Any chance Tascam will release a Thunderbolt/USB 3 audio interface card?

[B2RPW]

Now that Apple is dropping support for Firewire do you think we'll see a new audio interface card? Or are they done developing new hardware for the 3200/4800 platform?

 

[cmaffia]

Highly doubtful. You can always go PC if you want to keep using your DM when it gets to that point or don't upgrade you Mac.

 

[goodflow]

The FW card works just as well plugged into a Thunderbolt port as it does to a FW port. Apple is no longer furthering the development of FireWire, but I haven't read anything to indicate they plan on disabling Thunderbolt's compatibility with it.

 

[B2RPW]

This is far from my area of expertise, but I read on a gear page forum that:

Firewire Core Audio Driver support terminated in OSX El Capitan.

Apple began to phase out FireWire connectivity in 2012 on all Mac computers. With significant improvements to USB audio and the introduction of Thunderbolt, the performance and stability offered with FireWire audio interfaces has been surpassed. As a result, Apple has discontinued development and maintenance of their FireWire Core Audio driver for the new Mac OS X El Capitan.

This also effects FW/TB converters.

USB/Thunderbolt should be ok...
​

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding but it seems that if I'm eventually forced for whatever reason to upgrade to El Capitan or some newer OS there is a chance eventually firewire won't be supported even on a thunderbolt port. I trust the opinions on this forum a lot more than gear page. Is this anything to worry about? Or do I have this wrong and firewire will continue to work on thunderbolt ports with the adaptor cable?

 

[Gerk]

From what I've been told and from what I can find on the apple developer site I have to call BS on that. When El Capitano first came out some of the audio companies complained and made unfound statements like the one above, which they have now retracted.

Can anyone find any backup for this statement that Apple has dropped Firewire support for Core Audio? I have not been able to find anything at all.

And as for Tascam developing new hardware for the mixers, chances are probably zero. The mixers are end of life.

 

[Gravity Jim]

It's like this:

Apple is dropping support for Core Audio via FireWire after 10.11. This means that if you own an audio device that does not have a FireWire driver provided by the manufacturer but instead uses Apple Core Audio, it will stop working with the next, post-ElCap OSX.

If your device has its own driver, it will work for as long as that driver is compatible with OSX or is updated to be so.

 

[Gerk]

Thanks Jim, that helps clear things up. I will dig around in the developer site and see what I can find on this.

 

[AudioWave]

Apple dropping OS X Firewire support is kind of old news that many are just now hearing about as their Firewire devices no longer work or find out that they will be updated for use in newer OS X versions.

New product development for hardware or software or the DM mixers has ceased and is long dead for several years now. We can consider ourselves lucky to have some Beta driver updates available to keep up with OS changes, but that could and should be expected to cease as well at any time going forward. As i predicted a few years ago, we will never ever see any official release of supported updated drivers or any other software for the DM mixers.