No sound output from DP 32SD

[Mark Richards]

The dp24.sys, the edit.sys, and the song.sys files all store routing information.

Perhaps the problem is in one or more of those files. So....
FIRST
The only thing left to try is upgrading the firmware to v1.08
Format an SD card in your computer, and then
Let v1.08 do a full format of the virgin SD card on the DP-32SD.

SECOND
Initialize the DP-32SD.
Clear the default Input/Track assigns,
Assign Input A to Track 1 and Input B to Track 2, and
Return to the Multitrack Screen.

THIRD
With Inputs A and B assigned to Tracks 1 and 2, all you need do is stay on the Multitrack screen and press the REC button for Tracks 1 and 2 to see if you have incoming signal on the Track 1 and 2 meters.

If no signal, no point going further with the A&B/1&2 path.

Instead, focus on Track 5. Press the Track 5 REC button and see if the Track 5 Meter shows an incoming signal. If it does, no point going further.

FOURTH
If the incoming signal appears on the Track 1 and 2 meters, then raise the Track 1 and 2 faders, raise the Stereo Bus fader, and see if you get an outbound signal on the Stereo Bus Meter. If no signal, no point going further with the A&B/1&2 path.

Instead, focus on Track 5. Raise the Track 5 fader and see if you get an outbound signal to the Stereo Bus Meter. If it does, no point going further.

If the problem you had with FW 1.06 still presents, you now have a clear, easy to follow/replicate process that demonstrates the problem for TASCAM to investigate.

 

[ANAYV]

hi ANAVY,

Nice job on the video, thanks!

Thanks mjk.
Video is not something I do.

There are some weird things going on, but also some of what you are experiencing is normal. Let's take a look:

Up to 3:00 all is good. I totally understand your process up to that point.

3:20: you assign the inputs to the Stereo Bus without first confirming that tracks 1 and 2 are operating properly (see below).

3:44: Pressing "Stereo Select" only puts the cursor down at the bottom of the Assign screen. It's just a convenience. Since your cursor was already on the Stereo Bus section, pressing that button does nothing.


I realized that after I did it


4:02: Raising tracks 1 and 2 does nothing because record is not enabled. That is normal. I wish you had done this first before assigning those inputs to the Stereo Bus.

Oh. Sorry.
Perhaps I can do another video and arm ( record )the tracks this time?


Pressing the Record button should have shown input to those 2 tracks. With input levels on the tracks, those faders should bring the level up and down on the Stereo Bus.


I should of tried that.


4:07: Very strange! I wish you had cleared the assignments at that point and left the fader up. That would identify where the connection is happening. If you take the inputs off the Stereo Bus, does track 5 still do that?


No, no sound output ( even track 5) unless I enable the stereo bus.


Does only 1 input do that, or both?

Both.


Also, what happens if you put Track 5 in record? Does the sound go away?


Not sure about that.
I Will have to try it.


4:43: Yes, track 5 should be doing nothing!




4:47: RCA outputs? The Monitor outputs on the DP-32 are TRS. If you are monitoring off the RCA stereo outputs, then of course, the Monitor level adjusts nothing.

Unless I use headphones?
Would not the sound come through the headphones?
Thats what I was referring to.


6:11: Correct.

7:57: Again, not in Record mode, so that is normal.

8:00: That is not normal!


I know


The fact is, no channel fader should be doing anything at all because none of them are in Record mode.


Yep


You could un-assign tracks and assign directly to the Stereo Bus and that should work as a basic mixer. I cannot see how fader 5 is doing what you are demonstrating.

Me either !!


An interesting test would be to go to the Mixer screen and pan track 5 L/R and observe the results on the Stereo Bus.

Ok. I can try that.

The DP machines do not have any such internal routing that would allow this to happen.



I can't tell you how to proceed. I can only tell you that I would send it back to Tascam with a letter (or take it in-person) and give them a copy of your video. I would make them eat that service charge because clearly they didn't test it well enough.

hi ANAVY,

Dont think I want to spend another $30.00 to ship it to them...only for them to tell me too bad...no longer under warranty




ANAYV

 

[David Porter]

(first - I would follow Mark's recommendations)

If that doesn't get you anywhere....


"Dont think I want to spend another $30.00 to ship it to them...only for them to tell me too bad...no longer under warranty"

I completely understand. But - in my view it's well worth the $30.00 to make the point: "If you're not going to do anything about this than you can have this dinghy anchor back - oh and I'll never buy another Tascam product again". Oh yes - I would happily spend that $30 to make that point. You may even be pleasantly surprised.

