One of my MOTU 828 hybrid Mark 3 sound cards has started producing intermittent audio – approximately one second of music followed by one second silence. I’ve tried the obvious things – rebooting the PC, turning the MOTU off then on, then rebooting the PC again. The fault remains. If this was pure audio I’d suspect a loose connection, but the MOTU is connected to the PC by Firewire; and usually if a digital connection is intermittent it’s accompanied by loud exploding noises as the stream moves in and out of synchronisation.
If the audio output connection was loose I’d expect it to affect one channel only, but it affects both sides of a stereo channel. Also, said MOTU is connected by Firewire to a second identical unit, to which it supplies a word-clock; but that second unit’s sync light is flashing (at 48). When everything's working properly that light is steady.
Should I try a Factory Reset as described on the MOTU website? “Press the Param/Setup knob until the LCD screen reads "828X SETUP" (or equivalent). The LCD screen will quickly flash to "LCD CONTRAST". Turn the Param/Setup knob all the way to the right. The LCD screen will read: "Factory Defaults Press [Value]". Push the Value knob. The LCD screen will display "Are you sure? Push [VALUE]". Push the Value knob again to confirm. The LCD screen will read: "Initializing...". The clock LED will flash when reset is complete.
Can scrambled software within the unit survive turning off then on? Windows Device Manager shows Inputs and Outputs on both MOTU units as present and correct. I’m using the Main Outs for audio. Any other thoughts? Thanks!
If the audio output connection was loose I’d expect it to affect one channel only, but it affects both sides of a stereo channel. Also, said MOTU is connected by Firewire to a second identical unit, to which it supplies a word-clock; but that second unit’s sync light is flashing (at 48). When everything's working properly that light is steady.
Should I try a Factory Reset as described on the MOTU website? “Press the Param/Setup knob until the LCD screen reads "828X SETUP" (or equivalent). The LCD screen will quickly flash to "LCD CONTRAST". Turn the Param/Setup knob all the way to the right. The LCD screen will read: "Factory Defaults Press [Value]". Push the Value knob. The LCD screen will display "Are you sure? Push [VALUE]". Push the Value knob again to confirm. The LCD screen will read: "Initializing...". The clock LED will flash when reset is complete.
Can scrambled software within the unit survive turning off then on? Windows Device Manager shows Inputs and Outputs on both MOTU units as present and correct. I’m using the Main Outs for audio. Any other thoughts? Thanks!