Excessive "noise" from Focusrite iTrack Dock

robinbowes

Has anyone else on here got a Focusrite iTrack dock?

If so, do you find it makes quite a lot of acoustic noise, ie. not electrical, not coming out of the speakers/phones but coming from the unit itself?

R.

steamabacus

Hmmm?
Does it have a cooling fan?
Is it mains powered (as opposed to a wall wart)? - mains transformers sometimes vibrate causing acoustic noise. I have an Lexicon rack unit that does this when placed on a resonant surface (e.g. table top). I fixed that by putting it on a piece of acoustic foam to dampen the vibrations.

robinbowes

It's a wall wart, so not transformer hum.

The noise sounds almost like a harddrive spinning/heads hitting the platter, along with high-pitched "microprocessor" noises, and is directly related to activity on the iPad.

Most odd. Am going to take mine back.

R.

Hertz32

robinbowes said:

It's a wall wart, so not transformer hum.

The noise sounds almost like a harddrive spinning/heads hitting the platter, along with high-pitched "microprocessor" noises, and is directly related to activity on the iPad.

Most odd. Am going to take mine back.

R.

how long have you had it? has it always made those noises?

dindude

I have one and don't get any such noise so it sounds like yours is defective. It's a good sounding unit but i am a little disappointed by the Fisherprice build quality if I'm honest.

robinbowes

I've had it a week or two, and yes, it's always made these noises.

I'll take it back and get a replacement.

Thanks,

R.

Hertz32

Glad it seems like faulty hardware! let me know if the replacement fixes the problem  

@dindude I have the same complaint of my BOSS usb interface for my PC, never let it bother me and it seems to have served me okay till now (With the exception of the god-awful COSM amp and effects modelling and the separate program required to run them.)
As long as it's durable enough to be chucked in a bag and carted London-Edinburgh and back every other month it'll be fine for me. 

dindude

@hertz32 reading your posts, are you thinking of getting a

dindude

itrack dock? I'm probably selling mine soon as I've just invested in a mixing desk that can do the same thing If I need it to.

Hertz32

dindude said:

@hertz32 reading your posts, are you thinking of getting a

I already have an A, Thinking about getting a B or C though. Aiming for the whole alphabet eventually!

dindude

Sorry for the split post! Fat fingers on a small phone!

Hertz32

Yeah I am actually, PM me @dindude

robinbowes

@dindude - what desk is that? I might consider returning my iTrack dock and getting a desk instead...

R.

dindude

robinbowes said:

@dindude - what desk is that? I might consider returning my iTrack dock and getting a desk instead...

R.

I got one of these, they are pretty much the same price as the itrack dock.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/abdb0458fc5e504346ffecd8be16d1a2_zps6eb4f0e2.jpg

There are pros and cons to each:

Focusrite itrack dock:

Very simple to use.

Sounds good, the mic preamps I fancy are a little better than on the A&H, although I think I prefer the AD/DA converstion on the A&H, although not a lot in it.

Compact and portable.

Has a seperate USB port so that you can connect a control keyboard.

Charges the iPad.

Allen and Heath Zed 10:

More complex to use but loads more flexibility, I.e. you can pre-fade listen to set up the mic levels properly on the meters, you can set up a seperate aux mix for better overdub levels, it has a pan control so if you use it with the iPad camera and it records to both sides, unlike the focusrite that will only record to one side. The list goes on if you get to know the routing.

More sturdy and stays put on a desk top, but obviously not as portable or as compact. 

Has a proper mains lead, no wal-wart.

Sounds good - see above.

Can be used with Mac, PC, and ipad, although not "officially" ipad compliant I've had no problem and it is rock solid so far, although you do need the iPad camera kit to plug the usb cable into. 

Doesn't charge the iPad.

Both great solutions, the Zed 10 is just more flexible for me and I don't need the portability.

Hope it helps.

robinbowes

Hmm, and does that work OK with things like Bias, JamUp Pro, etc?

R.

dindude

robinbowes said:

Hmm, and does that work OK with things like Bias, JamUp Pro, etc?

R.

Should be fine, it's got a couple of guitar level inputs, I'll try it with jam up tomorrow to check.

dindude

robinbowes;418328" said:

Hmm, and does that work OK with things like Bias, JamUp Pro, etc?

R.

Tried it with jamup lat night, it works but there's something missing from the sound, just doesn't sound as good as a dedicated ipad interface so I guess these apps may rely on full ipad comparability. I rarely use modelling, preferring to mike up, but if you do probably not the best solution to go with the A&H.

robinbowes

Thanks for the update.

R.

daveww

I've got an iTrack Dock and never any issues with noise.  I have had intermittent problems since upgrading IOS.  Often it doesn't connnect properly, says not charging and the inputs don't work.  I have to reset it...  Seems to be some strange software conflict.

Works great when it works but haveing to fiddle with it is spoiling the easy convenience of using it.

robinbowes

I picked up a replacement iTrack Dock today - so far, seems to not make the same noise as the previous one, but I've not used it much yet.

Fingers crossed...

R.

Hertz32

@robinbowes I got mine the other day, it makes these same noises and the iPad doesn't seem to like being plugged into it, It screws up typing and scrolling. Tempted to get a replacement if that worked for you. Shame, cod it's an otherwise fantastic bit of kit!!