Beta version of firmware and driver available
Printed From: Lynx Studio Technology, Inc.
Category: Lynx Forum
Forum Name: Lynx Support Forum
Forum Description: Discussions about Lynx Hardware & Software
URL: https://www.lynxstudio.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5733
Printed Date: August/11/2025 at 1:15pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Beta version of firmware and driver available
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Subject: Beta version of firmware and driver available
Date Posted: August/19/2015 at 3:50pm
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Lynx Studio Technology is proud to announce a public beta for new firmware and driver for all of our PCI Express cards as well as the Aurora-TB and Hilo-TB. This new firmware and driver will the ultimate in low latency performance (sub 1ms round trip @ 96kHz) for both Windows and Macintosh computers. Supported hardware list: AES16e; AES16e-SRC; AES16e-50; E44; E22; LT-TB: Aurora-TB & Hilo-TB. Supported operating system list:
We recommend updating to the new driver first, then flashing the new firmware. New features for the new firmware / driver:
Windows Files: Driver Build 22f: http://www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/V2Setup22f.exe" rel="nofollow - www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/V2Setup22f.exe Firmware: http://www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/FWUpdate.Win.20150807.exe" rel="nofollow - www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/FWUpdate.Win.20150807.exe OS X Files: Driver Build 57B: http://www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/Lynx_OSX_57B.zip" rel="nofollow - www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/Lynx_OSX_57B.zip Firmware: http://www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/FWUpdate.OSX.20150812.zip" rel="nofollow - www.lynxstudio.com/drivers/FWUpdate.OSX.20150812.zip The driver and firmware have been tested quite extensively in-house, so we would like to open the testing up to everyone so you can try it out and let us know how it works on your system. We look forward to hearing your comments.------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Replies:
Posted By: ogregomixmaster
Date Posted: August/21/2015 at 2:04am
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Hi David, I have updated to the above driver and firmware (Hilot TB) ; 1. Uninstalled the driver 2. Installed the new driver 3. Flashed the new firmware. The firmware version on the hilo info page and the hilo remote show 7.0 (but 17 Feb 2015 as firmware date on the hilo and 6 mar 15 on the remote ?). Has it been updated ? Thanks, Than PS. The LT-TB is now V6 (was V5.5)
------------- Mac Pro (Late 2014) 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 16 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC AMD FirePro D500 3072 MB OS X 10.10.4 PT12 Lynx Hilo TB (Ver 8, LT-TB Ver 6.2, Selected PROM : PROM2) |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: August/21/2015 at 9:23am
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There are two devices that have firmware, the Hilo and the LT-TB. The firmware for the LT-TB is the one that got updated, not the Hilo. If you are showing firmware 6 for your LT-TB, then you have the new firmware. You can also tell by the latency reported by the application. When you select a buffer size of 32 at 96kHz you should have sub-1ms round-trip latency. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: ogregomixmaster
Date Posted: August/21/2015 at 9:39am
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Perfect, that is indeed the case. Many thanks David :) All the best, Than ------------- Mac Pro (Late 2014) 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 16 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC AMD FirePro D500 3072 MB OS X 10.10.4 PT12 Lynx Hilo TB (Ver 8, LT-TB Ver 6.2, Selected PROM : PROM2) |
Posted By: jumpsturdy
Date Posted: August/25/2015 at 9:55pm
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Hi, david, As an owner of a HILO with the USB backplate I am obviously wondering if you will be including the USB HILOs in future versions. I recognize that I could purchase a LT-TB, but due to other Thunderbolt/Mac issues I would prefer to stay with my USB HILO for this particular rig for now. Got my fingers crossed.
