MADIXtreme Help?

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I've been running into issues with my SSL Alphalink MADI AX for a few month and am wondering if the issue is with the MADIXtreme PCIe card. I get random clicks when tracking. If I'm tracking 24 channels simultaneously the click will appear across all channels at the same location. I've tried every clocking option available and seem to have ruled out issues there. Strangely, if I also use any of the ADAT expansion ports and get a random click it will be present on tracks running through the SSL AD (channels 1-24) and the ADAT channels (25-32). Considering that the ADAT is doing it's own conversion it seems odd that clicks would happen at the exact same time there and in the SSL converters.
The other issue i'm having is that every week or two when I boot up the system it won't see the MADI card. I have to shut down, open the computer and reseat the card to get it going again.
All of this is making me wonder if my card is starting to go. Anyone here running a similar system? Any suggestions?

[alexdingley]

I don’t own one of these, so I can’t speak to exact experience, but from other similar situations (apogee symphony pcie) I think your troubleshooting is pretty sound.

If you have the means to try this, maybe it’s worth buying a used MADI extreme pcie on eBay/reverb & trying it out. They are super cheap these days.

[digitaldrummer]

if I also use any of the ADAT expansion ports and get a random click it will be present on tracks running through the SSL AD (channels 1-24) and the ADAT channels (25-32). Considering that the ADAT is doing it's own conversion it seems odd that clicks would happen at the exact same time there and in the SSL converters.

assuming the Madixtreme is the master clock, and the converters are downstream, I think it does make sense that a clocking glitch would affect them all. Have you also checked the cable (I assume an optical cable) going from the card to the Alphalink? Make sure it's not kinked (which may damage it permanently) and that the optical connections didn't get dust/dirt in them, etc. not sure if that card logs any errors (that you can see) but if that link drops, it's gonna be a problem.

I had a Madixtreme connected to an Orion32 once a while back and I recall it being kind of finicky (which is why I no longer have it)

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I’ve tried it with the card as master clock and with the SSL as master clock (via wordclock). The glitches are the same either way and occur across all inputs (SSL and ADAT). The optical cable is new in the last year or so and undamaged.
I’ll dust the optical outlets just to be sure but I don’t expect cable issues would explain the card/computer losing connection every week or two. I suppose that could be a separate issue.

It’s a pain in the ass.
I’ve just ordered an new (old) card on eBay. I expect it will take weeks for delivery but I’ll report back when it arrives.

[alexdingley]

Best of luck on the test!

Also, it occurs to me that the PCIe slot / computer could be a potential factor. If your alternate card behaves the same way, you might see about trying a different PCIe slot in the same machine, or an alternate host machine (if possible.)

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Well, I've tried every PCI slot with no change. Hopefully it's not the computer!

[digitaldrummer]

are you running a PC or Mac? If PC, do you have a network interface enabled? If so, try disabling it while you record (if you can). I've seen Windows do weird stuff... and sometimes even weirder stuff.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Sorry, should have specified. Mac Pro

[digitaldrummer]

since they all use the same hardware underneath these days might still be worth a shot to disable the network and anything else that might be going on in the background if you can.

[Nick Sevilla]

Did you try looking on the SSL help site?

https://solidstatelogic.zendesk.com/hc/ ... -SX-Live-R

[Nick Sevilla]

I see it has those BNC word clock connectors in back.

Did you change the word clock cables, or only other ones?
I have had these go bad a few times over the years.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Thanks Nick. I'll try swapping the BNC.

I have gone though the SSL help pages without much luck. I've got an email in to them but no reply yet. I'm sure they're running on skeleton staff like everyone else at the moment

[alexdingley]

Curious how this panned out. Did you get things working properly again?

[A.David.MacKinnon]

My new card arrived last week. It's solved some of the problems but others persist.
The computer/Madi connection is solid now. The old card was dropping it's connection more and more frequently (like every day) forcing me to reseat the card every time it dropped. That's solved with the new card.
I'm still getting clicks across all SSL and ADAT channels though.
I've been in full time dad mode for the last couple of months and haven't had time to chase it down further.
My current guess is that it's the MADI cable or an internal computer process causing the spikes.

[cgarges]

Have you updated your recording software or iOs lately? The SSL MADI Xtreme stopped being supported by SSL in 2012. I ran into issues with this that ultimately led to me re-doing my entire system. The guys at SSL were absolutely zero help.

If it seems like it will be of any help to you at all, I still have my MADI Xtreme card and will sell it to you cheap.

Best of luck!

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC