Firewire Madness

[davidR]

Hello everyone. It's good to be here. I've been reading on the boards here for awhile and more than thoroughly enjoy this site as it is highly unique and piques my interest. I've always loved sound and music and have been messing with computers since I was 8 years old whether it be gaming, building and customizing them to push their limits by overclocking, and good ol' typing (so enjoyable). Well to get to the point I have become interested in recording music and finally bought an 8 core Mac Pro a couple of months ago for a bit of headroom down the road; I have always been a PC person. I use a Digi Design 003 Rack which serves as the DAC for use with Pro Tools LE 7.4.2 to record and playback in 24-bit with available sample rates of 44, 48, 88.2, 96khz. The chain goes Mac Pro > 003 Rack via Firewire > Event ASP8 active monitors via Mogami 1/4" TRS to XLR connections. I rip with Max in paranoia mode using AIFF files in Itunes and have recently experimented with Songbird. I have found an audible difference between using Max and ripping in Itunes with Error Correction enabled, I prefer Max. I use Virtual Dynamics Power 3 cables on both my Mac Pro and 003 rack with plans to upgrade the monitor power cables which I am quite happy with. I bought an Audioquest 1394-1 firewire cable to play around with once I upgraded my power cables which offered a definite sonic improvement, and is one of the very few reasonably priced aftermarket firewire cables I've found compared to the Silitech Classic Fire at $1050 and Acrolink Mexcel 8N Copper iLink at $725. My problem is the Audioquest cable is a 4-pin to 6-pin connection. Most firewire 400 ports on computers and equipment today is 6 pin. I purchased a 4-pin female to 6-pin male adapter on ebay but it is made of cheap materials, nickel, etc.. and defeats the purpose of using a higher quality cable in my opinion. I am grateful that I can use my AQ cable as it retails at $75, although I payed just over $50, but is there anyone out there you folks know of who could custom manufacture a 4-pin female to 6-pin male adapter of higher quality? I contacted Purist Audio Design but they are over 8 months back logged in orders. I need your help. Thankyou.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi David - Thanks for the detailed information about what you're doing. I recently got a Virtual Dynamics power power cable and I'm using it with an amp. The stiffness takes some getting used to, but once it's bent in the correct shape all is well.

 

Your FireWire situation is a tough one. I would ask the guys at Blue Jeans Cable to see if they can help you out.

 

[davidR]

Hey Chris. Thankyou for the quick reply and this wonderful site. Have you tried the VD cable on your source / Mac Pro or the Berkeley yet?

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi David - So far I've only used it on a power amp. I'll be testing it all around though :-)

 

[davidR]

Well I've contacted around 6 different companies about the adapter with no luck. They usually point me in the direction of another business who has nothing to do with custom manufacturing adapters. One company actually sent me to a studio website, sigh. I have however talked to Lee from Cryo Parts, a small cable company, who is a very friendly and helpful person. He is going to use his Cryo treatment on my adapter in about 4 weeks when he does another batch of gear. He builds power cables and cryo treats just about every piece of equipment or connector that responds to it in a positive manner, interesting method. Chris, just wanted you to know that my power cable had the most impact on my sound when using it on my Mac Pro, as VD recommends starting with the source of your chain and working your way from there on. I also bought one for my DAC which further improved on the original results and now have ordered two more for each one of my mono amplifiers. Just my two cents from VD user to VD user. Hehe.