Saffire interfaces and Windows 8.1

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tlw
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2014/09/20 21:44:33 (permalink)

Saffire interfaces and Windows 8.1

I'm in the market for a new interface. Amongst others I'm contemplating the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 plus an Octopre (hooked up via ADAT). Right now the Win8.1/firewire situation seems a bit of a minefield, with lots of opinions on certain forums but very little that seems to come from actual experience (not here, I hasten to add).

Has anyone any experience of the Saffire range using firewire under Windows 8.1? Using the Win7 legacy driver doesn't seem to be an option because MS never signed it (and I haven't a Win 7 machine to get a copy from anyway).

Sonar Platinum 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit, I7 3770K Ivybridge, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte Z77-D3H m/board,
ATI 7750 graphics+ 1GB RAM, 2xIntel 520 series 220GB SSDs, 1 TB Samsung F3 + 1 TB WD HDDs, Seasonic fanless 460W psu, RME Fireface UFX, Focusrite Octopre.
Assorted real synths, guitars, mandolins, diatonic accordions, percussion, fx and other stuff.
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    Splat
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    Re: Saffire interfaces and Windows 8.1 2014/09/20 21:53:44 (permalink)
    Yup. Works great... BTW with the latest mix control you don't use the legacy driver (focusrite documents this) for Win 7 or 8.x... Earlier versions the advise was different. Cheers...

    Sell by date at 9000 posts. Do not feed.
    @48/24 & 128 buffers latency is 367 with offset of 38.

    Sonar Platinum(64 bit),Win 8.1(64 bit),Saffire Pro 40(Firewire),Mix Control = 3.4,Firewire=VIA,Dell Studio XPS 8100(Intel Core i7 CPU 2.93 Ghz/16 Gb),4 x Seagate ST31500341AS (mirrored),GeForce GTX 460,Yamaha DGX-505 keyboard,Roland A-300PRO,Roland SPD-30 V2,FD-8,Triggera Krigg,Shure SM7B,Yamaha HS5.Maschine Studio+Komplete 9 Ultimate+Kontrol Z1.Addictive Keys,Izotope Nectar elements,Overloud Bundle,Geist.Acronis True Image 2014.
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    tlw
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    Re: Saffire interfaces and Windows 8.1 2014/09/20 23:37:39 (permalink)
    Thanks. Can I assume this is using one of Focusrite's recommended PCIe cards?

    Sonar Platinum 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit, I7 3770K Ivybridge, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte Z77-D3H m/board,
    ATI 7750 graphics+ 1GB RAM, 2xIntel 520 series 220GB SSDs, 1 TB Samsung F3 + 1 TB WD HDDs, Seasonic fanless 460W psu, RME Fireface UFX, Focusrite Octopre.
    Assorted real synths, guitars, mandolins, diatonic accordions, percussion, fx and other stuff.
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    BassDaddy
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    Re: Saffire interfaces and Windows 8.1 2014/09/25 11:54:27 (permalink)
    Saffire Pro 24 on Windows 8.1, PCIe and one of the correct chipset options. No issues or problems on SONAR X3 Pro. Since I stopped using PCI for anything I have had real stability. And I have the latest Mix Control update.
    #4
    tlw
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    Re: Saffire interfaces and Windows 8.1 2014/09/25 15:09:07 (permalink)
    In the end, and after much head-scratching, I decided to splash out and go for the other item on my shortlist, an RME Fireface UFX, with an Octopre added to get another 8 in/out channels.
     
    Thanks for the helpfull comments though, they're appreciated. Finding out what interfaces can actually manage in terms of latency and compatibility in the real world isn't easy at the moment.

    Sonar Platinum 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit, I7 3770K Ivybridge, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte Z77-D3H m/board,
    ATI 7750 graphics+ 1GB RAM, 2xIntel 520 series 220GB SSDs, 1 TB Samsung F3 + 1 TB WD HDDs, Seasonic fanless 460W psu, RME Fireface UFX, Focusrite Octopre.
    Assorted real synths, guitars, mandolins, diatonic accordions, percussion, fx and other stuff.
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    Splat
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    Re: Saffire interfaces and Windows 8.1 2014/09/25 15:32:52 (permalink)
    tlw
    Thanks. Can I assume this is using one of Focusrite's recommended PCIe cards?


    I have a Saffire pro 40 with recommended chipset built into my motherboard.. Cheers..

    Sell by date at 9000 posts. Do not feed.
    @48/24 & 128 buffers latency is 367 with offset of 38.

    Sonar Platinum(64 bit),Win 8.1(64 bit),Saffire Pro 40(Firewire),Mix Control = 3.4,Firewire=VIA,Dell Studio XPS 8100(Intel Core i7 CPU 2.93 Ghz/16 Gb),4 x Seagate ST31500341AS (mirrored),GeForce GTX 460,Yamaha DGX-505 keyboard,Roland A-300PRO,Roland SPD-30 V2,FD-8,Triggera Krigg,Shure SM7B,Yamaha HS5.Maschine Studio+Komplete 9 Ultimate+Kontrol Z1.Addictive Keys,Izotope Nectar elements,Overloud Bundle,Geist.Acronis True Image 2014.
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