Finally had a chance to plug and play with my new Xone DX. All seems to be in working order - status lights, meters, tracks analyzed, playing, audio out and headphones, looping, effects, etc, etc… all in good order.
However… sound seems to be cutting in and out. (drop out - technical term?)
I simply plugged into my HP laptop AMD Turion X2 dual-core 2GHz 32-bit (2GB RAM; 250 GB HD, running Vista), and I am fully aware of all the issues with Serato software and AMD processors… I just thought I would give it a shot.
Is there something I need to adjust within my computer settings? Itch itself (gains)? Is the Itch 1.6 software that came with it no conducive? Should I d/l another version (updated)?
I have done nothing other than plug-n-play using the online Xone DX tutorials on Youtube.
Looks like it’s a latency issue. Open your itch software and go to the setup tab and raise the latency bar up until the drop outs stop. You could also try to update to a new itch software (2.1)
you should update to 2.1, always get the latest updated software. Could be the AMD problem which may be fixed and sounding better in 2.1 or it may be a latency issue which you can adjust in settings. Turn off wireless internet, even go into device manager and disable the LAN card.
The AMD issue is not fixed. They don’t support it. They’ve suggested plugging something in the adjacent usb port, and that may help the drops, but it’s not guarantee.
You might try to crank up the latency, as with an older machine with 2 gigs of RAM and Vista might give you problems (depending on how hosed your machine is), but any AMD chip is definitely not supported.
It’s definitely worth downloading 2.1, for the improvements alone, but try pushing the latency. Who knows, it might work. They haven’t narrowed down which chipsets are the problems (maybe they know but haven’t said anything?), so it’s hard to tell you how an intel chip set would behave all other things equal.
They probably haven’t done the necessary testing to narrow down which chips and series cause the issues, but they certainly make it a point to disclaim that they don’t support AMD chipsets. Maybe they fixed it with 2.1 and haven’t updated their information? THat would be nice. I have a lenovo with an AMD chip I just picked up that I’m considering putting Itch on it. Just out of curiosity, you said you didn’t like it, did you really put it through it’s paces when you were using it? Like hours of playing with 4 decks and effects?
I still even get the occasional hiccup on my MBP so I’d be curious to know if there really are issues how liveable they are (in actuality none should be, but since I don’t leave my basement I can deal).
Since we last spoke, I have done nothing. Just turned on laptop, pluged in Xone DX, loaded Deck1 and Deck 3 for two deck mixing. Started track, drop out. We all know this already…
Per Gemini’s suggestion, I plugged in another USB in opposite slot on laptop as well.
Per Moss and Gemini suggestion, I tweaked the latency which was set as a default of 10 (scale 1-20). Turning up to 20 made it worse, so I gradually went down the scale until I arrived at the opposite end of the spectrum, and 1 seemed to work.
I left it on this setting, put Sync on, played Deck 1 track, looped it out, added a HPF on it as I brought in Deck 3 track (low EQ kill). Left loop running while new track played for about 45 seconds, fading out… drop out begins. I check both decks to make sure the drop out was consistent across both and it was. Adjusted the latency up incrementally, and nothing better came of it.
NEXT STEP: Download newer version (2.1). Stay tuned…
I forgot one of the key steps mention from many was to turn off the Internet/LAN hub. Did so, and was mixing for what seemed like 25 minutes… man, sorry, LOL… got lost in the music! It was sounding great. I went to put Reverb on a track’s outro and drop out.
I got some other messages from my HP system check, but couldn’t click on it to see what was up as Itch completely froze on me. Literally two songs were shown spinning, however no status lights on hardware and no waveforms on software. Weird. Ultimately had to cold boot.
NOW my next step will be software upgrade.
Fingers crossed.
well… good news is if need be, I have about two weeks left to return the unit.
ultimately, I need a new laptop anyways, especially if I am to eventually use Traktor Pro 2, which has yet to be decided, as the laptop I do have would not satisfy the specs on that software.
I do think however it is a software issue or computer related, not an issue with the hardware. Like I was saying, was mixing fine for easily 20+ minute prior to sound drops. Based on my technological experience, this tells me it is not hardware but software based, and seeing that AMD processors are no friend to Itch software, using with my current laptop was a gamble anyways.
S2 is a fine unit. I wish to stick with my DX, but have the luxury of returning it if need be.
The Audio Drop out seems to nearly always occur the second I select “Reverb” in my effects section. I have noticed this that last two times I have mixed.
My computer at the school I teach at has a Intel duo-core 2 processor with plenty of memory. I brought in the Xone DX and installed Itch 1.6 (CD included), then upgraded to Itch 2.1.
Played one track, noticed some minor sound issues, adjusted Latency from 10 to 5. Worked like a charm after that for 1 hour. Oh, and the students enjoyed it as well! Especially the loop cutter with the filter. LOL.
So… clearly the AMD processor I own is not going to work.
Now onto finding a computer to use. It will need to be able to handle Itch and Traktor, if I move that direction.
