Distortion between Focusrite MixControl and PT9

[pearldrum944]

Hi, I'm getting distortion into PT through my Focusrite Saffire 56 and Lucid ADA8824. The distortion shows up on ADAT 1 input channels 7-8, and all of ADAT 2 if I move my converter to ADAT 2 (I'm pretty sure about this, I only checked a couple of the ADAT 2 channels.) Here's the thing though...I don't get any distortion when I directly monitor the input through MixControl, but when monitoring through Pro Tools...distortion. So it's not a hardware issue...I don't know, I'm utterly confused.

Here is a recording of the distortion:
https://soundcloud.com/tbird330/saffire-adat-distortion

[YYR123]

How's ur clocking setup?

[pearldrum944]

Originally Posted by YYR123

How's ur clocking setup?

Through the ADAT cables, saffire as the master. I also tried setting the Lucid as master but the distortion didn't change.

[YYR123]

Sorry I was on the road for awhile
But I haven't used adat cables in awhile - do us have to put both the in and the out for sync clock purposes? What about ur ada8824? Is it set at 44.1k? There are those dip switches in the back couldn't grasp the function of them . Obviously if you could check the Ada in standalone and/or solely with PT that would be best - rule out a few scenarios

[pearldrum944]

Originally Posted by YYR123

Sorry I was on the road for awhile
But I haven't used adat cables in awhile - do us have to put both the in and the out for sync clock purposes? What about ur ada8824? Is it set at 44.1k? There are those dip switches in the back couldn't grasp the function of them . Obviously if you could check the Ada in standalone and/or solely with PT that would be best - rule out a few scenarios

No worries! Yes, I believe both cables must be connected to maintain sync. I've swapped out cables as well. ADA8824 is at 44.1k. I spent an hour looking at the manual a while ago to make sure I understood the dip-switch matrix...it looks correct. I haven't tried using it in standalone mode and don't have another (complete) firewire device to test alongside. I really don't think it's hardware though, because it shows up distortion free in MixControl....just not in pro tools. The miscommunication is somewhere digitally. The distortion also follows I/O changes in PT, it doesn't stay with physical analog channels on the converter.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by pearldrum944

I really don't think it's hardware though, because it shows up distortion free in MixControl....just not in pro tools.

so then I would be curious about your computer set up? mix control version ? and is there a firmware upgrade for your ADA

What version of PT? 9.03 was awesome on win (my system anyway) 9.06 was also extremely stable both win and Mac

Have you tried Focusrite support, they are really helpful. They come here from time to time

[pearldrum944]

Originally Posted by YYR123

so then I would be curious about your computer set up? mix control version ? and is there a firmware upgrade for your ADA

What version of PT? 9.03 was awesome on win (my system anyway) 9.06 was also extremely stable both win and Mac

Have you tried Focusrite support, they are really helpful. They come here from time to time

My computer is a custom hackintosh that is three years old and has only ever crashed once for me: Intel i7- 3.2GHz, OSX 10.6.8

My previous setup with this computer was a Sony DMX-r100 connected with 24 channels of ADAT through a profire lightbridge, it never had a hickup.

Software Info:
Pro Tools 9.0.6
44.1k, 32 samples
Firmware 2761
MixControl 3.3

I emailed tech support at Focusrite yesterday and will hopefully hear back tomorrow. I went ahead and started this thread as well because of PT being involved...I'm not sure how focusrite's support is...but you know how it goes sometimes, "Oh, another solftware involved? Not our problem...."

[pearldrum944]

I just noticed on the Focusrite website that when you pull up downloads for the LS56 the MixControl version changes from 3.3 to 3.2. Is there an issue with 3.3 on the LS56? I tried uninstalling 3.3 and installing 3.2 but MixControl won't run because "the software is out of date".

[YYR123]

I don't even know what version I have.....but I have basically the same computer and interface as you but I don't regularly run ADAT - try a higher buffer than 32 - try 128 and see if that changes the distortion

Reason I say that is b/c you don't really care while tracking b/c you can use the mix control for monitoring - but it may affect the PT signal

[pearldrum944]

Originally Posted by YYR123

I don't even know what version I have.....but I have basically the same computer and interface as you but I don't regularly run ADAT - try a higher buffer than 32 - try 128 and see if that changes the distortion

Reason I say that is b/c you don't really care while tracking b/c you can use the mix control for monitoring - but it may affect the PT signal

I tried this the other day but I still got distortion...I'm not sure if it changed the sound of the distortion...I don't think so, but still distorted for sure.