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  #1  
Old 05-25-2015, 08:40 AM
musmin2415 musmin2415 is offline
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Default Quartet not working with Win 7 - no sound/readings!

Ok, so I'm new to the Pro Tools / Quartet / Windows world. I bought the PT / Quartet bundle. I'm having issues getting the Quartet installed on my Win 7 machine. Here are my specs:
- OS: Win 7 Pro 64-bit SP1
- CPU: Intel i7 3770K @ 3.50GHz Ivy Bridge
- 16Gb RAM
- MoBo: Gigabyte Tech, Z77X-UDSH

Pro Tools (at this point) seems to be running fine, although I'm missing some options in the set-up tab (but I'm assuming that'll be fixed once I get the Quartet up and going.) The bottom line is that I'm not getting any sound / activity from my Quartet. I installed the latest drivers (1.0.10) and the interface wasn't being found by my PC at all. (When I went into my PC's Sound Control Panel, the Quartet wasn't there, and it had a little 'x' over the speaker in the lower right-hand corner dock.) So, I uninstalled and installed the prior Avid ProTools IO Control driver version (1_0_8). That seemed to work a little better -- still no sound -- but at least the Quartet was being recognized by my PC. However, every once in awhile that 'x' would appear over the speaker icon in the corner and I would have to unplug and plug the Quartet USB back in. Anyway, when I try and open the PT IO Control panel, it's blank -- there's nothing there. And, when I try use the updater, it says that it failed and that I should re-install the drivers. There is almost no signal of life through the Quartet. The buttons are all back-lit, but I can't activate them, and there are no readings whatsoever on the meters. Please help!! I did some reading on "Pro Tools approved Window machines", but could that be the issue? I need my rig up and running, please!
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  #2  
Old 05-25-2015, 03:11 PM
musmin2415 musmin2415 is offline
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Update: I've tried it with my MacBook Pro, and the firmware updater isn't working there either. I'm really disappointed because there's VERY LITTLE online about installing the Quartet / Pro Tools bundle. My MBP isn't even recognizing the Quartet. When I run the updater (per the instructions), it tells me over and over that I need to connect the Quartet. So, wth is the problem??? Do I need to install Maestro first, even though it's the PT / Quartet bundle? I haven't installed PT 11 yet. Should I do that, and then run the updater? Is there any support I can get without paying for it? I am so incredibly frustrated with this, I'm about ready to call it quits and take a step down to another interface.
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  #3  
Old 05-25-2015, 07:01 PM
musmin2415 musmin2415 is offline
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UPDATE 2: OK, so I've finished reading all the driver nightmares about Avid. I'm already ready to return the whole bundle and take a step down to the Audient ID22 -- at least I know those drivers are tried and true, plus the preamps / converters aren't half-bad either. After I submitted a ticket to Apogee, I realized after my reading that they have NOTHING to do with the driver side, and so that was all probably for nothing. I'm a little freaked out that I dropped $1600 on this bundle, and now I'm beginning to see that this whole hardware / software project might end up being a forgotten bastard child of Avid / Apogee. Very sad. I really hope that I'm wrong about this and that I'm just over-looking something and it's totally 'user-error' on my part. I was really excited to jump into the PT / Apogee world, but I have a strong feeling that I won't be able to get any support on this without paying for it (which I don't think I should have to pay for it at these beginning installation stages). Any suggestions? Anybody??
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  #4  
Old 05-25-2015, 09:55 PM
VRW VRW is offline
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Default Good idea, bad accomplishment

I have had the Apogee version of the Quartet for 3 years (just replaced it with a more mobile interface recently)
and it simply was great. Never had any serious issues. So the Apogee side of this unit is excellent indeed.
Unfortunately not so the Avid side which means all drivers and software of the Avid versions of the Duet and Quartet.
Apogee has nothing to do with the I/O software/drivers of the Avid versions, it is only responsible for the hardware of
these versions. It´s all up to Avid.
With the original (silver) Apogee version of the Quartet the (Apogee) software and drivers worked very well indeed.
On the other hand I have noticed that almost all users of Avid Duets/Quartets have been experiencing serious software/
driver issues which in many cases can´t be solved by Avid obviously. Not cool actually .
So if you would use only your MBP/Mac, Apogee+PT11 is a fantastic combination as it works and sounds great.
However if you are using a Windows machine you really better save yourself trouble and return the Quartet as long as it
will be possible! You will not get happy with the Avid version of the Quartet I am afraid!
If using Windows/PC+PT11 let me highly recommend RME products which are very good sounding units as well and RME
always have been great with drivers and support.
Many Pros here in the DUC who are using Windows are using it with RME interfaces successfully.
The comparable RME product to the Quartet as to quality would be the RME UCX which is a very high quality, reliable Pro-interface.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FirefaceUCX

There are more RME interfaces available of course.
http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--RME-...dio_Interfaces

RME manufacturer´s website.
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/fireface_ucx.php

And of course there also will be Mac software/drivers for those RMEs, so you may be able to use it on both systems finally.
However RME is the probably best and most reliable brand when it comes to audio interfaces for Windows systems and it works
very well with Pro Tools 11.

