ssl x-desk users - question about noise when monitor level is cranked

[otobianki74]

I'm always curious about noise floor on people's monitoring setups, just because I've worked hard in the past to get mine dead quiet. probably just an OCD thing.

I had the spl monitor thingy and I could crank that puppy all the way up and it would be super quiet. I now have an x-desk with the same monitors and patch bays and when I crank her to 11 (yes, it goes to 11!) I can hear a faint high pitched noise. sounds electrical in nature. seems to be the same amount of level coming out of both sides of the monitors. starts at around 7'ish and increases as it goes up.

does anybody else have a similar noise/experience with their unit? obviously this is analog gear so I'm sure a bit is to be expected, though I was hoping for none..

I don't have everything patched from the desk as well, so maybe it's a byproduct of this.

just curious, would love for users to chime in. I sent a note to SSL and they said to send it in if it was unacceptable. they didn't really answer my question regarding if it was normal to experience some sound.

I just got this back after sending it to the UK for almost a month after it was damaged during shipping, so I'm so not to keen on sending it out again. it's the center of my studio and, ummm, it would be hard to manage without it.

thanks users!

uri

[NathanEldred]

Just out of curiousity, would the sound out of the speakers blow earsdrums and move teeth if you hit play when the monitor is cranked that high?

[otobianki74]

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

Just out of curiousity, would the sound out of the speakers blow earsdrums and move teeth if you hit play when the monitor is cranked that high?

hell yeah, it's on 11! though I can't vouch for it.

I get where you're going with this... I guess it's the nature of the sound which I'm wondering about, but also if others have the same thing going on. don't accidentally hit play when you're testing this!

thanks.

uri

[otobianki74]

any x-desk users who can chime in?

I'm generally curious as this might be symptomatic of the damage which occurred during shipping (though SSL has since fixed the unit). also, there are a few other quirky things happening with regard to crosstalk.

thanks.

oto

[PTP]

I have an X-Desk and I heard this noise as well, however my monitor level never exceeds 2, it's on 1 most of the time so for me it's no problem.

If you need to listen on such a high level as you indicate, there are most likely other problems in your recording or you hearing.

[otobianki74]

Originally Posted by PTP

I have an X-Desk and I heard this noise as well, however my monitor level never exceeds 2, it's on 1 most of the time so for me it's no problem.

If you need to listen on such a high level as you indicate, there are most likely other problems in your recording or you hearing.

cool thanks.

no problems with my recordings, but thanks for your logical assumption. as mentioned, I don't listen at 11 (cranked)... I was doing tests.

[Louie S]

I do get a little bit of noise if i have the monitor section cranked all the way up on mine, but I think anything you use for monitoring will let off some sort of noise when volumes that high. I'm usually in the 2-4 range and never had any issues.

[otobianki74]

thanks!

[TonyR]

I do too get a little noise, but normaly listen between 2-4.

But mine crackle on the right side when I turn the monitor knob.

My local dealer send my unit back to SSL to get rid of that problem I think 9-10 month ago.......!!!?????

They give me another unit for that time and it has the same problem!!!

[Hypnotik]

Mine also crackle but on the left channel (sometimes it's loud as hell)...Glad to know i'm not alone...i've cleaned the monitor pot with a contact cleaner, now the crackle is more in a random fashion than before...
I can't send my unit to SSL...don't have any backup...out of warranty

They're selling spare parts on their website
Solid State Logic | Store
I don't find the monitor section pot...anybody got an idea ? Same as channel pot?

[Louie S]

How long did you guys own your X-Desk before you got any noise? I've only owned mine for about 4 months so it's still pretty new.

[Hypnotik]

3 years ago in my case

[otobianki74]

I have no crackle noise in terms of when I turn the volume knob, but mine is relatively new (or has been serviced).

I was referring to a baseline electrical type hum when the volume knob is cranked all the way coming from my speakers. probably normal from what I can tell. considering normal listening is going on around the 2-3 range (or even a bit lower).

otz

[Hypnotik]

the hum is totally normal indeed when the volume is cranked to the max (same here)

[otobianki74]

it seems my hum got quieter over time! interesting.. maybe a break-in period?

but dang now I have that scratchy pot, on the right side, especially when I first turn volume up/down at the beginning of the day.