 

[-mjk-]

What David just said, and especially so in this video age. Often just the threat of a YouTube video (or a live stream) can move companies to resolve things.

I would definitely upgrade the firmware and do what Mark suggested.

 

[-mjk-]

Thanks Mark. After it failed the first step, was there any reason to further check ?

Hi @ANAYV

That depends upon how you wish to proceed. If you want to fix it, then yes. Keep testing until you find the exact failure point if possible and document it. Customers often find things that company Quality departments miss. The information is useful down the line to others as well.

If you only want to prove it's not working, then no. You could send it back to Tascam, or just push it off the end of the bench and into the trash can.

My hope is that you upgrade the firmware to the very latest version, reformat, copy nothing to the card, and do a totally fresh test. I would really like to see your machine restored! At this point I have a high degree of confidence that the firmware upgrade will set things right. If it doesn't, a firmware upgrade certainly wouldn't do any hardware damage.

 

[Stew71]

That's really strange, isn't it?

Without digesting all the details, is the channel 5 fader operating as if it's the main monitor fader?

Something that I wondered briefly in the middle of the night - when a firmware update is done, is all the code in the machine overwritten? Or are there lower levels of coding which are left intact, and could potentially be corrupted? (I guess - maybe erroneously - akin to the differences between BIOS, OS and programmes on a PC: if say Windows itself is corrupted, then reinstalling your DAW or whatever probably won't fix problems you've been having.).

 

[Mark Richards]

Thanks Mark. After it failed the first step, was there any reason to further check ?

Hi @ANAYV...That depends upon how you wish to proceed. If you want to fix it, then yes. Keep testing until you find the exact failure point if possible and document it...If you only want to prove it's not working, then no.

I try to craft my posts with the understanding that this site is a source of information for many readers with varying degrees of experience and knowledge.

So I craft my posts as specifically as possible and in as much detail as possible for the benefit of all who may read a thread looking for informed opinion/information on how to solve a problem.

I make the information available. How the information I post is put to use is for the reader to decide.

 

[ANAYV]

Hi @ANAYV

That depends upon how you wish to proceed. If you want to fix it, then yes. Keep testing until you find the exact failure point if possible and document it. Customers often find things that company Quality departments miss. The information is useful down the line to others as well.

If you only want to prove it's not working, then no. You could send it back to Tascam, or just push it off the end of the bench and into the trash can.

My hope is that you upgrade the firmware to the very latest version, reformat, copy nothing to the card, and do a totally fresh test. I would really like to see your machine restored! At this point I have a high degree of confidence that the firmware upgrade will set things right. If it doesn't, a firmware upgrade certainly wouldn't do any hardware damage.

I woyld want this to work. Good thing its not my only multi track.recorder.

I had problems with firmware version 1.00

TASCAM didnt have any newer firmware when they were looking at it.

I Only took this unit out again after seeing Phils videos and then looking to see if newer firmware was available.

Once seeing indeed newer firmware was out...then I came here.

Didnt install yhe firmwarebm right away as I wanted to make sure it wasnt me.

After firmware 1.06....still same exact problem

I will try firmware 1.08 and see if that does anything.

Ibwill think about what I will do with this.

If I have it shipped to them to look at again...I will be out close to $100.00

Thats not counting the $499 or $599 I paid for it.

To note this is the unit designed for Musicians Friend.
No MIDI nor CD burner.

No rush on my end....but I will post back if I see any change with newest firmware and if I send it in

Thanks so much to all who tried to help

Really appreciate the time everyone took!!

ANAYV

 

[-mjk-]

The first this I would do is Tweet the YouTube link to Tascam USA.

 

[ANAYV]

Good Idea.

 

[Mark Richards]

...this is the unit designed for Musicians Friend. No MIDI nor CD burner.

No, the 24/32 SD was the next iteration of the Porta-studio. It wasn't "designed for [the] Musician's Friend" company.

The DP-24/32 SD hit the market 3 years after the original 24/32 Porta-studio.

TASCAM eliminated the CD recorder/player because it was getting harder to find CD transports and TASCAM was still making outboard/rack-mount CD equipment.

It remains a mystery why MIDI bit the dust.

 

[Ron van Niele]

Received my DP-24SD last weekend and having the same problems, real frustrating! Also followed all advice given here but nothing helped. Thus the only solution is to return the equipment to the manufacturer?

