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dagz? · 29th March 2010

hey there everyone, -here's my experience, for those of you having any issues with the zed, and possibly any firewire audio interface.

computer spec: gigabyte p55-ud3 / i5 / Pci Ti firewire card / winXP32.

when i first got this thing, it refused to play ball at all. even on the highest buffer settings, it was unable to record for more than a few seconds, playback was flaky when you clicked on anything. it was a total mess.

after reinstalling xp three times using the different onboard hdd controllers, disabling everything that wasnt specifically related to audio -getting a replacement board, and doing every other xp tweak known to man, and reading allmost all of google. i came to the conclusion that it was a hardware conflict. (not to be confused with irq shareing issue)

the only other hardware i had was a pcieX16 ATI hd5700 video card, i took it back to the shop, and swapped the Vid card for a (far cheeper!) lower spec'd pcieX16 nvidea 8400. -from that moment forth, the zed CAME TO LIFE. -and i got a wad of cash back too. thumbsup

i belive that the issue stems from the HDMI audio implementation on these newer video cards (or less than ideal driver design). -the nvidea one has a lead which you connect to your mobo should you want to use hd sound, where as the ati one combines the audio with the hd video output. -there is is no way to disable the audio features on either card, and i wasnt even using the hd output anyway. this is just a hunch of course. -but the end of the story is: DAW machines dont need high end 3d video anyway. so dont waste your money on them, because they can cause issues that lower spec cards do not. - i did allready know this, but i foolishly let myself get 'upsold' at the computer store!
the 'dpc' checker in the zed driver did not change with the new card, fyi.(between 100 - 250us)

the allen heath support guys were quite helpfull, and supportive during my teething period, and i highly recommend going to them for help if you get stuck.

totally stoked that this thing is up and running now, got my first fullsize project starting this week.

mean.
dave./

29th March 2010	#1713
dagz? Gear interested Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 1	zed r-16 firewire problems crackles etc RESOLVED hey there everyone, -here's my experience, for those of you having any issues with the zed, and possibly any firewire audio interface. computer spec: gigabyte p55-ud3 / i5 / Pci Ti firewire card / winXP32. when i first got this thing, it refused to play ball at all. even on the highest buffer settings, it was unable to record for more than a few seconds, playback was flaky when you clicked on anything. it was a total mess. after reinstalling xp three times using the different onboard hdd controllers, disabling everything that wasnt specifically related to audio -getting a replacement board, and doing every other xp tweak known to man, and reading allmost all of google. i came to the conclusion that it was a hardware conflict. (not to be confused with irq shareing issue) the only other hardware i had was a pcieX16 ATI hd5700 video card, i took it back to the shop, and swapped the Vid card for a (far cheeper!) lower spec'd pcieX16 nvidea 8400. -from that moment forth, the zed CAME TO LIFE. -and i got a wad of cash back too. thumbsup i belive that the issue stems from the HDMI audio implementation on these newer video cards (or less than ideal driver design). -the nvidea one has a lead which you connect to your mobo should you want to use hd sound, where as the ati one combines the audio with the hd video output. -there is is no way to disable the audio features on either card, and i wasnt even using the hd output anyway. this is just a hunch of course. -but the end of the story is: DAW machines dont need high end 3d video anyway. so dont waste your money on them, because they can cause issues that lower spec cards do not. - i did allready know this, but i foolishly let myself get 'upsold' at the computer store! the 'dpc' checker in the zed driver did not change with the new card, fyi.(between 100 - 250us) the allen heath support guys were quite helpfull, and supportive during my teething period, and i highly recommend going to them for help if you get stuck. totally stoked that this thing is up and running now, got my first fullsize project starting this week. mean. dave./