1 Topic by Arnej (edited by Arnej 2018-02-08 08:35:47)

  • Arnej
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Topic: Fireface UFX II - Input distortion

Just switched from a Babyface to the FF UFX II and I'm having a slew of problems recording input from my synths.  Playback is completely fine across all DAWs / audio applications, however whenever I record any of the analog inputs, the output is extremely distorted/bitcrushed. 

I'm currently running the latest versions of everything, including Windows 7 drivers and all hardware components (motherboard, usb controllers, etc).  Setting buffer or sampling rate has no effect on the recorded input.  I've tried switching cables, reinstalling, etc to no avail.

After doing some research, it would seem others have had this "bitcrush" problem in the past but I've yet to see anyone discuss a solution.

Any ideas?

2 Reply by MC

  • MC
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Re: Fireface UFX II - Input distortion

You should look after USB port problems, also read the manual on this topic. Do you see errors counted in the Settings dialog?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

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  • Arnej
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Re: Fireface UFX II - Input distortion

Turns out that the issue is that the interface NEEDS to be plugged in directly into the onboard USB, meaning no external hubs.  I had it plugged into a powered USB hub. 

I could swear that I didn't see this anywhere in the manual, perhaps an addition for the future?

4 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2018-02-08 23:44:44)

  • ramses
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Re: Fireface UFX II - Input distortion

Arnej wrote:

Turns out that the issue is that the interface NEEDS to be plugged in directly into the onboard USB, meaning no external hubs. I had it plugged into a powered USB hub.

Good that you finally found it.

BTW .. its a widely known thing that this causes issues.

If you would have mentioned it in your problem description, how you connect your devices to PC,
then RME and many other people could have told you this directly.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13
  • Registered: 2019-11-04
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Re: Fireface UFX II - Input distortion

I experienced a similar issue with input distortion on the UFX II, and thus wanted to add my problem/solution here.

I upgraded from the UFX to UFX II and noticed that any input going into the computer was recorded with a bitcrusher distortion baked into the input signal. This applied on analog inputs directly into the UFX II, but ALSO to inputs coming in digitally from my external ADAT converter routed into the optical input of the UFX II. All direct monitoring sounded just fine (i.e. when I tested it, I could hear myself clearly in the microphone using the direct monitoring on the interface). However, all adat and direct analog signals, once played back in my DAW, had distortion baked in that I was not hearing while doing the actual recording. The distortion was not level-dependent and was definitely some sort of digital distortion. (For reference, I use Win10 on a Lenovo Thinkpad with Cubase 9.5.)

Thank goodness when I contacted vintage king, they said to check the RME forums (stupid of me not to), and lo and behold as seen in this thread, the problem was due to my use of a powered USB hub rather than plugging the UFX II directly into my laptop's USB. Problem solved! I don't like having to plug in an extra thing but it'll be fine.

I hope if anyone is reading this they didn't spend months thinking their adat converter or something else was faulty (like I spent hours trying to figure out).