Help Apogee Ensemble Kernel Panic when switching it on

[MaestroNYC]

Originally Posted by Matt Fudge

I'd be curious too, I've got a duet but have noticed the same thing on a few occasions. I just shrugged it off as another Logic bug, but if other people are having the same issue too than maybe it is an Apogee issue.

They said it could either be that the firware got corrupted and to reinstall it (to do so he said you need to select the "Downgrade" option to reinstall from firmware update - I haven't done it yet).

Also said that if other firewire devices such as drives are on the chain, it might cause problems if on same firewire bus. He said Lacie drives are more common with this issue. He said to try using the extra FW port on the ensemble as it was meant to be a FW driver. I use FW800 drives, but he said everything is bumped down to FW400 to match the slowest device - the Ensemble. I haven't had a chance to experiment with any of these, but I'll keep an eye out for it and do the driver when things are less busy.

[nooneknows]

I'm not running any other Firewire devices on the bus... I suppose it could be firmware like they said although Apogee would have done the firmware upgrade / or installed the latest version to start with since I received this Ensemble and it was already up to date.

[GuitarGuy551]

Got this message from Apogee yesterday...

"Hello,

I apologize for the inconvenience. This is actually happening with
many different FireWire audio devices from different manufacturers.
The issue happens to some users that run Leopard with over 2 GB of RAM
installed. I realize this is extremely inconvenient, but there will be
a fix coming very soon. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience and
appreciate your patience.

Best regards,

Brett Patrick
Tech Support Specialist
Apogee Electronics"

So evidentially it is an Apple problem, not an Apogee one. Apogee does make THE BEST sounding units on the market, and I really don't want to go back to Motu. After reading about all the complaints to Apple on this and other forum, I can't see them ignoring the issue. It should be resolved soon enough...I hope.

[schmollywood]

I am the one who startet this thread in the first place...in December of last year. The problem of course occured even earlier than this. Its nice to hear (once again) from Brett at Apogee that a fix is coming soon, but here's the deal. I have been in contact with Brett about this since 5 months now and he kept promising this will be fixed soon. As a matter of fact it hasn't. The one thing that p....es me off even more is the fact that Apogee STILL doesn't inform their customers on their own web site about this issue anywhere. I think this is really bad. Brett even called me and said, they wouldn' do that because its not a problem caused by Apogee. Whatever the cause for such a huge bug, I think this policy is the worst example how much you can trust the company. It basically means in the future: Be aware when buying from Apogee, because they probably won't tell you about major bugs they know about for months. I just hope Bretts latest answer isn't another lie that the fix will "come very soon"....

[kingswood6]

I doubt very much that anyone is making any deliberate false statements--I just don't think it's within their control.

I've read of a few problems with other firewire devices in Leopard, but in the audio/music area, the Ensemble and Duet have been coming up time after time.

The thing that bothers me is that this seamless integration with the Mac is a huge part of the development and advertising of these products. Apple may or may not be dragging their feet, putting Apogee in a very bad position. Who knows what is in their agreement with Apple? I don't even know if they are allowed to develop their own ASIO drivers for the firewire products, even if they wanted to.

But I hope Apogee is aggressively negotiating and prodding Apple. It is their good reputation that is primarily at stake, regardless of who is at fault.

Regards,

Bill

[MaestroNYC]

For what it's worth, I am not on Leopard yet, but on 10.4.11 w/L7.2.3 and still getting the small pops from time to time -- running on a 1.25ghz G4 Powebook w/2GB RAM. Waiting to upgrade my mac until issues resolved.

Does make me wonder if the problem is outside of just Leopard...

[kingswood6]

Well if v10.5.3 doesn't make it right--really right, Apogee is going to have to take some corrective action *pronto*. Whether it be releasing their own drivers combined with a downloadable firmware update, replacement units that work, or refund checks.

$2,000 is not chump change. I'll bet there's no regulatory agency or congressional committee that would allow this to stand the way it is now.

[schmollywood]

Originally Posted by kingswood6

I doubt very much that anyone is making any deliberate false statements--I just don't think it's within their control.

