[linux-audio-dev] Re: [linux-audio-user] RME is no more

[Pieter Palmers]

Simon Jenkins wrote:

> Lee Revell wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 2004-11-25 at 02:14 +0100, Marek Peteraj wrote:
>>  
>>
>>> The official statement is that there will be no support for ALSA 
>>> (Linux)
>>> FireWire drivers from RME. In other words there will be no such 
>>> drivers,
>>> as it is impossible to write them without tons of hardware and 
>>> software documentation from RME. And we won't share these 
>>> information with
>>> anyone.
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> Matthias Carstens
>>> RME
>>>   
>>
>>
>> Meh.  So we all go buy M-Audio Firewire interfaces.  Looks like they
>> will have the first supported firewire gear.
>>
> Supported how? I thought FreeBob wasn't going to support M-Audio after 
> all.
> Is there something else in the works?
>
We would like to support the M-Audio stuff, but...

According to their statements they don't use the BeBoB firmware provided 
by BridgeCo (the company that produces the chipset these boxes are built 
upon). Apparently they have developed their own firmware. And (for the 
moment) they don't want to release details about this firmware. As a 
result there M-Audio devices won't be supported by the FreeBoB driver.

I think that the first FW pro-audio device with linux support will be 
the EgoSys ESI QuataFire 610. I got one from EgoSys to assist FreeBoB 
development, and I like it. But due to it's limited I/O it's no match 
for the RME Fireface or M-Audio Firewire 1814 devices. I have the 
impression that it's more oriented to laptop based live perfomances. But 
maybe the people at EgoSys are working on a larger version... The 
BridgeCo chipset can handle more, and they already have the knowledge. 
So if there is a market for an extended version, they might develop one.

Greets,

Pieter Palmers
FreeBob developer