Saffire PRO 14 User Guide FA0415-02 1
Important Safety Instructions 1. Read these instructions. 2. Keep these instructions. 3. Heed all warnings. 4. Follow all instructions. 5. Do not use this apparatus near water. 6. Clean only with dry cloth. 7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. 8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. 9.
Important Safety Precautions CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL. The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
Contents Introduction................................................................................................................... 5 Basics............................................................................................................................ 5 Box Contents................................................................................................................. 5 Getting Started.................................................................................................
Introduction Thank you for purchasing Saffire PRO 14, one in a family of Focusrite professional multi-channel FireWire interfaces featuring high quality Focusrite pre-amps. You now have a complete solution for routing high quality audio in and out of your computer. This guide provides a detailed explanation of both the hardware and accompanying control software “Saffire MixControl” to help you achieve a thorough understanding of the product’s operational features.
Getting Started The Saffire PRO 14 has a single 6 pin FireWire port on the back. This FireWire connection will work with any of the current FireWire standards and connectors; FireWire 400 (6 pin or 4 pin connection); and FireWire 800. BEFORE YOU CONNECT THE Saffire PRO 14 TO YOUR COMPUTER, PLEASE RUN THE INSTALLER. This will ensure that the correct drivers are used, thus preventing any unexpected behaviour. The Saffire PRO 14 ships with a 6 pin FireWire cable.
Hardware 2 6 5 4 3 Back Panel The Back Panel provides the majority of input and output connections on the Saffire PRO 14 1 2 x TRS jack sockets line inputs 3 and 4 * 2 4 x TRS jack sockets for line outputs 1-4 * 3 1 x IEEE1394 6 pin FireWire socket 4 2 x DIN5 MIDI input and output sockets 5 1 x 2.0mm DC power inlet socket - use supplied power supply only 6 2 x RCA S/PDIF input and output sockets * Either 1/4 inch TRS (balanced) or TS (unbalanced) jack connectors can be used.
Front Panel The Front Panel includes the input connectors for mic, line and instrument signals, as well as the input gain controls and monitoring controls.
System Requirements Macintosh • OS: Mac OS X 10.6 or later • Computer: Apple Macintosh with FireWire 400 port • CPU/Clock: Intel/Dual 1 GHz or better • Memory (RAM): 1 GB or more • Screen Resolution: 1024x768 (1280x1024 or more recommended) Windows • OS: Windows 7 (All versions), Windows Vista (32bit version only) or Windows XP SP2 or higher (32bit version only) • Computer: Windows compatible computer with FireWire 400 port.
Saffire PRO 14 Architecture Saffire PRO 14 offers more than just simple input and output routing to and from your computer. Saffire MixControl software also allows you to re-route audio signals to any output, and to create custom mixes to be sent to your recording artists, outboard processing equipment, or mixing console. The following diagrams give an overview of the Saffire PRO 14 audio paths at all sample rates. The hardware inputs are routed directly to the DAW inputs.
Saffire MixControl The Saffire MixControl software allows flexible mixing and routing of all audio signals to the physical audio outputs as well as control of output monitor levels. All sample rate selection, digital syncing and buffer size settings (Windows only) are available from Saffire MixControl. To open Saffire MixControl: Windows Start > Programs > Focusrite > Saffire MixControl. Mac Open Finder > Applications > Saffire MixControl.
Pre-amp section When connecting a microphone to the Saffire PRO 14, you must connect an XLR cable to the combo inputs on the front panel. When connecting either line level signal or instrument signal to the combo inputs, you must select either ‘Line’ or ‘Inst’ from the pre-amp section. Additional Line level sources can be connected to inputs 3 and 4 on the rear of the unit. The pre-amp gain for inputs 3 and 4 can be set to either Lo (low) or Hi (high) gain.
Input channel Here is a picture of 2 mixer input channels. Below is a description of every component of a mixer channel. Audio source select When there is no input to a mixer channel, it will display “Off”. Clicking on the “Off” region brings up a list of all available inputs that can be fed to the channel. All analogue (labelled ‘Anlg’), digital inputs (S/PDIF), and DAW outputs are available.
