828mk3 - Still hot output with firmware update?

[alaskamother]

I just installed the 1.05 update and the outputs on my mk3 are still at an all-time high, has anybody else experienced this?

I was under the impression that this freak bug that killed my headphones would go away upon install and when I asked motu tech to inform me about the contents of the update they answered with silence.

hmm. I really am in a place i did not want to be. anyone else?

[earldrum]

I just installed the 1.05 update and the outputs on my mk3 are still at an all-time high, has anybody else experienced this?

I was under the impression that this freak bug that killed my headphones would go away upon install and when I asked motu tech to inform me about the contents of the update they answered with silence.

hmm. I really am in a place i did not want to be. anyone else?

Hi:

I am not experiencing the high volume output problem since the frimware update.

But there is an annoying problem with the 828 MK3 where my unit freaks out and gets a high pitched/ear piercing buzz that force me to reset the MOTU Audio Setup. The resetting process is to disable and then enable the digital outputs. This problem is known by MOTU but has not been fixed and I am not sure when/or if it will get fixed. To me this is the real problem an unreliable interface - i.e., one that crashes for no reason mid session - this is not good for business.

BTW, I lost three VOX takes the other day and really scared the girl singer when it pierced her ears during a session on Saturday.

MOTU has to rethink releasing products that are still in development!!!

Don't buy the 828 MK3 until this problem get fixed.

Earl

[alaskamother]

Hi Earl,

Your situation seems to me as bad as it gets, I havent had any trouble with the high picth bursts bad who knows whats around the corner?
I mean come on you motu people...they build an interface pretty much not like any other and STILL they have to rush it out of the shop for what exactly? To make sure no customer ever comes back I guess.
We seem to be the guinea pigs here and can only hope that all this crap is firmware fixable.

Btw what changed for you after the 1.05 update? My main problem is that if I disengage all monitor buttons in cuemixfx (where I would expect silence - nothing is being monitored) the output will go to full level. Is it actually supposed to be that way?

yeah the one conclusion you can draw from all this is to NOT buy it!

uffe

[1nput0utput]

... My main problem is that if I disengage all monitor buttons in cuemixfx (where I would expect silence - nothing is being monitored) the output will go to full level. Is it actually supposed to be that way?

yeah the one conclusion you can draw from all this is to NOT buy it!

uffe

You are not correct. When you disable all the monitor buttons in the Outputs tab, you are removing all output pairs from the monitor group. This means that none of the outputs will be under the control of the MASTER VOL knob and audio will pass to those outputs with no attenuation.

[earldrum]

Btw what changed for you after the 1.05 update? My main problem is that if I disengage all monitor buttons in cuemixfx (where I would expect silence - nothing is being monitored) the output will go to full level. Is it actually supposed to be that way?

yeah the one conclusion you can draw from all this is to NOT buy it!

uffe

Hi Uffe:

What changed was the actual volume to the main output had attenuation finally that made sense. I mean -80 dB was really -80 dB! Where before -80 dB was +6 dB. So they fixed the main volume output problem. I too still experience the "monitor button" volume issue, but I was told by MOTU tech support that "this is way it suppose to work."

Another issue is that I thought I could eliminate my mixing board for separate monitor mixes, but I have found that you do not have control of the main outs (i.e., the DAW output) to a separate fader in Cuemix. This means you have to use your DAW's mixing boards sends and that to me is to much work. I'd rather do that type of routing through my patch bay and analog mixing board.

I do love the sound of the MK3 which is much better than my 828 MK1, but the intermittent digital high pitch buzz problem needs to be corrected immediately otherwise the unit is pretty useless. I am very disappointed in MOTU right now because I asked there tech support and sales team if there were any problems with the MK3 prior to purchasing the interface. I was told there were no known problems when in actuallity there are many known problems.

BTW I can live with the Cuefix Fx working the way it does (even though I don••™t agree with having to work this way), but having audio/digital problems that disrupt a recording session and can damage your hearing is kind of problem that someone needs to address pretty quickly at MOTU and at least give us some hope of how they will make it right in the future.

Earl

[alaskamother]

Hi there again Earl,
Thanks for your posts, and your time!

I've now measured the same level 'benefits' of the 1.05 update.

About the buzz problem I can only assume that its a unit to unit difference since it seems like half the owners of the mk3 experience your problem, and just as many don't, including myself.

I solved my problem with cuemix not being able to mix the output from logic by looping the adat i/o, but I'm sure you know about this trick, which is only valid if you have no need for two sets of adat inputs.


Thank you 1nput0utput for clearing the monitoring bit up for me - very helpful!

uffe

[earldrum]

I solved my problem with cuemix not being able to mix the output from logic by looping the adat i/o, but I'm sure you know about this trick, which is only valid if you have no need for two sets of adat inputs.

