TC Electronic Konnekt 24D - The Next Generation

[Anderton]

I've never done this before with a Pro Review, but the previous K24D thread has become so huge, and TC has rewritten completely new drivers, so it seemed like a good idea to "reboot" with the new drivers and get comments in a less bulky thread.

 

Please read Mike Martin's last few posts of the previous thread regarding the new beta driver software for Windows, where to find it, and how to install it.

 

Let's hope that everyone has a positive experience, and that Mac drivers will be coming soon!

[Anderton]

For your convenience, here's the link to the driver that Mike posted.

 

http://www.tcelectronic.com/default.asp?id=10709

[Marc Johnson]

For everyone's convenience-

 

. Please send all feedback, positive and negative to konnektbeta@tcelectronic.com along with your system specs.

 

[ElGenius1]

I just want to make sure that I do this right.

 

So basically, with the konnekt 8 still powered on, I go into Windows and just run the 1.20 software, and that will update my current software, correct?

 

There is no need to power off the konnekt ?(nor to uninstall the exisiting drivers first?; I have 1.03 currently installed)

[Anderton]

I haven't done the install yet (article deadline) but my assumption is to SET A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT, turn off the K24D, uninstall Assimilator just in case, install the new software (which will replace your old drivers), and that some point during the installation process, you'll be asked to plug it back in. I'll verify when I do the install.

[Anderton]

Okay, I've installed it

 

To play it safe, I uninstalled the exising drivers first. I then ran the installer with the K24D disconnected, and turned it back on when instructed to do so. There were two unexpected things: I did not have to click on any "Continue Anway" screens, which I presume is because I had already installed a certificate with the previous beta. I got the little ballons that said "found new hardware" etc., and I was good to go.

 

The other unexpected thing is when I did the firmware update, I did not get an error message. Perhaps this is because the firmware update is the same as the one I installed with the previous beta?

 

Anyway, to cut to the chase, I've been playing back a fairly decent-sized project in Sonar (three soft synths, about 20 hard disk tracks, real-time looping, automation) for the past hour, using 128 samples with multiprocessing and 64-bit audio engine enabled, with no problems!!

 

I have not done exhaustive testing and need to do other things, but here are some preliminary thoughts:

 

After you've made your adjustments in the TC Near panel, close it. When closed, 128 samples worked fine; when open, I got ticks and clicks. At 256 samples, I could leave it open with no problems. It seems leaving the panel open might be what pushes my system over the edge when it's at 128 samples.

 

The Fabrik plug-ins worked in Sonar as they were supposed to. If you move the Fabrik R parameters around the sound breaks up while it's recalculating but as soon as you stop adjusting, it's okay. Not sure what this means for automation; I'll find out at some point.

 

Open and closing other windows and programs would sometimes cause extremely brief interruptions in the sound, but most of the time it didn't happen...and when it did, I didn't find it particularly annoying.

 

The CPU meter sure seems a lot happier. With multiprocessing disabled, I'm getting about a 38% CPU hit -- what I've gotten with other interfaces on the same project. But with multiprocessing enabled, each CPU is doing around 23%, occasionally dropping down to 15% and even 9%. So whatever they did to the driver, something must have happened in terms of AMD dual core optimization. It's just working soooooo much better now!

 

With Sonar, I decided to torture test it by hitting the space bar to start and stop as fast as I could, and go to different markers. No problems, no speed ups, no glitches.

 

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the performance I'm getting with Sonar (haven't tried other programs yet, figured I might as well start with the most problematic). I realize it's a beta driver and they're still working on things, but TC was right to release it as it now makes the K24D not just useable, but very useable. Just remember to close the control panel applet if you're pushing your system.

 

And once again, I'm reminded of just how good it sounds...the sound quality is just plain gorgeous.

 

I'll be very curious to see if other users are getting the same results I am, because if you are, I think there are going to be a lot of happy people this evening...good luck all! Let us know if it's working for you!!

 

And Mike, if you had anything to do with convincing TC to do a public beta, major, major props. And if you didn't, please pass along my regards to whoever did. This was the right move.

[Mike Martin]

Do uninstall your existing Assimilator (Konnekt 24D owners). And unplug (or turn off) your Konnekt. If you forget the new installer will remind you.

[Mike Martin]

Craig,

The clicks you're hearing while adjusting Fabrik parameters and with the Control Panel Mixer open are the main reasons (besides the certificate) that the beta has been delayed. Updating the graphics is causing the problem so if the windows were closed you should not hear any problems if parameters were automated. Needless to say this will be fixed when we go final.

