• Registered: 2013-01-30
  • Posts: 1

Topic: Help Me Please

I just bought a RME FIREFACE 800 soundcard.....after I install'd it I observe a strange problem.........I use WIN 8 cpu-Quad 2.5 q9200....8G Ram..

I opend Cubase THE BUFFER SET ON 258 AND AFTER 10 minutes  my card strat to sound strange....it was a huge BRUM coming out from the sound card and everything freeze I just can control the brum level from totalmix...this thing happened 3 times in one our? I don't now  it is possible to have some problem whit the soundcard or the drivers and win?

What should I do?

2 Reply by Erbs Bischof (edited by Erbs Bischof 2013-01-31 08:46:30)

  • Registered: 2012-01-08
  • Posts: 35

Re: Help Me Please

Does it sound like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfqJAM7fVFI

My FF800 is in repair for the second time.
Problem still unsolved.

On Win8 Pro, 32bit, 4gB, TI FW on board and as additional
LaCie express card adapter, here.
TC Electronic Studiokonnekt 48 and Focusrite Saffire 24 Pro
both work perfectly connected to the very same computer/FW ports.

My Fireface 800 has had this anomaly on different computers
during the course of time (since 2004), not as frequent as in the
last months, though.

Will re-setting the ASIO driver in your DAW stop the noise?
Is the host light on your FF800 green during the hangup?

Best,
Erbs

  • From: Kouvola, Finland
  • Registered: 2007-05-12
  • Posts: 130

Re: Help Me Please

Comment for the video:
Since FF800 is responding I'd say that the problem is in the software that has outputs on 1-2.

Sonicimage studio
RME FF UFX, XTC, ADI-648, MADIface USB
W10 Pro 64bit

Jayzteroid's Website

4 Reply by Erbs Bischof (edited by Erbs Bischof 2013-01-31 09:58:09)

  • Registered: 2012-01-08
  • Posts: 35

Re: Help Me Please

Thanks, Jayzteroid, for chimimg in.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "has outputs on 1-2" ?
The DAWs in question have been Nuendo 2, Nuendo 3, Cubase 6.5, Cubase 7, over the years, on different stations.

Other (equally performant) FW audio interfaces seem to live in perfect harmony with the exact same setup/settings/software/hardware, as we speak.

In the first run for repair, a couple of bloated/toasted condensers had to be exchanged in my FF800, a month ago.
But that was not it, apparently.

Best,
Erbs

5 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
  • Offline
  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 24,877

Re: Help Me Please

The sound is the repeated buffer. The audio system hangs as no interrupts are generated to trigger the next buffer (cause unknown). This has nothing to do with controlling TotalMix/the hardware, which does not use such techniques, therfore continues to work.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2011-05-03
  • Posts: 94

Re: Help Me Please

Cosmos wrote:

I just bought a RME FIREFACE 800 soundcard.....after I install'd it I observe a strange problem.........I use WIN 8 cpu-Quad 2.5 q9200....8G Ram..

I opend Cubase THE BUFFER SET ON 258 AND AFTER 10 minutes  my card strat to sound strange....it was a huge BRUM coming out from the sound card and everything freeze I just can control the brum level from totalmix...this thing happened 3 times in one our? I don't now  it is possible to have some problem whit the soundcard or the drivers and win?

What should I do?

Does this happen in any other software? Like, general Youtube playback in your browser, Mp3 player etc; ?

If it does, then I'd try the legacy FW driver for Win8.
http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15505

  • Registered: 2012-01-08
  • Posts: 35

Re: Help Me Please

MC wrote:

The sound is the repeated buffer. The audio system hangs as no interrupts are generated to trigger the next buffer (cause inknown). This has nothing to do with controlling TotalMix/the hardware, which does not use such techniques, therfore continues to work.

Cause unknown. I've come that far.HeadScratch
MC, may I ask what you would refer to as "the audio system"? Because DAW and computer never hang up.
The projects always continue running and can be accessed as usual, just delivering no sound, except the erratic buffer loop.
Until the Fireface ASIO driver is removed and re-selected in the DAWs audio settings, that is.
That's when the noise stops and the sound returns.

The only piece of hardware in common, during the past 9 years is my FF800 (and a Mackie BigKnob and me)
The hangups became really frequent a couple of month ago, but have always been there from the beginning, albeit only sparsley.

Why on earth would other FW audio interfaces be completely happy with my "audio system" and my FF800 not?
It's a clean, well maintained, dedicated music machine.

But, thanks MC, and apologies to the OT, for hijacking his thread.

8 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
  • Offline
  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 24,877

Re: Help Me Please

Your FF might be defective. The problem is that as long as the error is not reproducable, the FF will go to repair, work over there, be returned. The video does not help at all as most others with such an effect (I expect the OP as well) just have the known Windows 8 FireWire system driver incompatibility problem. Yours seems different, but there is no proof and no way to repair the device as long as the error is not showing up reproducable/easily. Basically the final proof can be achieved in only one way: connect a different Fireface 800 for some days...

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

9 Reply by Erbs Bischof (edited by Erbs Bischof 2013-01-31 13:26:39)

  • Registered: 2012-01-08
  • Posts: 35

Re: Help Me Please

MC wrote:

Basically the final proof can be achieved in only one way: connect a different Fireface 800 for some days...

I will try that, actually.
But: If a different FF 800 works, proving my unit defective, we still won't know what's wrong with mine, let alone what
exactly to repair, right?

Mine is with RME atm, I'll wait and see what your people say and if the unit is worth any more troubles.

  • From: Kouvola, Finland
  • Registered: 2007-05-12
  • Posts: 130

Re: Help Me Please

I ment the software that uses software outputs 1-2.
It can be for example Cubase or Media Player depending on the setting.

I think I had similar issue sometimes with FF800 and if I recall correctly most of the times I got rid of the loop by resetting Cubase audio driver. Sometimes it didn't help and reboot of PC was needed.

I don't think I've had such loops with UFX.

Sonicimage studio
RME FF UFX, XTC, ADI-648, MADIface USB
W10 Pro 64bit

Jayzteroid's Website

  • Registered: 2012-01-08
  • Posts: 35

Re: Help Me Please

Jayzteroid wrote:

I think I had similar issue sometimes with FF800 and if I recall correctly most of the times I got rid of the loop by resetting Cubase audio driver. Sometimes it didn't help and reboot of PC was needed.

I don't think I've had such loops with UFX.

That is exactly it. Same thing with my FF 800.
Resetting ASIO driver in Cubase quiets the noise
and the unit starts working again.
Other FW audio interfaces would at least hiccup in this case, but the don't.

I strongly doubt, this is a software or driver thing.
I'm convinced my Fireface 800 has been kinda kaputt from the beginning.

But thank you anyway for commenting.

Best,
Erbs