Ultralite AVB
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Re: Ultralite AVB
is the motu ultralie avb working with linux? or other motu interfaces with much in/outs
my babyface pro fs works without problems out of the box (cc mode) but i need more in/outs so i buy a audiofuse 8pre but i have latency problems and sometimes audio crackers/pops.
the motu is a good alternative i think!
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Re: Ultralite AVB
I have the older model (without ESS chips) that runs fine with Drumfix' driver, seerandyrandy2000 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:27 pm is the motu ultralie avb working with linux? or other motu interfaces with much in/outs
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18046&p=122814&hili ... .c#p122814
Linux – MOTU UltraLite AVB – Qtractor – http://suedwestlicht.saar.de/
Re: Ultralite AVB
Actually, here's a thought – in the device web interface what do you have your "Host buffer size" and "Host safety offset" set to? I've got them both at 128.shellwalker wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:16 am 1. One new thought on the differences: how is your motu 828es configured? In my case I have:
- 6 "Computer to MOTU" channels ("From USB").
- 14 "Motu to Computer" USB channels.
-w
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Re: Ultralite AVB
In my case both are set to 256 samples.wrl wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:21 pmActually, here's a thought – in the device web interface what do you have your "Host buffer size" and "Host safety offset" set to? I've got them both at 128.shellwalker wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:16 am 1. One new thought on the differences: how is your motu 828es configured? In my case I have:
- 6 "Computer to MOTU" channels ("From USB").
- 14 "Motu to Computer" USB channels.
-w
MOTU 828mk3, MOTU 828ES, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Kubuntu 22.04.1 LTS, https://github.com/shellwalker-coder/motu_patch_testing
Re: Ultralite AVB
Thanks a lot for your feedback, it helped a lot. But ultimately I went with the Babyface Pro FS considering the ensuing messages from this thread. Ultimately the device simply working is the most important thing to me. I will go insane if my audio continues to not "just work"... my current setup is slowly driving me mad with noise interference ("helicopter sounds" as my friends like to call them) and the audio cutting out intermittently. And I'm going to leave the device plugged in basically 24/7, so hopefully the USB jack won't pose an issue for me. Given how people talk about RME devices, I feel like it should be fine to leave powered on 24/7 even though it's billed as a mobile device. I really hope that's the case. Thomann has a 3 year warranty anyway so I can test that theory to some extent without too much on the line.
Best of luck with the Ultralite AVB driver work. If a driver does become stable, I may eventually switch to one or a similar MOTU device. A real shame they won't do the minimal work necessary to get their driver working on Linux.
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Re: Ultralite AVB
I just changed both sizes to 128 and retested.shellwalker wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:33 pmIn my case both are set to 256 samples.wrl wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:21 pmActually, here's a thought – in the device web interface what do you have your "Host buffer size" and "Host safety offset" set to? I've got them both at 128.shellwalker wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:16 am 1. One new thought on the differences: how is your motu 828es configured? In my case I have:
- 6 "Computer to MOTU" channels ("From USB").
- 14 "Motu to Computer" USB channels.
-w
Result: still drifting.
Again it looks like at the beginning of the test, there is more drfting, then as the test runs, it kind of becomes more stable.
(BTW: just noticed the number of channels configured in the mixer web front-end has no influence on the number of channels linux sees, so that was a rabbit trail...)
@wrl: any other ideas?
@All others in the thread: in theory @wrl patch should be applicable to Ultralite AVB as well (not just 828ES). It would be great if others could test the patch to see if they can reproduce good or bad results. There is a chance that that could help us track down the setup differences.
Who is willing to give it a try?
It is not too difficult to do; if you need any simple HOWTO-instructions, I'd be willing to help (if we limit this to Ubuntu based systems...).
MOTU 828mk3, MOTU 828ES, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Kubuntu 22.04.1 LTS, https://github.com/shellwalker-coder/motu_patch_testing
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Re: Ultralite AVB
If someone could write-up something about compiling linux-next with the patch that would be very useful. If someone manages to write an AUR package, that would be awesome
shellwalker wrote: ↑Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:37 pmI just changed both sizes to 128 and retested.
Result: still drifting.
Again it looks like at the beginning of the test, there is more drfting, then as the test runs, it kind of becomes more stable.
(BTW: just noticed the number of channels configured in the mixer web front-end has no influence on the number of channels linux sees, so that was a rabbit trail...)
@wrl: any other ideas?
@All others in the thread: in theory @wrl patch should be applicable to Ultralite AVB as well (not just 828ES). It would be great if others could test the patch to see if they can reproduce good or bad results. There is a chance that that could help us track down the setup differences.
Who is willing to give it a try?