 

Glad that your results have confirmed mine.

 

-Mike Martin

TC|US

[Mike Martin]

Okay, I've installed it The other unexpected thing is when I did the firmware update, I did not get an error message. Perhaps this is because the firmware update is the same as the one I installed with the previous beta?

 

I didn't get this error either, but like yourself I had already updated the firmware. The reset also works fine for me. Again there have been about six revisions since the version you received previously. I think they may have fixed this bug at the last minute.

[mqbernardo]

So, looks like i´ll be the first... strange thang...

 

 

Well, instalation: i uninstalled driver version 1.1 and assimilator, turned off computer, then installed 1.2.

 

Instalation: very smooth. first installed driver. then connected the konnekt (yeah, i know). then windows did the rest. no unsigned drivers nag screen whatsoever. easy firmware update, to.

 

[by the way, TC should update their site to: in the "check for updates" thing, it will tell you: you´re runing 1.2, the latest is 1.1. care for an update?]

 

CPU load : much better. now if i turn the TC Near panel, i don´t get the absurd spikes in CPU (maybe just a 10% raise). it still takes a while to load, through. in Ableton live, my DAW, the spikes also seem rather tamed.

 

Latency: also much better. in fact, i think even the 512 buffer size got better. now i can play MIDI, real-time, no problem. Light projects can go up to 64. But a 10-track, mid-plugin use (compressors, EQs and only a VSTi) needed the 512 treatment to be completely crackle-less. But then, when i got back to 256 it preformed much better than the first time.

 

Drop-outs: Oooops! There are still some, but looks like i will manage to live with this ones, since i can now work at 256, which gives me a latency of 5.8 ms (TCNear) and 7.1 ms (DAW reported). Why is the difference here, can someone tell me?

 

Fabrik effects: totally lame... big frustration: they take AGES to load, don´t produce any sound and totally screw (i am being polite here) the sound for a while (after being bypassed ore deleted) for some time. In my PC (see below), the solution is: Buffer up to 512 (or something like it), play button, then lower the buffer size again.

 

It will still take some time (and users) to evaluate stability and crackles and drop-outs in the long run, but the aftermath seems to be pointing in a good direction, and since this is a public beta, maybe the time for a completely stisfactory drivers is not to far away.

 

Now, let´s see... got to report all of this to TC Electronic and get my pay-check. Wait a minute, i´m not being payed. Beta-testing blues...

 

Please, some more insights...

 

 

Miguel

 

 

 

Pentium M 1,8 GHZ, 512 MB Ram, 80 Gb HD, Windows XP Home SP2 up to date.

Konnekt drivers 1.2, updated firmware.

 

 

Sorry for the very non-native english.

Good night and good luck.

[Noise Maker]

Craig, Mike...

 

This seems good news . So, please, don't take my request badly/wronly but :

 

I'd like to know if now, with this current beta, the Konnekt 24D would be usable for, among others, tunai for example. That is: for someone who just could'nt use at all (except in stand-alone mode, as he explained me).

 

tunai - or anyone who wanted to throw the Konnekt away -: did you test this new driver/firmware ? Are you satisfied ?

 

Thank you in advance for your comments .

 

Best regards .

 

N.M.

[Anderton]

 

Fabrik effects: totally lame... big frustration: they take AGES to load, don´t produce any sound and totally screw (i am being polite here) the sound for a while (after being bypassed ore deleted) for some time. In my PC (see below), the solution is: Buffer up to 512 (or something like it), play button, then lower the buffer size again.

 

 

Miguel - it looks like you were writing this while Mike was posting. As he said in response to my post, "The clicks you're hearing while adjusting Fabrik parameters and with the Control Panel Mixer open are the main reasons (besides the certificate) that the beta has been delayed. Updating the graphics is causing the problem so if the windows were closed you should not hear any problems if parameters were automated. Needless to say this will be fixed when we go final."

 

So I don't think you need to report anything to TC, they are aware of the problem. I'm very happy you are also experiencing better latency and stability! For now, just remember to close the TC control panels.

[mqbernardo]

Konnekt just disconected on me (again) : this time it took a bit more, but there you go: the blue light of misery strikes again.

 

Should this be the notorious Toshiba affair?

[Anderton]

Noise maker - I can't get it NOT to work now, so hopefully everyone else will have the same experience. Maybe I'll be able to find some way to get it to misbehave, but even when choosing 64 samples, nothing horrible happens - I just get clicking, go back to 128, and all is well.

