MTRX Studio & HD Native

[YumYumAudio]

I've just got the MTRX Studio (MS) as a replacement for my dead Omni. I can't seem to get the basics working and the documentation doesn't seem to help, nor does there seem to be any videos covering this online. Basically, I can't see the MS as an Audio Interface for my Pro tools and therefore have the basic function of opening Protools and getting audio in and out.

What I've Done:
I've connected my Digilink Cable from Port 1 in the MS, to Port 1 in the PCI card in my mac. Connected the ethernet port 1 to my computer. XLR's plugged in to Mic 1&2, and the D25 snake in line out 1-8 for 5.1 speakers.
In DADman, on the "CON" section, I've selected AD & Digi Link 1-22 (as shown in the avid MS Install Guide pdf)
In "CONF" I've got DigiLink mode as Pri/Pri
I've noticed that there is no "Protools HD" in Conf, like there seems to be in videos for the MTRX, but wasn't sure if this was MTRX specific, and not the MTRX Studio.
Monitor Profile, I've set out my Source for Pro Tools HD - 5.1 - Digilink 1 Ch 1-6. And outputs DA Ch3-8 (Line 1-6)

I've updated to the latest firmware on the MS.



Is there some step that I am missing here?



My System:
Mac OSx Sierra 10.12.6
Mac Pro 5,1 (mid 2010)
Pro Tools HD 2018.12.0

[Farhoof]

I could be wrong, but I think you need DADman 5.4.1 or higher and Protools 2020.3 minimum.

[creativecontrol]

Yes, that is correct. MTRX Studio support for DigiLink was added in Pro Tools 2020.3:
https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/ar...-Release-Notes

The current version of DADman available in accounts is 5.4.2.


best,


Jeff

[polyh3dron]

The MTRX Studio has a bit of a steeper learning curve than other Pro Tools interfaces, so you'll want to read the entire manual pretty closely. Avid did a series of videos on YouTube introducing people to the original MTRX unit, and most of the stuff they go through applies to the MTRX studio, including how to set up your monitoring section. They also have a playlist of videos for the MTRX Studio that should help. Basically just scour their channel and you will be on the right track:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...QDeRgOaJw_FSI1

I'm not sure how the networking defaults in the unit out of the box, but the direct ethernet connection between the MTRX Studio and your Mac's Ethernet port could be one of your problems. I believe from memory that it can be used this way after it's set up properly though.

[robertszydlo]

Hi, don't want to hijack the thread but my question seems to fit to the thread title so I thought maybe it is better to ask here than to create next one...
I just bought MTRX Studio (will get it in a few days) and it is to replace my previous system consisting of HD Native PCI plus Omni and HD I/O 16x16
Since 32 I/O limit is not a problem for me ( don't need more hardware i/o) I keep asking myself a question if I should keep the PCI card and connect to MTRX via Digilink or is it simpler and more elegant to get rid of it ( as unneeded element ) and connect via DVS. Please help, are there ant drawbacks ? Is Digilink a better solution?
Thank you
Robert

[creativecontrol]

Not a problem. The MTRX Studio discussions seem to be all over the place - which is completely fine. We're here to help.

It would be highly recommended for you to use your HD Native card to interconnect the MTRX Studio to your system. The factors are:

Latency
IO Count
Flexibility
Direct Avid Playback Engine (not going though CoreAudio)

The minimum latency possible with Dante Virtual Soundcard is going to be around 4ms. Conversely, the interchange of audio between MTRX Studio and the HDN card via DigiLink can happen within a number of samples.

Even though you mention you don't require a channel count higher than 32, it's incredibly handy to be able to allocate the first 32-channel DigiLink pipe to Analog and Digital IO: 16 AD built in + 16 optional Analog to ADAT external box - such as a Ferrofish or Focusrite. The second DigiLink pipe which funnels in and out of Pro Tools - can be allocated for Dante applications. It's also nice to know that with the IP Core chipset being used in MTRX Studio, all of the channels of Dante can be used at any sample rate - up to 192kHz.

From a reliability, stability, buffering, playback standpoint - you are going to see better performance in Pro Tools with an HDN PCIe Playback Engine than a CoreAudio DVS engine. Again, it's a matter of optimization, drivers and the like. With HDN as the engine, you can tell MTRX ST via DADman to automatically change (adapt) the sample rate of the MTRX ST including the Dante IO - when you open and close sessions in Pro Tools at different rates.

best,



Jeff

[robertszydlo]

Thank you so much Jeff, I will keep the PCI card!