Ultrastudio Express problem
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 7:10 pmHello, I'm wondering if anyone can help me with an issue I'm having with the Ultrastudio Express.
For years I've had the Ultrastudio Express connected to a pair of Yamaha HS7's which I used both for editing in Avid and for general computer stuff. Internet, iTunes...etc. Everything worked fine and the audio was crisp and clear coming out of both Avid and every other program. I had that one set of speakers hooked up and all was good.
Enter my new setup... the new MBP 16 inch on Catalina fully loaded up, the Caldigit TS3 Dock and a desktop video update...
Now, Avid thankfully is still working but I can no longer get audio from any other program to play though the speakers connected to the Ultrastudio Express without nasty crackling and a huge delay in the audio. Songs played through iTunes are playing back at half speed and are crackling beyond belief. I've tried every setting I can think of but nothing seems to fix it.
Anyone know what could be causing this?
I wrote to tech support who told me " Our playback cards were designed to work with compatible programs that support our driver. It's sort of a fluke that you were able to get the computer system audio to playback through the card"
A fluke? Really? I've been through two MBP's and two different OS's in the last 5 years and it worked fine on both systems every time. Zero issues. I don't know, doesn't seem like a fluke to me.
So at this point it seems as if I have three options.
1 - I can buy a second set of speakers and connect them to the MBP via USB which to me seems stupid to have to do since I've never had to do that before and not only is that an added expense but its also more clutter.
2 - I replace the Yamaha's with something that has XLR's and a USB input so I'll still only need the one set of speakers. Hopefully.
3 - I figure out a way to somehow disconnect the audio from the Ultrastudio Express and just send the video to my SDI monitor. If I can do that I can get the audio for every program including Avid to come out of the headphone port on the MBP or my Caldigit Thunderbolt box and the Yamaha's play it all nicely. I disconnected the Ultrastudio and tried getting the audio out of the headphone port to the Yamaha's and it worked fine so I know its possible.
However, assuming there's no setting that will fix the crackling issue I'd really rather explore option 3 if possible and somehow disconnect the audio from the Ultrastudio and just use it to send video to my monitor and I'll handle the audio separately. Perhaps the Ultrastudio Monitor 3G can do that?
Any help anyone can give me is greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
For years I've had the Ultrastudio Express connected to a pair of Yamaha HS7's which I used both for editing in Avid and for general computer stuff. Internet, iTunes...etc. Everything worked fine and the audio was crisp and clear coming out of both Avid and every other program. I had that one set of speakers hooked up and all was good.
Enter my new setup... the new MBP 16 inch on Catalina fully loaded up, the Caldigit TS3 Dock and a desktop video update...
Now, Avid thankfully is still working but I can no longer get audio from any other program to play though the speakers connected to the Ultrastudio Express without nasty crackling and a huge delay in the audio. Songs played through iTunes are playing back at half speed and are crackling beyond belief. I've tried every setting I can think of but nothing seems to fix it.
Anyone know what could be causing this?
I wrote to tech support who told me " Our playback cards were designed to work with compatible programs that support our driver. It's sort of a fluke that you were able to get the computer system audio to playback through the card"
A fluke? Really? I've been through two MBP's and two different OS's in the last 5 years and it worked fine on both systems every time. Zero issues. I don't know, doesn't seem like a fluke to me.
So at this point it seems as if I have three options.
1 - I can buy a second set of speakers and connect them to the MBP via USB which to me seems stupid to have to do since I've never had to do that before and not only is that an added expense but its also more clutter.
2 - I replace the Yamaha's with something that has XLR's and a USB input so I'll still only need the one set of speakers. Hopefully.
3 - I figure out a way to somehow disconnect the audio from the Ultrastudio Express and just send the video to my SDI monitor. If I can do that I can get the audio for every program including Avid to come out of the headphone port on the MBP or my Caldigit Thunderbolt box and the Yamaha's play it all nicely. I disconnected the Ultrastudio and tried getting the audio out of the headphone port to the Yamaha's and it worked fine so I know its possible.
However, assuming there's no setting that will fix the crackling issue I'd really rather explore option 3 if possible and somehow disconnect the audio from the Ultrastudio and just use it to send video to my monitor and I'll handle the audio separately. Perhaps the Ultrastudio Monitor 3G can do that?
Any help anyone can give me is greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!