High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
ateitz
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Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:55 pm
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by ateitz »

Update:

The MOTU Audio Setup trick of toggling the ADAT optical bank works (temporarily - till the next screw up). I didn't have to toggle inputs & outputs - just one toggle Optical Input Bank A and the 896 "woke up". This is followed by DP shutting MAS, which I then restart from the set-up menu & all is well again...for a while. It appears that the 896 mk3 is losing contact with the laptop.
ateitz
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by ateitz »

I appear to have isolated the problem to a conflict between the FW800 hard drive and the 896 mk3 FW400. Running a DP file on the internal drive, I was able to loop it overnight with no hangup. Running with the FW800 drive through its USB drive also worked out (its one of the OWC FW800/USB enclosures).
Bull Earwig
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by Bull Earwig »

Count me as yet another unhappy customer.
I get the high pitched whine and then no audio.
If I figure out the answer (before I return this POS) I will post it.

This seems to be a very common problem, MOTU.

Completely disgusted,
BE
Bull Earwig
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by Bull Earwig »

The product I am getting the high-pitched whine is the Audio Express.

I bought it at Guitar Center here:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/MOTU-Audio- ... 1852305.gc

And that is where I will leave my review of it.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/MOTU-Audio- ... 1852305.gc
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mikehalloran
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by mikehalloran »

Bull Earwig wrote:The product I am getting the high-pitched whine is the Audio Express.

I bought it at Guitar Center here:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/MOTU-Audio- ... 1852305.gc

And that is where I will leave my review of it.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/MOTU-Audio- ... 1852305.gc
Have you tried posting a Tech Link on MOTU's support site? Were they unable to address the issue?

We're a user support group unafiliated with MOTU.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
Zeno
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by Zeno »

Hello, all -

My 896k3 just developed this problem. Rather quiet high-pitched whine for a few seconds, then all audio stops. Switching to another audio output device in System Preferences: Sound (such as the built-in speakers) does produce the continuation of audio. Switching back to the MOTU in System Preferences still produces silence. The only fix is to toggle the MOTU off and back on.

Oddly, Console shows no messages related to MOTU or Core Audio around the time of the drop-out. I would have expected a crash report.

My 896k3 is connected to a Retina MacBook Pro, via Apple Thudnerbolt-Firedwere adaptor. Latest OS, latest MOTU drivers. Problem occurs with any audio source: Quicktime, iTunes, Logic, etc.

I may try switching to USB connection instead of FireWire, but that is just avoiding the problem, rather then resolving it.

Has anyone found a permanent resolution, or heard any wisdom from MOTU?
Thank you for any insights.
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MIDI Life Crisis
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

I don't have one of those but the description sounds like a bad capacitor. Does the unit smell like something burnt? Powering down as a fix also leads me to that hypothesis as I t would likely eliminate the stored charge.

Capacitors are on of the least expensive components you can buy - often under a dollar - and can fix a seemingly dead device in minutes if you know what to look for, how to test it, and are reasonably handy with a soldering iron. Not that a capacitor is definitely your problem but if it is it could, in theory, be easily fixed.
2013 Mac Pro 32GB RAM

OSX 10.14.6; DP 10; Track 16; Finale 26, iPad Pro, et al

MIDI LIFE CRISIS
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mikehalloran
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by mikehalloran »

I may try switching to USB connection instead of FireWire, but that is just avoiding the problem, rather then resolving it.
If the problem is the FW bus and USB works fine, then that's isolating the problem.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
Zeno
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by Zeno »

MOTU tech support recommended that I reset the unit to factory settings. I did this. So far, so good. The problem is intermittent, however, so too soon to say whether the issue has been solved. I will update here with results...
Zeno
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Re: High Pitched Audio Whine then no Sound on Motu 896mk3

Post by Zeno »

Just a quick update: Not a single problem so far with audio drop-outs. So the factory reset seemed to do the trick, at least in my case.

So far, so good.

If problems recur, I will post here to update. Thank you to all for help.
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