The Working / Not working audio interfaces thread

For topics specifically about audio interfaces (USB, MFi, Camera Connection Kit)

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Foster
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Re: 1818vsl audio out question

Post by Foster » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:59 pm

I hope that's not the case. That would be odd on their part. When you are recording vocals or other input tracks odds are your going to want to wear headphones. So having the headphone jack monitoring input channels would make more sense.

When listening to a main mix you would want to use studio monitors and they would be hooked up to the monitor outs on the back. The focusrite seems to be a home studio interface. When recording most of the time in my home studio I am where my speakers are. I turn off my speaker signal and use headphones when recording. You don't want feedback or the speakers to bleed into the mics. And I usually want to hear the inputs separate of the recorded tracks. So it only makes sense that if anything can monitor direct input signals it should be the headphones. It would be nice if someone had the answer. After posting this i am going to look at the focusrite owners manual online. This could give the answer.

Foster
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Re: 1818vsl audio out question

Post by Foster » Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:24 pm

Based on what I have seen in the owners manual you assign either the inputs, daw, or mix to either the headphones or the monitors. So it looks like it is possible to set up daw to monitors out and inputs to the headphones. I am assuming that auria is what it considers daw.

One big problem with the focusrite however. I'm not totally sure about this however. It seems as though the 1/4 inputs have to be set up with the focusrite software. There are no phsical gain controls for them. So i am guessing the only way to set them is to bring them up to a high level and then hope they stay set when you unplug the unit. And then control the gains with volumes of the instrument/signal that is plugged in to the 1/4. But what sucks is that if you didn't set enough gain then you have to get back to a computer to bring it up.

And if you turn up the inputs all the way just to be safe then you could be introducing extra noise prom the input. Signal to noise ratio could be really skewed up here.

Is this all true? Anyone?

Rim
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Re: 1818vsl audio out question

Post by Rim » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:04 pm

FWIW, the Presonus 1818 has hardware gain controls for every channel, so there's no need for external software to set levels.

I know for a fact that the monitor level knob on the front of the Focusrite interfaces only adjusts the monitor level on the jacks in the back, and has no effect on the headphone jack.

Rim

Foster
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Re: 1818vsl audio out question

Post by Foster » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:30 pm

So then am i correct that the 1/4 inputs on the focusrite have to be set with a computer?

knocksquared
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Re: Ipad2 with Alesis Iodock, how compatible with Auria?

Post by knocksquared » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:03 pm

Rim wrote:Yes, the ioDock will work great with Auria, and this is a good solution for 2 channels in and out. There's no direct way to move files between garageband and other apps (garageband doesn't support Audio Copy/Paste). But you can move the garageband files off your ip[ad, onto your Mac or PC, then back onto Auria pretty easily, using iTunes File Sharing.


Rim

With the IOdock... can I record mono in AND stereo in. Like a Mic or Stereo Synth?

Rim
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Re: Ipad2 with Alesis Iodock, how compatible with Auria?

Post by Rim » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:11 pm

Yes, you can choose whether to record stereo or mono from Auria's input matrix screen.

Rim

Rim
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Re: 1818vsl audio out question

Post by Rim » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:14 pm

It appears so, as there are no controls on the box itself for controlling them.

Rim

Foster
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Re: 1818vsl audio out question

Post by Foster » Sun Jul 22, 2012 1:56 am

Presonus it is. Not having input control is a real big deal breaker with the focusrite. This just confirms my decision to get the 1818Vsl. I was hoping the focusrite could work because for the same price of the presonus I could have gotten the Scarlett 18i6 and a 8 channel preamp. Thats 16 ins for the price of 8. And that's also 10 xlr's and 6 line ins. Darnit!

Muttlee23
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Re: Usb sound cards

Post by Muttlee23 » Sun Jul 22, 2012 2:12 am

Heya,

I bought myself a focusrite 8i6 and it works quite well with the ipad. It needs to be plugged into a usb hub and the hub into a camera connection kit. Power to the usb hub isn't needed, but power to the soundcard is... I've also got a 1m 30pin cable between the CCK and the ipad. I find that these extension cables dont falll out as much as when the cck is in the ipad. to make the setup portable i also got a 12v sealed battery for the soundcard, and so far so good....until i wanted to disable the mic input monitoring, and installed the latest software and drivers and a win7 machine. It did a firmware update which has now made the soundcard not "initialise" . When the 8i6 gets powered up, nothing gets outputed (input monitoring is set to on) until its plugged into the pc and when the usb is removed it continues monitoring and will work with the ipad....hopefully focusrite sort this out soon...dont really want to take a lappie with me just to initalise the soundcard on field recording missions...has anyone else got this problem?

bluesking
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Auria

Post by bluesking » Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:30 am

Finally Auria.
I tried it with my amp "Yamaha THR10" Apple camera connection and seems to work well.
See you soon

Rim
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Re: Usb sound cards

Post by Rim » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:27 am

That's strange. We haven't had any issues like this with the 8i6 or 18i6 we have here. We're using the latest firmware.

I dont have the Mixcontrol software handy, but I seem to recall a "Reset device to defaults" button or menu option. Have you tried this?

In our experience, the hub must always be powered. Perhaps this is a factor as well. You might want to experiment by powering this as well to see if it makes a difference.

Rim

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Re: The Working / Not working audio interfaces thread

Post by Dubhausdisco » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:33 am

Maybe this thread should be a sticky- this app is going to take off and the board will fill up fast with folks wanting to know if their interface works....
dubhausdisco

iPad 3
iOS 7.0.4
Akai EIE
Auria 1.14

Muttlee23
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Re: Usb sound cards

Post by Muttlee23 » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:00 pm

Sure is strange...I have indeed tried the "reset device to defaults". Do your 8i6 or 18i6 monitor the inputs when its first powered up when no usb is plugged in? I recall that mine did before the firmware update, but it now does not do this until is been plugged into the pc. Once the usb is then removed it continues working...fingers crossed focusrite have a solution for me...

Rim
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Re: Usb sound cards

Post by Rim » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:09 pm

We got ours with the latest firmware already on it. From what I recall, it won't monitor at all until you set up a monitor mix through the MixControl program and write that mix to your device. I'll see if we have some time to play with our unit this coming week and report back. Focusrite might also have some further answers.

Rim

Muttlee23
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Re: Usb sound cards

Post by Muttlee23 » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:17 pm

Kewl, thanks Rim. I've logged the issue with Focusrite, so we'll see what happens. And i'll try powering the usb hub to see if that helps kick it into motion. I originally was doing that, but found it still worked without it.

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