I have upgraded my audio interface from a basic tascam to the MR816x.  I have them FW daisy chained to my PC and have C5.  I have the MR analog 1&2;outs going to my monitors.

I cannot seem to get a grasp of the audio flow as I am not able to get any sound now.

I am using the Rack XS VST as an external instument, and it syncs just fine.  I select my output in the VST to m1&m2;, but now that I have the MR, I am not sure how I assign my ins/outs on my tracks in Cubase. 

I want to take the audio from the Rack XS via firewire to the MR, then out the analog 1&2;outs to my monitors. 

Other background:  M-Audio Keystation 88 with midi cable to Rack XS, running Vista 64

Thanks.

Please see the following article from my Clinician’s Corner in the SUPPORT area of this site:
Using the Steinberg MR816CSX and Motif XS/Motif-Rack XS w/mLAN16E2

If you have additional question, post back to this thread.

Thank you.....

So if i am understanding correctly, audio does not go from rack xs to mr via firewire.  I have to send it there via s/pdif or analog L&R;.  The firewire is solely for communicating with the PC… not between Rack xs and MR.

Correct!

And is the S/PDIF out (on the Rack XS) always on or do I need to do something to tell the Rack XS to output its signal via this path?

What output device port for the Rack XS do I specify in Cubase for S/PDIF...Main L&R;?

I have the Digital Out from my Rack XS connected to the S/PDIF in on my MR816… but getting no signal to the 816.

Do I have to create a VST connection for the Rack’s digital out?  I do not see it available…

I have the Digital Out from my Rack XS connected to the S/PDIF in on my MR816… but getting no signal to the 816.

Do I have to create a VST connection for the Rack’s digital out?  I do not see it available…

No. You answer your own question - you have connected the Rack XS via S/PDIF to the MR816… so the signal will travel from the Rack XS to the MR816… find the VST CONNECTIONS INPUT for the MR816’s SPDIF.

If you are getting no signal into the MR via S/PDIF make sure you have setup for using the SPDIF channel. This is a function of the MR816. You can configure the outputs to use the SPDIF connection.

The only digital connection that would show up in Cubase would be the digital FW buses from the Rack XS if you were using them. If you are not using the FW from the Rack XS you are not connected digitally to the computer. You are connected to the MR. Make sense?

Yep… it is working now.

I do find that after a while of working on a project, the audio simply goes out… no sound… I have to go and reboot the 816 and the rack and cubase to bring it all back....  any ideas?

Thanks again for the help… been away for a while and just getting back into things…

Make sure your computer’s Power Options are set so it never rests/sleeps or hibernates while you are doing audio. You want the computer to be online and focused on your music 100% of the time (as any old style recorder would be). Look for any thing that might be changing the computer’s focus.

For example, I had a customer that had his computer set to automatically download updates (from the internet) and from time to time he would find his sessions doing just what you describe - might not be your issue, but worth a check.