Topic: Some issues with Fireface UC + ARC usb

I recently decided to update my audio interface from a Edirol UA-25EX to a Fireface UC. The reason for my update was that,
the Edirol only had one out, which ment that if i was recording, i had to turn of my monitors while using headphones.
Needles to say this was rather annoying.

After researching a lot, i decided that RME was what i was going for as it have a good renome within the comunity.
Since i really liked the idea about the ARC, i bought one of those to. After making my first recording it became evident
that this was a major update in regards to sound quality. Now i actually record, exactly what i hear thruogh the guitar amp!

Latencys were less than half(more like 1/4) of what i had with the Edirol. With a Fireface UC buffer size of 64 samples i
get an input latency of 1.90ms and output latency of 2.47ms! Audio roundtrip is 5.99ms/264 samples and Instrument is 3.92ms/173 samples.
All of these times is what my DAW(Studio one 4.6) is reporting in the options dialog. If i was using the same buffer size
settings with the Edirol, it would pop and crack like a popcorn machine. I dont use many tracks(4-10) and not a lot of VSTs,
and so far it has not complaint once with these settings.


Now to the annoying stuff about Fireface UC and ARC usb, and there is a few things.

The DC socket on the FF UC is very loose as reported here https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=27820 this is not so much an issue for me, as it is a permanent setup, it is concerning though. Most of my guitar pedals(if not all) are more tight than this. I don't get why this has not been fixed yet, as it was reported in 2018! Feeding the cable thruogh the hook doesn't solve the problem. It is still loose. As a company selling high-end products, RME should have worked on a fix with the innitital report.

The ARC usb can not control the input gain of mic/preamp 1-2 on the FF UC. This is something that really annoys me. It was one of the reasons i bought the ARC usb, just to find out that it is not possible. Whats even more annoying is that RME does not make it clear what functions are supported by which interfaces. The manual only says "..Some commands are not available at certain interfaces, or slightly changed due to different functionality.." Why is this not clear on the website? I mean it can't be that hard to make a chart with the functions of the ARC usb listed vertically and the interfaces horizontally marking the functions supported.

The stickers that comes with ARC usb does not cover all the functions supported. And some are just blank.
Why not provide all the functions as stickers and then some blanks?


All in all i am still happy with my new interface, however i feel that some of these issues, could have been fixed/avoided.

Fireface UC, ARC usb, KRK V4+10s, Z87-PRO, i7 4770, 32gb RAM, WIN 10 PRO, Studio One 4.6

2 (edited by JDK 2021-11-06 19:49:58)

Re: Some issues with Fireface UC + ARC usb

Not a single response to this post in about 6+ months! And I still can't see what ARC USB functions are supported by what audio interface on the website. I was told that RME as company cares about customers, i guess that simply isn't so, since no one from RME has responded to these issues..

Fireface UC, ARC usb, KRK V4+10s, Z87-PRO, i7 4770, 32gb RAM, WIN 10 PRO, Studio One 4.6

3 (edited by waedi 2021-11-07 00:08:37)

Re: Some issues with Fireface UC + ARC usb

From page 78 user manual UC :
Input Gain control is available via CC9, value range as the gain itself (up to 65). The MIDI channel determines the controlled channel, from 1 to 16 (UC: only 1/2). For this to work, Enable MIDI Control in the Options menu has to be activated.

I couldn't find any restriction that prevents the ARC USB from controlling input gains of the UC.

You are owner of a RME interface, feel free to contact RME support directly : support@rme-audio.com
This here is a user-forum and your post may have been overlooked.

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

4

Re: Some issues with Fireface UC + ARC usb

This post was indeed overlooked. The reason that with UC (and FF400) the input gain can not be controlled by the ARC USB is that it is a remote for TotalMix FX. And as you know  (you own the UC) the input gain is not part of TM FX - in these two units it is set in the Settings dialog. That is a design decision from 2009, and won't change in 2021 anymore, sorry.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Some issues with Fireface UC + ARC usb

@MC With all due respect, it has been 6+ months and the webpage for the ARC USB still does not list what functions is supported by which interfaces. It can't be that hard to make a chart that shows this information.

Fireface UC, ARC usb, KRK V4+10s, Z87-PRO, i7 4770, 32gb RAM, WIN 10 PRO, Studio One 4.6