RME Hammerfall Digiface

Discussions about the use and operation of SAC (Software Audio Console)

Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby newmediamark » Thu May 08, 2014 5:48 pm

IraSeigel wrote:This is the part I don't understand:
" When I try to re-install the latest driver update I have from RME by clicking on the .exe, nothing happens ... nothing"

That's very mysterious.


My bad Ira. "Nothing" happened when trying to flash the card with the firmware update. The driver installation process went through the usual steps, but the computer was never able to "see" the card.

Mark
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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby newmediamark » Thu May 08, 2014 5:53 pm

Just received a follow-up email from Sweetwater, where I purchased the card as a "demo" unit at a slight discount. They sent it back to RME for a resolution to the problem. I'm assuming this means U.S. distributor Synthax. So I wish I would have contacted them directly to the take the middle man out of the time warp.

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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby newmediamark » Thu May 15, 2014 3:43 pm

Update ... Sweetwater tech support called to tell me that RME decided that the circuit board was damaged due to mishandling, which was certainly not the case, and they wanted to sell me an opened box unit at a discount. I shot that down since I only used it one time a year ago, and since I purchased this as a "demo unit" to save a few bucks, any damage would likely be due to Sweetwater personnel before they sold it to me. The grey area was the year that had gone by. Anyhoo, Sweetwater backed me up and will replace the card, it's just a question of when they can get one in stock. I have had nothing but good luck dealing with Sweetwater warranty stuff, and my new sales guy Ryan Clapper is button down.

In the meantime I picked up the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB box and am quite pleased. The drivers don't support the Nuendo "zero latency" function, but the box has an "input monitor" switch on it. At lowest buffer settings the input latency is manageable without the switch engaged, but probably not the case with lots of tracks. Not a perfect unit, but the price was right, and I am quite pleased with the sound of the box and the functionality. Good for utility work.

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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby newmediamark » Fri May 16, 2014 2:30 pm

'nuther update. I saw the BSOD for the first time on my Win 7 Pro 64 bit laptop after I had disconnected the USB port to the Scarlett 2i2. After unplugging the cable, I tried to shut down Nuendo and the laptop crashed to BSOD. Windows did not like hot removal of the card with Nuendo still open. Never had that happen before, but then I am not experienced with USB audio devices, being an ExpressCard guy.

On my Pro Tools/Mac rig, I get a message on screen if I shut down the audio interface before I close the PT program, then I usually "force quit".

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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby jlepore » Fri May 16, 2014 5:10 pm

That would be the interface driver crashing, not the application. I am guessing any app using that driver would do the same thing.
You would hope a driver would check for an obvious error like that, but apparently not.

Lazy programmers assuming errors will never happen....
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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby shmick » Fri May 16, 2014 5:47 pm

jlepore wrote:That would be the interface driver crashing, not the application. I am guessing any app using that driver would do the same thing.
You would hope a driver would check for an obvious error like that, but apparently not.

Lazy programmers assuming errors will never happen....


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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby newmediamark » Fri May 16, 2014 6:15 pm

jlepore wrote:That would be the interface driver crashing, not the application. I am guessing any app using that driver would do the same thing.
You would hope a driver would check for an obvious error like that, but apparently not.


New piece of gear and not enough USB ports on my laptop. Whatever software is at fault, the BSOD seems to follow a hot swap. Never had that problem with other USB devices. Happened again a few minutes ago. I plugged in the Scarlett and it did not see power from the USB port. Tried to shut down and reboot to see if that fixed it, and boom ... BSOD again.

When I leave it plugged in, it works great and sounds darn good and has some handy features. But I have a mouse, a Nuendo dongle, thumb drives, external drives. All of this USB swapping going on. Time for a USB hub for this rig. And a visit to Focusrite forum, if there is such a thing.

Mark

EDIT: Yep, the crash seems to be directly related to the audio app being open when disconnecting the Focusrite USB audio interface. At last crash I thought it was closed, but after Windows "recovered", the app was open, but minimalized.
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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby RBIngraham » Fri May 16, 2014 9:13 pm

Don't do that. LOL.......

One suggestion that makes my system run smoother is that I use a USB3 card in my Express Card slot. So I put my more important stuff on that, like audio interface, hard drive, etc.... It not only give me more ports but also seems to work a bit more reliable as well since the all the USB crap is spread across multiple USB hosts.
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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby RBIngraham » Fri May 16, 2014 9:14 pm

P.S. I recommend a powered USB hub by the way. It's one more damn wall wart to lug around but it also works more reliably than the non powered ones. Especially with anything more complex than a mouse, dongle or cheap thumb drive.
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Re: RME Hammerfall Digiface

Postby newmediamark » Sat May 17, 2014 9:57 am

I was wondering about the USB ExpressCard adapter option, so thanks for the tip. Yeah, a powered USB hub is the way to go. It's small enough and can fit in the laptop bag. Don't seem to see too many USB3 audio devices around, but no point in moving backwards with USB2.

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