Topic: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Yesterday the kernel 6.12 got released and there is support for the digiface USB in there:

https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20240902-r … ilina.net/

Is there someone here who can tell me what to do?

RC6 of the kernel is in the debian experimentel repo.
I could install it and it seems the system is still working.,.

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

I'm interested in this as well.  Ubuntu 24.04 is using an older kernel (6.8) and doesn't have RME digiface support.

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Hi,

I just tried it out on ArchLinux (Arco) and got basics to function. But still have some problems as I am using the headphone jack on the front for testing.

So far I only got the left channel to output something on the headphone jack.

My System:
- Arco Linux (rolling)
- Kernel 6.12 (distro package)
- Pipewire with qpwgraph/helvum

I will report further findings.

4 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-25 12:27:55)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

https://i.imgur.com/lJaeo7K.png

Thats the working config ATM - when routing the audio through the interface to my headphone jack on my pc it works flawlessly - havent tested latency till now.

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

As far as I know firstly you should check is your pc updated and ready to handle these updated version? If your pc is capable then install RC6 kernel and reboot your system. Then you need to verify the installation.

Traveling and Music is my passion!!

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Why would you want to install the RC6? 6.12. is released already no need for the RC version.

7 (edited by bassblank 2024-11-25 18:38:47)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Of course, hope I can find some deb. If not I compile my own.

I reserved an older PC for multitracking.
Would it make sense to install Ubuntu Studio for that task?

did you do anythin else that the digiface gets recognized?

I installed a 6.12.1 kernel, what are the next steps to get acitvate the digiface?

It is found:

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 2a39:3fa0 RME Digiface USB (24072255)

8 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-25 19:16:58)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

lsusb shows this for my interface:

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 2a39:3f8c RME Digiface USB (24137606)

dmesg:

sudo dmesg|grep "usb 1-4"
[    1.167331] usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd
[    1.300863] usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=2a39, idProduct=3f8c, bcdDevice= 3.01
[    1.300874] usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[    1.300878] usb 1-4: Product: Digiface USB (24137606)
[    1.300882] usb 1-4: Manufacturer: RME
[    1.300885] usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 0000800814B7708

I did not tweak the kernel config, should be supported without special kernel options.

edit:
If your running config (zcat /proc/config.gz > .config) does not include

cat .config |grep CONFIG_USB_XHCI_HCD
CONFIG_USB_XHCI_HCD=y


you should activate it and recompile your kernel

Device Drivers  --->
    USB support  --->
        xHCI HCD (USB 3.0) support

9 (edited by bassblank 2024-11-25 19:23:51)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

looks the same:

[    0.868249] usb 1-11: new high-speed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd
[    0.991697] usb 1-11: New USB device found, idVendor=2a39, idProduct=3fa0, bcdDevice= 3.01
[    0.991700] usb 1-11: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[    0.991702] usb 1-11: Product: Digiface USB (24072255)
[    0.991703] usb 1-11: Manufacturer: RME
[    0.991704] usb 1-11: SerialNumber: B1DA8B68CA9E8C8


I have no exprerience with pro audio in linux.
I did follow the howtos to setup pipewire but it seems it doesnt find the RME

EDIT:

i installed this kernel:

https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/selibre/l … sh.en.html

maybe i build one myself

i dont have that config.gz file, how can I find out if it is active?

10 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-25 19:27:05)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

bassblank wrote:

Would it make sense to install Ubuntu Studio for that task?

I am no ubuntu expert, but as far as I know the difference between ubuntu flavours only lies in the composition of packages installed out of the box.

If you use a dedicated box for multi-track recording I would use arch for it (especially if you rely on bleeding edge kernels). Being a debian guy myself it takes some time to get used to it, but its really not that hard to learn.

edit:
I am curious now and will try it on ubuntu.

11 (edited by bassblank 2024-11-25 20:00:32)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

I havent done any low level system stuff for a while.
Can I find out if i can load the module wirh insnod?

Lsmod doesnt show any xhci stuff

and please write where you got the kernel .deb

12 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-25 23:11:27)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

I just installed a vm with ubuntu studio 24.04 lts

The interface gets recognized out of the box but does not work because it is 6.8.