Pan slider A Pan Slider is used to position the audio signal anywhere between the left and right channels. Moving the horizontal slider from left to right will move the audio signal from left to right within the stereo field, i.e., the signal is faded between two audio outputs such as monitor L and R. When used with a stereo track, the slider affects the audio signal such that when fully left, only the left channel is heard, and when fully right, only the right channel is heard.
Stereo Pressing this button combines 2 mono channels into 1 stereo channel. Track name As a default, each track is given a number as a name. Double click to rename the track to something more useful such as ‘Vocal Mic’. Mix Output channel The output channel of the mix is where all the input channels are routed to and mixed together. The output channel gives you control of the overall level of the entire mix.
Routing section The routing section allows you to set up which audio sources are to be routed directly to which physical outputs. The routing section displays every physical output on the Saffire PRO 14. An audio stream can be routed to an output using the dropdown menu to the left of the output. Clicking on the box to the left of the output label will bring up a list of all available audio output sources.
Routing presets Routing presets are provided as a starting point for you to create your own routing and mixer set-ups. These will enable you to quickly set up your routing for recording (monitoring your inputs); mixing (sending signals out to outboard processors or external mixer); or internal looping (routing audio between software applications without leaving the computer). Clear This turns off all output routing.
Monitor section The output levels of the monitor outputs and line outputs are configured in the Monitor Section. You can set up your Saffire PRO 14 so that the audio sent to the line outputs are controlled by the software volume dial; independent of the software volume dial; or muted. Monitor control enable buttons (1 to 4) The monitor control enable buttons indicate which outputs are controlled by the monitor section on the GUI directly below the 4 buttons.
Monitor Presets drop-down menu These presets allow quick changing of typical monitoring set-ups. For the monitor presets to work, you must have your speakers connected to the line outputs as shown in the picture below. Surround sound monitoring: 2.1 Line out 1 2 4 1 2 4 Speaker Left Right Sub Woofer Left Right Sub Woofer Surround sound monitoring: Quad Line out 1 2 3 4 Speaker Left Right Left Rear Right Rear Loudspeaker set-up: Main, Mid.
Monitor Presets Preset Name Output Off - no monitor control buttons enabled, therefore no sound will come out of any analogue output Mono - outputs only to the centre / mono speaker (Line output 3.) All other channels are muted Output - 3 Stereo - outputs to stereo speakers (monitor 1 and 2 output.) All other channels are muted Outputs - 1, 2 Quad - outputs to monitor 1 and 2 outputs and line 3 and 4 outputs. All other channels are muted Outputs - 1, 2, 3, 4 2.
Device Status section The Device Status section shows information about the sample rate, synchronisation and driver status of the Saffire PRO 14. The desired sample rate can be set as well as external synchronisation options for using the Saffire PRO 14 with external digital devices. Sample rate display This displays the current sample rate at which the Saffire PRO 14 is running. To change the sample rate, click on the red sample rate value and select 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.
Settings Menu This is a drop down menu containing all of the following items which allow you to set up different global/system configurations. This is the only part of Saffire MixControl software where there are differences between the Windows and Mac versions. Mac Windows S/PDIF AC3 Allows the user to stream AC3 directly via the S/PDIF outputs. (AC3 is encoded 5.1 audio, e.g. from DVD player software, that will be sent via S/PDIF cable to your 5.1 decoder.
File Menu Mac Windows Open - opens a ‘File Open’ window allowing selection of any pre-saved Saffire MixControl set-ups. Save - opens a ‘File Save’ window allowing selection of a location into which your Saffire MixControl set-up can be saved. Subsequent saves overwrite the original file. Save As - opens a ‘File Save’ window allowing selection of a location into which your Saffire MixControl set-up can be saved.
