Octatrack MK1 Headphone output only working when halfway plugged in

jozoo · 2023-11-26T19:28:24.256Z

Hello Elektronauts, first time poster here.
As of this morning my octatrack headphone jack only works when the headphones are halfway plugged in. When plugged all the way in, I can only hear mid and high range frequencies, no bass. I’m wondering if this is something elektron or another third party would fix? Or is it something simple I could potentially fix at home? I’ve never worked with the internals of a drum machine so I definitely don’t want to attempt it and break the machine entirely.

Clancy · 2023-11-26T19:36:49.854Z

Sure it’s not a mono plug on the headphones? Probably not but I guess you might have an adaptor on there

Clancy · 2023-11-26T19:37:15.925Z

Try another headphones if possible anyway

shigginpit · 2023-11-26T19:56:15.365Z

If the headphones are getting a signal in both ears when the plug is only half in, it’s probably a duplicate (dual mono) of the left channel. You can test this by panning any sound hard right and see if it disappears when the plug is halfway in, that would confirm that what you’re hearing is the left channel in both ears. Basically, the side that disappears, you’re hearing the opposite side twice.

I’d look at the headphone cable first, if it’s a fixed cable (hardwired to the cans) I would also suggest trying an alternate pair of headphones before starting to diagnose the machine itself.

I might also turn the volume up and down a few times and see if that changes anything, if I remember correctly the volume pot on OT attenuates for the headphone output only. Don’t blow your ears out by playing something loud while you do it, but just testing to see if there are any spots where you get normal sound (could indicate a dirty or failing pot) also make sure you visually inspect your TRS plug (headphone cable end) on the OT side and make sure the tip and sleeve didn’t somehow become detached from each other (if they did you’ll need a new cable or if part of the headphones you’d need to replace them completely). I’ve also seen people have the headphone plug break inside of the jack and they aren’t aware because they just haven’t yet seen that the tip is broken off inside the thing.

I’d suspect the TRS headphone output on the machine last, but it’s possible it got jostled and a connection tab inside got bent, or the pcb connection broke a solder point or something. However, unless it’s loose or you hear a rattle, something that indicates directly that the problem is the output jack, I’d look at the other stuff first. That’s just me.

As far as repair, you could talk to an electronics repair or music shop and see if they have recommendations for someone local, or you could contact Elektron and schedule a service, but you would need to ship it to them, then they would quote you a repair cost after diagnosing the problem. If it’s MKI there’s no need to talk about warranty because it’s going to be over at this point.

Let us know how you fare with the cable or an alternate set of headphones and I’m sure someone can at least point you in a more specific direction with a bit more info on the table.

Ulysses · 2023-11-26T21:13:12.028Z

I don’t have an answer for your issue.
My first minutes listening to my brand new OT on headphones was bad. I then plugged the main to the mixer. It was fine. One of the 5 adaptors I got from Amazon was faulty.

Anigbrowl · 2025-04-29T00:47:20.300Z

Unrelated to previous problems, but is anyone aware of software problems impacting headphones?

I took my OT mk 1 to another room today and plugged in headphones, started working on a project. Everything was going fine until suddenly the right channel went silent while the music was playing. I was sitting still so there wasn’t any physical cause and I didn’t hear any crackling or static that I would expect if it was a solder issue. Panning stereo samples didn’t seem to make a difference, with mono samples the sound would disappear as I panned to the right. Restarted the OT a couple of times but it made no difference. The headphones are fine, I tried them in my laptop and everything was normal.

It’s not a huge issue as I don’t usually use headphones with my OT but it’s a problem. It’s weird to me that it just died silently and suddenly, and I’m worried about the cost/possibility of fixing it. Obviously it killed the creative vibe, I tried pulling the jack half way out and working in mono but now the project feels cursed

shigginpit · 2025-04-29T00:50:59.868Z

I’ve never heard of software impacting the stereo channel but anything is possible. If you turn the volume pot all the way up and back down with the power on and nothing playing, can you hear any crackling in the dead ear?

