Xr18 random usb failure

M/X Air Digital Mixer Series
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jgremmoss
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2022 9:26 pm

Xr18 random usb failure

Post by jgremmoss »

Hey everyone my first post here but I don't know where else to look

My band mate just finished construction on a studio in his house with the intention of recording a live group album. Our interface of choice was the xr18, as it was affordable and easy to use. We're running 16 of the 18 available channels simultaneously and 4 monitor mixes out of the auxes. The computer was initially a 2013 mac pro, and we're running ethernet control of the mixer from the mac.

Our issue started when we tried simultaneously tracking 16 channels on the computer. It recognized the USB device in logic and we had no problems with the actual tracks, but the computer really didn't have the ram or processor to track that many tracks at once and control the mixer at the same time, so we upgraded to a 2017 mac pro with 4x the ram and a much faster processor.

Upon first startup, the computer doesn't recognize the USB device at all. We figured this was due to a driver incompatibility issue and switched back to the 2013 mac. That computer, that only moments before was talking to the mixer now won't recognize it either. We tried multiple cables, different outlets even, and neither computer will recognize it as a USB device of any type.

It's essentially useless to us now and it would be fairly difficult and expensive to buy several interfaces and aggregate them for the same flexibility, so is there anything I can do to fix it? Is this a firmware issue or am I looking at a hardware failure? I'll replace it if I have to but I would really rather keep it as the rig is already set up. It still does the job as a mixer but we're not running a pa atm so if I need to move it along please tell me.

Any ideas?
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pvannatto
Posts: 1330
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 3:48 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Xr18 random usb failure

Post by pvannatto »

Hi @jgremmoss, welcome to the forum. Are you plugged into a USB 3 port on the mac by chance? The XR18 uses USB 2.0 and doesn't always work well with USB 3 or with a USB hub.
Paul Vannatto
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kmitchell
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2021 6:15 pm

Re: Xr18 random usb failure

Post by kmitchell »

@jgremmoss All Macs since 2012 only have USB3.0 ports so I don't think that's the issue. When you say "not recognized" do you mean in Logic or looking in Audio/MIDI Setup? If both, then I'd suggest examining the USB port on the mixer. I've had problems when dust/dirt/etc getting into the USB port when a cable wasn't plugged in. Also, give it a little wiggle to see if it seems loose. There's been a problem in the past with that port where the solder joints get cracked. Is the mixer still in warranty?
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