Dual Unit Support It is possible to run two Saffire interfaces connected to a single computer. This enables two devices to be connected to the same system and used as one device expanding the available Inputs and Outputs to your DAW. Dual Device Support is limited to two devices connected to the same bus at sample rates of 48kHz or below.
Master Sync Device When dual Saffire devices are connected to one computer via FireWire, the two devices will automatically sync together with no need for any additional cable connections. However one device will be set as the Master Sync Device. Click on the settings menu to select which unit is the Sync Master. Master Slave Sample rate and digital sync settings can only be set when Saffire MixControl has control of the Master Sync Device.
The look-up tables at the end of this guide show how the DAW inputs and outputs are routed to the inputs and outputs of Saffire MixControl. DAW routing Audio can be routed from Saffire to Saffire using your DAWs own routing capabilities. This allows audio processing from the DAW, but will result in audio latency due to the DAWs audio buffer. Look-up tables for every possible Saffire combination can be found at the end of the document.
Unit 1 Setup Cue Mix (unit 1) Open Saffire MixControl. Click on the first mixer tab. Ensure that the mixer output is stereo by clicking on the stereo button (below the meters of the output channel). Add the analogue inputs to the mixer, and set the required levels and panning. Add the S/PDIF input to the mixer (this is the feed from unit 2). Rename the mix to “Cue Mix” (or similar) by clicking on the name field (below the meters of the output channel).
S/PDIF Output Mix (unit 1) Click on the second mixer tab. Ensure that the mixer output is stereo by clicking on the stereo button (below the meters of the output channel). The input configuration will be the same as in the first mixer, set the levels and panning as required. The S/PDIF input to the mixer should be MUTED (this prevents feedback). Rename the mix to “S/PDIF Mix” (or similar) by clicking on the name field (below the meters of the output channel).
Unit 2 Setup Monitor Output Mix (unit 2) Switch Saffire Mix Control to the unit 2. Click on the first mixer tab. Ensure that the mixer output is stereo by clicking on the stereo button (below the meters of the output channel). Add the analogue inputs to the mixer, and set the required levels and panning. Add the S/PDIF input to the mixer (this is the feed from unit 1). Rename the mix to “MONITOR Mix” (or similar) by clicking on the name field (below the meters of the output channel).
S/PDIF Output Mix (unit 2) Click on the second mixer tab. Ensure that the mixer output is stereo by clicking on the stereo button (below the meters of the output channel). The input configuration will be the same as in the first mixer, set the levels and panning as required. The S/PDIF input to the mixer should be MUTED (this prevents feedback). Rename the mix to “S/PDIF Mix” (or similar) by clicking on the name field (below the meters of the output channel).
Dual unit look-up tables The following tables show how the inputs and outputs of dual Saffires will appear in your DAW’s I/O list. The order in which the units appear in a DAW is as follows: Pro40; LS56; Pro24; Pro24DSP, this is always the case when using different type of unit. The tables below illustrate how the units inputs and outputs on each unit will appear.