[Anderton]

By disconnected, do you mean that the computer won't recognize the K24D all of a sudden?

[Noise Maker]

Noise maker - I can't get it NOT to work now, so hopefully everyone else will have the same experience. Maybe I'll be able to find some way to get it to misbehave, but even when choosing 64 samples, nothing horrible happens - I just get clicking, go back to 128, and all is well.

That would also make me very happy for everyone, Craig ! (And, egoistically, for myself; the quest for the coolest audio interface - in this price range - would be over ! )

 

So, in fact, this new thread should then be very short/small, right ?

 

Best regards from France !

 

N.M.

[Misledy0uth5]

Whats the word on Vista?? Is there going to be a new driver for Vista out soon as well?? Is it even working correctly on Vista to begin with?

[mqbernardo]

 

By disconnected, do you mean that the computer won't recognize the K24D all of a sudden?

 

 

 

By that i mean that the blue light will go off, and live will say that "There is no audio device connected". It is all of a sudden.

 

I´ve made it to work again and since then, it has been synced. It looped an eight audio track song for more than half an hour. When i got back it was having clicks. Turned it to 512 buffer size, back to 256 and all got well. Maybe i don´t have to much RAM (512 Mb). But latency is way much better.

 

Thanks for your interest,

 

Miguel

[ElGenius1]

Mike, I hate to be a cynic, but how much more stable are these drivers for non-Sonar using Konnekt 8 users??

 

I'm still running the 1.03 software on my Konnekt 8. (albeit with some bugs,crashes, but it is 'useable'). I had tried the 1.10 drivers when they first came out and the latency and buffer sizes were actually worse, so I decided to stick with 1.03, which gave me less problems overall.

 

I'm a little bit scared to take the plunge and install these new 1.20 drivers just yet...

[Mike Martin]

ElGenius,

Nothing wrong with being a cynic.

Having worked with all the beta's up to this point, I feel very confident in 1.20. I'm confident enough in the installer/uninstaller of 1.20 that if for some reason you wanted to go back to 1.03 that there would be no issues at all.

[c4logic]

Followed the instructions: clicked on the setup icon. Uninstall wizard plays, reboot.The system froze with black screen of death before blue windows welcome screen, trying to come back. I have never seen this state before with this computer. Had to hard boot system, which then offers me safe mode. I decline. Click on setup a second time. everything is the happy path. Turn on K24, new hardware wizard, configure audio, and launch the mixer. Update firmware, no issues.

 

Testing with Ableton Live 6.0.7: at buffer of 128, can load CPU to 63% with no clicks. 80% yields a stream of clicks. Buffer at 256, no clicks at 80% cpu.

 

This is with wireless Logitech mouse and keyboard connected. Closing mixer has NO impact on clickiness. Powered off device with Mixer open and mixer through and exception and notified that it must terminate. This is the second instance of runtime instability.

 

Playing a CD, I can click around on various programs and windows and there are no clicks or pops except when and invoking the mixer.

 

So, this is very significant improvement, in my system, over the previous drivers--but still more work is needed to co-exist with wireless peripherals, seamlessly. Also, within a short period of time I observed one system crash, that makes me wonder about the registry clean up following uninstall, and then one fatal application exception. Headed in the right direction--not time to rest on laurels, entirely. I reflect on the fact that I have had this device 6 months before being able to test it successfully. 6 months.

[Mike Martin]

C4Logic,

I haven't seen that kind of uninstall reboot issue with any of the versions I've had over the last several months. Was Konnekt powered off during the uninstall or was it connected and on? For the record, it should be powered off or disconnected before the uninstall process. Please make sure you report this to - konnektbeta@tcelectronic.com

 

As we've stated in the release document, the clicks with the mixer open is a known issue and will be addressed in the final version.

[RobbieC]

MY EXPERIENCE INSTALLING THE V1.20 DRIVER

 

Boy, was I excited when I saw Mike's message! So...

 

*Downloaded the new driver.

*Turned off 24D.

*Uninstalled Assimilator and TC Near software.

*Rebooted.

*24D still off. Installed v1.20

*Numerous "Error 2908 (?)" messages. Everytime I hit enter to continue,

another message pops up. So, I just hold down enter key. Unfortunately

a different error message pops up but I blow right through it. There were at

least a hundred error messages. All had what appeared to be a CSLID

number at bottom of message.