Ok, if:

#zcat /proc/config.gz

does not work you need to:

#cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) > .config


whole process:
# sudo apt-get install build-essential libncurses-dev bison flex libssl-dev libelf-dev git ccache libudev-dev libpci-dev debhelper-compat fakeroot xz-utils


# cd /usr/src
# sudo wget https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel … .12.tar.xz
# sudo tar -xf linux-6.12.tar.xz
# cd linux-6.12
# sudo cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) > /home/stefan/running.config (replace "stefan" with your username of course)
# sudo cp /home/stefan/running.config .config (replace "stefan" with your username of course)
# openssl req -new -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout certs/signing_key.pem -out certs/signing_key.x509 -days 365 -nodes -subj "/CN=Custom Kernel Signer/"
# sudo make menuconfig     
... just <esc> out of the config and save it. Of course you could customize the kernel if you want to. But as you mentioned you are not too familiar with low level system stuff I would recommend not trying too, as you will likely mess up the configuration.

# sudo ./scripts/config --disable SYSTEM_TRUSTED_KEYS
# sudo ./scripts/config --disable SYSTEM_REVOCATION_KEYS

# sudo make -j$(nproc) ... just press enter when the questions regarding the certs are asked - the defaults are ok .. this will take a long time. On my vm with 8 vcpus (intel i9) and 16GB vRAM it took about 20-25 minutes, could however be a lot faster if you install it on a capable physical machine
# sudo make modules_install
# sudo make install

edit you grub config with the editor of your choice /etc/default/grub and edit the default option, you can skip that for the time beeing and hold shift during boot and select the new kernel by hand to test if everything works (recommended). After testing do the edit.

GRUB_DEFAULT="Advanced options for Ubuntu>Ubuntu, with Linux 6.12.0"

# sudo update-grub
# sudo reboot

# uname -r should show 6.12.0

Everything works now (if you start qpwgraph for example your RME DF-USB is shown).

I usually don't trust a package from an unknown source - if you like you can build the kernel as a debian package yourself (check out guides on the inet and combine it with the above steps), but in my opinion it is not necessary for a single system.

If you use a nvidia gpu ... you would have to do additional stuff - did not test that as I used a vm.

As you probably noticed english is not my native language, so excuse the errors I certainly made.

13 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-26 08:15:04)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

I built the debian package for the kernel (with the above config) - in case you don't have any specific hardware which needs to be included in the config (which most likely is not the case) you can use it if you don't want to compile the kernel yourself.

Download .deb

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Thanks for rhe kernel.
I still get nothing on my deban 12.
I will install Ubuntu Studio after work and report how it goes.

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

stefan.kargl wrote:

I built the debian package for the kernel (with the above config) - in case you don't have any specific hardware which needs to be included in the config (which most likely is not the case) you can use it if you don't want to compile the kernel yourself.

Download .deb

While your intentions may be good, I for one would not download and install a package using a link pointing to dropbox.

16 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-26 14:59:50)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Muffin wrote:

While your intentions may be good, I for one would not download and install a package using a link pointing to dropbox.

You are absolutely right. I would not either - thats why I detailed the build process above.

edit:
Not that it changes anything regarding the trustworthyness ... but I uploaded them to github as well:

github-link

Guess, if you would like to just download and don't build the kernel, you have to trust someone in the end.

17 (edited by bassblank 2024-11-26 19:23:55)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

I did the whole thing today.
Installed Ubuntu Studio (didnt know it uses KDE, would better have installed soemthing else)
than i compiled the kernel following youre directions.
But safly the Digiface doesnt show up.
Could that be a Firmware problem? (checked in windows, it says its uptodate)


Is there a way to tell pipewire to look for it?

18 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-26 19:58:05)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

I installed a plain Ubuntu Studio version without any additional tweaking. All default options - and it works without any additional configs.

I would try the usual suspects:
- Different USB-Port (don't use a hub if you currently use one, especially not if it is a passive one).
- High quality cable - those ultra thin ones can cause problems, the longer the bigger the problems
- Prefer USB3 if you have the choice

Some Log outputs, etc. would certainly be useful to help you diagnose the problem.

output of uname -r
pw-dump|grep RME
dmesg
journalctl
lsusb
etc.

19 (edited by ramses 2024-11-26 20:05:34)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

stefan.kargl wrote:

I would try the usual suspects:

> Different USB-Port (don't use a hub if you currently use one, especially not if it is a passive one).

Yes

> High quality cable - those ultra thin ones can cause problems, the longer the bigger the problems

Simply good cable quality, nothing fancy is needed.
RME delivers an 1.8m USB2 cable, this will work, but try simlpy a different cable, could be cable problem.
Just for your information, according to the standard 5m is possible for USB2.

> Prefer USB3 if you have the choice

Should make no difference. The reason is, that USB3 plugs have dedicated / separate plugs for USB2 and USB3.
What I want to say, by connecting to an USB3 port the USB2 interface will connect to USB2 not USB3.
But I agree, try it out, this can't hurt.