Unit: Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 24 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 (Lower ID) Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 SPDIF 1 5 DAW 5 5 SPDIF 2 6 DAW 6 6 ADAT in 1 7 DAW 7 7 ADAT in 2 8 DAW 8 8 ADAT in 3 9 ADAT in 4 10 ADAT in 5 11 ADAT in 6 12 ADAT in 7 13 ADAT in 8 14 Loop back 1 15 Loop back 2 16 Saffire PRO 24 Anlg in 1 17 DAW 1 9 (Higher ID) Anlg in 2 18 DAW 2 10 Anlg in 3 19 DAW 3 11 Anlg i
Unit: Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 24 DSP Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 (Lower ID) Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 SPDIF 1 5 DAW 5 5 SPDIF 2 6 DAW 6 6 ADAT in 1 7 DAW 7 7 ADAT in 2 8 DAW 8 8 ADAT in 3 9 ADAT in 4 10 ADAT in 5 11 ADAT in 6 12 ADAT in 7 13 ADAT in 8 14 Loop back 1 15 Loop back 2 16 Saffire PRO 24 DSP Anlg in 1 17 DAW 1 9 (Higher ID) Anlg in 2 18 DAW 2 10 Anlg in 3 19 DAW 3 11
Unit: Unit Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 40 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 Anlg in 5 5 DAW 5 5 Anlg in 6 6 DAW 6 6 Anlg in 7 7 DAW 7 7 Anlg in 8 8 DAW 8 8 SPDIF 1 9 DAW 9 9 SPDIF 2 10 DAW 10 10 ADAT in 1 11 DAW 11 11 ADAT in 2 12 DAW 12 12 ADAT in 3 13 DAW 13 13 ADAT in 4 14 DAW 14 14 ADAT in 5 15 DAW 15 15 ADAT in 6 16 DAW 16 16 ADAT in 7 17 DAW 17 17 AD
Unit: Unit Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 40 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 Anlg in 5 5 DAW 5 5 Anlg in 6 6 DAW 6 6 Anlg in 7 7 DAW 7 7 Anlg in 8 8 DAW 8 8 SPDIF 1 9 DAW 9 9 SPDIF 2 10 DAW 10 10 ADAT in 1 11 DAW 11 11 ADAT in 2 12 DAW 12 12 ADAT in 3 13 DAW 13 13 ADAT in 4 14 DAW 14 14 ADAT in 5 15 DAW 15 15 ADAT in 6 16 DAW 16 16 ADAT in 7 17 DAW 17 17 AD
Unit: Unit Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 40 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 (Lower ID) Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 Anlg in 5 5 DAW 5 5 Anlg in 6 6 DAW 6 6 Anlg in 7 7 DAW 7 7 Anlg in 8 8 DAW 8 8 SPDIF 1 9 DAW 9 9 SPDIF 2 10 DAW 10 10 ADAT in 1 11 DAW 11 11 ADAT in 2 12 DAW 12 12 ADAT in 3 13 DAW 13 13 ADAT in 4 14 DAW 14 14 ADAT in 5 15 DAW 15 15 ADAT in 6 16 DAW 16 16 ADAT in 7 17 DA
Unit: Unit Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Liquid Saffire 56 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 Anlg in 5 5 DAW 5 5 Anlg in 6 6 DAW 6 6 Anlg in 7 7 DAW 7 7 Anlg in 8 8 DAW 8 8 SPDIF 1 9 DAW 9 9 SPDIF 2 10 DAW 10 10 ADAT 1 in 1 11 DAW 11 11 ADAT 1 in 2 12 DAW 12 12 ADAT 1 in 3 13 DAW 13 13 ADAT 1 in 4 14 DAW 14 14 ADAT 1 in 5 15 DAW 15 15 ADAT 1 in 6 16 DAW 16 16 ADAT 1 in 7 1
Unit: Unit Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Liquid Saffire 56 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 Anlg in 5 5 DAW 5 5 Anlg in 6 6 DAW 6 6 Anlg in 7 7 DAW 7 7 Anlg in 8 8 DAW 8 8 SPDIF 1 9 DAW 9 9 SPDIF 2 10 DAW 10 10 ADAT 1 in 1 11 DAW 11 11 ADAT 1 in 2 12 DAW 12 12 ADAT 1 in 3 13 DAW 13 13 ADAT 1 in 4 14 DAW 14 14 ADAT 1 in 5 15 DAW 15 15 ADAT 1 in 6 16 DAW 16 16 ADAT 1 in 7 1
Unit: Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 24 DSP Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 SPDIF 1 5 DAW 5 5 SPDIF 2 6 DAW 6 6 ADAT in 1 7 DAW 7 7 ADAT in 2 8 DAW 8 8 ADAT in 3 9 ADAT in 4 10 ADAT in 5 11 ADAT in 6 12 ADAT in 7 13 ADAT in 8 14 Loop back 1 15 Loop back 2 16 Anlg in 1 17 DAW 1 9 Anlg in 2 18 DAW 2 10 Anlg in 3 19 DAW 3 11 Anlg in 4 20 DAW 4 12 SPDIF 1 21 DAW
Unit: Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 40 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 Anlg in 5 5 DAW 5 5 Anlg in 6 6 DAW 6 6 Anlg in 7 7 DAW 7 7 Anlg in 8 8 DAW 8 8 SPDIF 1 9 DAW 9 9 SPDIF 2 10 DAW 10 10 ADAT in 1 11 DAW 11 11 ADAT in 2 12 DAW 12 12 ADAT in 3 13 DAW 13 13 ADAT in 4 14 DAW 14 14 ADAT in 5 15 DAW 15 15 ADAT in 6 16 DAW 16 16 ADAT in 7 17 DAW 17 17 ADAT in
Unit: Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 24 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 SPDIF 1 5 DAW 5 5 SPDIF 2 6 DAW 6 6 ADAT in 1 7 DAW 7 7 ADAT in 2 8 DAW 8 8 ADAT in 3 9 ADAT in 4 10 ADAT in 5 11 ADAT in 6 12 ADAT in 7 13 ADAT in 8 14 Loop back 1 15 Loop back 2 16 Anlg in 1 17 DAW 1 9 Anlg in 2 18 DAW 2 10 Anlg in 3 19 DAW 3 11 Anlg in 4 20 DAW 4 12 SPDIF 1 21 DAW 5 1
Unit: Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Liquid Saffire 56 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 1 Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 2 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 3 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 4 Anlg in 5 5 DAW 5 5 Anlg in 6 6 DAW 6 6 Anlg in 7 7 DAW 7 7 Anlg in 8 8 DAW 8 8 SPDIF 1 9 DAW 9 9 SPDIF 2 10 DAW 10 10 ADAT 1 in 1 11 DAW 11 11 ADAT 1 in 2 12 DAW 12 12 ADAT 1 in 3 13 DAW 13 13 ADAT 1 in 4 14 DAW 14 14 ADAT 1 in 5 15 DAW 15 15 ADAT 1 in 6 16 DAW 16 16 ADAT 1 in 7 17 DA
Unit: Input: DAW Input: Saffire Mix Output: DAW Output: Saffire PRO 14 Anlg in 1 1 DAW 1 9 (Lower ID) Anlg in 2 2 DAW 2 10 Anlg in 3 3 DAW 3 11 Anlg in 4 4 DAW 4 12 SPDIF 1 5 DAW 5 13 SPDIF 2 6 DAW 6 14 Loop back 1 7 DAW 7 15 Loop back 2 8 DAW 8 16 DAW 9 17 DAW 10 18 DAW 11 19 DAW 12 20 Saffire PRO 14 Anlg in 1 9 DAW 1 21 (Higher ID) Anlg in 2 10 DAW 2 22 Anlg in 3 11 DAW 3 23 Anlg in 4 12 DAW 4 24 SPDIF 1 13 DAW 5 25 SPDIF 2 14 DAW 6 2
Performance Specifications Microphone inputs 1-2 • • • • • • Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.2 dB Gain range: +13dB to +60dB Maximum headroom +8dBu THD+N: 0.001% (measured at 1kHz with a 20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter) Noise EIN: 124dB analogue to digital (measured at 60dB of gain with 150 Ohm termination (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter) Input impedance: 2k Ohm Line inputs (inputs 1-2) • • • • • Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.2dB Gain Range: -10dB to +36dB THD+N: 0.
FRONT AND REAR CONNECTIVITY Analogue channel inputs (inputs 1-2) • • • • • 2 Mic XLR combo (channels 1-2) on front panel 2 Line ¼” TRS (channels 3-4) on rear panel Automatic switching between mic / line (channels 1-2) Switching between line / instrument Inputs (channels 1-2) via Saffire MixControl application Switching between +16dBu (low) and -10dBV (high) gain on inputs 3-4 via Saffire MixControl application Digital channel inputs (inputs 5-6) 44.