It´s all up to you of course but from my experience here in the DUC it might be no bad idea to replace your Avid Quartet with another
interface still as long as it will be possible, if being on Windows, preferably with one from RME .

Anyway the best of success to you,


VRW
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  #5  
Old 05-26-2015, 08:59 AM
musmin2415 musmin2415 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VRW View Post
So if you would use only your MBP/Mac, Apogee+PT11 is a fantastic combination as it works and sounds great.
VRW

Thanks so much for taking the time to get back with me. Even though the news is sad, I appreciate your time. So, if I did hold on to it, would I be able to use the Quartet at least with my Mac by downloading Maestro? Or am I stuck with Avid's drivers / IO software (aka - an abomination)?
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  #6  
Old 05-26-2015, 09:46 AM
VRW VRW is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musmin2415 View Post
Thanks so much for taking the time to get back with me. Even though the news is sad, I appreciate your time. So, if I did hold on to it, would I be able to use the Quartet at least with my Mac by downloading Maestro? Or am I stuck with Avid's drivers / IO software (aka - an abomination)?
I am afraid you are stuck to whatever comes from Avid for it because it´s not only the I/O software
but also the firmware for the Pro Tools Quartet which is adapted by Avid. I don´t think the Pro Tools
Quartets firmware will work with Maestro.
You of course may try to hold on to it (I know it´s also because of the bundled Pro Tools software)
but I would not recommend it.
Obviously Avid doesn´t put any effort into solving the driver/software issues of the Pro Tools Duets/
Quartets anymore. For whatever reason?!

If you love the whole concept of the Quartet which is indeed a great sounding, convenient and clever
designed piece of gear, imo the best solution would be to replace the Pro Tools Quartet with the original,
silver Apogee version and use it with your MacBook only.
I definitely can confirm that this one works great with the latest Apogee Yosemite driver and Pro Tools 11.
Like a charm!

If it would be too much money to buy the Apogee version of the Quartet or the RME UCX plus Pro Tools
software again, there might be another variant which offers not that much options like these both do but
at least definitely the same professional audio quality and would be a lot more affordable.
I am talking about an Universal Audio Apollo Twin interface which you could get for about $700.- Solo/$900.- Duo
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ApolloTwinS
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ApolloTwinD

For the rest of the money you could buy the Pro Tools software upgrade or at least one year Pro Tools 12.
Just as another suggestion.

Until they will have got Thunderbolt PCie Cards for PCs, you will only be able to use the Apollo with your MacBook
but sooner or later Thunderbolt for PC will come up.
And if you would need more Micpres, you could get an external Micpreamp unit later and connect it via ADAT IN
to the Apollo.

Unfortunately thats all that comes to my mind at the moment.
Really sorry for the pretty bad news, I wish I had a better solution for your problem!

Anyway wishing you very best,


VRW
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  #7  
Old 05-26-2015, 09:56 AM
VRW VRW is offline
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PS: obviously there are some Thunderbolt PCie cards for PC out already but I am too long away from the Windows/PC area
to know enough about it to give you serious advice regarding this subject.
If you are interested in this, you may just search for yourself or ask more knowledgeable guys than myself about it.

All the best again!
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  #8  
Old 05-26-2015, 04:52 PM
musmin2415 musmin2415 is offline
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Location: Wichita, KS
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Default Update

Quote:
Originally Posted by VRW View Post
The comparable RME product to the Quartet as to quality would be the RME UCX which is a very high quality, reliable Pro-interface.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FirefaceUCX

There are more RME interfaces available of course.
http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--RME-...dio_Interfaces

RME manufacturer´s website.
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/fireface_ucx.php

And of course there also will be Mac software/drivers for those RMEs, so you may be able to use it on both systems finally.
However RME is the probably best and most reliable brand when it comes to audio interfaces for Windows systems and it works
very well with Pro Tools 11.

VRW
Thanks! Actually, before I ordered the Apogee / PT bundle, I was trying to decide between the Audient ID22 piece and an RME piece. I couldn't really find a negative review about either.

