Hello people,
I've recently opened up my M-Audio Firewire 410 just to have a look inside. Lo and behold, I think that I have discovered something very odd.
Looking at the PCB from the DACs to the op-amps and output jacks, it looks as if the higher quality 2-channel DAC AK4381 is connected to output jacks 7/8, while the 6-channel DAC AK4355 is connected to outputs 1/2 3/4 5/6.
I would have thought that the AK4381 would have been connected to outputs 1/2 instead! If the AK4381 is connected to the 7/8 outputs then using them would give better audio performance.
Interestingly, there is a separate AK4381 used solely for the headphone outputs.
All op-amps for output stages are LMV722.
Maybe it would be interesting for other Firewire 410 owners to check this out as well. If you've been using output 1/2 mainly for your audio then you would be actually not using the best outputs! I took some photos but unfortunately dont have a website to host them on.