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TC ELECTRONIC KONNEKT 24D (FireWire Audio Interface)


Anderton

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And here we go with another Pro Review, this time on TC Electronic's Konnekt 24D. Just to remind everyone of the ground rules, this is an interactive review that's open to all comments, questions, and answers! I've alerted TC to the fact that this review has started, and someone from the company will be monitoring this thread in case anyone has questions for TC (or if they want to argue with something I said!)

 

Anyway, as you're already connected to the net or you wouldn't be reading this, we're not going to re-invent the wheel and go over the specs. You can get those here anyway from the TC web site, along with a video, pictures, and all sorts of other useful bits of info. What we'll concentrate on is the user experience, the "out of the box" process of installing and using it, and applications.

 

Pro Reviews start when I open the box, and I like to start off by taking the unit apart and checking out the build quality. So let's check out the "Konnekt 24D photo album" so you can get an idea of what it looks like, along with comments about the construction.

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The Konnekt 24D is classy, no way around it, including details like the packaging and the inclusion of a Firewire cable so you don't have to hunt one up on your own. It has that minimalist sort of Euro look, which probably isn't too surprising given that TC is based in Denmark.

 

The box feels substantial, and has a one-piece wraparound brushed aluminum outside. Click on the attachment to see an overall view of the case. We'll look at details in the next few posts.

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The front panel is white with muted gray lettering, with light rings around the controls. Click on the attachment to see a picture of the front panel. No, that's not my camera lens distorting the knob shape: three of them really have elliptical knobs. This is a simple, but effective, way of making it easier to turn the knob without running into other controls (or plugs going into the inputs). A thick plastic overlay protects the lettering, and makes life hell for photographers when you're trying to get a shot that doesn't have too many reflections :)

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Okay, let's check out the back. Click on the attachment to see a picture of the full back panel. There are four line ins, four line outs, SPDIF I/O, and ADAT optical I/O. You'll also see MIDI in and out, two Firewire ports (you can daisy chain multiple Konnekts together), the jack for the "wall lump" adapter, and a power switch.

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I like to take things apart :) Yes, I really do. However, products seldom include a section in the manual called "here's how to take things apart," so I'm pretty much on my own.

 

I figured out how to remove the outer wraparound piece of aluminum, at which point I found that it was covering another box. I get the impression that whoever designed the case was promised a bonus if not one single electron was allowed to escape the insides. I mean, this baby is shielded, including a little copper braid that makes sure the output jacks contact the metal casing.

 

To take off the casing, you have to remove four teeny tiny screws around the MIDI connectors (visible in the previous shot). These require nanometer hex wrenches. Okay, I'm kidding, but they are really really small. Kids, don't try this at home!

 

Anyway, much to my delight (and probably the chagrin of anyone from TC who's reading this), I was able to expose the innards. Click on the attachment to see the insides of the Konnekt 24D.

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Here's a close-up of the Firewire interface itself; click on the attachment to see it. This came as a bit of a surprise -- with other units I've opened up, these have often been fairly large cards, whereas all you see here is the card toward the upper part of the picture, and the various support components around it. But a closer inspection reveals why: Note the big square chip toward the middle that says "Wavefront." I'm presuming this is the famous DICE II Firewire chip that handles most of the "firewiring."

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You may have noticed the Neutrik combo connectors on the front panel and inside shot; the line connectors (click on the attachment) are sturdy as well. Overall, the construction seems substantial: quality parts, excellent shielding, and an ergonomic front panel. The only thing that makes me nervous is there seem to be a lot of electrolytic capacitors in there, but I guess there's not much you can do about that if you want to pass audio and keep out DC, as well as filter out noise.

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The Konnekt 24D comes with an installation CD. Translation: Check the web site for updates. Just a second...

 

Okay, I didn't find any updates under the Support part of the site, but did under the product blurb for the Konnekt 24D, where "Latest Software" is located toward the bottom of the product menu. Suggestion to TC: Put a big button on the front page that says "click here for updates," and have that take you to a list updates for all your products. This might make it easier for people to stay up to date.

 

Anyway, there are two updates to download: A full installer of the V1.02 software, and the freebie version of Assimilator (more on this later) for the Konnekt. Both combined are about 6MB for Windows and 26MB forthe Mac, so it's not a big deal.