Update: I emailed the seller on eBay who sold this to me and he was very professional. He told me to keep him in the loop once i got a hold of Avid support. Well, after work I called support and one of the specialists logged in to my PC and began uninstalling / re-installing the software. After about an hour, he got to a point where my PC was recognizing the driver and everything seemed to be installed correctly. However, there were still no readings whatsoever on the Quartet. He asked what was all lit up. He kept telling me that if it was plugged in (the USB and power supply) that I should see two lights lit above the speaker and headphone (circled in yellow on the attached pic). I told him all that was ever lit up were all the back-lit buttons (circled in blue), and I never saw a flicker of anything else. I tried different USB cables, as well as different ports (2.0 & 3.0), and it all came back with the same result. He finally came back and said that I had a defective product and I need to send it back. NOW, I'm stuck with the tough decision of seeing if the seller will send me another unit and risk having the same issues, or just call it quits and go with an RME or Audient piece. The only reason I'm considering having the seller send me another unit is because since the Quartet did nearly the same thing with my Mac AND PC, maybe it is the unit??? Anyway, I'm open for advice from anybody! Thanks.
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  #9  
Old 05-26-2015, 05:43 PM
VRW VRW is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musmin2415 View Post
Thanks! Actually, before I ordered the Apogee / PT bundle, I was trying to decide between the Audient ID22 piece and an RME piece. I couldn't really find a negative review about either.

Update: I emailed the seller on eBay who sold this to me and he was very professional. He told me to keep him in the loop once i got a hold of Avid support. Well, after work I called support and one of the specialists logged in to my PC and began uninstalling / re-installing the software. After about an hour, he got to a point where my PC was recognizing the driver and everything seemed to be installed correctly. However, there were still no readings whatsoever on the Quartet. He asked what was all lit up. He kept telling me that if it was plugged in (the USB and power supply) that I should see two lights lit above the speaker and headphone (circled in yellow on the attached pic). I told him all that was ever lit up were all the back-lit buttons (circled in blue), and I never saw a flicker of anything else. I tried different USB cables, as well as different ports (2.0 & 3.0), and it all came back with the same result. He finally came back and said that I had a defective product and I need to send it back. NOW, I'm stuck with the tough decision of seeing if the seller will send me another unit and risk having the same issues, or just call it quits and go with an RME or Audient piece. The only reason I'm considering having the seller send me another unit is because since the Quartet did nearly the same thing with my Mac AND PC, maybe it is the unit??? Anyway, I'm open for advice from anybody! Thanks.
I´m sorry for you that you are experiencing those issues.
Indeed its a tough decision because the Quartet is a very cool product in general.
If your main machine will be a Windows/PC however I would tend to recommend to get an RME interface instead anyway.
Its just that if you read all the entries here in the Pro Tools Duet/Quartet section, you come to the conclusion that obviously
there is something wrong with those Avid drivers and software and Avid seems not really be working on that to solve it.
Other experienced and very knowledgable users like Darryl Ramm already have talked about Avid falling behind on support
or even deciding to abandon yet another product which they often have done this way in the past with products which had
become to difficult to support further on as to too many issues.

Although I personally love the Quartet as a product in general, I still would go to replace it with an RME interface just because
it will be the by far more future proof solution for Windows/PC users than the Pro Tools Duets/Quartets.
Let me say that just from my personal experience for PC RME would also be the better choice than Audient who make great products
for sure. Its just what I have experienced being in this business for decades.

Anyway.
Wishing you the very best for your future system and may you have lots of fun with it after this difficult start whichever route you
decide to go finally.


All the best, VRW
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  #10  
Old 05-29-2015, 03:19 PM
Amack Amack is offline
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Which other products on AVID's list of "Windows Compatible Audio Interfaces" are known to have compatibility problems! Maybe jeffro can get them removed when he gets some of the Fast Tracks added! http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=368238 Odd that AVID is still selling it at their online store! (http://shop.avid.com/store/ccrz__Pro...00000000125AAA)

Quote:
Originally Posted by VRW View Post
I´m sorry for you that you are experiencing those issues.
Indeed its a tough decision because the Quartet is a very cool product in general.
If your main machine will be a Windows/PC however I would tend to recommend to get an RME interface instead anyway.
Its just that if you read all the entries here in the Pro Tools Duet/Quartet section, you come to the conclusion that obviously
there is something wrong with those Avid drivers and software and Avid seems not really be working on that to solve it.
Other experienced and very knowledgable users like Darryl Ramm already have talked about Avid falling behind on support
or even deciding to abandon yet another product which they often have done this way in the past with products which had
become to difficult to support further on as to too many issues.

Although I personally love the Quartet as a product in general, I still would go to replace it with an RME interface just because
it will be the by far more future proof solution for Windows/PC users than the Pro Tools Duets/Quartets.
Let me say that just from my personal experience for PC RME would also be the better choice than Audient who make great products
for sure. Its just what I have experienced being in this business for decades.

Anyway.
Wishing you the very best for your future system and may you have lots of fun with it after this difficult start whichever route you
decide to go finally.


All the best, VRW

Last edited by Amack; 05-29-2015 at 04:09 PM. Reason: Add link to online store
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