Apogee Rosetta 800 Sample rate problem

[Hypothesis]

Recently I wrote to Apogee about a problem I experience with my Rosetta 800 unit, but apart from the fact that I had to send 3 e-mails and had to wait for more than 3 weeks to get a single line of response from the technical support, the only answer I got is that I can send the unit to USA for repair!

Since I am in Europe, as with the previous thread I wrote about the Lexicon 200 repair, it would be quite a long, expensive and risky thing to do, and I need the unit repaired fast!

Here is the problem:

Rosetta refuses to change the sample rate. It is stuck with 44.1 KHz and won't change it even when I unplug all the optical cables from it. I tried to reset it (by holding the sample rate key while powering) but it didn't help. I don't have any additional cards installed in it. It used to work just fine, and than occasionally started refusing to change the sample rate, and finally now it won't change it at all. Both sample rate and WC I/O sync buttons don't respond. Could it be that just the buttons or the electronics around them are damaged?

Apart from the problem with changing the sample rate - the unit works fine, but I can't do any higher sample rate projects! (not to mention 48KHz audio 4 video projects)

It was used as an AD/DA and master clock device paired with RME HDSP 9652...

ANY HELP HIGHLY APPRECIATED!

Thanks,
Ognjan Milosevic
www.ognjanmilosevic.com

[lucey]

Originally Posted by Hypothesis

It was used as an AD/DA and master clock device paired with RME HDSP 9652...

First question ... is it set to follow incoming clock? On the front panel or maybe on a dip switch internally? It's obvious I know ... but worth asking.

(If you want to buy one to use during the repair wait, PM me, I have a UK client selling one with Firewire.)

[Hypothesis]

Hi Lucey,

Thanks for your reply! It is not set to follow external clock (I can't even do that because it is done with the same Sample Rate button on the front panel that does not respond). Apart from the level calibration jumpers and some other few jumpers whose function is unknown to me, there are no dip switches inside Rosetta 800. Everything used to work just fine, I was able to change between external and internal clock, and change the sample rate when I needed to. Then, as I already said - it started to randomly refuse to change the rate, and now it won't change it at all. If anyone has any idea - please shoot!

Thanks in advance!
Ognjan

[lucey]

If it worked, and it doesnt, it's broken. Maybe the switch itself. You'll need to send it to someone.

[Jules]

Really the best thing to do is to call Apogee tec support in CA, USA, make sure you are next to the unit and able to try things they suggest to you over the phone. They are good at this..

[Clawson]

Hi Hypothesis,

Please call us here at the office, We will be more then happy to help you. As I said in my last E-mail to you, we do have someone in London that you could send the unit to. However you will need to call us here (310)584-9394 so that we can set up the RMA, and please ask for me.

Chris Lawson
Apogee Electronics

[Hypothesis]

Hi again Chris,

Not that I don't respect Apogee as a company, but I guess gearslutz is definitely the way to go as far as technical support is concerned! Apogee products are top notch, and that's why they deserve top notch support.

As I told you, I'm trying to avoid sending the unit via mail at all cost, since the whole procedure will take at least two weeks, and considerable amount of money. The other thing is that unfortunately I got rid of the original box, so packing/handling would be very tricky, and it involves the risk of unit being damaged even more by the time it gets there.

There are some very good repairing facilities around, and I was thinking of bringing the unit to them, but I'm sure your experience with Rosetta would be very valuable to them. Have you already had similar issues? It would be great to get your working e-mail address, so I don't have to fill in the support form on Apogee site for every reply.

Rosetta 800 is an important part of a mixing chain in my studio, so the projects I'm working on at the moment are suffering with every single day of delay.

Thank you again for your reply, and I hope we will solve this quickly.

Best regards,
Ognjan

[Mark Warren]

Dude, it's broken, you need to send it for repair to the people who made it. Have you ever looked inside the Apogee? It's got a circuit board, that's it. It's not like a tube amp that you're going to find a broken solder joint or there's a tube you can replace.

The thing costs a lot of money because of all the R&D that went into it, but basically it's a bunch of computer chips on a circuit board, so when it's not working right, you need to send it to where it came from, since unlike an amp shop that you can find just about anywhere, Apogee repair shops are few and far between, since there's not much to 'repair' rather than 'replace'.

[Hypothesis]

HI Mark,

Yes, I am completely aware that Rosetta is not a tube amp, but since I know a bit about electronics as well, I'm also very aware that there are quite a few replaceable parts in it (even SMD ones), and that it wasn't made by aliens. I had even more complex devices fixed here, so don't worry about it being a circuit board with a large Spartan chip on it - no need to be so mystical about it.

