NI Audio Kontrol 1 on MB

koneko · Post by **koneko** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:24 pm

hi all
wanted to share experience from my first days usage of NI Audio Kontrol 1, a USB audio interface. i use it on a macbook (see signature) , and got it after struggling between firebox and saffire/LE...

i took it because of the 3 assignable buttons + knob, the low price, the aluminum housing, my patriotism to berlin-designed products, supported by my tendency to take the newest product on the shelve (some call it self destruction) which not always proofed to be an advantage.

i will now say -- i've been massing around with DAW's for some years now, but am new to audio hardware.
so, the output sounds good to my ears
i experience strange freezing on Live with this box connected, but i still cant get what exactly causes it.
another strangeness (please tell me, is it normal??) when audio has to jump from total silence to anything louder, it FADES in, sometimes over 1-2 seconds. on all channels. some sort of protection feature..? i feel not comfortable with the idea it does that. i want my audio output to be able to rise up immediately from silence to loud sound. am i asking for too much ??
box well built. overall rugged for the price.
the assignable knob and buttons are a little-big catchy feature which i fell in love with. you can assign it to perform some regular keyboard functions, and its very straight forward to edit with the software given. works also with itunes and many other apps. the big knob functions great as a scroll button, as you can assign the left/right/up/down keyboard arrows to it.

haven't yet tried recording with it.

i was searching for some records on AK1 on this board but couldnt find any.

i was really hoping to find a good firewire interface.. i have a 30 day full money-back warranty from thomann and still not sure if i should give it back due to those strange freezing of Live and get firebox instead.

any idea, another good/bad experience to share ?

greetings
sh-i

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:47 pm

It's NI's first or second audio interface. It's a big gamble to buy hardware from that company.

I'd return it and get something more stable and known.
Personally i would go with a MOTU ultralite or a RME fireface.
These aren't the cheapest options. But I've learned that when it comes to audio interfaces, you get what you pay for.
MOTU and RME are well respected makers of audio devices. There's even a little market that specializes in customizing these devices for users. (3rd party mods)

adrianalex · Post by **adrianalex** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:38 pm

Hi guys, going to Hong Kong soon and need to know if I should buy this. I ordinarily live in Shanghai, where gear is insanely expensive, so buying a Digidesign MBox2 Pro for studio and portable work, but need the AudioKontrol 1 for djing.

Does it work okay with a Macbook Pro for djing? Will I see the same probs hoffman2k saw? What are alternates, since the Mbox won't have a/b switching. I need a good cheap interface for djing...

I have heard Motu drivers for intel macs suck. was going to buy traveller but my engineer friends say go with Mbox...

any thoughts?

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:48 pm

I have an AK1 and have had an overall positive experience with it with Ableton Live. I haven't put the control surface element to much use, but did test the knob out for a while and it mapped fine.

As for the volume fade issue, someone also mentioned this on the NI user forum, was that you? I wonder if maybe your USB bus isn't providing enough power, or if perhaps it's powering up slowly after some sort of sleep state. Maybe playing with power management settings on that port would help.

Wish I could be more specific. Your best bet is to contact NI support, but I know they're not usually the quickest bunch.

adrianalex · Post by **adrianalex** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 8:18 pm

sorry if I didnt spell your name right-- are you using the AK1 with a macbook pro or macbook?

makes a difference...
thanks

koneko · Post by **koneko** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:07 pm

hey mbenigi.. i didnt start the topic in NI forum, but joined it. was it you that said it got to be a USB issue ?

maybe you're right.
do you use it on mac from any kind?
it will fade in ALWAYS from no-sound to yes-sound

NI support are also very slowly responding.

an over all slowness is what i experience here with NI

koneko · Post by **koneko** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:14 pm

ok.. it seems that this topic got hotter on the NI boards --
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum ... hp?t=44811

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:30 pm

Apologies, I should have specified. I am running a Windows laptop.

If NI is now acknowledging a firmware discrepancy, that's definitely the lead to chase!

difference · Post by **difference** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:13 pm

Yeah I was just about to go out and buy one of these until I read about this bug.

I posted in that thread on the NI forums too.

Back to square 1. Is there really no decent USB interface out there?

All I need is 2 inputs, 4 outputs, and to be able to record and playback at 24 bit / 88.2khz quality at the same time.

tomperson · Post by **tomperson** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 5:29 pm

I'm on the same boat. Damn NI, the AK1 seems SO SWEET...in the specs at least. WHY CAN'T YOU MAKE IT RIGHT!!!

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I want one badly, but those problems in NI forums are scary. Nevertheless, if it's "as easy" as a firmware upgrade, it should be stable in the near future...

koneko · Post by **koneko** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:16 am

i sent mine back. but just got to know that a firmware update is already there. maybe fixed the problem

NI Audio Kontrol 1 on MB

NI Audio Kontrol 1 on MB

help soon need to know if I should buy!

mbengni