IF-FW/DM MKII & Thunderbolt Compatibility

[simspider]

Hi Everyone,


this is my first post so apologies if I was meant to introduce myself in another thread.

I am in the process of getting a new desktop and am looking at possibly getting the new 27" Imac that has just come out, does anyone know if the thunderbolt port will work with the Firewire card for the DM, I have seen that you can buy a thunderbolt to FW 800 adapter and was just hoping someone here has used this method and can clarify that all is fine with it, I have plenty of FW800 to 400 cables lying around so if I only need to buy the adapter then it's not too much of an issue.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[cmaffia]

It would be nice. Not sure if Tascam is investing their time in new expansion cards for the current DM series. Are they making a successor to the DM3200/4800? If so, it would probably have thunerbolt ports or an expansion card for it. Maybe a 3rd party addon-on like the 2seemy vga port?

 

[simspider]

Thanks for the reply but it hasn't really answered my question. I'm talking about the current DM3200/4800 with IF-FW/DM MKII, how do you connect it to an Imac that has thunderbolt ports? Is it simply a case of FW 400 out of the FW expansion card of the DM using a FW400-800 cable and then connecting a FW800 to Thunderbolt adapter or does anyone know if there is a FW400 to Thunderbolt cable available. I'm reluctant to get this Imac until I know the FW expansion card can be connected to it with no problems

 

[cmaffia]

If no one answers here, you could call or write Tascam for the answer.
I think your question might be uncharted territory for most. Being how picky the DM3200/4800 are with FW400 chipsets on their own, I can't predict how it would react to a thunberbolt port with an adapter.

 

[simspider]

thanks, there seem to be quite a few mac users on here so hopefully someone has tried it with a new Imac 2011 onwards

 

[Bottomend]

http://www.sonnettech.com/news/pr2011/p ... rbolt.html

Best bet/hope ...check it out............B

 

[turnstile]

Should be fine as the Apple adapter is merely converting to a standard FW800 port which should follow the standard IEEE 1394 ISO protocol. I've plugged in a bunch of different FW devices using said adapter and have had no problems. Where I would be concerned is the IF-FW/DM MkII's ability to function within Mountain Lion (10.8.x). However I believe I've read somewhere here it's almost out of beta.

Obviously a call to Tascam to confirm wouldn't hurt.

 

[Gravity Jim]

Where I would be concerned is the IF-FW/DM MkII's ability to function within Mountain Lion (10.8.x). However I believe I've read somewhere here it's almost out of beta..

You might have read that here. Tascam engineer and Forum member RedBus confirmed that the driver is in beta right now. Mountain Lion Compatibility (10.8.2)

 

[RedBus]

I'm talking about the current DM3200/4800 with IF-FW/DM MKII, how do you connect it to an Imac that has thunderbolt ports? Is it simply a case of FW 400 out of the FW expansion card of the DM using a FW400-800 cable and then connecting a FW800 to Thunderbolt adapter or does anyone know if there is a FW400 to Thunderbolt cable available. I'm reluctant to get this Imac until I know the FW expansion card can be connected to it with no problems

The Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 adapter contains (so far) the LSI643 chipset, which works great with the IF-FW/DMmkII.
You'll just need a FW800 to FW400 cable, which are plentiful, and work fine as well.

RedBus.

 

[simspider]

Thanks for clarifying that Redbuss and thanks everyone for chipping in, I've had a long think about it all and have decided that I might build a PC instead, more bang for your buck and although the Imacs look really impressive I foresee future problems where if I wanted to upgrade the system it would mean buying a new one as I don't think they are built to be upgradeable give or take adding some extra Ram maybe

thanks for your help, I'm sure this post will be useful to others needing reassurance

 

[Muziekschuur]

It is my understanding, to address this issue further, that there will be boxes wich will contain thunderbolt, firewire and other connections. These future hubs will be placed outside the main computer.

Firewire, USB and other stuff will all be inside the Thunderbolt spec. That's atleast the idea. This way manufacturers can create smaller pc's and all other connections can be made with hubs...

The future looks great..... (until someone breaks the protocol because they don't know how...).

 

[Muziekschuur]

The current Mac mini server is a great pc for audio recording. And can be safely tucked away in an Argosy console. It has an thunderbolt connector and thus will be quite futureproof. It also has a i7...

 

[wm_b]

Re: IF-FW/DM MKII & Thunderbolt Compatibility in Windows too

I would like to add to this thread by saying that I am successfully using a thunderbolt port on a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5 TH in combination with the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter connected to a 1394b to 1394a cable going to the IF-FW/DM MKII. It works great and seems to be much better than my TI based PCI firewire card.

When I was endeavoring to build the system I found very little information about Thunderbolt and Windows functionality. I took a chance on trying give this build some longer legs with regard to connectivity with future hardware. The next question is whether or not the mixer will play well with another device on the other Thunderbolt connector. For now I'm good.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter
http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4279#dl

 

[Ricky]

Hello,
I have recently purchased the 27in iMac and i have the Tascam DM 4800. I purchased the necessary cables to do the job of connecting the two units. They will not communicate. I have downloaded the latest beta drivers, tried two separate thunderbolt to firewire connections and still nothing. oh, and the card read on the tascam says ok, so it is operational. Please someone help.

 

[Gerk]

You also need to make sure that you plug in the USB cable from the board to your iMac and you have to reboot after you've installed both of them before it will work the first time (even though it doesn't say that you have to). I found that I had to do this when I recently purchased my DM-3200 in order to get it going. Plug in both the USB and Firewire, make sure all the drivers are installed and reboot your machine and see what happens.

 

[Ricky]

are you saying just to turn it off and restart or an actual reboot of the tascam?

 

[Gerk]

I'm saying reboot your computer with both the USB and Firewire cables from the board plugged into it.

 

[Muziekschuur]

Did it work?

 

[Ricky]

Hey Guys,
I have been on the phone with Tascam repeatedly. I have been to the apple store to have my hardware checked and it is good. why can't i connect my DM 4800 to my 27in 2013 iMac from firewire to thunderbolt? Mac Hardware is good, cables are good, card read on the tascam is good, and still no solution. Is there anyone using this method of connectivity. Dm 4800/3200 firewire to thunderbolt iMac?

 

[Gerk]

I'm using that exact same connectivity but to a 27" 5k iMac. Did you try what we suggested up above?