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Torq woes (rant alert)


Steve

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I noticed that I could hear the whining of the Torq control record in recordings. I checked that I'd got everything set up OK, I even tried another computer, but it was still the same. As I'd only been using a one deck set up, I gave the other channel a go, and it's totally dead. No sound at all. Also, sometimes Torq would sound extremely distorted, like this: -

 

http://www.zshare.net/audio/31748358ce8ecb/

 

I called M-Audio tech support and got a recorded message saying "there'll be no tech support from this number today". Helpful. I then emailed decks.co.uk, but 4 days later they hadn't replied. I called them up this morning, and they said I need to fill out the form on the M-Audio support site. I did that, and I got an automated response to say they would get back to me within 24-36 hours. Half an hour later, I received an email which said this: -

 

--- The message cannot be delivered to the following address. ---

 

support@maudio.co.uk Permanent error involving remote host.

421 Error: too many errors

Attached to it was all of the info I filled in via the support form.

 

So.......I called M-Audio's tech support again. I got through this time, and the guy I spoke to asked me to email him with all of the details. I wrote a lengthy email stating exactly what the problem is, and what I'd done to try and fix it. Half an hour later, I get this response: -

 

This could be an earth problem if you are using a laptop disconnect the power supply and see if the noise disappears, it could also be that you are monitoring the input of the connective, to make sure you are not monitoring the inputs turn both mix a and b knobs to the extreme right.On the distorted audio issue try using different USB ports as the all can use different resources

 

ps you should visit m-audio.com where you will find tutorial videos that will show you how to use the unit.

The advice would have been fine, if I hadn't stated in the original email that I sent to him that I'd already tried each and every one of those things (and more besides). The bit about watching tutorial videos is jokes.

 

I replied again to let him know I'd already tried all of his suggestions, and I asked what happens next, because decks.co.uk said they need confirmation from M-Audio before they will replace the Conectiv unit. 10 hours later and still no response.

 

Why does UK customer service fucking suck so badly? Just recently when I've had a problem with something, no matter what it is, I end up getting ignored, fobbed off, and generally pissed about to the point where I never wanna deal with that particular company again.

 

/rant.

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Why does UK customer service fucking suck so badly?

 

I would answer that with some american charm, but I see you are already in a bad mood ;)

 

I thought u had SSL... when'd u get Torq?

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how long have you had it steve....Not too up on my legalities but i thought you would have a warrenty with decks.co.uk for normally a yr...if its been shorter than that then you should be sorting it out with decks.co.uk and to m-audio as its their problem (no matter what they say)

 

may be worth ringing CAB up to see what rights you have for it

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if they phoned you up and sorted it out that day (whats a price of a phone call to these companys) you would of posted up how good the service is and they might of got another few sale's this month. Now we all think its shit and will prob buy serato.

 

you can tell em I said that :)

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Not too up on my legalities but i thought you would have a warrenty with decks.co.uk for normally a yr...

You're right mate. It might even be 2 years. I'll call them again tomorrow and say I'm not having any joy with M-Audio and see what happens.

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once they have your cash they dont give a fuck

That's it...

 

Steve, my Torq has a lot of problems from time to time. Two friends of mine are selling theirs in order to switch to ssl or traktor scratch. I own most of the systems in the market (ssl, torq, mixvibes, traktor scratch, virtual vinyl - I'm actually testing them) and I can confirm Torq has given me the most problems and headaches. What I usually do is reinstall version 1.0.2 and recheck all cables and ground wirings (I once discovered a loose ground cable was the root of the problem). Nowadays it works fine for me. Plus, the conektiv soundcard works perfectly with mixvibes, so I can run both systems without having to plug/unplug anything.

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I had to get some ground loop isolators. thats if we're even talking about the same whine noise. it was coming thru my headphones even with them muted. but anyway, i ended up getting 4 isolators. 2 for lines going from connectiv to my tables. and 2 going from the mixer to connectiv. i could have just used 2 but i record with the same pc i run torq on. so after i hooked it back up to my line in the whine came back. so i had to buy another set. steve, i thought i saw you on the torq-dj forums. theres a post for this problem.......provided this is the same noise im talking about.

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Yeah it is in fact some kind of grounding problem its not the record that you're hearing. I get that exact same whining with my MBOX sometimes. As for the distorting issue if you're using a wireless network card try going into device manager and disabling it before you launch TORQ. My buddy had that issue with his Dell Laptop when the wireless network card was enabled. Report back...

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is the whine possibly your mixer not isolating line/phono properly rather than torq- have you tried pulling out the phono ins to the mixer to see if it's still there?

 

the distortion sounds like sometimes i manage without quite knowing how to turn the gain up to max on a track on scratchlive. there's not an internal shortcut that you might be inadvertently pressing to change gain/switch input amplification is there?

 

as far as the second channel being dead goes, that doesn't sound good at all :S

 

i was thinking about swapping ssl for torq to save some cash and get some effects and midi... glad i didn't now to be honest- more torq problems coming out of the woodwork than ssl or fs, it seems.

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that's a shity situation m8. Are they gonna swap the hardware for you finally ?

I gave up with M-Audio. I've heard that their US support is very good, but my experience of their UK support has been piss poor. I emailed decks.co.uk again and said I want a replacement or refund as nothing is getting done, and they called this afternoon while I was out. I'll call them up when they open today and see what they say. My past experience with their customer service has been very good, so I'm confident they'll sort it out for me.

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just remember dont let them palm it off onto m-audio...its not up to them but decks.co.uk to sort it out as thats who you bought it off

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ProfBX seems to like Torq I think, though I've never used it.

I'm a Rane gayboy so would never dream of buying anything other than Serato.

I think most M-Audio stuff is made specifically to hit a mid-lower consumer price point, and this probably leads to a higher problem / failure rate. Dunno. It's a shame we never get to see true return rates for equipment etc.

Good luck with Serato Steve, if that fucks up then you may have to accept you are cursed.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So much for replacing the unit. I sent it to in to Sapphires a while ago, and as I hadn't heard anything I emailed them. This is the response they just sent: -

 

It is still away at M-audio being repaired and will be away a bit longer, It should probably take a few more weeks to be honest. As soon as we receive the unit we'll contact you to arrange delivery.

Fuck "a few more weeks". M-Audio customer service is complete and utter wank.

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