Hello,
I have recently set up a new Windows 11 PC (Lenovo Legion T5-26IOB6 Desktop - Type 90RS, Machine Type Model: 90RS0016US) and have an Echo Audiofire 12 Firewire interface. I installed a PCIe Firewire card in the machine, downloaded the last updated drivers for the Audiofire 12 which is now unsupported by Echo). When I tested the playback of audio, it was glitchy and distorted. I spent a couple of hours with Lenovo support trying to troubleshoot the issue, but it remains unresolved. It worked fine on my Windows 10 machine but that PC is way past itās life expectancy and started crashing often.
Is my firewire device just not compatible with Windows 11? Is there a way to get it to work properly?
Sidenote - My Lexicon Alpha USB interface works fine so at least I have that as back-up. I am assuming I need to bite the bullet and purchase a proper USB interface.
Any guidance is appreciated and thanks for reading.
Install the legacy firewire drivers yet? I would not expect different performance between 10 and 11. Also bios settings can be important, like preventing throttling and or energy saving (also on the pcie buss). Also just installing win10 might be a solution, you could even try to boot your old system boot drive and see what happens.
Good luck!
FWIW I have a 3-port FW800 PCIe card with the LSI FW643 chip and itās working perfectly in Windows 10 with my MOTU 828mkII. Despite all the history of TI chips being better than LSI, this one has been working fine for me for years and does not need the legacy drivers.
I do know from experience that m-audio FW interfaces do not work (because of their drivers), so that may also be the case with Echo.
Agreed - it really is. I actually only use firewire for CueMix (MOTUs control app), the I/O from the MOTU 828MkII goes via ADAT to an RME RayDAT PCIe card. Just go RME and never have to worry about drivers again!
I still have three M-Audio 2626 chained as I work with hardware synths only. Audio dropouts are occurring often. I think they are to blame but replacement with Motu is an option that is too expensive at the moment. Time to move on indeed but slowly
I tried to get a 2626 working on Windows 10 some years ago, but it was unstable, and was only useful for configuring the device, and even then I had to uninstall the driver afterwards as it was making Windows 10 unstable.
At least the ProFire 2626 has ADAT outputs ā¦ just as an aside, once these are configured (I had to use an old laptop with XP to get their firewire driver to work), theyāll store their configuration, so, for example, you can route all the ins to ADAT and pick them up with e.g. an RME (in this case the Digiface USB might be a good choice).
Effectively this is using the analog inputs from the firewire interface as a front-end for the RME - then you only need the excellent RME driver and you donāt have to dump the ProFires, excellent interfaces apart from the firewire driver bit.
Unfortunately this is not a solution for the OP, as Echo Audiofire 12 doesnāt have any digital I/O.
Can you give some detail of the card? Ideally the actual firewire chip on it, or a link to the exact card.
I never had problems till Cubase Pro version 11. Even on my old PC.
(Asus P5K motherboard (IEEE 1394 onboard)- Intel i7 - 12Mb Ram. <edit: 12Gb > (thatās old!)
I can still configure the 2626 and itās stable in Ableton Live 11.
I see Digiface USB has four I/O ports for 32 channels total. So if I should make all 2626 standalone and route them through the Digiface then I should still have 24 separate channels in Cubase right?
(buying a fourth 2626 should expand to 32 channels then although I have a 610 somewhere)
Iāll keep it in mind! Thanks for the suggestion.
Thatās my understanding of it at least- and if I go from desktop to laptop for my next machine, thatās what Iāll be considering (synths into āoldā analog kit such as the MOTO 828MkII and a Behringer ADA8000, then via ADAT to an RME and USB to Cubase).
I run 4x MR816 unts, 3 daisychained on FW and one as an ADAT add on. It all works fine on Win 10/C11 pro, other than the fact that it freezes up 50% of the time when quiting Cubase. Itās fine with C10.5, no issues .
Iām more than a little concerned about keeping FW going forward onto Win 11 or C12 and am exploring options, including the above mentioned Digiface, for when The FW finally becomes too much hassle. I really like the MR unitsā integration with Cubase though so they will be a tough act to follow.
I use a Mackie (FireWire) 1640i interface (16X16) mixer that works fine in Win10, along with a MOTU M4. I have not updated to Win11 yet, but my PC good to go after a BIOS change and, some day, I will update.
BUT, a few thoughts. First off the SOUND of the M4 is beyond good. Itās DAC chip is currently the best in the industry. (In comparison to the dated Mackie, itās like comparing a '60s VW to a Tesla.) As to the M4 working properly in Cubase, yes, it does, however it does not register a latency Ping using it in the Ext Efx connection as other devices do, devices that include my Mackie. It does, unlike the WL11 program, list itās 4 channels accurately within the Cubase program. FWIW, it was presented to me (by another forum member) that the Ping latency number is not an issue when using external ANALOG devices - and, after some serious testing this seems to be correct. Instead, it seems that the Ping latency indicator number would apply only to using the Ext EFx connection with DIGITAL devices. I contacted Steinberg about this, and they felt that a Ping latency number should appear with either analog or digital devices. In fact, they created a ticket regarding this issue 5 months ago, but Iāve received no update since. ??
The other concern I have about the M4 and itās use with Steinberg products is that the WaveLab Pro 11 Connection Panel is so outdated that it cannot identify the M4 connections correctly. Which is to say that the M4 cannot be connected to the Ext Efx connection in WL (which requires using all four channels of the M4), although it performs all other tasks when being used as a two channel (2X2) interface.
Conclusion: IMO, Steinberg seems to favor RME, Yamaha, even the dated Mackie, but there seems to be no love for MOTU currently. Can Yamaha create a 4 channel interface using the best DAC chip available and sell it for $240? The brand new Yamaha designed UR44C (not available as yet and with no specs listed as to the DAC chip it is using) sells for $359.99.
Thatās an old chip (VIA 6308) but it might work if you install the legacy Windows Firewire drivers for FW400.
Have a look at at this or this for examples.
Youāll just have to try them ā they are legacy drivers from years ago so no, they couldnāt have been tested on Windows 11, but then again, neither was your Firewire card.
I followed the steps line by line to install the legacy drivers for the PICe firewire card and the audio playback is still glitchy/ distorted. Guess itās just not compatible.
> (thatās old!)
