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MacBook Air to Weiss INT202 via thunderbolt adapter - what obvious thing am I missing?


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I had to swap out my old Now dead MacBook 2009 for a 2019 MacBook Air today.  I downloaded the most recent  FireWire driver that is supposed to play just fine with OS Catalina according to Weiss website.  The weissfirewire controller says ‘no devices found’. The INT202 is powered up and attached via the same FireWire cable I used with the 2009 plus an apple FireWire to thunderbolt adapter.

 

Everything has been off and on and all cable unplugged and replugged. Running out of ideas here. What am I forgetting? Thanks.

Edited by Briz Vegas
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While I don’t have an INT202 I have used Macs for years.  The Weiss website release notes says the latest supported OS is Sierra which is the previous to Catalina.  With Catalina they went full 64 bit OS so some older programs no longer run properly.  Might be the issue here.  
 

when I upgraded to Catalina last year I had to delete some old programs which were no longer compatible.

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4 hours ago, Briz Vegas said:

I downloaded the most recent  FireWire driver that is supposed to play just fine with OS Catalina according to Weiss website.

 

Hey Briz, I don't see 10.15 mentioned as supported?

 

Ping Mr. Weiss at weiss@weiss.ch  to double check

 

image.png.4c6df1a6f879e624eebb00da524140ba.png

 

 

Edited by rand129678
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So what has happened?

 

Daniel Weiss sent me instructions to install versions of his drivers from old to new in that order.   My computer does not accept the oldest of the 3 versions he sent me so I just installed the most recent two versions that it would accept.  Computer still says there is nothing connected.  Back to Daniel with this news and he has gone silent, at least for now.

 

I have to say that it is frustrating because I was very happy with my sound after 20 years of frustration that it always sounded ordinary.  Finally I found a simple ssd hard drive full of AIFF files via Audirvana, a MacBook, a top of the line Paul Haynes power supply ( that took a year to arrive) and a Weiss INT202 into my Naim DAC just sounded great all the time.  Then my MacBook died.

After getting a new MacBook Air, an adapter for the power supply and an adapter for the thunderbolt I hope I am not sunk by a simple driver.  No music for me.  Very annoying.

Edited by Briz Vegas
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Thanks for the thoughts guys. Unfortunately my new Mac is also a work machine so I am not going to stuff around with something that works with my remote working requirements.  

 

Daniel Weiss has gone quiet on me. ( sad face)

 

I took a punt and bought a new battery for my old 2009 MacBook in the hope it would spring back to life.  The battery was going before it stopped playing ball.  New battery is in and I am trying the battery calibration process but so far the computer is just refusing to do anything but show the LED battery indicator on the side going from 90 % to 100%.  I am hoping against hope that the recommended two hours charging /calibration might do something but I am probably clutching at straws.  I suspect there is something more terminal going on than the battery.

 

My vinyl is working so I had a session yesterday, but frankly my digital was in another league.  Not necessarily “wow perfection” more “ it just plays crystal clear satisfying music and finally after 20 years I no longer feel the need to constantly upgrade”.
 

 I even have time to listen to music this month. Typical.

Edited by Briz Vegas
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On 06/12/2020 at 7:25 PM, davm said:

I have a mac mini 2010 that is just sitting doing nothing. If you're willing to pay for postage I'm happy to give it to you.

 

Regards, David.

That’s very generous of you David. Much appreciated. Santa should treat you well this year.   I will however say pass I think as I may still be able to achieve like for like.
 

I liked the sound achieved from the Paul Hynes  power supply which runs the Weiss and the MacBook on different rails.  I was thinking of looking for an older MacBook.  Not sure what I can scavenge off my 2009 as it seems to have gone into an even more dead state ( MagSafe stopped lighting up and the tiny battery indicator on the side stopped working today.  Once one thing goes everything else can sometimes follow like a house of cards).

 

You can get software to run old 32 bit applications on Catalina which may not be as intrusive as stepping back to an earlier version of the OS.  I think I would have to do all the music stuff in 32 bit as it all has to talk to each other.  Been way too long since I last did this semi-homespun computer audio stuff. It’s taking a while for me to get my head around each new little issue.  ?

 

 

Edited by Briz Vegas
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Update.  Maybe not the cheapest of cheap solutions but my problems were solved with a visit to Cash Converters. Got a clean 2012 MacBook unibody and installed my SSD and RAM upgrades. Hopefully I can get 5 years out of this while I consider future options. Worked like a charm and I now have a spare battery should the one in the new machine go south.

 

Thanks to everyone that offered solutions.

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PS.  When I was running my now dead 2009 MacBook “music server” the old optical drive failed so I had removed it. At the time I thought “ you know what, I think it sounds better without the dead optical drive in the enclosure.  Maybe it was because it was broken”. 

 

Jump forward to the replacement 2012 machine which I upgraded with my SSD and  max RAM.  Initially I thought it was a bit Meh sound wise.  After 4 hours the amp settled down fully, the bass had tighten up, more detail was back.  I went to bed thinking all was ok, although I still could have sworn things sounded better 3 weeks ago with the 2009 MacBook.  
 

Today it’s raining outside and I got to thinking about that optical drive in the 2012 machine. Curiosity got the better of me so I bit the bullet, struggled with the mess of fragile internal cables and screws inside the Mac.......and removed it

 

It’s now all back together and I played just one song with a cold amp.  Floored me.  If you are running a finely tuned high performing system with a MacBook, do your ears a favour and REMOVE THE OPTICAL DRIVE. It is capital letters worthy.

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Glad to hear you sorted the issue out with the old second hand MacBook.  I think this was probably your best solution to the issue.  The only other fix was to have the correct software writing to 64 bit.

 

Also with removing your optical drive.  I see this as "Brave" as this is Apple's term every time they delete some old hardware ?

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I suspect that the lack of optical drive ( and screen) is partly why the Mac mini is such a popular music server solution.  On the negative side, it doesn’t allow me to use my beefy external power supply from Paul Hynes.  
 

What I want my system to do is get out the way.  If it’s playing a well recorded relatively unmolested track I want to get that ‘ in the room with you’ illusion.  Removing the optical drive got me from’ you are listening to a hifi’ to ‘ you are listening to a recording’. If I plug in the power supply it takes the big slightly soft image and screws everything down a little, which is probably getting into the realms of personal taste.  The bass is tighter, the detail more defined, you can hear the layers/ tracks in the recording more prominently.
 

The other observation is that the 2012 MacBook is more detailed and refined sounding than the 2009 for whatever reason.  It does have an updated processor ( which is more efficient) and the battery is healthy.   It’s also 3 years younger ( with an unknown history mind you ).  All very interesting.  Fortunately I am happy with the outcome.

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