I was just trying to exhaust all the options before sending the unit, and needed some help from the makers so I can diagnose/isolate the problem and decide what to do. I agree it's much easier to say : "Send it there, and they will fix it", but as I said - it's at least 500-600$ and some 15-20 days the best which will cost me even more renting a new unit to finish my projects. If it is just a broken button or some easy replaceable circuit, why waste time sending it so far away? If on the other hand it is something beyond the knowledge of the experts here, I will of course send it to it's makers, but that's what technical support is all about - giving information and trying to solve problems the easy way before the radical measures are taken.

Anyway, thanks for your concern and attention! I really appreciate it!

All the best,
Ognjan

[karl]

I had this kind of problem with my Apogee Rosetta 800. It was the softlimit button for me. It started to flash on and off when it felt like it and then stuck off. It is just the button, but needs repair. It was just a few weeks out of warranty, so I contacted the shop that sold it to me and they put me on to the UK distributor. They swapped it with a unit they had and I haven't had a problem since. One of the reps even came to my studio to swap it over!

[heathen]

Well I hope mine does'nt die as the power button on my Rosetta 200 stopped working on mine the day I bought it (would'nt switch off),then mysteriously started working again a few days later.This is the unit which replaced my dead psx100se. Anyway the smartarse where I bought it from said,OH! What have you done to this one now. Well what could I have done after only 3 hours use?
Anyway all I can say is one more problem with my Apogee gear and I'm going to return it and switch to Mytek.
Use better buttons Apogee, please! These units are supposed to be top notch,the conversion is teriffic but the hardware should be a little tougher.
My 10c.

[Hypothesis]

Hey guyz,

Thank you so much for all your replies, you are the greatest! thumbsup I guess it must be the button then, since you have experienced the same thing. I am so surprised that they don't install some better quality buttons in a 3K$ unit! I didn't even want to consider a button problem, but now that you've told me this, I will check it out straight away, and let you know if the operation was successful. If anyone else had a similar experience - please share it!

All the best,
Ognjan

[heathen]

I may start a new thread called "High End Converter Problems".This may give people a better idea of which units are most reliable or un-reliable.

[Hypothesis]

Problem Solved! Today I took the Rosetta to my friend who has a qualified servicing facility, and he fixed everything in 45 minutes! 3 out of 7 front panel buttons were malfunctional! That's over 40%! Two of them were completely dead (sample rate & WC I/O sync), and one (the power button) was showing resistance of 85 Ohm! (It should be <1 Ohm). He removed the micro switches, opened them, cleaned them thoroughly and put them back - and now everything works fine!

It is a pity they install buttons of such low quality on a unit so expensive. When you give almost 3000$ for a set of converters, you expect nothing short of top quality components inside. My Rosetta is used in a sterile studio environment (no smoking, no moisture, no heavy dust, no excessive heat, no food / drinks around it), so there is no way it could have been influenced by some external factor. If it was a cheap 100$ USB audio interface, I probably wouldn’t be mad, but this... I really don’t know why people from the technical support didn’t tell me it could have been the button, because it would have both saved us time & money.

Anyway, thank you all for sharing info. I hope this experience can help some of you too.

Best regards,
Ognjan

[max cooper]

I agree with better buttons.

And how about LED's that don't light the adjacent LED's too. That things really confusing to read.

[lucey]

Originally Posted by Hypothesis

When you give almost 3000$ for a set of converters, you expect nothing short of top quality components inside.

Glad to hear it's fixed ... but I have to say your perspective is a little off. My 2 channel converter sold for $17,000 in 1991. What's a Weiss, Lavry Gold or Prism today ... $7000 for 2 ch?

$3000 for an 8 ch is not going to give you the best of the best in every category. Apogee is in the business of making money at a price point just like almost everyone else.

[Hypothesis]

Yes I am quite aware that there are esoteric converters that cost zillions of dollars, but there is one great anecdote to illustrate the real value of those devices, and it's about a guy who was making and selling esoteric cables for something like 5000$ per meter. The journalist asked him: Sir, do you really think your cables are worth that much? I mean after all, do you really hear the difference? And the guy said: Well, it's important that my customers hear the difference, and as long as they hear it and keep buying them, I will keep making them.
I know that Rosetta is not the most expensive unit out there, but still it's much more expensive then RME Fireface for example and 3K$ is still a considerable amount of money. When you sum the price of all the components used inside, you'll agree that it's much below 300$ which is 10% of the asking price, and the button's them selves are 1$ apiece in a shop, so putting a 2$ or 3$ button wouldn't hurt them as much as people not buying the unit because of poor quality components. Just my 10c.

All the best,
Ognjan