11R drives me nuts

[Ralf_T]

The Eleven Rack is driving me nuts.

I bought it about 2.5 years ago and I used it as my main audio interface that would also allow me to track some guitar parts every now and then. And it came with Pro Tools ... So far, so good. Pro Tools has been replaced by Cubase, though, but that's a different story.

Until recently I only used my GENELEC 8020Bs for monitoring. I ran them at about a quarter of the maximum loudness range and adjusted the volume on the Eleven Rack. Running the GENELECs that low was necessary because the loud bang the Eleven Rack utters when changing between projects with different sampling and/or bit rates would have ruined my ears otherwise.

A couple of months ago I complemented my GENELECs with a subwoofer. Now I HAVE to run the GENELECs at full volume. Needless to say that the band when changing sampling-/bitrates is no longer tolerable. Even more worse: Now the Eleven Rack utters a whole bunch of noise which makes it impossible to mix. The noise (it is not a grounding issue!) is clearly coming from the Eleven Rack. I have a POD HD500 and an E-MU 0404 audio interface. When I connect my GENELECs to any of those two devices they are dead quiet! There is also no bang when changing sampling/bit rates when using the POD or the E-MU for my audio interface.

The noise is completely unrelated to the volume of the Eleven Rack, and it is also there with all amps/effects set to bypass, and also if the "rig output" is place in front of the amp/effects chain.

Does anyone experience the same issues?

[Benoni]

Can you turn off your monitors before switching rates? What about running your monitors from a control center instead of directly connected to the 11R, that way you could turn down the volume between the 11R and monitors.

[Ralf_T]

Of course I can turn off the monitors before switching rates ...

My question is a fundamental one: Does only my unit exhibit this behaviour or do all units utter that bang? In the latter case, why do the POD HD500 and the E-MU behave differently in that regard? Is it by design? I am not a technician, but I guess there must be some circuitry that disconnects the output jacks from the signal chain when switching rates on the other devices. Is this how it works? If preventing the unit from uttering that bang can be controlled by the firmware then I would really like to see a firmware update for that because I am somewhat oblivious ... ;-)

Still the white noise coming from my monitors leaves me clueless. Turning off the monitors could help here, too ...

[derker]

Are you referring to Rig noise that pops up when sessions are closed, or are you getting the 'white noise' blasts?

[Ralf_T]

The white noise is permanently there at a constant level. It does not get louder or lower. I would not describe it as a "blast" but it is loud enough to fatique my ears very quickly when mixing.

As far as the loud pop/bang goes: I am actually not aware of the rig noise you are talking about. I would have to check. The pop/bang I am referring to is that one you get when you change the clock source parameter under User Options -> Digital Clock/Input even in standalone operation mode. If memory serves well this has been reported by users in more recent threads (I will have to check this), so I guess this is due to the design of the hardware. In consequence, when I use the 11R as my main audio interface, the same thing happens when switching between sessions with different sample rates because the DAW changes the clock source of the 11R. At least this is my explanation ...

I do not switch between sessions permanently, so this is something I can avoid by turning off the monitors (although I can see no reason why the 11R could not have been designed not to exhibit this pop, just like the much cheaper POD or E-MU). But this white noise is driving me crazy. Looks like I have to take the plunge and invest in a more decent audio interface.

[derker]

So it's noisy all the time? I'm not sure I totally understand. Are you using balanced cables between 11r and your speakers? Is everything on the same circuit? Where do you usually set your main volume for 11r?

[Ralf_T]

Exactly. There is white noise coming from my speakers all the time. Not blasting loud, but loud enough for making mixing impossible when I am sitting in my listening position. And as I described earlier the noise is there even with the volume on the 11R turned down. I can rule out problems with cables, power supply etc. All my devices are hooked up to a Furman Power Conditioner, cables are balanced, and with my cheapo E-MU interface or with the POD HD500 as my main audio interface instead of the 11R there is no distracting white noise and everything works fine (I also found that some quirks in Pro Tools I had in the past were related to the 11R or the 11R driver ...).

I hooked up the S/PDIF output of the 11R to the E-MU to see what happens, and there was no noise. Hence, I suspect it is something in the output stage of the 11R that causes this. There is either something broken, or very poor quality components have been used here. I do not suspect the A/D D/A converters because they are the same as the ones used in the POD HD500. Having had that "no sound on startup" issue and some other quirks due to bad components, and struggling with the noise and pop issue I have to say that I am very disappointed by the build quality of the 11R (or at least my unit).

[derker]

I'm with you man. There may be something funny happening in the analog output stages as you said.

My Main Out L/R are actually both blown. My left one went first (I was playing through it when it died), then the right months later. I had a friend look at it and he had me order some components...just haven't gotten around to doing anything about it, and I've been using my headphone out instead.

[Ralf_T]

Main outputs blown ... wow! What amp model did you use when it happened?

Joking aside: I have addressed this issue to my retailer, and as my 11R is still under warranty I will send it in for some inspection at their workshop. If it turns out that this is all by design, then it is time to say "good-bye" to the Eleven Rack.

[derker]

Yes, blown! Thats why I'm thinking the noise isnt so much 'by design' so much as it might be a bad component or connection. Hopefully your contact will figure out whats wrong with it and get it back in working order as soon as possible. At least it might still be under warranty.