Additional idea, if you have a friend with Apple or Windows PC pls check with this computer, whether
the Digiface USB and the USB cable works. In the driver settings you can check for CRC transport errors.
If there are no CRC failures, then you have no cable problem.

Good luck!

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

i did try 3 cables.
I booted my windows and the mixer opened when i plugged in the digiface.
I also tried 3 different USB Ports on that PC (Dell Optiplex 7020).
Maybe I try the kernel on my main PC, wouldnt wanna break that.

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

:~$ lsusb 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 2a39:3fa0 RME Digiface USB (24072255)
pw-dump|grep RME

should this give me anything?


sudo dmesg |grep "usb 1-6"
[    0.518291] usb 1-6: new high-speed USB device number 2 using xhci_hcd
[    0.642725] usb 1-6: New USB device found, idVendor=2a39, idProduct=3fa0, bcdDevice= 3.01
[    0.642730] usb 1-6: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[    0.642732] usb 1-6: Product: Digiface USB (24072255)
[    0.642733] usb 1-6: Manufacturer: RME
[    0.642734] usb 1-6: SerialNumber: B1DA8B68CA9E8C8

journalctl gives me the same as dmesg

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

bassblank wrote:
pw-dump|grep RME

should this give me anything?

If it gives you something It means your interface is recognized by pipewire.

pw-dump|grep RME


      { "subject": 0, "key": "default.configured.audio.sink", "type": "Spa:String:JSON", "value": { "name": "alsa_output.usb-RME_Digiface_USB__24137606__0000800814B7708-00.multichannel-output" } },
      { "subject": 0, "key": "default.audio.sink", "type": "Spa:String:JSON", "value": { "name": "alsa_output.usb-RME_Digiface_USB__24137606__0000800814B7708-00.multichannel-output" } },
        "alsa.long_card_name": "RME Digiface USB (24137606) at usb-0000:00:14.0-4, high speed",
        "api.alsa.card.longname": "RME Digiface USB (24137606) at usb-0000:00:14.0-4, high speed",
        "device.bus-id": "usb-RME_Digiface_USB__24137606__0000800814B7708-00",
        "device.name": "alsa_card.usb-RME_Digiface_USB__24137606__0000800814B7708-00",
        "device.serial": "RME_Digiface_USB__24137606__0000800814B7708",
        "device.vendor.name": "RME",
        "alsa.long_card_name": "RME Digiface USB (24137606) at usb-0000:00:14.0-4, high speed",
        "api.alsa.card.longname": "RME Digiface USB (24137606) at usb-0000:00:14.0-4, high speed",
        "node.name": "alsa_output.usb-RME_Digiface_USB__24137606__0000800814B7708-00.multichannel-output",

Just to be sure ... you checked that you have booted into 6.12?

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Yes, i am sure.

My digiface shows a different IID than yours,
Does that mean anything?

[    0.991702] usb 1-11: Product: Digiface USB (24072255

I am rhinking ro write the developer of the keenel patch an email.

24 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-27 08:29:59)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Sure, why not but there are some additional steps I would try first:

aplay -l (checks if it is recognized as audio device)

cat /proc/asound/cards

lsmod|grep snd_usb_audio

dmesg | grep snd

You can also check if pipewire is configured correctly

pw-cli ls Node (should produce output)

journalctl --user -u pipewire

You are member of the audio group, right? But I guess regarding the basic system configuration everything should be ok, since I did not have to change anything in my ubuntu-studio installation.

If nothing of the above gives a clue regarding your problem - stop the sound services and start pipewire with debug level logging.

# PIPEWIRE_DEBUG=4 pipewire

25 (edited by bassblank 2024-11-27 17:40:26)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Hi, thanks for your replies.

unitl now none of the above gace me the RME, no USB sounddevice at all:

Which one controles pipewire?

found it, stuff changed a lot.

the debug output contains nothing regarding USB or RME or digiface

edit:

maybe the module is not loaded:

snd_seq_dummy          12288  0
snd_hrtimer            12288  1
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     98304  1
snd_hda_codec_realtek   208896  1
snd_hda_codec_generic   118784  1 snd_hda_codec_realtek
snd_hda_scodec_component    20480  1 snd_hda_codec_realtek
snd_hda_intel          61440  4
snd_intel_dspcfg       45056  1 snd_hda_intel
snd_intel_sdw_acpi     16384  1 snd_intel_dspcfg
snd_hda_codec         204800  4 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_realtek
snd_hda_core          139264  5 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek
snd_hwdep              20480  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm               188416  5 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_core
snd_seq_midi           24576  0
snd_seq_midi_event     16384  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_rawmidi            57344  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq               118784  10 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event,snd_seq_dummy
snd_seq_device         16384  3 snd_seq,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi
snd_timer              49152  3 snd_seq,snd_hrtimer,snd_pcm
snd                   139264  21 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_timer,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi
soundcore              16384  1 snd
 ls -lah /lib/modules/6.12.0/kernel/sound/usb/
total 1.1M
drwxr-xr-x  9 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 .
drwxr-xr-x 16 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 ..
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 6fire
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 bcd2000
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 caiaq
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 hiface
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 line6
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 misc
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 926K Nov 25 23:15 snd-usb-audio.ko
-rw-r--r--  1 root root  91K Nov 25 23:15 snd-usbmidi-lib.ko
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4.0K Nov 26 20:06 usx2y