Hi Uffe:

Thanks for writing back. I'd be interested in hearing exactly how you use the ADAT 1 out to ADAT 2 input. Are you using an ADAT 1 out on a send in your DAW's mixboard to achieve the results you are trying to get or by making the ADAT 1 output your main output? This seems like a possible solution for me as well, except my external mixing board does a similar thing and I have the ability to easily move a fader in mid-session without trying to open up the onscreen mixing board.

Please let me know if I am understanding this solution correctly.

As far the 828 MK3 buzz problem. It is very intermitten and it can be a few days before it happens again. It's just annoying that when I took the time to ask a MOTU sales rep via email and write their tech support about known problems before I bought the MK3, they did not provide me a truthful answer . Now I have an interface that works most times, but could act up for no reason when clients are paying for time.

That is disheartening to say the least and really makes their product look bad. I mean everyday now I write about my problems - someone read this stuff and thinks why should I buy the MK3?

BTW, I have not heard from MOTU all week and I sent the salesperson an email and sent another techlink note this weekend. How's that for tech support? When I call in all I get is we are sorry and we will fix it someday. When will you fix it?

I don't know what else to say. Just MOTU please fix my problem!

Earl

[alaskamother]

Hi there again Earl!
Well about the adats, lets see if I can get this right not sitting in front of my studio comp...and it being 4 in the morning...

i bought a short toslink cable, and set the adat b i/o in motu audio setup to toslink. I also set the main out assign to adat b.
plugged the cable from the adat b out to the adat b in.

then in logic (i dont know what program youre using but must be similar) i set the outputs to channel 15-16 which translates to the mk3 adat b outputs.
So for any headphone mixes (what I use them for at least) coming out of the physical outputs of the mk3, in cuemixfx, for every output, I use the adat b (toslink) input to control gain.

I think if I uncheck all the monitor buttons in cuemixfx this will result in the mix coming out of logic blending with the extremely slightly delayed signal from the toslink loop which creates phasing between them...
but Im still a bit confused about the whole cuemix way of thinking. it took me a while to get that the main outputs were actually channels 9-10.

Do I make sense?

uffe

[earldrum]

i bought a short toslink cable, and set the adat b i/o in motu audio setup to toslink. I also set the main out assign to adat b.
plugged the cable from the adat b out to the adat b in.

Hi Uffe:

Yes, your answer makes sense. I use DP and Logic - I will have to give this a try. Do you know what the difference is between an ADAT optical cable and TOSLINK cable? I mean, one is two channel (TOSLINK) vs. 8 channel (ADAT OPT), but aren't they actually the same end connectors? I wonder if I could use an ADAT Optical to do the same thing? I don't feel like buying a cable just to try this concept out.

I know this sounds like a novice question, but I have not used the TOSLINK option ever. What do you think?

Thanks again for the explaination.

Earl

[PostPCMan]

The cables are the same. The signal is digital, and adat does up to eight channels by multiplexing the bits, not by having separate signals.

BTW, I do the same loopback trick sometimes, but I set up the optical I/Os as ADAT, rather than TOSLINK. That way, I have up to eight separate outputs from my DAW to the 828.3, rather than just the one stereo pair that a toslink gives. Admittedly, I've never used more than two of them, but I didn't see any reason to do toslink rather than adat. Is there a reason?

[alaskamother]

nope no reason other than that i didnt need more.

uffe

[nooneknows]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you all are trying to accomplish...

But why not just set the "Return" assignment (under the Main Outs assignment) in the MOTU Console to the "Main Outs" (or whatever your Monitors are hooked up to) and then set an Audio track or Aux track in Logic up with the input set to "Return 1/2"? This will give you all the output coming out the Mains (or whatever the Return Assignment is set to).

This is how I recorded the "digital screeching" in Logic, that was coming out the Mains, so that I could send an audio file to MOTU.

Sorry if the MOTU Console references aren't exact by name... I have since returned the mk3 so I don't have the console in front of me.

[pcm]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you all are trying to accomplish...

But why not just set the "Return" assignment (under the Main Outs assignment) in the MOTU Console to the "Main Outs" (or whatever your Monitors are hooked up to) and then set an Audio track or Aux track in Logic up with the input set to "Return 1/2"? This will give you all the output coming out the Mains (or whatever the Return Assignment is set to).

This is how I recorded the "digital screeching" in Logic, that was coming out the Mains, so that I could send an audio file to MOTU.

I emailed motu a DP file showing how unbelievably noisy my mic preamps are, and two months later, I am still arguing with them to fix it. They told me it was "normal". It is far from normal, but they appartently can't tell. Meanwhile, none of my other motu interfaces (or my four Digidesign 192's) do this. Two months later, and I still feel like I am "auditioning" to get my gear fixed. No other company I have ever dealt with works like this. Motu has the absolute worst tech support I have ever seen (I've been a pro engineer for 30 years). This is one of the reasons why their market share is in the toilet.