TC ELECTRONIC KONNEKT 24D (FireWire Audio Interface)

[Dtmodttl]

*** There's something that hasn't really been addressed on this thread, as far as I know: Konnekt and Vista. I believe Vista isn't officially supported yet, and it may or may not work all right?

 

*** I believe the problems are mainly with the Konnekt 24D now, and not so much the Konnekt 8. I'm running Konnekt 8 fine, under XP with Cubase SX3.

 

*** Unless one of your MIDI devices operates via usb, you may need what's known as a "MIDI merge". Or, you can get a separate MIDI-USB box (they come cheap) to use with one of the devices. All this assuming MIDI Thru daisy-chaining isn't possible with your equipment.

 

My advice would be to take the plunge, test rigourously, keep the receipt. When the Konnekt actually works, it really is a good device.

[c4logic]

If your laptop was state of the art, how can you expect TC to test against it? Just a thought... Also, I would be weary of your MIS people in the future for suggesting Toshiba notebooks.... we NEVER recommend them to anyone, especially since one of my staff used to work for Toshiba's notebook repair.... Sorry, don't mean to turn this into a Toshiba bashing thread.

 

This is simple to decompose: because they(TCE) state the hardware and software requirements in their literature, and the notebook conforms to their requirements. End of story.

 

Can you explain how the experience of a notebook repairman relates to software stability? Are you saying their is something inherently unstable about the Toshiba hardware platform? The motherboard and the chipset? If their notebooks are so bad why do people keep buying them? Did your repairman ever work for another manufacturer? Does he have another frame of reference from which to compare? Computers are a commodity. I've never had any other problems with it. It's an Intel dual core with 2gb memory. This is pretty standard stuff. There is no Santaria involved.

[Jazzy20]

 

Jazzy20, that sounds great! I wonder, just because I'm neurotic, what causes the problem via fan that you've had that doesn't affect my computer's performance? And my card reader has no problems either... Weird, eh? Hurmph. JP

 

 

JP.

In my case, it is ACPI related.

Since I 've disabled it, I have zero dropout.

And the card reader's driver turned yellow because I've disabled ACPI.

 

Besides the different video chip, I suppose there is some other hardware difference between your NX and my Pavillion.

Who knows ?

[ElGenius1]

 

But it is a shame that I get dropouts when I change from the sequencer program to the Konnekts´mixer surface - this is the case with any multitasking when changing the surfaces of the programs. And why does it take almost the same time to load the konnekt mixer like the entire OS needs for booting?

 

 

This little bug has bothered me a lot, too. That and the fact that its very vulnerable to crashing when working in my DAW, or any audio programs.

 

Craig, have the beta drivers that you have in your posession improved the problem with dropouts when multitasking/changing surfaces of the programs? Also, have you noticed less crashes in programs other than Sonar? I have the konnekt 8, and it basically works for me, but like I said, it does crash often, and I really have to handle working in my audio programs with kid gloves. My old soundblaster card was a lot more stable than this. (and soundblaster's were notorious for their horribly written drivers).

[Dtmodttl]

No, no. There are glitches and crashes once in a while. By far, most of the time it is stable, however. The other point is, I cannot say whether the problem is due to the Konnekt 8 or not. In fact, I suspect it may have something to do with my FW-800 expresscard to which I've connected a hard drive. (FW-800 expresscards are known to be problematic from time to time, across all systems and OSs.) The original drivers for the Konnekt 8 did not work with my Core2Duo Dell system. However, the problem seems to have been rectified in the beta driver previous to the current one.

 

All that said, I don't think my system is any less stable than any other music workstation, generally. In my experience with these---which is not as great as some people here, but still substatial---DAWs have glitches and they crash once in a while. It's when they do so often or at really inopportune times does it become a problem.

 

Every 10th/12th time I start Cubase, the sound is garbled and I have to restart the program (not the machine). After I restart, it runs fine. Windows Media Player for some reason cannot remember to route audio via the TC WDM audio during playback. If I change the sample rate in the TC Control Panel, every 15th time the application hangs. My computer as a whole 'never' crashes. I've never had a disaster (yet---knock wood) where my favourite take is lost.

 

These are irritating problems when they occur, yes, but they don't interfere with music production in a major way. AND, and, and....I know people with a VARIETY of software and interfaces who have these very problems, or similar. Not just Konnekt users.

 

Sure, some people have 100% zero-glitch DAWs. And, as I continue to use my system (without changing anything), I might stumble upon some small solution that gets me working 100% no glitches or crashes. But WHO KNOWS what the solution might be! Probably a small setting in a background application I've never heard of.