 

I also noticed the option to download the latest version of the manual. As the box doesn't included a printed manual, just a quick start guide on how to install the software, I figured I'd better download it.

 

So I clicked on manual, and found there are separate versions for English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Italian. Nice! Think I'll download a few of them and practice my other languages :) There's the same roster of manuals for the Assimilator, so I figured I'd better grab that one too. I'll be back...

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Okay, it's installing now on my Windows computer. I noticed that TC doesn't tell you to ignore the "Not passed Windows Logo testing" Screen of Paranoia. I guess everyone pretty much knows that screen is more or less meaningless, but some newbies might get confused.

 

Anyway, this is one of those deals where you install the drivers first, then connect the hardware....so far so good. Konnekt also installs the "Near" control panel with five pages: Mixer applet, setup, the two signal processors (Fabrik A and Fabrick C -- much more on this later), and an About screen.

 

Being a sucker for About screens, I clicked on that first. There are two options: Update Firmware, and Reset to Default. I clicked on Update Firmware, and sure enough, it directed me to a "Firmware" folder in the update I'd just downloaded. As it said "861" and the build number on the About screen said "Build 744," I figured "higher number = good" and initiated the update. Click on the attachment to see the About screen during the update process.

 

It said "Success" and when I checked the About screen again, it said Firmware version 1.01 Build 861. Cool!

 

Bottom line on the installation process: Easy. However, the Quick Start sheet doesn't say anything about "check for firmware updates;" it's in the manual, but there's no guarantee someone buying Konnekt 24D will know to check the About page, download the firmware, etc. I definitely think the Konnekt 24D documentation would be well-served by a little more hand-holding.

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Time to get serious and get some audio running through the interface. Click on the attachment to see the mixer applet.

 

Before going any further, though, I should emphasize that one of the Big Deals about the Konnekt 24 is that it includes built-in DSP with two separate effects, the Fabrik C channel strip and Fabrik R reverb. Inputs 1 and 2 each have a Fabrik C as an insert effect, while Fabrik R is a send effect for all channels. The effects actually do more than this, but these are the basics we need to know for how they work with the mixer.

 

I plugged a dynamic mic into input 2, and was pleasantly surprised to see the grayed-out connector in the applet turn solid to indicate something was plugged in. I then plugged a guitar into input 1, and its little graphic also changed from grayed-out to solid.

 

However, I was unpleasantly surprised that there's no indication on either the front panel or within the applet when phantom power is applied (which goes to both inputs simultaneously), other than the front panel pushbutton being in the down (pushed in) position.

 

Those who saw the Onyx Satellite Pro Review may recall that one of the issues was phantom power being only 38V, so I measured the phantom power on the 24D when bus-powered: +49.1V on the nose, with no difference when using the AC adapter instead of bus power.

 

Okay, back to the mixer. Starting from the left, there's channel 1 with its meter, send control (this goes to the Fabrik R reverb processor), pan, and fader, along with a mute and solo switch. Also note the Fabrik C effect inserted in the channel, and again, we'll cover the effects in detail later. We'll also cover how the front panel interacts with the mixer applet, which is pretty cool.

 

Channel 2 is the same as channel 1, however, there's also an option in the Setup menu that lets you link these together into one stereo channel. Next channel over is a streo pair for inputs 3+4 on the back panel, with the same basic complement of controls. (Inputs 1+2 on the back panel are the same as the front panel 1+2 ins, but there's a front panel switch that lets you switch between the front and rear panel inputs. Thus, you could have two separate sets of outputs plugged into 1+2, and switch between them as desired.)

 

The channels to the right of ins 1, 2, and 3+4 handle the digital ins. We're getting a little ahead of ourselves here, but not all digital options are available simultaneously, which you choose on the setup screen: You can choose among four stereo pairs of ADAT channels, three stereo pairs of ADAT + coaxial SPDIF, or optical + coaxial SPDIF. The channels change to reflect what you've chosen, e.g., four stereo inputs if you chose ADAT 1-8, or two stereo inputs if you chose optical + coaxial SPDIF.

