Saturday, November 10, 2012

The M-Audio Firewire 410 Rides Again!

The M-Audio Firewire 410 Rides Again! Well, sort of.

I've finally made the switch to a Mac as the sound playback computer at Montgomery Theater. No, we didn't suddenly get flush with cash. I'm using my old 2008 MacBook. This means I can finally use the M-Audio Firewire 410 as an external sound controller, and Q-Lab as my sound cue software.

Setup on the MacBook went fine. the Mac recognizes and communicates with the M-Audio. On top of that, I confirmed that all the audio sources are functional.

Unfortunately, after connecting the M-Audio to the Crown amps, I found several problems:
  1. I need 1/4 " to 3-pin adapters to connect the output from the M-Audio to the amps. I have one adapter, but I need five more. 
  2. One of my three Crown amps is not working. Powers up, but no audio out. 
  3. There is significant buzzing in the monitors. Doesn't happen when I run from the MacBook's headphone jack to the amp (via the mixing board). But it is happening when running from M-Audio straight to the amp.   

I've done all I can tonight. Need to get up early tomorrow and try to get the adapters I need before Tech rehearsal. Hopefully, I can figure out how to eliminate that buzzing.


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