Ok, this is gonna be a bit of a quickie. Basically, i got this one ridiculously cheap as well, with the intention of repairing it and gifting it to the new singer in my significant other's band, in order to facilitate more productive creative work. Just like the first one i did a teardown on and then modded, this was sold as faulty, but with more... obvious issues, let's call them.
And here we are, on the third and final(?) part of the modding journey involving this little fella. As presented in the previous post, i managed to "persuade" the thing to power up fully despite not being attached to a computer, only to a USB-connected 5V source. But now, the time has come to integrate what is virtually a "power-bank", within the enclosure, and thus have the Saffire be entirely "self-sufficient", as it were.
First of all, the main issue with using this stand-alone (without a computer) is that the Xmos controller only enables the analog power supplies (the two MIC2505's and the LM3488) once it's done whatever handshaking it needs to, with the computer. But since i'd only need / want it to act as a rudimentary preamp / mixer / headphone amplifier, i kinda-sorta need the analog supplies working.
Initially, i was thinking of getting and modding a Scarlett 2i4 to use as an updated and more flexible in-ear headphone amp, to replace my aging modded M-Audio Fast Track (incidentally, the subject of the very first article on this blog). I even ended up with two 1st gen ones as well as two 2nd gen ones. But recently, i came across yet another deal i couldn't pass up - a Saffire 6 USB for a nearly ridiculous 36e, shipped(!). Virtually the same structure as the 2i4's, but i can definitely get more money (back) from reselling those, and keeping the Saffire. That, and i had come across instructions for a mod to the Saffire 6, to enable stand-alone operation.
"I bought this online and it is not working or it is not compatible with my computer. My computer is not recognising this audio interface. So I am selling it as not working."Fine by me. The photo of the back showed the Firewire port as looking quite pristine, so it wasn't a case of connector-inserted-upside-down. And for the price i won the auction for, it was worth the gamble. A frontal photo did show it powered up, so at the very least, it wasn't dead.
