How well does this work in the studio with Cubase in Windows?

[Crossfire Recording]

Hey guys,

I’ve reached the peak of frustration getting Presonus Series 3 to work. The amount of pain I had to go through to just get this playing back in Cubase without crackles and pops has destroyed all my confidence in Audio Interface companies. I eventually got it to work, but I had to get a PHD in processor core settings and windows settings to make it work.

I want to return this and get a SQ5. Can someone please tell me with some minimal amount of confidence how well this works with Cubase 10 and Windows before I go down this road again?

Asus WS c246 Pro
GSkill ripjaws (32 GB)
Intel 9700k
3 Solid State Hard drives (not using RAID)
Windows 10 Pro

I would love a vote of confidence. I just need to get to work and this is killing my soul. How’s A&H customer support and documentation? Because Presonus was a nightmare. I apologize for the rant, but I’m just livid right now and wasted an entire weekend messing with this stuff.

Thanks,
Nick

[SteffenR]

there is no guarantee that it will work

if the USB is not working with the SQ and your computer there is still the use of DANTE possible
but there is an extra amount of money needed to get the DANTE card for the SQ

you can read the threads about SQ drive and USB recording with the SQ
there are many of them around here

[volounteer]

@Crossfire Recording

Getting anything audio related to work well with win10 is a major job. I have given up on windoze.
I might consider a linux distro if my XPPro system dies but never ever again windoze after 7.

I would rate AH customer support as good.
And AH documentation as poor on an absolute basis and barely adequate relative to what it should be.

Tell us what it is that you really need to do not give us possible solutions to evaluate and maybe we can help more.

[Crossfire Recording]

Well, i don’t have an SQ5 as stated in the OP. I’m considering one. My problems are with Presonus.

DAW mode doesn’t work, or it worked for 10 minutes and quit
Audio sounded like crackling popcorn for a month until i found a unique solution to fix it. Presonus and Sweetwater couldn’t fix it.

[volounteer]

@crossfire recording

as I said, if you have win 10 you will have problems with almost all audio attempts
now the problem *might* be presonus but I would not bet on that until you did a major clean up on the win10 box

not sure if that is even possible now or if microslop forces you to keep crapware running so they can steal your data

and as i implied if not outright said before switching to an sq5 is no guarantee that you wont have the same windoze caused problems

[tourtelot]

Not exactly an answer to your specific question but I will say without reservation, the day I sold my Presonus panel and bought an SQ6 was one of the best days in my audio life.

I won’t get into the experience that I had with Presonus but if you are simply looking for a vote-of-confidence on the SQ-series, you more than have it from me.

D.

[SteffenR]

I don’t know why anybody says that Win10 has problems with audio… the’re are no more than on any other system
I’m working with Win10 and audio software daily with much success

We did dicussions about the problems with USB audio interfaces and these problems related to QU and SQ
in much cases these problems are solvable but there are some cases where it’s not

That’s why nobody would give you unrestricted recommendations

[Mfk0815]

I also work very successful with Windows 10 and Audio applications. Since V1.2 or maybe 1.3 the USB-B Connection of my SQ6 works reliable, never had any issue with that and Windows 10 (I am using Reaper). Only my older Macbook Pro is not able to work reliable with the SQ.
For really important recordings, like live recordings, I like to use a redundant recording solution. This I can do with the Dante card and USB-B and two Windows 10 computers. Again, never had an issue.
But I cannot speak for the reliability of the SQ together with Cubase, since I do not use this Application at all. So maybe the problem is more on Cubase side than on the side of the mixing console.
@Crossfire Recording have you ever tried another DAW, like Reaper, with your existing console? Reaper, for instance, can be used in a full feature Test mode without any license.

[SteffenR]

if Cubase works on the PC then it works together with the SQ

[Hugh]

As with most all audio considerations we have a “Good news–Bad news” scenario. The A&H SQ & D-Live consoles are primarily designed to deliver world class live performance sound re-enforcement. While the SQs offer USB2 ancillary tools to record any audio input: their recording protocol is a long way from world class professional standards. For this reason the SQ can accommodate either a Waves or Dante card that will enable most of the advantages of world class recording gear. The Good news is a properly loaded SQ5 will deliver 16 channels of pristine pres and conversion for apx. $2,500. Adding a DX168 stage box will bring you up to 32 channels for apx. an additional $1,000 investment. IMO this $3,500. investment is the very best pro standard value available today by anyone anywhere and that is why I bought them both. However my project studio will remain a Digigrid/Waves LV1, system with two 24 inch touch screens feeding a studio one DAW with a Faderport 8 controller. The bad news is in order to implement either the Dante or Waves protocol a considerable investment in gear beyond the cards will be necessary for your SQ to function as a reliable studio recording tool.
I will use my Glyph external HD to capture up to 16 tracks of live performance that I can bring back to the studio and dump down into my Waves controlled DAW. If or when this does not prove to be satisfactory I will buy the Waves card and revert to the Waves protocol for live performance capture with the SQ. It is very important to do the research to understand the limitations and investment required to implement the various options and the circumstances that may require either additional protocol.
Hugh

[SteffenR]

the considerations depend on the task

if you do always band rehearsal recordings and overdubs from time to time it is ok to use onls the USB port

what Hugh is referring to is that it is not that reliable as Dante or Waves
but it’s included
and if you get it to work it just works

and btw the sound quality is the same 😉

[Author]

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