USB Firmware V 1.14 Release

I'm on Windows, so this is probably irrelevant, but on Windows, USB ports can go into power save mode, essentially shutting down. There are settings to prevent that, which is usually a good idea for music stuff.

Might be worth investigating if any of that happens on Mac.
 
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Dave Merrill said:
I'm on Windows, so this is probably irrelevant, but on Windows, USB ports can go into power save mode, essentially shutting down. There are settings to prevent that, which is usually a good idea.

Might be worth investigating if any of that happens on Mac.
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MacOS has the equivalent setting in the Energy Saver System Preferences pane.

I turn on the first, and turn off the second:
  • Prevent your Mac from sleeping automatically when the display is off
  • Put hard disks to sleep when possible
Doing so seems to have helped. Occasionally the system drops the connection but the majority of the time I can restart Edit and it’ll reconnect.

FAS are smart. If we can give them the steps to recreate the problem then they can find a fix.
 
FWIW, I use a caldigit 3 dock too with a lot of stuff connected, including midi keyboards, controllers etc.
When I had the power save feature on (I think it was the disk off), I experienced lost connections after some inactivity which required a reboot of the axe.

I’ve unchecked the “turn off disks” and do not have a problem anymore. When I’m done for the day, I manually hit sleep on my Mac.
 
Thanks for this great support FAS! Outstanding!
Anyone tried/ tested how it is working as an aggregate device together with other audio interfaces on MAC?
 
amandio said:
Hi All,

A new version of the USB Firmware, v 1.14 , is available for the AXE FX III!

This release addresses several issues regarding latency stability and the actual latency of the unit itself. Here is a brief summary of improvements/fixes:
  • Importing a preset no longer changes the latency
  • Latency no longer drifts when an audio stream is active in certain cases
  • (macOS only) Latency no longer changes after a period of time after powering on the unit
  • Overall latency of the unit itself has been reduced
IMPORTANT NOTE ON USB BUFFER SIZE
This version of firmware uses a fixed internal USB buffer size compared to previous releases which used a configurable USB buffer. DSP firmware v 20.02 removes the USB Buffer Size option from the front panel when this (or later) versions of USB firmware is used. A future update to AXE Edit will remove the USB Buffer Size setting. This is not the same as the buffer size you set in ASIO/macOS. Those are still configurable.

Use the link below to download and follow update instructions below as well.

AXE FX III USB Firmware v1.14 Release Download

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Unlike DSP firmware, which changes sound and features, USB firmware changes the way your Axe-Fx III interacts with a computer. Version 1.14 includes improvements related to USB Audio latency and performance. This update is recommended for all Axe-Fx III units with USB versions older than 1.14.

To check your current version:
  • Press HOME
  • Press SETUP (push-knob E)
  • Select Utilities using the Nav buttons.
  • Press ENTER to show the Utilities menu.
  • Page right to the Version page.
  • Your USB firmware version is shown on the screen.
To install USB Firmware , please follow these instructions:
  1. Download and unzip the USB firmware update from:
    https://www.fractalaudio.com/downloads/firmware-presets/axe-fx-3/USB/axefxiii_usb_rel_1p14.zip
  2. Download and install Fractal-Bot from:
    https://www.fractalaudio.com/fractal-bot/
    NOTE: Windows requires that you to install a driver first. Mac OS does not require a driver.
    IMPORTANT: Quit/Exit all audio/MIDI-related apps including Axe-Edit, any DAWs, Chrome, etc.
  3. Launch Fractal-Bot and install the new USB firmware.
    1. For Step 1, choose “Axe-Fx III”. You should see three green checks.
    2. For Step 2, Browse to the new USB firmware file (axefxiii_usb_rel_1p14.syx) or drag and drop the file into the file box.
    3. For Step 3, press Begin. The file will transfer quickly. Fractal-Bot will show "Transfer Complete" when finished.
      NOTE: Unlike when installing DSP firmware, the Axe-Fx does not show a loading screen or special reboot message.
  4. Click OK in Fractal-Bot and then reboot the Axe-Fx III. Once the unit reboots, check your unit’s USB Firmware version using the process listed in the bulleted steps above these instructions.
If an upgrade fails for any reason, please first reboot all devices and simply try again.
If you require any help with this process, please reply to this thread or contact us via https://support.fractalaudio.com


Thanks!!
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Thank you! Just Awesome!
 
Thanks for the feedback on the power handling, I've actually got all those parameters set as folks have described here.

New update: I was in the middle of a song and it stopped mid-play so it wasn't some stop/start issue. Now I did pause the music for a bit, walk away, come back and started playing music again and it worked for maybe 5-10 seconds and then it was out until the reboot.

I checked MacOS system logs but did not see anything of value.
 
Grantgochnauer said:
Thanks for the feedback on the power handling, I've actually got all those parameters set as folks have described here.

New update: I was in the middle of a song and it stopped mid-play so it wasn't some stop/start issue. Now I did pause the music for a bit, walk away, come back and started playing music again and it worked for maybe 5-10 seconds and then it was out until the reboot.

I checked MacOS system logs but did not see anything of value.
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Same here on the power/sleep settings - I have music streaming all day today so I'll try to take note of where it stopes - if it stops. I can go for days without an issue...

One additional detail - when the music playback goes silent, the Axe still shows as connected and is fully operational otherwise via Axe Edit. Just can't recover the audio playback without rebooting it.
 
lair said:
Same here on the power/sleep settings - I have music streaming all day today so I'll try to take note of where it stopes - if it stops. I can go for days without an issue...

One additional detail - when the music playback goes silent, the Axe still shows as connected and is fully operational otherwise via Axe Edit. Just can't recover the audio playback without rebooting it.
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Exactly. Everything else is functional - just no audio output.
 
There seems to be an improvement in the latency/offset when recording in my daw but it's not perfectly aligned just yet. I now have to manually input an offset of 75 samples in Cubase to make sure that everything aligns.
 
With the new USB FW, is it still recommended to directly plug USB to a computer device rather than using a hub/adapter?
 
Godam said:
With the new USB FW, is it still recommended to directly plug USB to a computer device rather than using a hub/adapter?
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Generally yes, but honestly I've had no issues hooking the Axe-Fx 3 up through a USB hub to my Mac or PC.
 
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