Important Safety Instructions Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
Saffire MixControl software provides mixing and routing to and from the DAW, allowing control over which signals are sent from the sequencer to each output. All inputs on the Liquid Saffire 56 are routed directly to your DAW software for recording, but Saffire MixControl also allows you to route these signals to your monitors so that you can listen to the audio signals with zero latency - before they arrive at your DAW.
Getting Started The Liquid Saffire 56 has 2 x 6 pin Firewire ports on the back. You can connect your computer to either Firewire port, and this will work with any of the current Firewire standards and connections; Firewire 400 (6 pin or 4 pin connection); and Firewire 800.
Hardware Back Panel The Back Panel provides the majority of input and output connections on the Liquid Saffire 56. 1, 2 3, 4 2 x XLR input sockets for the Liquid Mic Pre-amps (Analogue Mic Inputs 1 & 2). 2 x Jack input sockets for Line level signals (Analogue Line Inputs 1 & 2). * 6 x XLR input sockets for Mic level signals (Analogue Mic Inputs 3 - 8).
Firewire active LED - Lit when the Liquid Saffire 56 is successfully connected to the computer. Synchronisation Lock LED – Lit when Liquid Saffire 56 is either syncronised to its internal clock, or to an external digital input. MIDI In indicator – Lights and flashes when the Saffire recives MIDI data at the MIDI In port.
Audio Set-up in your DAW The Liquid Saffire 56 is compatible with any DAW that uses ASIO drivers on Windows, and any DAW that uses Core Audio on Mac. Your DAW software will not automatically switch the device it used to input and output audio.
Liquid Saffire 56 Architecture Liquid Saffire 56 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.
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88.2kHz / 96kHz Optical as ADAT Liquid Saffire 56 Saffire Mix Control Music Software HARDWARE IN DAW IN MIXER 20 IN Analog S/PDIF ADAT 1 ADAT 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4...
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. Open Finder > Applications > Saffire MixControl. This is how the Saffire MixControl Graphical Interface will appear on your computer. Mixer...
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Liquid Pre-amps DSP. The analogue circuit in the pre-amp will switch to match the impedance settings of the original pre-amp emulation. Gain, phantom power and high pass filter controls are available from the front panel of the Liquid Saffire 56 and all additional controls are available in the Saffire MixControl software.
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Millennia HV-3D * IMPORTANT INFORMATION: FOCUSRITE, the FF logo, LIQUID TECHNOLOGY, SAFFIRE MIX CONTROL and the LIQUID SAFFIRE 56 logo are trademarks of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. DYNAMIC CONVOLUTION is a trademark of Sintefex Ltd. All other product names, trademarks, or trade names are the names of their respective owners, which are in no way associated, connected nor affiliated with Focusrite or its LIQUID SAFFIRE products and which have not endorsed Focusrite’s LIQUID SAFFIRE products.
Mixer The Saffire MixControl software includes a total of 16 mixes, each with a maximum of 18 channels in the mix. Up to 16 mono mixes or 8 stereo mixes, (or any combination of mono and stereo mixes,) are available, making up a total of 16 mix channels. Note that at sample rates of 176.4kHz and 192kHz the number of mixes is reduced to 4 Mono (or 2 Stereo).
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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 ‘Line’) and digital inputs, and DAW outputs are available.
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Fader Use the fader to set the level of your audio signal for monitoring within the current mixer. Click the fader with your mouse and drag to any position. Double click on the fader to set it to 0. Fader range is from -∞ to +6 dB with the current fader level displayed in the box below. Meter The meter shows the signal level of the source input to the channel.
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 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 Liquid Saffire 56 and the audio stream to be sent to that output is available for selection in a drop down menu to the left of that output.
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);...
The output levels of the monitor outputs and line outputs are configured in the Monitor Section. You can set up your Liquid Saffire 56 so that the hardware ‘Monitor’ knob on front panel of the Liquid Saffire 56 will control the desired outputs, such as your stereo monitors, your surround sound system.
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Monitor Presets dropdown 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: Quad, 2.1, 5.1 or 7.1 1 Left 2 Right 3 Centre...
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.
The Device Status section shows information about the sample rate, synchronisation and driver status of the Liquid Saffire 56. The desired sample rate can be set as well as external synchronisation options for using the Liquid Saffire 56 with external digital devices.
Sample rate display This displays the current Sample rate at which the Liquid Saffire 56 is running. To change the Sample rate, click on the red sample rate value and select 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, or 192kHz. Note: it is advisable to quit your DAW application BEFORE you make sample rate changes to prevent any undesirable side-effects...
Tick this option to ensure that only audio from your DAW is played through the Liquid Saffire 56. Windows sounds will not be played through the Liquid Saffire 56. Sounds from other software will not be played through the Liquid Saffire 56.This is useful to prevent any unwanted audio being heard when you are working in your DAW.
Restore Factory Default - Causes the Liquid Saffire 56 to revert to the original default state in which it left the factory. This can be used to globally reset all mixer, routing, and monitor settings, allowing creation of a new set-up from scratch.
Performance Specifications Microphone Inputs 1-2 • Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.1 dB • Gain Range: +13dB to +60dB • THD+N: 0.001% (measured at 1kHz with a 20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter) • Noise EIN: 128dB analogue to digital (measured at 60dB of gain with 150 Ohm termination (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter) •...
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Digital Performance A/D Dynamic Range = 110dB (A-weighted), all inputs D/A Dynamic Range = 110dB (A-weighted), all outputs Clock Sources: • Internal Clock • Sync to Word Clock on SPDIF Input (RCA) • Sync to Word Clock on optical SPDIF Input (when enabled) •...
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