FW 800 to 400 adapter for mac mini

[anamexis]

Dude, you suck at googling
http://www.google.com/search?q=Firewire ... adaptor+UK

(one example from above search)

[fishmonkey]

you can either go for an adapter like this:

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fw_adapter.html

or you can get a FW cable with a FW400 plug on one end and a FW800 plug on the other...

[hacktheplanet]

Skip the adapter, just get a cable. It's annoying having a big plastic piece sticking out the back of your computer.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/produ ... 1&format=2

[beats me]

Yeah, I think you over thought this one. A cable with the right connection types at each end works fine.

[mkelly]

Yeah, I think you over thought this one. A cable with the right connection types at each end works fine.

For a portable setup, I like to have the adapter and a FW400 cable - that way if I need to connect to another machine with only FW400 I'm sorted.

For a permanent setup at home, a dedicated cable is the best bet though.

[nicky_bass]

Any noticeable reduction in quality with either the cable or adaptor options?

[mkelly]

Any noticeable reduction in quality with either the cable or adaptor options?

Depends what you mean by a reduction in quality - we're talking digital signals here so it's not like using low quality audio cable. Obviously it depends on how the FW protocol handles error correction, but I would feel safe in assuming that if the devices remain connected via an adapter, then you'll not lose any of the audio data. I'm using an FW400 cable with a FW400 to FW800 adapter (the Sonnetech one) with no problems whatsoever - same connector is currently supporting a Saffire Pro 40 which has a Seagate FreeAgent Pro daisychained to it.