 

I could revert back to 3-year-old "perfected" technology, but then I'd loose functionality, of course. Or, I could go with a simpler setup, but again I'd loose functionality. So I put up with minor---minor---glitches from time to time.

 

A fact of life with DAWs. Looking on the bright side, they encourage me to take breaks, drink water...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So your konnekt 8 runs flawlessly in Cubase SX3?? No bugs, no glitches, no crashes at all???? I have the konnekt 8 and am running it with Acid Pro and though its 'useable', it still has lots of bugs in it, It crashes often. Same thing with FL Studio too, and any audio programs I use.

 

[ElGenius1]

Well, when I said 'it crashes' I meant that my program crashes (Acid Pro, FL Studio), not 'my computer' crashes. I really have to handle using my audio programs with kid gloves which is ridiculous. If I dont, the program will crash.

[Anderton]

Intersting...even when I was having the most problems with the K24D, the programs with which I was using it didn't crash unless I did something like change sample rates in the middle of recording, which no program handles gracefully

 

In any event, stability has improved a zillion per cent with the beta I've been using. The whole thing just seems much more solid.

[Marc Johnson]

 

...stability has improved a zillion per cent with the beta I've been using. The whole thing just seems much more solid.

 

 

Hopefully, Mike M. will 'check-in' with the thread soon with a tentative release date for the latest build, beta, etc.

 

Marc Johnson

[ElGenius1]

Craig, so in programs other than Sonar, (like Cubase, Acid, etc) it has been totally stable since day one?? Never gave you any problems? weird...

 

Let me give you an example of the 'crashes' i'm experiencing. If I'm playing some tracks in a project in Acid Pro 6, and then I open up the effect windows to patch in some FX's WHILE the tracks are playing, Acid will crash.

 

If while playing some tracks in a project in Acid, and I move around in the program a little too quick, skipping around to different points in the project (which happens when you're editing), it will crash.

 

If while playing some tracks in a project in Acid, I minimize the program, (in order to multi-task and bring up something else) it will crash. Alot of times while working on music, you want to quickly switch between programs, but it seems the konnekt drivers have problems handling this.

 

And of course I get audio dropouts when minimizing the audio programs while they are playing.

 

I really hope the new drivers solve these problems in stability, and i hope they come out soon too!!

[Anderton]

Craig, so in programs other than Sonar, (like Cubase, Acid, etc) it has been totally stable since day one?? Never gave you any problems? weird...

 

Not 100% stable, but very close to 100%. But I don't do things like insert effects while a sequence is playing, or multi-task while a file is playing...for me, that's good practice with any hardware situation. I've been working with sequencers since the days when you had to stop before you did ANYTHING, and I guess old habits die hard

[Noise Maker]

Dear Craig, and everyone ,

 

Please, may I insist with this question, as it hasn't been addressed in this topic, if my memory's good :

 

( => http://www.tcelectronic.com/Default.asp?Id=7623#intelligent )

 

Thank you in advance for any details !

 

 

So, did some of you play with the Konnekt in "stand-alone mode" ? If so, any comment(s) would be welcome .

 

Best regards

 

N.M.

[tunai]

Dear Craig , and everyone , Please, may I insist with this question, as it hasn't been addressed in this topic, if my memory's good : So, did some of you play with the Konnekt in "stand-alone mode" ? If so, any comment(s) would be welcome . Best regards N.M.

 

I played with K24 in stand alone mode.

It worked fine:.

I stored my preferences in one preset.

The preamps, effects, sound quality are superb.

With a lcd should be perfect!

 

The hardware is great, but I hate the f... drivers!!!!

And TC is taking its time.

A public beta for Sonar user should be a fair solution.

[ElGenius1]

Not 100% stable, but very close to 100%. But I don't do things like insert effects while a sequence is playing, or multi-task while a file is playing...for me, that's good practice with any hardware situation. I've been working with sequencers since the days when you had to stop before you did ANYTHING, and I guess old habits die hard

 

Craig, that's a good point, but you can't expect everyone to have the same habits as you when working in their DAW. People are gonna really test this thing to its limits and beyond, and that's why stability is crucial.

 

The things I used to be able to do using my old soundblaster card I cant do using my konnekt without it crashing my audio programs.

[Dtmodttl]

Let's get this working, I say.

 

I assume it was a Soundblaster PCI card you had.

 

Do other devices work fine in your firewire port? Can the Konnekt play back audio without glitch in Windows Media Player? Also, can you record and play back sound adequately in the included Cubase LE?

