts. In addition to the audio/signal quality and accuracy, the physical cable and connectors are visually very appealing. The Oyaide NEO d+ is now my FireWire cable of choice!
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