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Posted By: h4nc0
Date Posted: August/26/2015 at 3:18am
| I think you guys did an excellent job here. The latency is much improved (finally thunderbolt worthy imo) and stability seems good so far. Thanks! |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: August/26/2015 at 8:32am
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Arthur (jumpsturdy), This driver and firmware can not work for the LT-USB (Hilo-USB) since that uses a completely different architecture. USB will always have higher latency than PCI Express (LT-TB is essentially PCI Express). ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: JamJuice
Date Posted: August/28/2015 at 9:00am
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Hi - Since updating the drivers and firmware I've been get huge cracking noises during recording and play back. Seems to stop temporally when restarting DAW. Happens with any buffer setting on both Logic and PT and may get worse when using outboard gear. The uninstaller didn't work when trying to update drivers " doesn't understand event" so installed over existing. What can you recommend doing? I have clients waiting for delivery today, pls advise. Thanks! OSX 10.8.5 Logic 10.0.7 PT 11
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Posted By: JamJuice
Date Posted: August/28/2015 at 9:03am
| The crackling sounds like heavy static or a loose cable |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: August/28/2015 at 9:17am
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What buffer size do you have selected in Logic? What sample rate are you running at? I see from your previous posts that you were using a UA TB device that seemed to cause the same sorts of problems. Are you still using the UA device? Try setting the Hardware Buffer Size (Settings > Advanced) to 16. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: JamJuice
Date Posted: August/28/2015 at 9:24am
| Thanks for your quick reply ! I current have logic at 256 but I've tried all settings. I am using the UA but have since resolved that issue and all has been well. WIll try the lynx at 16 as you've suggested... thanks |
Posted By: JamJuice
Date Posted: August/28/2015 at 10:20am
| Not sure what the impact of the hardware buffer change has made but at 512 in logic it's almost perfect. Just an occasional crackle. I seem to be getting a load of CPU spikes which I didn't get before the update. Is that possible or am away off? I used to leave logics' buffer at 128 with no issues. |
Posted By: JamJuice
Date Posted: August/28/2015 at 10:23am
| My sample rate is 48 |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: August/31/2015 at 9:48am
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Please give us the specs on your computer. What kind of Macintosh is this? ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: JamJuice
Date Posted: August/31/2015 at 12:53pm
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Macbook Pro 2.7GHz i7 16 GB ram 10.8.5 Thanks
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Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: August/31/2015 at 2:34pm
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Sending you an Email. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: cpechet
Date Posted: September/03/2015 at 7:52am
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Is the 'Hardware Buffer Size' feature in the 'Advanced' area of the Lynx Mixer new? I can't remember seeing it in earlier builds If so, can you explain its purpose? Thanks Casey |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/03/2015 at 9:06am
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That is the size (in samples) that the hardware keeps on board. It really should be left on 'Auto' unless you are having performance issues (clicks and pops at any buffer size). For Windows ASIO, it should always be less than half of the ASIO Buffer Size. For OS X, it matters much less unless you set it too low for the computer to keep up. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: cpechet
Date Posted: September/03/2015 at 11:32am
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Thank you very much for the explanation. Casey |
Posted By: john1192
Date Posted: September/05/2015 at 7:31am
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i had a nasty issue with the 58 build .. destroyed a great bass track .. i reloaded the 57b beta and all is good ... weird .... i will try and test more tomorrow ... and get that bass pass as good .. we shall see .. spec's are aurora build 28 and ver 14 ... funny that the Beta works better on my system .. cheers john
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Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/05/2015 at 12:32pm
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Build 57B and 58 are nearly identical. The streaming portion is exactly the same - I simply added the ability to add a safety offset. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: john1192
Date Posted: September/05/2015 at 12:34pm
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it created static over the audio .. is very odd .. i will test 58 again and look at "safety offset" ... EDITED
