Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

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RufusLoacker
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Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by RufusLoacker »

Hi, I'm new to Linux and this forum, but I hope you could help me with my problem. I use a Lexicon Alpha as my audio interface on Linux Mint 17. I'm not doing anything audio-related on Linux (yet), so I use it only for listening to music.
The problem is that today it started to act funny: I connect it to my usb, the LED lights up and everything is working. But after, say, 30 seconds it shuts down.
If I start to play music while it's on, it works well until I stop the music, then it goes off. I don't even need to exit youtube or vlc, i simply press "pause".
As I said, I'm really new to Linux, so I don't know how to use the terminal to see if everything's ok.

And I'm Italian, so sorry if my grammar isn't very correct^^

Thanks in advance!
RufusLoacker
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by RufusLoacker »

Anyone? :/
Pablo
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by Pablo »

Have you tried with another cable?

When it goes off, is it still listed in "lsusb"?

("lsusb" is an informative command (list USB devices) that you type in a terminal window)
jasonstone20
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

I had the same issue with the usb light timing out. I found that if you open up the volume/sound control settings, unplug and then plug the lexicon alpha usb cable back in, and leave the volume/sound control settings program open.
jasonstone20
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

I have noticed that sometimes, but not always, it helps to have audio playing at the same time as you plug and unplug the Lexicon Alpha, while the Volume Control program is open. I have used just the web browser to have a YouTube video playing to get the audio output.
jasonstone20
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

I found a no-hassle fix that appears to be permanent. It is along the lines of the help that didn't work for me, and it is modifying the power settings for the audio card/audio software:

----
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php ... 6#p1766206
/etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf:

options snd_hda_intel power_save=0
options snd_hda_intel power_save=0 power_save_controller=N




----

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=297091

MrEen wrote: ↑Thu Jul 04, 2019 1:08 pm
I had hoped with no volume there'd be no noise. The Capture was just in case it was feedback related or similar.

I'm thinking this may not be any more fixable without opening the case. Seems like when the machine applies power to the card, you get the noise, and a repeat at the end when power is removed.

Some users have added shielding inside for similar issues, but I have no experience with that.

One other thing worth trying. In alsamixer, disable Auto-Mute Mode by selecting it then using the down arrow until it says Disabled. I found some ancient Ubuntu threads that mentioned this. The downside if this works, plugging in headphones will no longer automatically mute the speakers.



========
I was trying to fix a problem I was having with Jack when selected(clicking and popping sounds). Not sure which one worked, as I tried them both.
jasonstone20
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

Mine is from the mid-to-late 2000's, like 2006-2008

jasonstone20
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

Well, I got my Lexicon Alpha to finally act normal, IE stays on, turns on with reboot. You have to mess with the USB power settings and get them not to turn off, and to turn on and stay on. It is possible to get the Alpha to work normally, just takes a little work. If anyone is interested in the links on how I got it to work, let me know and I will dig them up. I bookmarked them, but I haven't had my coffee yet so I am not in the mood to dig them up at the moment. I am using Linux Mint 20.xx

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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

Great news, I was able to get rid of the horrible background noise that I was getting, even on the clean setting. It was really bad with high-gain use and/or with distortion/fuzz pedals, and since that is the sound I like, it was really inconvenient. No way I could record like that either. Using the noise gate barely made it tolerable. So what I did to fix it was plugging the cable into the 'Instrument' jack instead of 'Line 1'. The XLR/Line 2, Line 1, and Line 2 on the back of the Lexicon Alpha are right next to the USB, and what I guess is picking up interference from the USB power maybe. If I use an unshielded XLR cable to use with a DI box, same issue, really bad background noise that is on the mid and high frequencies, so a High/Low pass filter didn't fix the issue either. Using the 'Instrument' TS 1/4" jack in the front works great, even with cheap cables, and with a well-shielded cable, the XLR works fine also, although I did get a small amount of noise when the cable was not clear of other devices or cables, and that went away when I hit the 'ground' button on the DI box. The DI box being used is the Pyle PDC21.

jasonstone20
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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

To be a little more clear it is an un-shielded 1/4" TS cable going through an XLR to 1/4" TSR adapter. I only have one sheilded XLR cable, and that is usually used for my microphone. Since I switched from the Line 1 at the back of Alpha to the Instrument Jack in the front of the Alpha I am not getting the noise. With the shielded XLR cable, there is zero noise.

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Re: Lexicon Alpha random shut-down

Post by jasonstone20 »

Well, my Lexicon Alpha finally gave up the ghost and died. Replaced it with a M-Audio M-Track Duo, and the sound is much clearer. I also finally got rid of the last bit of hum or noise I was getting, that seems to be from a USB ground loop. I got a USB ground loop lifter adapter, and a 1/8" adapter, and both seem to get rid of the ground hum that I was having, so everything is crystal clear now.

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