Chipset specs are more important than chipset brand. I think a lot of what you've read online is based on compatibility or performance issues between older or mismatched FireWire devices. And many people report problems or preferences between devices without doing any research, having any real methodology (beyond perhaps some brand bias or anti-bias), or describing their findings in any sort of reproducible manner.
This site is worth reading.
Here is a list of popular FireWire cards which have been thoroughly tested (published by a media company who's primary interest is not the technobabble but just getting the stuff to work). FireWire (as a media interface) is tightly controlled by Apple, and they've invested a lot into making it work for everybody - I would be inclined to think of Apple's documentation as the authority and their Apple branding as the best guarantee you'll get for intercompatibility. Proprietary third-party chipsets might support extra features which go beyond Apple's proprietary controls, and some did back in the day, but these days nobody bothers to challenge the formula for success.
These cards aren't too costly, so you can always exchange one which doesn't work with your device for another one which does.
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