OK .. so i uninstalled 57B and reinstalled 58 .. but something is odd as the setup did not go to default and the sound never went away even during the restart process .. in other words, it is like the only thing changed was the name of the version .. even with no driver installed i was getting audio passing all the way through .. strange .. i am going back to 57b again to make sure .. will come back and report .. NEXT UPDATE: i tried the safety offset / tossed preferences for pro tools - no change .. so i went back to 57b and heard the same noise until i tossed pref's now it is good to go again .. RECAP UPDATE: 1) 58 static even after restarting a couple times and tossing PT pref's 2) 57b static but after tossing PT pref's and restart all is good any suggestions ?? stay at 57b or go back to 57a ?? thanks for your help |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/05/2015 at 9:44pm
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John, What version of OS X are you using? What version of ProTools? Look at the Lynx Mixer > About and that should show you all the versions including the driver. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: john1192
Date Posted: September/06/2015 at 7:54am
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system is .. OS 10.9.5 / PT 11.3.1 but as of last night 12.2 ...lynx mixer is ver 1.0 build 57b / firmware 14.0 / lynx card is revision D
UPDATE: i just rolled back to 57A .. because i had the same static on 57b now .. BUT now what is happening is i have no connection between pro tools and lynx on outputs .. damn it i do not know what happen yesterday to cause this .. i just started working and shutdown .. thx for the help UPDATE: i have an audio example file of the noise that is coming out of pro tools through the Lynx .. BUT so you know any other sound coming from the computer through the lynx mixer is fine .. play a file in finder .. run some audio into the card and route right back out is all good .. i am working on my end to resolve any pro tools issues .. appreciate any ideas .. ONE MORE PIECE OF INFO: i get the Cannot Find any Lynx Cards after i do an uninstall .. is this normal ?? i cannot rememeber if it is .. and just flashed the firmware back to 13.2 to try that .... well now my card does not show up at all .. LOL what the hell have i done .. i have to laugh because i am losing money hahaha .. so i uninstalled the lynx mixer again .. tying to get back to 57 / 13.2 / maybe the aurora needs to come back too .. i am no at the there are no lynx cards in here to update ... oh geez .. WELL, have to try the Jumper Deal as the computer will not see the card at all .. AES16pcie-SRC (probably have these numbers wrong) UPDATE of UPDATES: so the jumper reset to #1 has solved my issues for now .. we can figure how to get the other working after the Labor Day Weekend .. ;) ;) thx for following along .. or is it just me LOL just kidding .. cheers thank you again john
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Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/06/2015 at 1:21pm
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You must have Build 57B or Build 58 if you have Firmware 14.0. If you go back to Build 57A, you must put on Firmware 13.2 BEFORE you change to Build 57A. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: john1192
Date Posted: September/06/2015 at 1:36pm
| .. it says there are No Lynx Cards in the Computer .. whether i try putting a Mixer in or trying to change firmware .. (i am running on Rom #1 right now with no issues) ... thx david for your help .. is there anyway to restore ROM#2 .. damn .. so i killed it .. i cannot put anything on it right now .. as it did not do it in the right order .. |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/06/2015 at 3:25pm
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No, there is virtually no way to kill the card by updating the firmware. That is why there is a PROM1 (which always has the factory firmware on it). Just hit PROM2 with 13.2 and you should be good to go with Build 57A. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: john1192
Date Posted: September/06/2015 at 4:03pm
| OK .. so far it has not let me .. says there is no card .. i will try it again tomorrow ... just got a ton of work done .. thx david .. i we re-download .. maybe i had the wrong one .. since they all look alike once unzipped .. haha |
Posted By: john1192
Date Posted: September/08/2015 at 10:24am
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hi david, it still says there is no card in the computer when i try and run 13.2 firmware on ROM#2 ... nay ideas how i can make this work ?? i re-downloaded the 13.2 firmware .. thx for your help
paul has helped sort me this morning via phone .. my system does not seem to like firmware build 14 .. so paul helped me roll back to 13.2 but using Mixer build 58 .. so far so good .. you guys are awesome .. john
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Posted By: funka
Date Posted: September/18/2015 at 11:49am
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I tried to update to driver version 58. My Aurora 16 (firmware 28) + LT-TB is no more recognized... I have a recording session tomorrow all day!! What could I do to solve that? The LT-TB seems not detected by the OS...(OSX 10.9.5). I tried to roll back to 57A, no success...
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Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/18/2015 at 2:41pm
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Same as above. Simply jumper the card to PROM1 and reflash Firmware 13.2. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: funka
Date Posted: September/19/2015 at 3:49am
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Simply jumper the card to PROM1 and reflash Firmware 13.2. => how can I do that? I would need some more explanations... As the unit is no more accessible from my laptop, how can I flash something? ...edit: I did that, and it works like a charm, unit is detected again with PROM1, I flashed 13.2, then switched back to PROM2, and all seems ok. Many thanks!