I had to wait a month to get my x-desk after buying it as it was damaged in shipping, then another month before I had all the cables and desk built. now that I have everything wired this problem comes up. I can't wait another month to get this fixed as it's my main center/monitor section.

will e-mail ssl and see what they say. sounds like many people are having this issue. maybe they need to look for an alternative part.

other than that, happy with the x-desk!

oto

[madhermit]

My X-desk crackles on the right and sometimes left sides too. It's my second one and the first one had the same issue. The first one took about 6 months to show up, my new one about 1 month. VERY annoying.

Perhaps it's a dirty contact on the monitor?

[JoeStrange]

I just got mine in a few days ago and started testing it today.

My first test on a mixer is always to see whats happening at the noise floor without anything connected so I can rule the mixer itself out later on when I have everything connected and get hum problems. I do a very similar test to yours otobianki74, except I engaged the cue to mix and cranked that, I cranked the mix bus all the way up, I muted all channels and cranked the monitor all the way up.

Its really interesting to hear what goes on down that low, Especially when moving faders, Cutting and uncutting channels, Turning the pres up and down,Etc.... Really gives you a good idea of whats going on now and whats going to be problematic in the future.

I instantly noticed the hum, So I switched outlets, Then switched to a power conditioner, Then put a ebtech humX on the plug. The noise floor sounded the same no matter what I did except when I lifted the ground the hum jumped up about 20db. Notice I say HUM not NOISE. White noise is what I want when listening to the floor, not hum.

Man I sure I hope my monitor pot don't go bad anytime soon, I know this is a problem that Jim and Sam from SSL said was being fixed YEARS ago, What happened there?

I obviously noticed right off that its not the talk back mic that sucks, Its the fact that EVERYTHING resonates through the talk back mic and this includes hitting the damn T/B button! So every time I hit the button it goes CLICK CHING! The sound of the T/B button being pushed and unpushed captured by the mic itself ringing in my artists ear every time we need to talk, Not cool. Its even annoying at low volume.

I also noticed that the hum in the mix bus was very low on its own but when cue to mix is engaged the hum gets significantly louder. I also noticed when I push the cue to mix button at normal operating volume it makes a POP! , Does anyone else's xdesk do this, Is that normal?

I havent even listened to it yet and I already have a bad taste in my mouth, It feels cheap and simple functions like pushing a button are making pops,clicks and chings!? And to top it all off countless users complaining about the monitor pot going bad after 3 months to 3 years use!? So I can pretty much count on that happening to me as well. I spent 2800 USD, What? I cant get a decent potentiometer included in that somewhere?


I'm thinking to myself, is this a new mixer or a 20 year old one? This thing might be on its way back to Vintage King as fast as I drove to Ferndale to pick it up.

Jim and Sam please defend it, I have worked on SSL consoles for a long time and this thing is really seeming like a piece of crap to me. Even worse I recommended it to another project studio that's being built right now. Yes before hearing it because I have that kind of faith in SSL.

The layout seems SSL, but the quality!? EH.

[Louie S]

So now I've owned my x-desk for a year or so and I do get noise or crackle sometimes in my monitors when adjusting the monitor level in my x-desk. It doesn't matter what level my monitors are at you just have to turn the knob to get a crackle. Other than that I'm still a happy user but it does get annoying.

[madhermit]

This is the 4th unit I have tried, and they have all exhibited the same problem to one degree or another. This one is the worst. I have uploaded a video to YouTube of the problem. Each time I move the control, the sound gets softer.

SSL X-Desk Noisy Monitor Level control - YouTube

1. The noisy control is the blue MONITOR LEVEL pot.
2. The noise does NOT come through the headphone jack.
3. It is noisier on the right output than the left. The left has noise too though.
4. If you move the MONITOR LEVEL pot all the way up and down 10+ times, it seems to clean it out and the noise pretty much goes away until the next day, when it comes right back.
5. This is the exact same problem my first unit had. It has been getting steadily worse from day 1. My room has a filtered air duct, which is usually closed anyway, and my mixer is covered when not in use. The room is vacuumed frequently. Other pots don't seem to have a problem.
6. I tried moving the speakers to the ALT LS outputs. Made no difference. The MONITOR LEVEL pot was still noisy.
7. If I switch the left and right speakers, the noisier sound moves to the left side.
8. I played with all the controls on the back of my powered speaker. They made no sound.
9. I tried an alternate XLR cable to go from the SSL to the speaker. No difference.

