Using RME with Pyramix Native

[Ross A'hern]

Hi Everyone,
I am considering putting together a light and portable, laptop-based Pyramix system for smaller gigs requiring only a handful of inputs, and have been looking at the RME UFX as a possible I/O candidate. However, I have been told there have been issues clocking RME gear to PMX in the past, and was wondering if any of you have any related experiences you could share, either positive or negative.

[fl]

I have never encountered any clocking issue with my Fireface 800 in the five years I've owned it. I was lucky enough to purchase my computers before Apple switched from the TI Firewire chip to the Lucent/Agere which gave so many problems. By all accounts those issues have been addressed by succeeding generations of the Lucent hardware. The real issue now appears to be the fading support for Firewire among computer manufacturers, which is why RME designed the UFX the way they did, with both the Firewire 400 and the USB connections. As I understand it, the Firewire implementation on those interfaces is actually an "overlay" on top of the USB, so that it doesn't actually rely on a conventional Firewire chip at all, bypassing any lingering issues with Lucent hardware. The addition of the front panel USB connection on the UFX, suitable for backup or standalone recording, makes it that much more appealing.

The main thing I'd look for when purchasing a laptop for Pyramix has to do with the graphics hardware, and the heat that it generates. I'd recommend that, if possible, you avoid a machine with NVDIA hardware. Even so, Pyramix - for all the blandness of its interface - does make some demands on graphics which can cause laptops to run hot, so you might want to consider this as a more pressing issue.

[Ross A'hern]

Thanks very much for your reply and information, Frank. Much appreciated.

I did wonder whether the comments made to me about RME in general, perhaps related to a single bad experience, which might have been caused by something else than the product itself. Still, it's always good to be as sure as possible before leaping

Thanks again, Ross