That may be true, but wouldn't you inform your customers about huge flaws like this on your web page instead of fooling people with all the "total integration" bull.. advertising and on the other hand know that this is simply not true. Like I said Apogee is aware of this problem for several months now and haven't posted ANY info about this on their web site.

[sharky]

I can't believe this isn't fixed yet. I haven't used my rig in several months. Today a friend flew in from the east coast and I was giving him a little demo of Logic/Ensemble. Crash... crash... No biggie, keep the Ensemble on before boot. Well... switch projects... crash.... crash...

Not the best advertisement for Apogee. I understand the problem is most likely Apple's, and it is really too bad it makes Apogee look bad.

The idea of Ensemble integration with Apple is great, but in practice not so much. And if this is an issue now, I have to believe it will be EVERY revision of the driver for the life of the product.

I'm pretty sure I gotta get rid of the Ensemble and get the Symphony system.

Mad bummer.

[kingswood6]

Originally Posted by schmollywood

That may be true, but wouldn't you inform your customers about huge flaws like this on your web page instead of fooling people with all the "total integration" bull.. advertising and on the other hand know that this is simply not true. Like I said Apogee is aware of this problem for several months now and haven't posted ANY info about this on their web site.

I agree fully. No matter where the problem lies, Apogee still goes along their merry way with the same advertising agency tag line.

You're right. Although they may make some of the finest converters on the planet, I will deal with them no more.

Regards,

Bill

[shazza007]

Has anyone seen this?
Apple updated Logic Tuesday to version 8.0.2, a maintenance update that addresses scores of issues. While the [COLOR=#002244 ! important][COLOR=#002244 ! important]Software [COLOR=#002244 ! important]Update[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] release note says simply, "This Logic Pro 8.0.2 update addresses specific customer and compatibility issues of Logic Pro 8.0 and WaveBurner 1.5," the full Logic 8.0.2 patch notes on Apple's support site list more than a 100 bug fixes and other changes.
The update is 135MB, and can be downloaded through Software Update. The release notes also specify that if you are running Logic Node on multiple computers, that each node will have to be updated separately.

Just wondering if it will have anything in there that addresses our situation with the firewire bug.

[lean]

Nah, I think we're stuck waiting for the MacOS 10.5.3 update. Should be out by the end of next month. Hopefully sooner though.

Now, if that doesn't fix the problem... the Ensemble is a pretty sturdy device. I'm sure attached to a nice solid chain and swung around in the air violently it would serve as a decent weapon.

[seanmcarthur]

Apogee Announces New Software for Ensemble and Duet

Apogee Electronics is pleased to announce the release of new software for both Ensemble and Duet, available for download from the Apogee website at:

Ensemble Update>

Duet Update>


In order to download, your Apogee login is required.
If you do not have a login please create an account and register your product.

------------------------

New features and resolved issues that are included in the updates are as follows:


Ensemble

New Features - Apogee Maestro Software:

• Euphonix EuCon compatibility - it's now possible to control several Maestro parameters such as input controls, output levels and mixer settings from EuCon-compatible hardware
• Encoder pop-ups - front panel encoder selections and level changes are displayed in an OS X style "pop-up", similar to OS X pop-ups for volume control and display brightness
• Auto Launch - A preference now offers Autolaunch of the Maestro application when an Ensemble is detected

Resolved Issues:

• Kernel panic issues resolved with Apple Firewire audio driver v. 242-4-7
• 176.4-192kHz conversion now operates consistently across all revisions.
• Core Audio latency correction now works as expected
• SPDIF Optical connections with Macs now supported at 96kHz
• HP2 muting issue is resolved
• Implemented a work-around to avoid a jump in output level when opening Steinberg audio applications
• General stability has been enhanced

------------------------

Duet

New Features - Apogee Maestro Software:

• Euphonix EuCon compatibility - it's now possible to control several Maestro parameters such as input controls, output levels and mixer settings from EuCon-compatible hardware

Resolved Issues:

• Kernel panic issues resolved with the Apple Firewire audio driver v. 242-4-7
• Implemented a work-around to avoid a jump in output level when opening Steinberg audio applications
• The pop-up now runs consistently

--------------------------------------
Sean McArthur
Apogee Electronics

[neophyte]

Mr. McArthur,

Wherever you are, you have my thanks. It works!

