But it's hardly going into the socket at all, to the extent that it just slips out!

It is not supposed to plug in 'flush with the casing'. At the same time it does not fall out alone. You might have bended one of the pins, so the connector can not be inserted as intended anymore. Please check with a magnifier.

It is not about tolerance. This Mini-DIN connector can cause its pins to be bended by trying to push it in while turning it. Many people do this, but here it is quite critical. Then one of the 9 pins often does not slide into the corresponding hole and is bended, means lying between connector and socket, and preventing both from coming as close as possible.

Then you have to complain at your local dealer to get this fixed. Not sure what you expect from a forum in that case...

Missed that one - full crash! fryingpan

Hmmm... well it is going to be 4th August before my retailer here in Brighton can do a swap...
I will get them to check it in the shop to make sure it is OK before I leave!!

Well - the first time I tired it, I just tried to push it in straight, not using excessive force.... and the angle off perpendicular can't have been more than a degree! So if that's enough to irreparably break it, then it is indeed a useless connector!
But the shell of the DIN plug was not a perfect cylinder, it was slightly squished so there was a gap along the seam... so maybe it got squished in the factory.

You can wait for the shop to source a replacement.  Or you can have a close look and straighten any pins that are bent.   It does sound as if RME have taken the cheap option for that connector.

The pins are very densely packed and the only need to be *fractionally* out of alignment before they no longer fit, I'm afraid.... me trying to straighten them would be like me trying to shake hands with a fly.

Looks like I may indeed have to go via the Sythax route, as my retailer's supply date for new UCX's has slipped by another fortnight

My retailer now has a new one waiting for me.... which I will get this weekend ... but I certainly won't leave the shop without trying it out first!

give us some feedback after you get yours... i hope you'll have better luck...

so you only changed the cable and now it's ok? it's fits nicely?

I do hope RME are listening and can get this right with their next interface versions, they really need to drop this naff connector and go for something more solid.

Jeff, jeff, jeff - this is Feline1 you're flaming. *Feline1*! Off the Internets! rotfl Anyone who knows me will have been reading my restraint on this thread so far peeping out through the gaps in their fingers from behind the sofa, like watching a kitten playing with an OWL.

I wasn't starting this thread to make a "complaint", I was asking for information about whether the connector was "supposed to be like that".

I've never owned an RME product before, so I couldn't have drawn the connector's inadequacies to your 'several years' ago. Although I note that the minute I mentioned it, two other customers piped up with the exact same problem, which seems a remarkable coincidence if this is the only time the connector has *ever* failed.

RME seem to be responding with defensive stroppiness and insinuations that we all somehow wrecked our connectors ourselves through our own carelessness and negligence. I think you maybe need to calm down a bit. (You're supposed to be a 'moderator', not the person who winds others up!)

It may sound a rather ludicrous thing to boast about, but I've been plugging in all manner of connectors used in music technology and IT on probably a daily basis since the late 1980s. This is the first time I've ever found a connector whose pins are so fragile and need such careful alignment that they managed to banjax themselves the first time I tried to plug the thing in. The only other thing I can think of that is remotely comparable is trying to insert dual-inline pinned IC's into sockets on circuit boards: and they are only intended to be changed in calm workshop conditions on a bench.

I don't think I *did* break the connector myself through lack of care, I think it already had misaligned pins out of the factory - but even if I did, a plug on a piece of music gear should not require that much care to survive. This is a soundcard that is designed to be portable, class compliant, used in live situations - where it may be dark, people will be stressed, in a hurry. It ought to be robust and easy to fit without trouble.
Petulantly telling your customers that the design is fine and there's no problem is not a helpful attitude.

Harumph. OK well we'll let you off for now... rotfl

And far be it from me to criticise the design standards of the illustrious Deutsches Institut für Normung, but I do think those mini-DIN connectors you're using suck a little. It's fine for a connector to "only go in one way", but it shouldn't break if you gently fumble around with it against the socket, trying to feel which way is right... which is pretty much what that breakout cable does!  In a live situation (or maybe even in a dim studio) it will not always be possible to align the pins by eye before inserting it (because it may be dark, or in a restricted space that you can't get your head round...) - so it will be necessary to do it by feel.

I was really disappointed about that MIDI connector as well. It just feel so unsecure when plugged in. I was awaiting kind of "click!"-like feeling when inserting it into the socket. Well, my UCX now lies on the studio table here static and stable but I hardly can imagine anyone would be safe on live gigs with a MIDI connection like that!

It just feels flimsy (and cheep).

Wish it had a ring with a thread for secure fastening - just like old Tuchel connectors.

Mine doesnt fit too. I've recently bought fireface uc and couldnt plug in the breakout cable to it. Sorry to say that but probably the shittiest breakout cable ever seen. Now I'm using my old m-audio midispot 4x4 for midi connections, at least it works.

I don't own this unit.  But I know mini-DIN connectors, and I'd add my voice to condemning them.  Too fiddly, too easy to break, and not a positive connection.

Like the PS/2 connectors they resemble.  Anyone here who HASN'T broken one, reaching round the back of a computer to plug in a mouse or keyboard?

I've also experienced the same issue with my MIDI breakout cable for the UCX.

I bent two pins trying to insert the connector, and had to re-align them.

The issue is that the outer ring with the "key step" on the cable is not aligned squarley with the pins, so you can't just take the connector outer housing and stick it in or you will bend the pins.

You need to look inside the cable end at the key relative to the pins, and note the amount of angle that the collar with the key is rotated. (it is supposed to be square at the bottom relative to the pins, but mine was off about 20-30 degrees) Once you know this, you can then "guestimate" how much you need to rotate the connector, and insert.

I'd like to add that I have no idea what the specifications are for these connectors, this type mis-alignment may be fully within the specs for this connector style.

Mine went in, but as RME has stated, not all the way... 

I havent fully tested my MIDI capablity to ensure all is working as intended though.

Hope this helps someone in the future.