This article will explain how to resolve common problems such as:

- Connection problems.
- Audio drop-outs.
- Audio unable to pass through the Liquid Mix when instance is enabled.
- Loading too many instances causes some instances to stop functioning correctly or prevents audio from leaving the instance.
- Liquid Mix causes audio interface to lose connection or cause audio playback engine errors.

These issues are usually caused by the Liquid Mix struggling to obtain enough bandwidth on the FireWire bus to function correctly. Before following through this article, make sure you have the latest version of the Liquid Mix installer installed:
http://www.focusrite.com/support/software/liquid_mix/

To resolve bandwidth issues, try:

- Windows XP users only
Try optimising your computer for audio using the article here Please make sure you apply the FireWire hotfix for your Service pack.

- Windows Vista users only
Try optimising your computer for audio using the article here

- Removing any other FireWire devices connected to the bus that the Liquid Mix is connected to.

- If you have to purchase a FireWire card to enable to have multiple FireWire units, we would recommend a FireWire 400-only, non-combo (i.e. not with USB AND FireWire ports) card with either a Texas Instruments or a VIA chipset, from a known brand manufacturer such as Belkin, Lacie or SIIG. For more information on FireWire compatibility see the FireWire compatibility article.

- Increase the minimum buffer size in the Liquid Mix manager software, and in your DAW (audio software).

You can also try reducing the functionality of the Liquid Mix to reduce its bandwidth requirements. These steps are useful to go through to help identify whether the bandwidth problem is on the PCI bus as a result of other non-FireWire devices sharing the same system resources as the Liquid Mix. If you can identify this as the cause, there are further steps you can take to adjust your system configuration to optimise the way your hardware communicates to each other. As computers (PCs in particular) differ vastly, we would advise that you contact us directly through the contact form with regards to doing this, as there is no one solution.
You may also wish to try these tips out if you want to try running the Liquid Mix off of the same FireWire bus as another device.

- Decrease the Track count in the Liquid Mix Manager, to release some of the reserved bandwidth for these tracks. Even if you are not using all 32 instances, the Liquid Mix will still attempt to reserve bandwidth for them.

- Work at a lower sampling rate.


For detailed information on why the tips explained in this article may resolve your issue, please visit the following answerbase article:
Technical Article: Liquid Mix FireWire Concepts and Multiple Device Connectivity

For further advice, please contact us through the contact form.