 

The final input channel is a return from your DAW, which again has the same controls but without a send control. Lastly is the master out, with fader, meter, return level from the Fabrik R, and the ever-so-considerate "dim" switch so you can turn down the levels when the phone rings :)

 

There are also some preset management buttons in the lower left for recalling presets with different input assignments and the like. You can save and load your own presets, of course.

 

And that's it for today, as we've gotten the Konnekt 24D photographed, pried apart, installed, updated, and actually passing audio. Let's see what the next installment brings...

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Craig,

 

First of all thanks for your thorough introduction to the product. Its amazing you took the time to take the product apart; that's not easy ;)

 

Second, I'll be here to answer any questions that come up during the review. So if you or anyone else has questions regarding Konnekt 24D (or Konnekt 8) just let me know.

 

Last, I've added another mixer screenshot (see the attachment below). I just wanted to show that the mixer screen is dynamic and will adapt in size and appearance depending on your digital I/O configuration. This shot also shows multiple Konnekt's in use. Note that this screen shot was made with an earlier (beta) version of the software so some of the labels like the system settings graphic are different. I'm in an airport and didn't have a Konnekt accessible at the moment to take a new screenshot.

 

Take care,

 

Mike Martin

TC|US

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>

 

That's a point worth emphasizing, I sort of glossed over it when I said "The channels change to reflect what you've chosen, e.g., four stereo inputs if you chose ADAT 1-8, or two stereo inputs if you chose optical + coaxial SPDIF." I'll include some screen shots as I try other configurations, like feeding the DigiMAX FS into the ADAT in.

 

As to being in an airport without a Konnekt...jeez, Mike, it's really not that big, and it CAN be bus-powered :)

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Hello,

 

 

I just got mine since 2 weeks.

 

I Don't have enough knowledge and haven't tested so much gear to make a review.

 

But I have one question.

 

My Konnekt 24 is getting very hot, very quickly, even with only playback in winamp...

 

I'm close to cook an egg on it ... :/

 

I'd Like to know if this is normal, or it is my unit that got a problem ?

 

Thought I haven't noticed any troubles using it when hot...

 

 

Thx for your answer and sorry for my bad english ...

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Originally posted by Neverthere

Hi Mike, when is konnekt 8 hitting the states? I have one on order but it seems to keep getting delayed.

 

 

They are shipping, but just started shipping. Send me a PM with your dealer's name and I'll check into it for you.

 

-Mike Martin

TC|US

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I'm close to cook an egg on it ... :/>>

 

 

Hmmm...my doesn't seem all that hot, definitely warm though. I couldn't cook an egg on it, but I could keep toast warm :)

 

Maybe that's one reason for the wraparound aluminum -- it serves as a heat sink.

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Hey Craig,

 

First of all, as a first time poster, a big thanks for all your contributions to pro audio for the small studio over the years. I've been reading your articles for quite some time.

 

I know this is very early in the review, but I'd be very interested in detailed comments about the preamps. I'm in the market for a new interface and that is very important to me. (I would be getting the Konnekt 8 but it seems the preamps are identical to the 24d.)

 

If you've heard any of the Focusrite Saffire series, I'd be interested in hearing how the Konnekt pres compare.

 

Thanks. Looking forward to the review!

 

 

P.S - A note to T.C.: You Konnekt webpages/marketing materials use so many acronyms, etc. (MINT, IMPACT, etc.) that it sets off the too good to be true radar. Just an opinion.

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Originally posted by Jacoustic


P.S - A note to T.C.: You Konnekt webpages/marketing materials use so many acronyms, etc. (MINT, IMPACT, etc.) that it sets off the too good to be true radar. Just an opinion.

 

 

Jacoustic,

Thanks for the note. TC Electronic has developed some remarkable technlogy over the years. Konnekt encompasses the latest of these efforts including technlogy from award winning products like System 6000, Dynaudio AIR and PowerCore. I suspect that there are many people shopping for an audio interface that may not know anything about TC Electronic's history or what products like the System 6000 even are. This might make me skeptical too! I assure you that with Konnekt, its the first time that this proven technology has been available anywhere near this price range.