 

[-mjk-]

@Ron van Niele welcome to the Tascam Forums. Sorry you're having issues.

Does the demo song not play back?

 

[Ron van Niele]

The demo song does play back after sliding the track faders up. However, the stereo fader and monitor level knob have no effect on the volume output (headphones). Furthermore, whats also confusing me is after carefully watching and carrying out Phil Tipping's video tutorial 3A, (connecting to and selecting Input A, assign Input to Stereo Bus) there is no signal present on the Stereo Meter and no sound to be heard through headphones when monitor level and stereo fader is turned up.

I'm probably overlooking something; quite frustrating.

 

[-mjk-]

Does the Stereo fader move the Stereo level up and down on the meters (disregarding the volume level on the headphones for the moment)?

Another thing to look for is whether you are actually monitoring the stereo bus. Check the Monitor select button and make sure.

 

[Ron van Niele]

The Stereo fader does not move the level on the meters and the Monitor Select is set to Stereo.

 

[Mark Richards]

Received my DP-24SD last weekend ...only solution is to return the equipment to the manufacturer?

Ron, if you have a factory-new DP-24SD purchased from an authorized dealer, I would first contact the authorized dealer.

If you have a second-hand unit, then I would contact TASCAM support.

Keep your information simple:

You've updated to Firmware 1.07 for your DP-24SD.
You've played back the Demo song in Multitrack mode;
There is signal on the Track Meters;
You've raised the Track Faders to unity gain;
You've raised the Stereo Master Bus Fader to unity gain;
You've set the Monitor to "Stereo";
You've turned the Headphone Level Knob to (what ever position you've set it).​

However, having done these things:

* No signal appears on the Stereo Master Bus Meters; and
* No audio is present at the Headphone Output Jack.
​

Hopefully you'll be able to obtain satisfaction.

 

[Ron van Niele]

Just done a bit more testing. When monitoring the input signal the stereo fader and monitor level knob have no effect when turned up or down. BUT the track 3 fader sends the signal through to the stereo bus ( stereo level meters moving ) and track 4 fader supplies the output volume! Sliding either to infinity means no signal or no sound.
Any ideas?

 

[David Porter]

Hmmm.... sounds the same or similar to ANAYV's issue.

That is so weird.

I would be aggressively trying to contact Tascam.

 

[Mark Richards]

Ron,
This issue is definitely a head scratcher.

I'm inclined to think it's some sort of firmware glitch; or a glitch with the creation of the DP24.sys file in the root directory following a full format of the SD card; and/or a problem with the Edit.sys file, and/or a problem with the Song.sys file in the Demo Song folder.

Did you purchase new from an authorized dealer, or did you purchase your DP-24SD used? If new, I'd just contact the dealer and ask for a replacement.

If you plan to bring this forward to TASCAM, the more orderly and repeatable your testing, the greater your credibility will be with TASCAM, and the better the chance for obtaining a resolution.

Your Tests
1. Playback of the demo song

You've updated to Firmware 1.07 for your DP-24SD (TASCAM always insists).
You've played back the Demo song in Multitrack mode;
There is signal on the Track Meters;
You've raised the Track Faders to unity gain;
You've raised the Stereo Master Bus Fader to unity gain;
You've set the Monitor to "Stereo";
You've turned the Headphone Level Knob to (what ever position you've set it).​

Result:

* No signal appears on the Stereo Master Bus Meters; and
* No audio is present at the Headphone Output Jack.​

==================================================
I think it will benefit you to be as precise as possible about your process, so it likely can be helpful to TASCAM if you can let them know:
2. Routing of an Input Signal
* ??Which Input??
* ??Assigned to: Track(s), Stereo Bus, both, neither??
* ??Visual presence of signal on the Track Meter(s) (if so assigned)??
Result:
With the Stereo Bus Fader up: no audio on Stereo Bus; no signal on Stereo Bus Meter.

Additional Steps and Result:
* Tracks 3 & 4:

- ??With the Stereo Bus Fader set and kept where??
- Raise Track 3 Fader: signal goes to the Stereo Bus meter (but no audio is heard).
- ??Lower Track 3 Fader??
- Raise Track 4 Fader: audio goes to the Stereo Bus, but no signal on Stereo Bus Meter.​

================================================
A few other thoughts - TASCAM will also want to know:

- If after updating the firmware, you formatted a blank SD card and copied the Demo song to that card.

- If you are using a TASCAM tested/approved SD card, and if so, which one.​

================================================
Good luck. Hope this gets resolved to your satisfaction.