Arturia AudioFuse 16 Rig

[normanion]

Thank you for your thoughts on this.

I also have BiG SiX, but it is in different place, in different setup. The setup with BiG is my jam setup in my jam spot, which is used without computer and SiX provides lots of hands on control. And the headroom is impossible to describe.

I will add another con for 16Rig, that is important for me. That one USB for MIDI controller.

I actually found out that I forgot about my Push 3’s capability. I will try to bite my setup with two temporary options and see if they can become permanent. One will be XR18, but before that - I will connect my ADA8200 via ADAT to my Push 3 that is already in my setup. I might even hit two targets with one shot! Which means: use two devices via single USB-C (and that space is even more previous than physical space!).

Anyway, I am still having this internal draw toward 16Rig. Before it entered my field of awareness, I had to assign my OTO BIM as insert, but if I get enough outputs, I might have BIM as insert and also have some space for my Octatrack!

[Grumo]

Any comments on the 16rig issues? Are they solved?

[m0ld]

Mine, thankfully, seem to be resolved for now. The driver crashing, according to some users on the forums, just happens occasionally. That’s not the end of the world, as it only occurs after sleeping/waking the computer and it doesn’t affect standalone use. Hopefully that’ll get fixed with an update.

I’m not having the audio dropouts others have reported, with about 8 hours of total use so far.

My current relatively minor complaint is that the headphone output is very quiet. I need to turn the volume knob very high - just past noon - to hear things at my preferred volume, using the appropriate impedance setting for my headphones. I don’t think there’s a setting in the software that will fix this, but I can live with it.

[Grumo]

Thanks, and what about the monitor volume knob, does it work properly at low level?

[Grumo]

Is there an option to set different matrix configurations as scenes, snapshots, etc. to be able to change quickly the routing in standalone mode or with the phone?

[Robleighton22]

You can save presets. I have one where the monitors are set to the USB outs so I can hear via my DAW and one where I use the analog outs so I can directly monitor my instruments standalone. pretty nice and easy.

I was getting drop outs but agree seems to be when switching to my laptop at the start of a session rather than mid session. But I actually worked in Ableton for a solid 3 hours with no issues. So hopefully drivers can sort the issue permanently in the future.

I believe my recording issues I had are down to my MPC 4k sync not being tight enough through the DAW. So I need to experiment getting this right - I don’t think the Audiofuse is to blame here.

[Grumo]

Happy to hear that!

And what about the volume knob problem, can it be used at low levels?

[m0ld]

@Grumo

Thanks, and what about the monitor volume knob, does it work properly at low level?

Honestly I don’t know, I only use headphones. Sorry!

[Grumo]

That’s the only thing that is stopping me to pick it (and selling my Xone:96 LOL), I’ll use headphones but monitors at low levels as well.

[Grumo]

Would you recommend connecting the main output of a mixer to the rear inputs or to the front ones with preamps? Would it have sense?

[m0ld]

I think you’d be fine using either pair. If you’ll be moving the mixer to another location or unplugging it frequently the front will be more accessible. Otherwise I’d use the back to keep things tidy.

[Grumo]

Thanks m0ld .

[Robleighton22]

I don’t believe I have any volume issues monitors or headphones.

[tmoore]

I just did some testing of the volume knob, and I can confirm the behaviour that @sentionaut62 reported originally: at the very lowest setting (labelled -60.0 dB) it is silent, but one tick up it is audible.

I don’t see this as a fault, though. It just seems like Arturia has designed it so that the output is totally cut at the lowest setting, rather than just attenuated, as many people would probably expect. It would be better if it was labelled -Inf at the lowest setting, like Ableton does, but I expect that it is working as designed.

The other “problem” is that the outputs are just specced loud! Again, I think this is as designed and arguably a good thing. The fact that cheaper audio interfaces are quieter may just mean they are using lower quality components. I won’t pretend to know everything that goes into these decisions, but if you check the specs for the Focusrite vs. the 16Rig, it says that the maximum output for the Focusrite is 18dBu and for the 16Rig is +24dBu, so IIUC that means that the 16Rig has twice the output level.

I used to use both a Focusrite Scarlett interface and a Tascam Model 12 mixer, swapping my monitors between the two. I found that the Model 12 was much louder than the Scarlett, and I had to set my monitors to attenuate by something like -12 dB to get a usable range on the master fader of the mixer, and then crank up the volume on the Scarlett. The Model 12 main output is specced at +22 dBu max. The new MOTU 828 outputs are +21. I think Focusrite interfaces are maybe just quiet.

If the minimum level is too much for your monitors, and they have the ability to attenuate their input, that’s one good solution.

One thing I definitely recommend to all 16Rig users is to route your Monitor and Headphone outputs from the Main mixer rather than from the USB 1 & 2 sources as in the Factory configuration.

Then, add the USB 1-2 channels to the Main mixer page (labelled “Computer Sources” in the +/- Channels window), as well as any inputs that have external instruments attached:

This gives you the ability to control the level of your computer output in the mixer, and balance it with the instruments you have connected. It’s also the way to get direct monitoring of your instrument inputs while you record (or when you want to play them without using a DAW). You can also turn down the master fader here, if everything is too loud for your monitors.

It does seem to me that the Dim button cutting the signal if it dims below -60 dB could be considered a bug. It’s probably worth reporting that to Arturia to see if they can fix that in a firmware update.

[Robleighton22]

Will have to try this!

[Grumo]

The problem then is that you couldn’t use the main knob as the monitor level, right?

Isn’t possible to lower the main level in the software?

[tmoore]

The main output level knob still works the same way in this configuration. It can also be controlled in AudioFuse Control Center—they do the same thing. It’s digitally controlled. The knob on the front is an endless encoder, so it’s just setting the same digitally controlled level that the software does.

[Grumo]

Great!

[sentionaut62]

This was super helpful, thanks so much for posting that.

[MurkyFreddery]

Got one of these yesterday. It’s great so far when connected to a computer but I just tried to use it standalone and failed miserably.
I’ve got just a keyboard and speakers plugged into the analog ports, and have routed the inputs to the main mix, so I can see the levels jumping on both the inputs and the main output. But how do I route the main output to the monitors? There’s a page under the outs button that says ‘USB-PLAY-1 -> OUT 1’, etc, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to change that. Am I being dumb, or do I have to connect a computer in order to tell it that I don’t want to use a computer?

Edit: the setting was easy to find in the software and save to a preset. That really threw me for a second though, seems mad to need a computer to activate standalone mode

A way to use the front buttons to quick switch presets would be useful in a firmware update.