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The Fine Art of Excellent Boredom
Boring can be bad - like synthesizers that use the same architecture Bob Moog hit upon 35 years ago, a guitar that's the 9,475th knock-off of a Fender Stratocaster, or movies featuring pop stars. But boring can be good - very good - when you're dealing with Things That Connect to Computers. Concerning an audio interface, you want to set it up, plug it in, then forget that it exists.
Which brings us to the delightfully boring ProFire LightBridge (Figure 1), a FireWire 400-to/from-ADAT lightpipe bridge that handles 32 channels at 44.1/4SkHz or 16 channels at 88.2/96kHz. It's cross-platform, and incorporates:
* ASIO, Core Audio, WDM, and GSIF Il drivers
* A headphone out with dedicated level control
* Balanced 2-channel 1/4'' outs with level control
* Four ADAT in optical connectors and four ADAT outs
* Basic front panel indicators for lightpipe and MIDI activity, sample rate, and sync
* A multipin connector with an appropriate breakout cable that accommodates MIDI (including MIDI Time Code and MIDI machine control over two DIN 5-pin jacks), word clock on dual BNC connectors, and S/PDIF I/O with dual phono jacks.
If you want more specs, that's why websites were invented - so check out www.m-audio.com. What they don't tell you is that this is a sturdy box with a substantial feel, and is sufficiently compact that it will sit politely in a corner of your desktop as it dutifully shuttles audio back and forth between your computer and lightpipecompatible devices.
APPLYING THE PROFIRE LIGHTBRIDGE
First up: installation. I elected to...