It is not too difficult to do; if you need any simple HOWTO-instructions, I'd be willing to help (if we limit this to Ubuntu based systems...).
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HOWTO test wrl kernel patch
That patch is aimed at fixing the channel drifting issue and should in theory be applicable to MOTU 828ES as well as Ultralite AVB devices.
Please note: the patch does not (yet) provide a stable solution on all devices. It may or may not work on your device. The purpose of this guide is to help more people test it on their setups in the hope that we can detect similarities between systems that do work and those that don't.
Further note: this guide is built on my own approach, which is Ubuntu based. Further I'm assuming that your system is already configured with the appropriate build tools (gcc compiler, make etc.). Furthermore: you carry all risks by yourself. I'm not responsible for any damage caused by following this recipe.
- Get the linux-next kernel source (based on https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/linux-next.html):
- $ git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke ... /linux.git
- $ cd linux
- $ git remote add linux-next https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke ... x-next.git
- $ git fetch linux-next
- $ git fetch --tags linux-next
- Download wrls patch from viewtopic.php?p=127428#p127428
(I'll assume it is saved as ~/0002-usb-audio-urb-fast-completion.patch.txt) - Checkout the reference kernel version and apply the patch on a dedicated branch:
- $ git checkout -b wrl_patch_1 next-20201223
- $ git apply ~/0002-usb-audio-urb-fast-completion.patch.txt
- Create a build folder where all the build and configuration collaterals shall land:
- $ mkdir ../build_wrl_patch_1
- Configure the kernel. This is probably the hardest part (at least for me, since it requires some knowledge about what you need to have in the kernel).
Do only one (!) of these:- make O=../build_wrl_patch_1 defconfig
(New config with default from ARCH supplied defconfig; maybe this is the safest approach?) - make O=../build_wrl_patch_1 menuconfig
(If you know how to find your way around configuration of the kernel)
- make O=../build_wrl_patch_1 defconfig
- Add a local version string, so you can distinguish your own built kernel from whatever your distro provides:
- Edit the file ../build_wrl_patch_1/.config with your favorite editor.
- Add a short string to the configuration item called "CONFIG_LOCALVERSION". Example:
CONFIG_LOCALVERSION="wrl-1" - Save and exit editor.
- Build the kernel with its modules and install everything:
- make O=../build_wrl_patch_1
- make O=../build_wrl_patch_1 modules_install
- make O=../build_wrl_patch_1 install
(Under Ubuntu that install step takes care of copying everything to its correct locations, creating initram images and configuring the bootloader (grub) appropriately. Actually no fuss...)
Once booted on the test kernel, do the following:
- Open up a terminal, become root and observe the kernel messages like this:
# dmesg -Tw - attach the MOTU interface over a USB port and take note of the kernel messages
- run your favorite Audio application and test the audio stability of your audio output. Take note of the time for the test start.
- Report to this thread, whether the patch is stable for you over a "long time" (that is somewhat subjective. @wrl had stability over 24 hours, I had only a few minutes...).
MOTU 828mk3, MOTU 828ES, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Kubuntu 22.04.1 LTS, https://github.com/shellwalker-coder/motu_patch_testing
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Re: Ultralite AVB
Just unzip and run makepkg.
Builds fine. Didn't boot with next-210112, 210114 boots ok.
I could also attach the packages, but I don't know if it's cool to put ~130 MB here.
Some thought for debugging:
Can someone where the patch doesn't work confirm it does work on windows? Maybe it's just a wonky combination of USB-Controllers and the Interface or the like?
Edit: Boots now.
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Re: Ultralite AVB
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Re: Ultralite AVB
If i receive my new Server next week, my Intel NUC will be dedicated for jack only, maybe i am getting better results then.
Re: Ultralite AVB
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Re: Ultralite AVB
Hi wrl,
Good to hear from you again. Yeah, please do keep up the flag!
I'm volunteering for testing as soon as you've got something to try out.
MOTU 828mk3, MOTU 828ES, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Kubuntu 22.04.1 LTS, https://github.com/shellwalker-coder/motu_patch_testing
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Re: Ultralite AVB
If someone gets this driver stable i would donate some money for all the coffee required
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Re: Ultralite AVB
Good thought! However it seems it is not possible to run the device in class compliant mode under Windows. I gave it a try, but it didn't work. Running it in the Windows mode (non-class compliant mode) on the same port was stable however.
Does anyone have an idea on how to run the device in class compliant mode under Windows?
What I tried:
- uninstalled the MOTU drivers
- checked the device settings via curl commands to make sure the device is using class compliant mode. But Windows would not show any device in this case.
MOTU 828mk3, MOTU 828ES, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Kubuntu 22.04.1 LTS, https://github.com/shellwalker-coder/motu_patch_testing