Andrew

[kingswood6]

Originally Posted by neophyte

Mr. McArthur,

Wherever you are, you have my thanks. It works!

Andrew

Try changing the sample rate, and then change it back again. (I still get panics).

I get panics sometimes (but less often) if I turn the unit off and on while the computer is running.

I can put the computer to sleep manually. Sometimes it wakes up *without a kernel panic* and sometimes the screen just stays dark.

The Steinberg volume reset volume is fixed--thanks. However, I get kernel panics when *restarting* Nuendo v4.1.3 (about half the time).

The on-screen Maestro volume display is nice.

Need to do more testing.

Regards,

Bill

Mac Pro Quad, 8G RAM, Leopard v10.5.2, Logic Pro v8.0.2, Nuendo v4.1.3

[neophyte]

I did the change thing back and forth from 96 to 44 to 96, no panics.

MacPro 8core 3GHz 16Gigs, 10.5.2, Logic 8.02, Ensemble.

Don't know why we're different.

[sharky]

Just installed it and messed around. No problems as of yet.

Switching Ensemble on/off, switching between L8 and C4. No problem. Opening and closing projects: NO worries.

Thanks Apogee!

[kingswood6]

That's good news!

I'll do some more testing, and maybe a reinstall.

Regards,

Bill

[kingswood6]

Reinstalled the new Apple firewire driver (not the firmware again).

**I'm kernel panic free!**

Good deal, Apogee!!

Thanks and regards,

Bill

[shazza007]

Yes. Installed everything as directed and no kernel panics. Switched bitrates, and bounced between Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro. Everything is working smoothly. Like it is supposed to!
Whew.

Sharon

[LotusMuzik]

I have experienced those *KP* issues as well here with my Ensemble and MP 2.8 8-core w/8GB Ram and OS 10.5.2.

I have updated both the FW driver and Ensemble firmware as per the May 22 Apogee Important Product updates. I no longer getting KP screen since then but got a NEW funny behavior from the Ensemble now.

Actually, when putting the MP to sleep for a while with Ensemble turned on, it looses its FW connection and switch to 'Sandalone Mode' (green status light) when I wake the MP up and it sticks with it. Even if I reboot the MP with the Ensemble on. So I have to turn it off and on before rebooting the MP...

I can still get some sound out of the Ensemble but Maestro bottons get half fronzen and I can hear some pops/fries noise from the ensemble. In fact, I have never seen that green light before since I have always used the Ensemble plugged into the FW port before.

Does anyone have the same issue with the recent new Apogee update package? Would the 6 to 9 pins FW connector fix it?

Regards,

Steve

[malditoyanki]

Stop putting your cpu to sleep.

[macleodgrant]

i think sleep should be avoided for serious workstations; some things just don't play nice with it

[Bill Hambone]

Has anybody experienced this Ensemble bug? When I try to adjust output levels in the Apogee control panel, the main out and both headphone icons pop up on the screen at once and start freaking out. The same thing happens when I try to adjust the volume in Maestro, all three output volumes zip around erratically when I try to adjust one of them. The only time it works properly is when using the volume knob on the front of the Ensemble.

I've downloaded this latest firmware update, should I uninstall and try again? Or should I call Apogee?

[synesthesian]

is there a fix yet for the external drives connected to 800 port?
mine was working for over a year now all of a sudden i can't use 800 ports cause ensemble wont work. i'm still sunning tiger. APOGEE WHY ISN'T THERE ANY INFORMATION ON YOUR WEBSITE ABOUT THIS?
anyone have any suggestions besides chaining drives through ensemble?
thanks

[drblank]

On Leopard, I was having Kernel panics, not with Apogee or anything, and it was the OS in my case and I just reinstalled the OS and voila. I think these updates might be fixing the problems. I think it was an Apple issue. I haven't had any more Kernel panics since then. Hopefully, you are fixing permissions on a regular basis? From my discussions with Apple, Kernel panics can usually mean file corruption and in some cases memory, or extreme cases, motherboard issues, but usually it is file corruption.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/images/smilies/thumb.gif