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I have a sound interface, M-Audio - Profire 2626, that uses FireWire.

I can't convert FireWire to USB, but the interface has ADAT I/O so I'm thinking about routing the M-Audio signal in something like a ESI - U24XL with an optical S/PDIF input/output and on to my laptop via USB.

Could it work?

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  • (As above) it is not clear what you are trying to do. Connect a Firewire interface to a computer with only USB connections? What you propose will not work as the U24XL does not have an ADAT connection. The Toslink is for S/PDIF.
    – Bit Depth
    Jan 28, 2016 at 7:17

1 Answer 1

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Connecting optical ADAT to optical S/PDIF will not work (just because the connectors look the same doesn't mean the digital formats, ADAT and S/PDIF are compatible)

If you choose to connect the S/PDIF in/outs it will work, but not the way you expect: you can only use the 2x2 S/PDIF input/output channels, i.e. none of the real input channels.

You can't get an "ADAT port only" device either. ADAT comes with sound interfaces, so you'd have to buy another one, which kind of undermines the goal here.

You could though get another USB driven interface with ADAT and double the amounts of inputs, like e.g. the PreSonus Studio 192:

Studio 192 Front Studio 192 Rear

It should be possible to find other used "legacy" interfaces similar to the above to a fair price.

If you go looking for other interfaces you need to make sure the optical input/output is for ADAT.

Another option is to extend your laptop (if possible). According to the specifications The M-Audio device requires FireWire 400. If possible you can extend your laptop with a FireWire PCMIA Express card like this one from Belkin:

Belkin FireWire PCMIA Express

(Last option: It should be theoretically possible to contruct a FireWire 400 to USB3 adapter/hub, but I haven't been able to find any.)

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  • Good answer, but I think part of the answer needs a bit of clarification. The two devices in the question could be connected by S/PDIF using the coaxial cable, giving a duel channel connection, but connecting ADAT toslink to the S/PDIF toslink will not work as they are different protocols.
    – Bit Depth
    Jan 28, 2016 at 16:14
  • thank you for the answer, that almost solved my question. I'm a bit on a low budget, so do you think something like this would work? rolandus.com/products/ua-25 Do you think it's capable of handling all the inputs via ADAT? Or is it just the same as the ESI?
    – Salvadi
    Jan 28, 2016 at 20:11
  • @Salvadi No, look at the specs. If it does not mention ADAT under the digital section, its not ADAT. That is a feature they will not leave out of the specs by accident ;-) Jan 29, 2016 at 7:18
  • @BitDepth Updated the answer - better? Jan 29, 2016 at 7:18
  • @MichaelHansenBuur Yep :-)
    – Bit Depth
    Jan 29, 2016 at 7:54

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