Why won't my edirol fa 66 firewire soundcard work with OS X 10.6.8 when connected with the thunderbolt adapter?

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Why won't my edirol fa 66 firewire soundcard work with OS X 10.6.8 when connected with the thunderbolt adapter?

I'm trying to get my edirol fa 66 soundcard (http://www.roland.com/products/en/FA-66/) to work with my macbook pro running OS X 10.6.8. I've bought the apple thunderbolt to firewire adaptor (http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD464ZM/A/thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter?fnod e=51) and this firewire cable (http://www.cabling4less.co.uk/products/1388/firewire_800_(9pin)_to_400_(4pin)/), the soundcard itself is powered by it's own external power supply but the device is not recognised in the 'sound' tab inside 'system preferences' and not picked up in the 'Audio MIDI Setup' either.

I've tested the soundcard with my powerbook G4 using the original firewire cable i got with it and the soundcard itself is working fine.

I'd really like to get this soundcard working with my laptop so if anyone has any suggestions as to what could be causing the problem, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 30, 2013 10:55 AM

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Answer 1

Kontort Author

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Sep 30, 2013 11:23 AM in response to Kontort

I've also tried connecting with the Belkin thunderbolt to firewire cable using the soundcards 6 pin input with this cable (http://store.apple.com/uk/product/HA833ZM/A/belkin-firewire-800400-9-pin6-pin-2m ?fnode=51) and still 'sound' in 'system preferences' doesn't pick the device up

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Answer 2

Idlekind

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Aug 15, 2014 2:11 AM in response to Kontort

Hi Kontort,

I have the same problem and its driving me nuts! Did you find out what the problem was or get it fixed?

Please help!

Thanks

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Answer 3

Nov 16, 2014 1:59 PM in response to Idlekind

I too experienced the same issue. Here are my details:

Recently I bought a 15” Macbook Pro and last night I tried to connect and use a Edirol FA/66 Firewire 400 connected outboard audio interface using a Firewire 400 to 800 adapter then connected to a Firewire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter since the MBP doesn’t have a native Firewire port. What I observed is that the Edirol was not getting power from the bus nor did the MBP (running Yosemite) recognize the Edriol. At first I thought there was a problem with the Edirol since I haven’t used it in a while but when I connected it to an older MBP that has a native Firewire port, it worked normally. Is there a known issue with these sorts of external audio interfaces working properly with newer MBP running Yosemite? I’m hoping that a software update will fix this issue.

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Answer 4

Nov 22, 2014 4:28 PM in response to William Fiveash

I ended up getting a Roland external power supply for my FA/66 and now it works properly with my new MBP. Looks like the problem is the firewire/thunderbolt adapter or the thunderbolt port itself isn't supplying enough power on the bus to power the FA/66 (the older MBP I used that had a firewire port was able to power it). I'm glad I found a solution but I'm not happy that I had to buy a power supply.

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Answer 5

Jan 12, 2016 2:33 PM in response to William Fiveash

Hello.

Recently I bought the newest MBP Retina and on my oldest late 2010 my Edirol FA -66 works fine. On the new MBP with the adapter thunderbolt the interface doesn't have enough power to work. So, the only way to turn it on is with external power on Edirol.

But I can't explain the fact that the same cable and Sound card works with no external supply on iMacs 27 thunderbolt port.

I suppose that thunderbolt of iMac and MBP are the same!

Any help. Thanks

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Answer 6

Jan 12, 2016 2:57 PM in response to Kontort

The thunderBolt to fireWire adapter you cited says it works in 10.7.4 and later. Are you running 10.7.4?

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Answer 7

Jan 12, 2016 3:11 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hello.

I have the latest El Capitan working.

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Answer 8

Jul 9, 2017 5:34 AM in response to Kontort

Kontort, I have this problem too. Did you ever find a solution?

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