 

As an example MINT found in the Fabrik effects is an incredibly unique way of working with effects. I believe that the MINT interface allows a user to focus on getting the right sound quickly and easily rather than getting lost tweaking countless knobs. Its an easy way for someone that has never used a compressor to get a good sound yet it has all the control and sound quality an experienced user would expect too. I'm sure Craig address your concerns as he continues through the review but I believe the quality of Konnekt will speak for itself and that this isn't just marketing hype.

 

Take care,

 

Mike Martin

TC|US

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As someone who doesn't really like acronyms either, I must say the MINT thing is pretty cool...and yes, we will be getting into that as the review goes on.

 

As to preamps, I'm also doing a Pro Review of the PreSonus DigiMAX FS, which (short form) has inputs for 8 mics and sends these out over an ADAT light pipe connection. For more details, check out the DigiMAX FS Pro Review.

 

Anyway, Mike Martin made a comment in the DigiMAX FS review about how it would make a good expander module for the Konnekt 24D if people wanted more than the K24D's two mic pre inputs. So having both units in front of me, it seemed like a good idea to compare the mic pres in the two devices. I had already come up with a comparison methodology as I had compared the mic pres in the DigiMAX FS with those of the E-Mu 1820, so I just applied that to comparing the DigiMAX FS and Konnekt 24D.

 

Now, before I go on, I want to express my own personal biases regarding mic preamps so you know where I'm coming from. To save time, I'll just cut and paste from the same rant in the DigiMAX FS review.

 

I believe there are basically three types of mic pres in this world:

 

* Cheapo pres. This is what you find in budget gear. They tend to be somewhat harsher and don't feel as "flat," but even cheap pres aren't all that awful these days. We won't even consider the pres you find in consumer sound cards and such.

 

* Middle-class "designer" pres. These are what you find in better quality mid-class gear, like the Mackie Onyx preamps, those in the 1820m, and the PreSonus. These are basically preamps that people would have killed for back in the 70s, when for this kind of price you usually ended up buying a white noise generator.

 

* Big-bucks "designer" pres. A good frame of reference here is the PreSonus ADL 600, or products from Manley, Demeter, etc. You don't just buy these because they're accurate, you buy them because they have a certain "character" that enhances the source.

 

Fact is, mic pre technology has progressed dramatically over the past decade or two. All companies making serious products have raised the bar; past a certain fairly low price threshold, you'll get a quality preamp without the "wooliness" or noise you heard from preamps of a similar price only a few years ago.

 

So while you may hear some quantitative differences between this new generation of "upper middle class" preamps, you won't hear many qualitative ones. After recording several tracks alternating betwen the E-Mu 1820m, Konnekt 24D, and DigiMAX FS, the only tracks where I could pick out a consistent difference was with those recorded through the 1820m, as they had just a hint of extra midrange (this was verified through spectrum analysis). And even then, I wouldn't say it sounded "worse" or "better," just "different" -- and this was something I noticed only with dynamic mics, not anything active, so I suspect we're looking at a mic-meets-impedance effect.

 

Now, to get to your question, how do the K24D's preamps sound compared to the Focusrite Saffire? And the answer is I don't have a Saffire here, so I can't do a direct comparison. But I'd almost be willing to bet that given that all these devices are in the same approximate price universe and use relatively similar technology (e.g., they're not using tubes), there's not going to be a huge difference. So in a way, when all these various companies talk about how they have great mic pres, they're all telling the truth. The technology really has gotten that good these days.

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Okay, let's talk about expanding the K24D with the DigiMAX FS, which is a typical "thingie with ADAT out and ADAT in" device.

 

There are some subtleties to how sync works with the K24D. There are actually two sync settings in the K24D control panel, one when it's working in stand-alone mode (found in the setup page), the other for when it's part of a system (which of course is the case when using it with an external ADAT device like the DigiMAX FS). I wanted to try both synching the DigiMAX FS to the K24D and vice-versa, so I scooted over to the System Settings page to edit the system clock settings. Click on the attachment to see the applet's System Settings page.

 

Note that this page is also where you set the latency (in this case, it's the default of 256 samples, but options are all the common "binary" values between 64 and 8192 samples). As to the system clock settings, you can see that the sync source is set to ADAT (other choices are Internal, Coaxial SPDIF, and Optical SPDIF), and the sample rate to 44.1kHz -- although the applet is reporting that the current sample rate being received from the DigiMAX FS is 44.082kHz.