 

If the answer's 'yes' to all of the above, I would think it must be a software setting that's causing the problems.

 

Also, I'm no expert (perhaps someone else can comment further), but I believe firewire devices, such as the Konnekt, can require more processing power than PCI cards. If the Konnekt is in fact taking up more system resources than the Soundblaster, that would explain the sequencer problems you're having.

 

That said, something like inserting effects mid-playback I would expect to crash a program on any system.

 

What sort of computer are you running, as in memory, various specs? (Sorry if you've already mentioned.)

 

Dt

 

 

 

 

 

Craig, that's a good point, but you can't expect everyone to have the same habits as you when working in their DAW. People are gonna really test this thing to its limits and beyond, and that's why stability is crucial. The things I used to be able to do using my old soundblaster card I cant do using my konnekt without it crashing my audio programs.

 

[ElGenius1]

Nope. It wasnt a PCI Soundblaster. It was actually a USB connected soundblaster extigy!! I use to open up the effects plugins while the track was playing all the time when using my soundblaster, and with no problem.

 

And my computer is pretty high end, my friend. Dual core CPU (2.6 GHZ each), 2 gigs of ram. So its not that.

 

I'm almost 100% certain the problem is with the konnekt drivers.

 

To be honest with you, I have not really messed with Cubase LE too much, (because that would require learning a new program) but I'm sure I would experience the same problems. I could try it though...

[RobbieC]

I just noticed that Mike Martin announced the next driver update on April 1st. Since it's now the 25th I'm starting to think it was an April Fool's joke.

 

Just received my RMA to send my unit in for exchange. Hope the manufacturing problem with the trim pots has been fixed!

[sonicE]

I just noticed that Mike Martin announced the next driver update on April 1st. Since it's now the 25th I'm starting to think it was an April Fool's joke.

 

That's funny, I was going to suggest that the new driver was simply an April Fools joke in a post I made recently, but I wasn't sure of the day Mike made the announcement, and I didn't bother to check (nor did I bother to even bring up April Fools finally). Now with your reminder of the day the announcement was made, and the fact that it's now almost a full month later, it does indeed seem to have been a joke played on us--a rather cruel joke, IMO.

 

But who is laughing? Could only be someone on the way to the bank!

[Mike Martin]

The driver was posted today for Windows XP. The direct link is here.

 

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

[Mike Martin]

A couple of notes regarding the new version -

 

Assimilator Konnekt is part of the installation. If you have Assimilator Konnekt installed, please uninstall it before this installation.

 

The software package includes a firmware update - the firmware update tool is found on the ABOUT page.

 

As Craig stated in his version, you may get an error message when either updating the firmware or using the Reset function, please don't be concerned about this its a known issue but they were focused on other areas rather than this.

 

This version is NOT "signed". The primary delay we've been facing since Craig received a beta a couple weeks ago is that we've been working with Microsoft to get the proper certificate. This takes three business days between each revision. They've been going round and round to get it corrected and I'm told it will be fixed by next week. So with this version, you'll get 5 warnings that this driver is not signed (Konnekt itself, MIDI IN, MIDI OUT, WDM drivers, ASIO Drivers)

 

This driver is six revisions newer than the one that Craig has. There have been numerous improvements.

[locojohn]

 

The driver was posted today for Windows XP. The direct link is here. http://www.tcelectronic.com/default.asp?id=10709

 

 

hello Mike! great news....

 

shall we update current setup or shall we remove current drivers totally and install new public beta ones from scratch?

 

-andrejs

[Mike Martin]

My recommendation -

Power off or disconnect your Konnekt. Run the existing uninstaller. It should prompt you to reboot if you were using 1.10.

 

Install the new version. Once complete, reattach Konnekt.

[Mike Martin]

Very Important

 

One last note. Though I'm sure people will comment about the new software here. We need your feedback directly. Please send all feedback, positive and negative to konnektbeta@tcelectronic.com along with your system specs.

[locojohn]

 

One last note. Though I'm sure people will comment about the new software here. We need your feedback directly. Please send all feedback, positive and negative to konnektbeta@tcelectronic.com along with your system specs.

 

 

will do that, sir! thanks for the guidelines!

 

-andrejs

the toshiba user

[Mike Martin]

I just confirmed that the new version should automatically uninstall previous versions. Go ahead and update.

[laxano]

mike,many of us have both pc & mac platforms. should we update?

is there a possibility of driver/firmware missmatch if we try the (updated) konnekt on the mac?