Maybe I am missing something, but I cannot figure out what else it could be other than the X-desk.

[otobianki74]

same prob on the right side as well. cranking the volume knob up and down cleans it out too, but it's annoying.

SSL, something's up... especially since people are having this problem primarily (or worse) on the right side. would love to hear your thoughts.

oto

[Louie S]

I forgot to mention mine is mainly on the right as well. When I first started getting the crackling sound I took my Monitor Level knob off and noticed its not centered properly and is pushed agianst the right side of the X-Desk's frame a bit. I attached a pic. I was thinking that was possibly causing it?

I have removed the rest of my knobs covers from my X-Desk and every other knob is centered properly and nothing else crackles. It's only the monitor control knob, which came shipped off centered.

Are the rest of your guys X-Desk's monitor level knob off centered a bit?

[otobianki74]

hey Louie S, how do you remove the knobs?

oto

[Louie S]

They just pull right off, you gotta use a bit of muscle they're on kind of tight.

[madhermit]

The loaner one I have seems fine.

[quadrafunk]

I noticed for the first time a very bad hiss when "Cue to Mix" button is engaged. Has anybody experienced anything like that?

I've been recording my inputs (mics, vocals, synths, ect...) in the ATL CHIP so I never used the cue to mix function. I decided the other day to bring in 8 additional channels from the daw and see how summing 16 would sound.

As soon as I engaged the "cue to mix" button there's an audible hiss in the right channel only. Turning up the "cue" gain makes it worse.

The thing I hate is that it's out of warranty. It had to have come like that out of the box because it's been racked since the day I got it and never been touched by anyone but me.

It's a bummer but I'll just have to deal with it. I hate sending things in for repair and the cost would be on me.

[madhermit]

SO I heard back from the SSL distributor here. They say my noisy Monitor Level pot is sort of a design issue. The way the circuit is designed, the pot gets a build up of static or something, that's why the noise that comes from using it doesn't sound like a traditional dirty pot, but has more of a softer sound to it. They said my unit was bad, but that it is how it is designed. They have sent me a new one.

My reaction is this...

This is SSL right? Isn't it supposed to be high quality? I find it baffling that the pot that is used the most makes SO much noise. I have had 4, they have all done it to some degree, and my last one got steadily worse. The impression I got from the distributor is that they will not swap it again. (To clarify, I have had 2 personal units, and 2 loaner units.)

My worry is that it will happen again. How can I be sure what I am monitoring isn't being compromised by the position of the pot?

I am currently seriously considering returning both the X-desk and X-panda. This is NOT an acceptable attitude from such a high end company. My faith in them has been kind of blown apart.

Anybody have any feedback? What would you do?

[otobianki74]

hmmm, that totally blows. not the response I'd like to hear as a customer.

that alone will seriously make me consider whether to continue down my mini ssl path. I built a custom desk, have two x-racks I'm slowly loading up, etc. I'm in it for a long term commitment. I just wished they were as well.

true, it's the most important knob, meaning used the most, and to have it futz out over time with no way to remedy it is stupid.

[madhermit]

Well, because I have an awesome dealer, they a going to help me out. I told them about how I feel that this is not acceptable from a high end company and they have agreed to give me most of my money back. I am bailing on SSL altogether. The guy helping me out was also coincidentaly at a dealer meeting and overheard another store/company talking about one of their customers with the same problem. He told them about my issues. It's a drag as I loved the setup, but I have zero confidence in them now. I was planning on buying their plugins too. A little communication can go a long way, but the distributor does not leave me feeling condfident. So I am moving on. I will upload the video I took to YouTube soon so people can hear the problem.

As a Gearslut, now I get to figure out a new rig, and who of us doesn't love doing that?

[Mr.HOLMES]

Thats funny noise in expensive SSL gear.My cheap Allen and Heath ZED 14 is dead silent when I crank the monitor level - I have to move my ear near to the monitors to hear a small noise floor.

Maybe the hiss is normal for this desk?

[otobianki74]

noise floor is probably normal.

the volume pots going bad are not. apparently an admitted design-flaw.