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Connecting up the DigiMAX FS also showed off the "intelligent" aspect of the K24D mixer applet, as four stereo ADAT channels appeared, with meters, send, pan, solo, mute, etc. Click on the attachment to see how the mixer graphic changed with the ADAT-compatible device connected.

 

I wanted to see what would happen if I deliberately misset the DigiMAX FS, so I set it to external clock while keeping the K24D set to Interal. The DigiMAX FS's four sample LEDs "chase" so it's kind of hard to miss that there's a problem. At the K24D end of things, in the System Settings page the "External Lock" status turns red and says "No Reference" if you either change the sync relationship or sample rate at the DigiMAX FS.

 

Next, I set the K24D sync source to "Internal" without changing the DigiMAX FS to "External sync." A warning symbol (exclamation mark) showed up next to the ADAT inputs in the K24D ADAT channels, but audio still made it from the DigiMAX FS to the K24D, showed up in the meters, and sounded just fine. I must admit this mystified me; could it be that because both use the JetPLL technology that the clocks were so close they appeared to be synched, even if they weren't? And that if I waited long enough, eventually there would be enough drift to create a pop or other artifact? Maybe someone from PreSonus or TC could weigh on in this, because it always seems strange when something works when it supposedly shouldn't be working.

 

I then set the DigiMAX FS to External ADAT sync. The little warnings went away, and all was happy in sync-land. Still, I'm curious how I could get away with the mic sounding just fine going into the Konnekt 24D even though in theory, there was a sync problem and the K24D put up a clear graphic warning that things weren't as they should be.

 

Another surprise is that doing all these nasty clock things produced no clicks, pops, or "tearing" in the sound. I'm not sure if the K24D or the DigiMAX FS gets the credit for being well-behaved (I had the same experience when using the DigiMAX FS with the E-Mu 1820), but in case, it's nice to know I could be really careless with these settings and not have to worry about blowing out my eardrums or monitors.

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Bottom line is that the DigiMAX FS worked just fine as an expansion module. I also tried sample rates up to 96kHz at both ends -- no problem. However, I could not figure out how to get the Fabrik C processor into the ADAT signal path -- and yes, I looked at the manual! I get the impression that the Fabrik C processors work with inputs 1 and 2, or with your computer's host as an insert, and that's it. Mike -- am I missing something? Is this because they need to work with the mono inputs of the K24D, while the ADAT ins are set up as four stereo pairs?

 

I also wondered if there might be sonic differences between the K24D pres and the DigiMAX FS pres, but the differences are actually rather minimal to my ears. If you want to see a more detailed comparison of the K24D and DigiMAX FS preamps, click here and go down 14 posts. There's also a spectral analysis of a miked signal going through the two pres.

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Originally posted by Anderton

However, I could not figure out how to get the Fabrik C processor into the ADAT signal path -- and yes, I looked at the manual! I get the impression that the Fabrik C processors work with inputs 1 and 2, or with your computer's host as an insert, and that's it. Mike -- am I missing something? Is this because they need to work with the mono inputs of the K24D, while the ADAT ins are set up as four stereo pairs?

 

 

Craig,

Fabrik C is fixed on inputs 1 and 2 or as a send/return from the DAW. I've attached a signal flow diagram from page 54 of the manual but I agree this should be more clear.

 

-Mike Martin

TC|US

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Craig (and probably Mike) -

 

Over here on the TCElectronic website they have this bit of wisdom:

 

 

* We recommend running Konnekts on a dedicated Firewire bus.

If you computer has one or more Firewire connections on the chassis they will typically run on the same Firewire bus. You may connect the Konnekt to one of these. If you intend to run more Firewire devices simultaneously, such as e.g. an external hard drive, we recommend running this device on a separate bus.This would typically be on an installed Firewire PCI card. Note that such a Firewire PCI card typically has 3 ports but these also operate on a single bus.

 

 

I would have every intention of using a firewire i/o (especially a third generation device like DICE II) with a laptop and an external firewire drive just on general cranky principles. Is it a bottleneck? Is it a new driver issue? Is it overcaution or weaseling? Can we get a clarification of this?

 

Pat

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