27th February 2012
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#1 | | Gear interested
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 9
Thread Starter | AKAI EIE PRO does NOT have inserts
Picked up one of these and in the user guide it has a picture of how to use the inserts. Balanced 1/4" TRS to two 1/4" TS jacks used for outboard gear. Pretty standard.
On the last page of the manual the schematics show an insert after the preamps and before the usb bus but no insert outputs on the output section, (and the insert part of the I/O setup in Pro Tools 10 only shows mono/mono on insert 1&2 and mono/mono on insert 3&4 so it is missing in the software AND hardware).
SO - I could not get audio out of the inserts using a TRS cable I could only go in. The workaround is to come out of the speaker outputs and then into the insert.
Did they not put balanced jacks in the unit for inserts? Is it the firmware or driver? Or is it a design flaw that someone missed? I can't really believe the latter unless no one tested the unit before shipping - sounds impossible but I guess crazier things have happened.
So I'll probably be returning my unit and watching for an updated version or going with a different product altogether.
As for other observations there is no output control for outputs 3&4 which is annoying since I still have to use my A/B box for switching between monitors, (but it's cheap), also the V/U meters are a nice thing to have but they're loose, rattling around and probably will fall out soon, (but again it's cheap).
But the false advertising is what gets me. They say the unit has inserts but it clearly does not. If someone could prove me wrong on this I'd be happy and love to hear about it.
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27th February 2012
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#2 | | Gear nut
Joined: Sep 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 87
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That's a pretty big claim you're making.
What platform and DAW are you using?
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27th February 2012
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#3 | | Gear nut
Joined: Sep 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 87
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I have my EIE Pro hooked up right now with an insert on the 1st channel. Everything is working great.
AT4040 --> CH1 Input (+48V)
CH1 Output --> V-Verb Pro Input
V-Verb Pro Output --> CH1 Insert
Set on 'Mono', Headphone 'Select All', Monitor 'In', Listening on my K701's  | |
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27th February 2012
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#4 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Dec 2009 Location: Aurora, CO
Posts: 219
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I'm trying to understand what you're saying. As I recall, the Akai claims is that there is an insert point for each of the 4 inputs so that you can patch in a compressor/EQ/whatever during recording. There are no inserts available for the ouputs.
It sounds like you're trying to get USB playback to go out of the insert points, but they're part of the input section, not output. If you tap one of those inserts, you should get the sound of whatever is plugged into the corresponding input on the front panel.
Let me know if I'm wrong.
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27th February 2012
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#5 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Nov 2011 Location: Durham, UK
Posts: 956
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From the above, it's sounding like the insert points aren't proper inserts as the term is normally used. A "proper" TRS insert socket is usually both an output (send) and an input (receive) on the same jack and plugging something into it effectively breaks the signal flow through the corresponding channel and routes it through the connected hardware (whatever that happens to be) before returning it to the channel at the point where it left, more or less.
If you have to send through one of the interface's normal outputs and the "insert" purely acts as an input, then I'm not sure I'd call it an insert at all. Not by the normal definition of the term anyway. Not sure what you would call it though (well, other than a design cock-up perhaps?)
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27th February 2012
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#6 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,673
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JJ500 - Are you sure you don't have a fundamental misunderstanding of what insert points are supposed to be? Some of your statements don't make sense ...
The insert jacks on the rear will be TRS ... they are not "balanced" ... they are mono out and mono in, just sharing the same jack to save space. You can't use a TRS cable ... you have to get a very specifically wired TRS to TS (x2) cable.
The signal flow will be this: microphone input > internal Mic preamp > mono insert OUT > your unbalanced mono external analog chain > mono insert IN > internal ADC ...
When you say you can get any audio OUT ... were you putting any audio IN (to the mic preamp input?)
There is absolutely no need for "insert points" on the DAC outputs, because the Out is already Out ...
So if you were wanting to send digital audio Out to interface with analog and then back in again, you just use the Outs and Ins ... no need for Inserts.
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27th February 2012
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#7 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,673
| Quote:
Originally Posted by adrianww  From the above, it's sounding like the insert points aren't proper inserts as the term is normally used. A "proper" TRS insert socket is usually both an output (send) and an input (receive) on the same jack and plugging something into it effectively breaks the signal flow through the corresponding channel and routes it through the connected hardware (whatever that happens to be) before returning it to the channel at the point where it left, more or less.
If you have to send through one of the interface's normal outputs and the "insert" purely acts as an input, then I'm not sure I'd call it an insert at all. Not by the normal definition of the term anyway. Not sure what you would call it though (well, other than a design cock-up perhaps?) | I'm not sure this is correct either ...
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27th February 2012
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#8 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,673
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Just looked at the manual ... it clearly shows the special Y cable being used in the conventional insert method ...
It doesn't make sense to expect to send digital audio to this interface and get it out of the insert point - digital audio has to come out of the DAC outputs ...
Connect a mic into this interface, and then see if you can insert a line level effect and record that ... that's how this is supposed to be used.
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27th February 2012
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#9 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Nov 2011 Location: Durham, UK
Posts: 956
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiwi I'm not sure this is correct either ... | No, I'm pretty sure that you and I are talking about the same thing, I just didn't explain myself very well. I'm talking about inserts where the TRS jack has the signal output from the channel on the tip and the return from the insert on the ring (or vice-versa if the manufacturer happens to use ring-send/tip-return wiring). Inserting something into the insert breaks the signal flow through the channel so that it can be fed out to your external whatever, whence it returns back into the channel. All done using a Y-cable (single TRS to pair of TS) as you said.
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28th February 2012
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#10 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Dec 2009 Location: Aurora, CO
Posts: 219
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Sounds like we're getting clearer. So you have a stereo-to-dual mono cable, right? And you're plugging the stereo side into the insert jack for input one? Then the two mono connectors will go into whatever outboard device you have - one for input and one for output. Now when you connect a mic or guitar to the front panel input one, the sound should go through the preamp, then out to the outboard gear and then back into the EIE and finally over the USB bus and out of the outputs (if you have the direct monitor knob adjusted properly). Did I describe what you're doing? That's the way it's SUPPOSED to work.
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6th March 2012
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#11 | | Gear interested
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1
| EIE Inserts
1/4" insert points are TRS ports which handle one unbalanced input and one unbalanced output using a single port. The EIE Pro conforms to the normal use, terminology and function of these ports.
Check out this video that walks you through connecting equipment to the EIE Pro's Insert points: Using Insert Points - Akai EIE Pro and the Alesis 3632 - YouTube | |
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6th March 2012
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#12 | | Gear nut
Joined: Sep 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 87
| Quote:
Originally Posted by NyahMusic 1/4" insert points are TRS ports which handle one unbalanced input and one unbalanced output using a single port. The EIE Pro conforms to the normal use, terminology and function of these ports.
Check out this video that walks you through connecting equipment to the EIE Pro's Insert points: Using Insert Points - Akai EIE Pro and the Alesis 3632 - YouTube | Now it's very clear. Thanks!
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