SPDIF LiveDrive Coax All Noise

cbreaker · Sep 13, 2009, 08:02 PM

Hi,

I've been using KX for years now on my trusty old SB0060 with the LiveDrive. I have it connected to a TASCAM digital mixer via a Coax cable from the LiveDrive to the SPFIF-A on the mixer. This has always worked wonderfully with KX. Sound quality is superb, no noise, it's great.

Well, recently (within the last six or eight months) I can't get anything but noise from the SPFIF. Whenever sound plays, I get a very, very loud "machine gun" type sound from the thing. This would happen from time to time over the past few years but usually if I just did a quick driver reinstall of the KX driver it would fix it. Not anymore.

So the card is very old (almost 10 years old) and the LiveDrive came with it. I have a feeling the card may have finally bit the bullet, but I wanted to see if this was a common type issue that I might be able to fix by doing something. Maybe it's a sample rate issue? The mixer can handle 44.1K and 48K 16-bit audio.

I also have a CT4830 with the LiveDrive connector but when I put it in, nothing seems to even detect the thing. Windows doesn't even see it, so I guess this card is toast (it's also dated 1999.)

Now, right now I'm using Windows 7 x64 but this was a recent development (just the last month.) Previously I was running Windows Vista x86, which is when the problem started occurring. I was hoping a new OS install would fix it but it did not.

I guess it's not the end of the world but I do love using the Mixer with Digital because it always just sounded to rich and full. The onboard AC97 audio on this board sounds very flat and it's very noisy. Not to mention that the KX driver is so badass I can't believe it. The KX DSP is a work of Magic.

cbreaker · Sep 13, 2009, 08:50 PM

Update: After looking around the forums a bit, and seeing all the stuff about 4GB RAM, I pulled 2GB RAM from the machine, and VOILA, my sound works perfectly once again. I guess I never put 2 and 2 together and figured out that when I put in the other 2GB RAM, it broke my sound. I guess I didn't connect the dots because I'd have this same problem from time to time in the past, and I probably didn't listen to anything for a few days after plugging in the extra RAM.

I also got the older CT4832 working with the LiveDrive, so it's nice to know I'll have that as a standby in case my SB0060 does actually break.

My god, it sounds so much better than the motherboard sound. So now I have to decide what's more important to me.. 4GB RAM, or better sound quality.

Tyrsonswood · Sep 13, 2009, 08:59 PM

The last beta was trying to resolve this issue among other things, but so far it seems it's not working yet. Stay tuned for any new versions, you could probably help test it out.

cbreaker · Sep 13, 2009, 09:24 PM

Yea I did try 49, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Ironically, if I had stayed on Vista, it's very possible the latest version would have fixed it (people seem to be having better luck in Vista over Windows 7.) I installed Windows 7 in part to see if it would fix my sound problem!

Oh well. At least now I know it's not a hardware problem.

Sep 13, 2009, 08:02 PM	#1
cbreaker DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	SPDIF LiveDrive Coax All Noise Hi, I've been using KX for years now on my trusty old SB0060 with the LiveDrive. I have it connected to a TASCAM digital mixer via a Coax cable from the LiveDrive to the SPFIF-A on the mixer. This has always worked wonderfully with KX. Sound quality is superb, no noise, it's great. Well, recently (within the last six or eight months) I can't get anything but noise from the SPFIF. Whenever sound plays, I get a very, very loud "machine gun" type sound from the thing. This would happen from time to time over the past few years but usually if I just did a quick driver reinstall of the KX driver it would fix it. Not anymore. So the card is very old (almost 10 years old) and the LiveDrive came with it. I have a feeling the card may have finally bit the bullet, but I wanted to see if this was a common type issue that I might be able to fix by doing something. Maybe it's a sample rate issue? The mixer can handle 44.1K and 48K 16-bit audio. I also have a CT4830 with the LiveDrive connector but when I put it in, nothing seems to even detect the thing. Windows doesn't even see it, so I guess this card is toast (it's also dated 1999.) Now, right now I'm using Windows 7 x64 but this was a recent development (just the last month.) Previously I was running Windows Vista x86, which is when the problem started occurring. I was hoping a new OS install would fix it but it did not. I guess it's not the end of the world but I do love using the Mixer with Digital because it always just sounded to rich and full. The onboard AC97 audio on this board sounds very flat and it's very noisy. Not to mention that the KX driver is so badass I can't believe it. The KX DSP is a work of Magic.

Sep 13, 2009, 08:50 PM	Thread Starter #2
cbreaker DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Re: SPDIF LiveDrive Coax All Noise Update: After looking around the forums a bit, and seeing all the stuff about 4GB RAM, I pulled 2GB RAM from the machine, and VOILA, my sound works perfectly once again. I guess I never put 2 and 2 together and figured out that when I put in the other 2GB RAM, it broke my sound. I guess I didn't connect the dots because I'd have this same problem from time to time in the past, and I probably didn't listen to anything for a few days after plugging in the extra RAM. I also got the older CT4832 working with the LiveDrive, so it's nice to know I'll have that as a standby in case my SB0060 does actually break. My god, it sounds so much better than the motherboard sound. So now I have to decide what's more important to me.. 4GB RAM, or better sound quality.

Sep 13, 2009, 09:24 PM	Thread Starter #4
cbreaker DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Re: SPDIF LiveDrive Coax All Noise Yea I did try 49, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Ironically, if I had stayed on Vista, it's very possible the latest version would have fixed it (people seem to be having better luck in Vista over Windows 7.) I installed Windows 7 in part to see if it would fix my sound problem! Oh well. At least now I know it's not a hardware problem.