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Old 06-14-2016, 09:20 AM
Tonto Goldstein Tonto Goldstein is offline
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Default Eleven Rack for Mac system audio on HDX system

I have a 32 I/O HDX system running a single HDX card in an expansion chassis on a Mac Pro cylinder with 64GB of RAM. Currently on PTHDX 12.5. My situation is as follows: Since I now have to use the Internet for voice over as ISDN seeps slowly and sadly into the past I need to use an external USB interface for computer sound I/O while using PTHDX for recording. The Mac Pro Cylinder has no audio input, and only the strange 1/8" unclockable optical/analog output, so the old method of using ADAT I/O to a PT interface is not an option. (For those wondering Source Connect Standard includes a PT plugin called "Link" but it is not usable with HD/HDX systems, only "LE" systems which can use the system audio for I/O). I have been using an Alesis IO2 but this has a noise issue (high whiney whistle) and is not appropriate for pro applications. So since I own an Eleven Rack which I use as a guitar input via AES and which presumably has a better USB audio I/O than the Alesis I would like to try to use the Eleven's line ins and outs for Mac system sound. Yesterday I downloaded the latest Eleven software/driver. The Eleven now shows up in Sound Prefs, and in Audio Midi Setup. It works as a sound output (haven't tested input yet).

My problem is this: The volume coming out of the Eleven's line outs is very low, and there appears no way to adjust it. The system volume control and the AMS sliders for ins and outs are all greyed out. Is there way to access these controls without risk of screwing up my HDX system on this machine? There are plenty of 2-in, 2-out USB interfaces available, but I already have the Eleven sitting in my rack and wired into my patchbay ready to go, so it would be great if I could use it...but for the low, low output level.

Thank you in advance for your help.
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  #2  
Old 06-14-2016, 12:15 PM
Darryl Ramm Darryl Ramm is online now
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Default Re: Eleven Rack for Mac system audio on HDX system

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonto Goldstein View Post
And only the strange 1/8" unclockable optical/analog output
The optical output supports S/PDIF. You can't make an "unclockable" S/PDIF signal since it's self-clocking/inherent to the signal. Any interface should be able to clock from any S/PDIF source. If you are having problems something is likely wrong.

I'm not sure I follow what you are doing. What are you using the Eleven Rack line *inputs* for exactly? The Eleven Rack Main (+4dBu line level) outputs are going where exactly? just what exactly is connected to what.

The Eleven Rack is not a hardware mixer, it can't take audio input in on one of its IO and play it out another. (well it can via the guitar rig, but you do not want to do that). It can play CoreAudio/USB signals out any of it's outputs, if you are doing that and going to the Main Outputs on the Eleven Rack and the level is too low then you need to increase it inside the Mac before it gets to the interface.

Quote:
My problem is this: The volume coming out of the Eleven's line outs is very low, and there appears no way to adjust it. The system volume control and the AMS sliders for ins and outs are all greyed out.
This is working as intended/normal. The driver does not support volume adjustments. But there is a big 'ol volume knob on front of the Eleven Rack. Tell me you did not have that turned down...

If you have a digital signal inside your Mac Pro, you can output in on the Digital Out L/R (on both the S/PDIF and AES/EUB outs) using the Audio Midi Setup Configure Speakers setup for the Eleven Rack.

You can also mirror analog outs with the Digital Out which will give you digital volume control, but I'm not following why you should need that.

I'm not sure how you were using the Alesis IO2? That does have an internal mixer/hardware monitoring (if you say want to use line inputs to drive line outputs) and volume controls.
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Old 06-14-2016, 01:32 PM
Tonto Goldstein Tonto Goldstein is offline
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Default Re: Eleven Rack for Mac system audio on HDX system

YES! The volume knob! Never though of that, and no previous searches on this subject ever mentioned it. That bit of information was helpful and has solved my immediate problem, thank you. I have never used the Eleven for anything but a guitar processor with AES outs feeding my PT interface, so I never needed to know about the completely separate audio interface functions on the Eleven, which was the reason for posting here in the first place.

*****************************************

In regard to the rest of the commentary: The reason for needing a secondary I/O for system sound while using Pro Tools on the HDX hardware is for incoming and outgoing audio from Source Connect, ipDTL, Source Connect Now, and Skype. Increasingly in the voice over and ADR industries these methods are used to send and receive audio. While all allow local recording of uncompressed audio it is still necessary to send and receive high quality audio which must go into and out of the Mac's system sound while Pro Tools uses the HDX hardware.

As for the mention of an unclockable SPDIF output, whether my HDX interfaces can clock to the optical SPDIF as a clock source is a moot point, partly because every device handling digital audio in my studio gets word clock from a master clock, and partly because the Mac Pro Cylinder has no sound input. So even if I wanted to disregard the master clock and send optical SPDIF from the Cylinder's optical output, I would still need a way to get audio IN to the computer. In the past I used a silver Mac Pro Tower which has optical ins and outs, or a second computer with HD hardware as Core Audio I/O to handle the remote connection audio, but in this case I am doing both the Pro Tools recording and two way remote audio on the same computer.

Quote:
I'm not sure how you were using the Alesis IO2? That does have an internal mixer/hardware monitoring (if you say want to use line inputs to drive line outputs) and volume controls.
Although I thought I explained it fairly plainly, the IO2 was used in exactly the way it was intended - as a USB 2ch. analog I/O, and enabled in the Mac's sound system prefs. It has input and output level controls, and was able to accept and output good line levels, but has a nasty little digital noise problem. Again, the need to have a separate audio I/O while using Pro Tools HDX for recording is that the Mac's system sound either needs to be recorded (when I am RECEIVING) remote VO, or sent out when I am SENDING VO. In every case it needs to be a two way signal flow. All of my hardware I/Os are in an analog console via a patchbay, but that is secondary to this story. In essence the USB I/O replaces my ISDN box in my signal flow.

I was thinking of buying a new (hopefully better) 2ch USB, but since I already own the Eleven, and it contains a fully functional USB interface (COMPLETELY SEPARATE from the guitar processing, if you want it to be), and since it is already installed and wired into the patchbay, it makes total sense to use it.

Now that I have learned the (seemingly obvious, but never publicized) "big ol' volume knob."


Thank you.
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