Need Help With Spdif please

jatna77 · Jan 18th 2023

For reasons that I will not go into, I had to yank the power cord out, to shut down my Kemper Stage quickly.

Before that, the spdif out of the Kemper worked great as a master clock for my Focusrite 6I6 and I got perfect audio from it via the spdif out.

After the incident, the spdif from the Kemper no longer locks in the Focusrite settings. In other words, the Kemper will no longer be the master clock because the Focusrite says it is not locked.

Under output settings on the Kemper, I have spdif output set to master stereo, "spdif out link" on and set to auto. Setting it to internal instead of auto does not change the lack of lock. The sample rate is set to 48hkz on both devices.

The coaxial cable is firmly connected to the spdif out and to the spdif in on my sound card.

I am at a loss as to why it is not working. I thought that setting it to auto would make the Kemper a master clock source.
Is there some setting or settings that additionally need to be set to make the Kemper a locking master clock for the Focusrite?

Thank you for any solutions that end up working.

lightbox · Jan 18th 2023

Quote from jatna77

I thought that setting it to auto would make the Kemper a master clock source.

"Auto" allows the Profiler to be slaved to the audio interface ... but only if both S/PDIF cables are connected!

If you want the Profiler to be Master, switch it to "Internal" and your audio interface to sync to the S/PDIF input.

jatna77 · Jan 18th 2023

lightbox, thank you. I thought I had said that I tested it both ways but I guess I did not. At any rate, I just checked again and it does not lock when set to internal either.

Tony G · Jan 18th 2023

I had a similar problem turned out it was the interface that fried. I replaced it and now it works flawlessly. Do you have another one you can try out?

jatna77 · Jan 18th 2023

@Tony G No, I do not, especially one with a spdif in. But why would yanking out the power cord on the Kemper fry my Focusrite external sound card?

jatna77 · Jan 18th 2023

I have ordered a new Coaxial cable in case that somehow is the problem. If that or anything else works, I will report back. I read that someone else with this problem fixed it with a factory reset of the Kemper. I am loathe to do that but will try it if I do not get any more suggestions here.

Tony G · Jan 18th 2023

If you yanked the cord out on the kemper and it was not connected to the focusrite then you can be sure the problem is with the kemper (maybe a reset will fix that). but if they were connected maybe something happened to the focusrite. My interface started loosing the clock from the kemper and it would kill the sound and come back on when it locked again. Eventually wouldn't lock anymore and I tried different 3 foot s/pdif 75ohm cables nothing worked. I still have my old interface just in case lol.

jatna77 · Jan 18th 2023

@Tony G Thanks for the info. I shudder to think that I would have to buy a new external sound card. It still uses its internal clock fine.

Tony G · Jan 18th 2023

Good luck brother. If you are in Ontario Canada you can try mine.

jatna77 · Jan 18th 2023

@Tony G Ah, if only I was Canadian. (=

Tony G · Jan 18th 2023

Ok jatna77. I make you a honorary Canadian. I don't have the power but I don't care I'm supreme being lol.

lightbox · Jan 18th 2023

Quote from jatna77

... It still uses its internal clock fine.

May I ask why you don't keep it that way and slave the Profiler?

Just connect 2 S/PDIF cables and you should be good to go.

jatna77 · Jan 18th 2023

@lightbox Thanks for the suggestion. I will try that when I get a second cable.

jatna77 · Jan 22nd 2023

So I got the second cable, switched to auto and no dice. Then I checked to see if just the tuner worked (should have thought of that sooner) and it is not getting any signal. So, I am going to do a full factory reset. If that doesn't work, this thing is bricked. I will report back.

Tony G · Jan 23rd 2023

I can't believe this but just about 10 minutes ago I was recording and the sound went out again S/pdif clock light started flashing and then became solid again showing the same symptoms as my last interface. I find it hard to believe that both interfaces are faulty. I'm going to change the S/pdif to internal on the interface and make Kemper the slave. It doesn't happen very often but it still sucks.

jatna77 · Jan 24th 2023

Sorry to hear that Tony. I hope it is just a single glitch or the cable.

Did the full factory reset and the device is not receiving or sending any signal, digital or analog. Except it talks to rig manager via USB lol. Tested with many different cables and different guitars. So I am awaiting contact from the service center in Colorado. I will write here how that goes but I imagine it will take awhile.

jatna77 · Feb 12th 2023

Update: So I sent the unit to Colorado to get fixed. Shipping and labor was free but I paid 300 something in parts. The board was fried and had to be replaced. It is now back and working perfectly. It is synced to my Focusrite.

Kemper customer service is excellent and the repair people were very professional. I am quite happy to be back in action.

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