Have you confirmed since this incident that the stereo output of the L/R is still present and balanced from the main outs?

Anigbrowl · 2025-04-29T01:13:05.535Z

Yeah the main outs are fine. Turning volume all the way up/down with nothing playing is just dead silence in both headphone channels. I have to try loading a different project just in case but I’m not optimistic. I really can’t remember the last time I used headphones withe OT and it was very upsetting to have the sound just die like that with no warning.

I thought of software because my AR lost the sound in the right headphone cannel once a few weeks ago, but after switching it off for a few minutes it came back and has been fine since. These are new headphones and are replacing an older pair that I had to let go because, you guessed it, the right headphone speaker died (although in that case I think it was the cable, those cans had been through a lot). As you can imagine I’m a bit paranoid about this now.

shigginpit · 2025-04-29T01:23:19.155Z

I would be a bit paranoid too. Sucks man. Given the situation, you probably want to address the common OT issues as though it could be a software bug although probably unlikely. Load a new project just in case. If you have another memory card try it. If you don’t have another card, try powering on without the memory card inserted and check for improvement. Run the error test in the startup menu just in case, see if anything pops up.

Since OT has headphone volume independent of the outputs, and you checked for stereo output, we could say that the primary audio is unimpacted. I forget, aside from the main headphone volume and the stereo L/R pan, does OT have split panning or split audio for the headphones so you can hear the cue from A and B in L/R ears independently? If it does, be sure to check that.

I know you didn’t do anything specific, but check it anyways.

Can’t help you on cost estimates. Will be easier to determine if something can be ascertained from your tests, but the most likely scenario is that it has to go to elektron or a qualified tech to check it out. I usually suspect the main analog volume pot itself (like the headphone volume pot specifically b/c it’s split L/R so sometimes one side of a pot fails) but with no crackling, there’s nothing to point to a hardware issue yet so I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions.

Do a little more digging and see what kind of data you can come up with. Probably makes you mad or depressed but try and approach it analytically. Sometimes just a correct diagnosis, even if not an immediate fix, can still make you feel a bit more in control of the situation so come at it from that angle.

Another thing you can do if you’re comfortable opening it up and none of this other stuff yields anything, is with MD and OT specifically, there seems to be the possibility for some kind of association between the ribbon cable connections on the PCBs and weird issues, so sometimes people will unplug the ribbon cables and reseat them between the PCBs. I wouldn’t get out your hex driver until you try the other stuff though.

Another thing I’ll say, only because you didn’t mention it specifically, is if your headphones use an adapter to convert 1/8" to 1/4", try a different adapter just in case.

Anigbrowl · 2025-04-29T01:31:45.533Z

shigginpit:

Run the error test in the startup menu just in case, see if anything pops up.

I forgot about that, I’ll give it a try tomorrow and report back.

theoryops · 2025-04-29T01:55:10.145Z

I’ve had inconsistent audio with TRRS headphones in a TRS jack, so that might be something to consider.

sezare56 · 2025-04-29T07:09:30.372Z

Anigbrowl:

anyone aware of software problems impacting headphones?

The software controls headphones MIX between MAIN and CUE, but nothing else that would impact headphones out only.

Balance affects MAIN and CUE.

Sounds like an hardware problem. Weird indeed that it happens all of a sudden.

What does it say playing metronome ?
(Different routing)

What if you change MIX ?
(Send a track to CUE)

Anigbrowl · 2025-04-29T08:17:51.987Z

I did some further experiments with main, cue and the startup test. My best guess right now is the ribbon cable, perhaps it was loosened when I was carrying the OT around. I need to replace the batteries soon and blow on the crossfader contacts due to dust, so I’ll try reseating it then.

Ulysses · 2025-04-29T14:01:29.086Z

When I got the OT within 5 min I knew I had to send it back. Headphone output was bad. I looked at the box, seeing myself at the post office, contacting Elektron, planning everything in my head.
I decided to swap the headphone adapter just in case. A pack of 5 1/4 to 1/8 adapters. 3 of them were bad. The OT was fine. Heartbeat back to low latency Zen mode.

You never know