*Finally it locks up at "Updating System:The features you selected are

currently being installed (bar graph: TIme remaining: 2 seconds)."

 

*After about 3 minutes a message pops up telling me to turn on the Konnekt when finished.

*After I close this window the installation finishes.

*I turn on the 24D. Blue light flashing.

*I reboot the computer. Blue light flashing.

*I turn the 24D off and on. Nothing. TC Control Panel says "no hardware."

*I move the firewire cable from the 1st to 2nd port on 24D.

*After power cycling the blue light stays lit.

*The "found hardware" message pops up and drivers are installed. CP finds hardware.

*Does not automatically update firmware.

*I click on update hardware. Window pops up with file "konnekt_8_24d_1184.tca."

*I install this file without problem.

 

Now I'm worried. Is this the right firmware and are these the errors we were

warned about?

 

Now the Konnekt is apparently working.

At first glance the Control Panel has no new features.

*I set device to 96 samples & 44.1.

*I open Windows Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices and set TC Near as default.

Only choice for MIDI is MS synth.

 

*I open Cubase SX3. Go to Device Setup and in VST Audiobay set TC NEar as Master ASIO Driver.

*Window pops up "TC Near - Konnekt. Internal Error 2908

{38E8A29D-00F4-F10A-ABE6-EAFC34E1A38E}"

*I close Window. VST Audiobay reads Input Latency 110ms, Output Latency 749.932.

*Cubase Locks up.

*I use Task Manager to close Cubase.

*Immediately an install window for TC Near MIDI pops up. I install.

*I go to Windows Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices and check to see if

TC Near is still default. No TC Near.

*I reboot computer. Computer finds TC Near Audio and installs.

*Then finds TC Near MIDI 3 times in a row and installs each time.

*I check Device Manager and TC Near is present. I disable onboard sound.

*I check Windows Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices and now TC Near

is default including MIDI.

*I start up Cubase.

*At Cubase splash screen a TC Near-Konnekt window opens

"Please wait while Windows configures TC Near-Konnekt."

Then another window "TC Near-Konnekt Internal Error 2908

{38E8A29D-00F4-F10A-ABE6-EAFC34E1A38E}"

then another but with different CSLID, then another, then another...

 

A TOTAL OF 139 ERROR MESSAGES IN ALL!!!

 

*I start up Cubase and TC Near driver is the ASIO Driver.

Input latency 4.082 ms, Output Latency 3.810 ms.

I open and play a tune with 5 audio tracks and 3 MIDI tracks. 2 VSTi, but frozen.

 

RESULTS:

Solid, no dropouts, no clicks or other noise. VST Performance says ~23%.

 

However, I have to say all the error messages and the found/lost/found

rigamole makes me very uneasy. I'm hoping my registry isn't full of redundant

entries and that all of the pointers are accurate.

[c4logic]

 

C4Logic, I haven't seen that kind of uninstall reboot issue with any of the versions I've had over the last several months. Was Konnekt powered off during the uninstall or was it connected and on? For the record, it should be powered off or disconnected before the uninstall process. Please make sure you report this to - konnektbeta@tcelectronic.com As we've stated in the release document, the clicks with the mixer open is a known issue and will be addressed in the final version.

 

 

No, the device was powered off the whole time until the install was completed and I was ready to begin the firmware upgrade. My mileage varied. I want to emphasize, though, that, with the same configuration, the device was previously unusable, and now with the beta driver, the device is now (marginally) nominal. If I pulled the wireless stuff I am sure it would be rock steady--but I don't wanna pull the wireless stuff except as a last resort.

[Dtmodttl]

I upgraded to the new driver with my Konnekt 8, and now I am experiencing problems where I did not before.

 

** Crackling audio sometimes (no pattern as to when). Very noticeable.

 

** Loading a file in Cubase recorded at a sample rate different than the previous file loaded (after closing it) seems to cause drop outs and crackling?? Need to test this more.

 

** When opening two different files, twice I received the error "could not initialise TC Near" I restarted Cubase. Problem seems to have disappeared, but will keep on the lookout. (Actually I may revert back to the old driver.)

 

** Strange problem in Groove Agent. If I press "run", the beat plays for about 2 seconds and then stops, and it plays way too quickly. If I open "preferences" , and keep the window open, where it says "TC Near", then the problem goes away. Although I still get drop outs every 10/15 measures, where I did not before. Buffer size apparently set correctly (where it was before, at 128).

 

The old driver was working for me fine. I think I may revert back.