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

stefan.kargl wrote:

Why would you want to install the RC6? 6.12. is released already no need for the RC version.

Yeah dude!! Agreed and thanks for the clarification always update new version instead of previous ones. Appreciated!!

Traveling and Music is my passion!!

27 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-27 22:58:26)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

bassblank wrote:

maybe the module is not loaded:

Your module is not loaded.

Did you do anything with your udev rules?

You can try:

# insmod /lib/modules/6.12.0/kernel/sound/usb/snd-usb-audio.ko

or

# modprobe snd-usb-audio

and check if anything changes.

edit:
should look something like this:

lsmod|grep snd_usb_audio

snd_usb_audio         557056  8
snd_usbmidi_lib        49152  1 snd_usb_audio
snd_ump                40960  1 snd_usb_audio
snd_hwdep              20480  2 snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm               200704  15 snd_soc_avs,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec,soundwire_intel,snd_sof,snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_sof_utils,snd_hda_core,snd_pcm_dmaengine
mc                     90112  5 videodev,snd_usb_audio,videobuf2_v4l2,uvcvideo,videobuf2_common
snd                   155648  36 snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio,snd_usbmidi_lib,snd_hda_codec,snd_sof,snd_timer,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_ump,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi

and

# journalctl|grep snd-usb-audio should look like

Nov 27 22:25:10 sk-i9 kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Further steps, I would try - if modprobe does not work:

- check if dmesg/journalctl recorded an error concerning snd-usb-audio

- check if you have any udev rules
# grep snd-usb-audio /etc/udev/rules.d/*

- check if the module is blacklisted
# grep snd-usb-audio /etc/modprobe.d/*

29 (edited by bassblank 2024-11-28 19:20:26)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

i was wondering when you posted your lsaub output that your  idProduct=3f8c was different than mine.
I did mail the kernel developer my lsusb output, it seems there are different version of the digiface USB.
I had to change some lines in the kernel sources, after compiling the digiface is recognized and all the channels are show in qpwgraph.

Thanks for all your suggestions.
I will inform the developer, they will patch the sources.

[*]now i have to get reaper running, it doesnt want to start on ubuntu studio, guess i will install mint or something.[/*]
neverming, my wrong.

What is the next step to get reaper to see the channels?
When I select alsa i cant select an Interface, still not much pro audio experience under linux.

Edit:

Audacity did see the digiface, i played a bit arround with the setting, now it doesnt show up as an output device anymore sad.

Another Edit:

I could route some channels inside Ardour to the outputs of my digiface USB and have signal on my Mixing Desk, now im getting happy...

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Maybe my 2 cents:
I do not have a Digiface USB, but i wanted to test the new kernel for other realtime purposes...

I used the updated 6.12.1 version on a debian VM from https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel … 2.1.tar.xz
Anyhow, according the changelog it does not seem to affect the audio stuff: https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel … Log-6.12.1

Basically, i used a similar procedure as stefan.kargl described in post #12 to compile (with some custom options in menuconfig).

Works like a charm. Thanks for your tipps here!

“Do It For Her”
My Gear: Bontempi Magic light Keyboard

31 (edited by stefan.kargl 2024-11-29 17:27:17)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

bassblank wrote:

I had to change some lines in the kernel sources, after compiling the digiface is recognized and all the channels are show in qpwgraph.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Glad, to hear, that it finally worked out for you. That's why I love the open source community :-)

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Yes.
Today I did test recording some tracks.
Than i was asked to test 96k and 192k.
All is working well so far.

And im getting used to Ardour.

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

bassblank wrote:

Yes.
Today I did test recording some tracks.
Than i was asked to test 96k and 192k.
All is working well so far.

And im getting used to Ardour.

+1

Re: RME Digiface USB support now in kernel 6.12

Those changes for the other revision of the digiface usb will make it into one of the next releases of the linux kernel.
Didn't even know there is a spdif mode, until I did test it.