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Posted By: funka
Date Posted: September/19/2015 at 9:12am
| So, what's wrong with the firmware 14?... |
Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/19/2015 at 1:39pm
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Firmware 14 is much higher performance (lower latency) than Firmware 13.2, and as such requires that the computer respond with much more precision. If there are any delays in the CPU (such as it going to sleep or into a lower power state) that will impact performance. In our testing we found that it was very stable up to 100% CPU load, but obviously there is no way we can test on all the different configurations. This is why we opened the firmware up for beta testing. We had two reports of performance issues, one of which was caused by a 32-bit wrapper for plugins. I don't believe we ever heard back from the second one (but my memory could be wrong). Obviously there are a few more people in this thread that are seeing performance issues, but I wouldn't necessarily say there is something wrong with the firmware or driver. They key is timing. We have some timing metrics turned on in the debug version of the driver that shows us if the computer can keep up with the lower latency firmware (how long the computer is taking to respond to interrupts is the key). This is not something that we would ever release in a normal driver, since it does take up extra CPU load. It might be interesting to see what sort of timing the computers that are having trouble keeping up with Firmware 14 are having. If you are interested in a timing version of the driver, please Email support@lynxstudio.com and we can send it to you. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: Jperkinski
Date Posted: September/19/2015 at 3:16pm
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For me, reverting back to firmware 13.2 and mixer 57A was a big improvement over firmware 14 and mixer 58. I feel like I have a fairly fast computer...iMac 27" 3.5GHz i7 with 32GB RAM and all SDD hard disks (OS and audio). I'm running 10.10.5 and using an AES16e in a Sonnet Echo Express III-D Pro Tools 12.2 for whatever reason does some pretty intense CPU spikes when you insert a plugin, especially when you're already at 30% CPU. As you it goes higher, I actually have to wait for it to settle down a few seconds to play. With firmware 14 and mixer 58, mild CPU spikes would no longer stop playback, but cause some pops and ticks. Yes, the option to "ignore errors..." is turned off in the PT Playback Engine settings. Now that I'm back with firmware 13.2 and mixer 57A, I no longer get random crackles and pops when the CPU spikes. It either handles it properly, or stops Pro Tools playback. I was even noticing in WaveLab that I was getting crackles and pops with the new firmware/software in ways that never happened before. I must be one of the unlucky ones that doesn't have the computer specs that the new firmware was designed for but I'm hoping it can be addressed when there is a non-beta update. Note, I mostly noticed the issue when I was running a stereo out to my analog chain and capturing back in to a stereo track. When working entirely "in the box" in PT 12.2, the errors were less frequent. It's hard to be certain since I upgraded to PT 12.2 (from 12.1) at nearly the same time as the new Lynx firmware/software.
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Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/20/2015 at 3:17pm
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I think the catalyst here is the Sonnet Echo Express III-D. That adds a layer of extra complexity to the system that might be the cause of the issue. Unfortunately the only way to test that theory is to use the LT-TB instead, which isn't a cheap option for you. Having said that, there should be no difference in performance between Build 57A and Build 58 driver with Firmware 13.2. You might try upgrading to Build 58 since it does have a couple of bug fixes that are worthwhile. Again, I wouldn't expect there to be any difference in streaming performance, so it should work exactly the same way as Build 57A. Please let us know how it goes. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |
Posted By: Jperkinski
Date Posted: September/20/2015 at 3:53pm
Thanks for the info David. I'll definitely move back up to mixer build 58. I wasn't sure if that build required firmware 14. I'm not quite understanding how an LT-TB would play into my AES16e setup but I'm certainly curious if it means better stability. Things have been stable for a year or three with the AES16e in both my old Mac Pro tower and more recently in the Sonnet Echo Express III-D using my iMac. Please advise a little more about the LT-TB option with the AES16e. Thanks |
David A Hoatson wrote:Posted By: David A Hoatson
Date Posted: September/20/2015 at 3:58pm
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Please email me at support@lynxstudio.com referencing this thread and I'll give some specific info. ------------- Thank you, David A. Hoatson Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. Co-founder, Chief Software Engineer |