I’m running the latest versions on x1850 and SC6000M’s. My goal is to use the system in standalone mode most of the time. Unfortunately, the blue link lights on the players go out almost at random and the mixer just seems to stop reading data from the non-SSD mounted player in the middle of a set. I can tell when it happens because the SSD, which is installed on player 1 will no longer be readable on player 2 and the green lights on the Ethernet switches will no longer be blinking although the yellow lights are on. To make matters worse, pressing the Engine Connect button on the x1850 only reveals the firmware version of the mixer as opposed to allowing me to re-link the players. Should the Ethernet switch be replaced? Any settings I should be aware of? Frustrated DJ trying to ditch Serato and and my reliance on laptops looking for a tip. Thanks.
Try a different ethernet cable. I’ve already had one of these green ones go bad just sitting there for a year unused and still connected, and another guy had an included IEC power cable have a continuity issue with its ground. Step one, swap the cables.
Also try linking one player to the mixer and see which player drops out from the network connection , if either. It could be neither drop the connection , but it’s a way of testing the Ethernet ports on the players
Thanks. I’ll get a couple new cables today and give it a shot.
Good idea. I’ll try it and see what happens.
Which version do you run atm?
I’m not at home right now but I believe it says 1.6 when I purses the Engine button on the mixer.
Is it a ‘very’ new X1850 then?
Firmware 1.5 and 1.6 were pulled, so I thought you might have an older version then these. Older than 1.5 could have potential Engine Connect issues.
Cabling or the mixer’s internal ethernet switch could be defective as well, of course.
Hardware 1.4 Firmware 1.6
I’ll try different cakes today. If that doesn’t work, I’ll find out how to go about getting warranty work done since it’s then most likely a faulty Ethernet switch.
Being completly stupid here.
Are you using cat 5 cables. Maybe worth a shot using cat6 cables and see if that makes any difference. In theory it shouldnt ( but relativity is only a theory) as they should be backwards compatable.
So your X1850 is new?
I was using the cables that came with the players. I just bought Cat6 cables and will try those in a few.
Relatively - I’ve had it now for about 2 months and it was not pre-owned.
Yeah then it needs 1.6, so that shouldn’t be an issue.
Right. I switched out one of the cables and so far there appears to be a stable connection.
So, unfortunately we’re back to square 1. The issue is simple, Engine OS won’t stay on. Like clockwork, I start Deck 1, then Deck 2, and then the x1850. The link lights come on, Deck 2 recognizes the internal drive from Deck 1, the Engine symbol appears on the FX screen and then 5 minutes into the set BOOM, Deck 2 is no longer recognizing the SSD in Deck 1 and Engine OS is out for the count. If I power everything off and go through the same process again, I get the same results. This is true whether I use different cables, wifi on/off, different port configurations, or a different power on sequence.
Really struggling to find a solution. How do we reach Denon support?
Oh. I think this is a known issue that may or may not be getting worse. So, it’s not just me. Seems like some ethernet initialization issue, and I don’t recall this being a problem a year ago. Present on last two firmware releases at least. Last time I checked it, I analyzed one track fine over link, got only part the way through the next track’s analysis on the linked deck, and then the linked deck had issues browsing for the third track. InMusic has told me they’re working on a solution.
It only seems to be affecting link. Restart the linked deck. Make sure you wait at least 5-10 seconds between shut down and booting back up so you don’t stress your player caps (not sure if there’s some reboot under settings that would skip powering down phase). Eventually after trying a reboot or two, the linked deck eventually should start working again. Make sure you try loading a few tracks on each deck to ensure link is stable when starting a session. It may have issues with analyzing or with the browser, but if you can load a few tracks, analyze all of them, and continue browsing fine, you should be ok indefinitely for that session, in my experience.
On the plus side, the recent firmwares seem to have faster browsing when link’s working properly. If we ever get a read-only mode or at least NTFS read-only, then the need to write over link and continuously update the database might be reduced, which could help narrow down some of these glitches faster, not to mention provide more reliable drives and require less double-checking link at the beginning of a session… among other things.
If you discover any particular nuances as to when this issue happens or precisely how best to resolve it when it does happen, please post here to update other uses. I realize a lot of people are using one drive per deck or the all-in-one standalones, so link seems to be used decreasingly amongst the Prime user base.
I think I may have stumbled upon the problem. I noticed when changing the link ports so that the player layers were reversed on Deck 1, I didn’t have a problem. Port 2 on the x1850 ethernet switch gives you the traditional setup with Layer A on the inside and Layer B on the outside. Port 1 flips it so that Layer A is on the outside and Layer B is on the inside. When using Port 1, I have no issues, but I do as soon as I plug back into Port 2. So, I BELIEVE Port 2 on the ethernet switch is the culprit. I’ll play a home set and see how it goes.
Check and recheck. The issue InMusic is trying to resolve in the firmware comes and goes. I usually have channels 1 & 4 as A layers. You started out using 2&3 as the A layers?
Correct. I have always used the two inside channels as the main channels and reserved the outside channels for the TR-8S and a line-in in case I needed to play music from an ipad or phone. Now, unless I send the mixer back, I’ll be using your 1 and 4 configuration. Interestingly, I tried 4 deck mixing from the 1 - 4 configuration and it works like a charm. Even more evidence that ethernet Port 2 on the mixer is shot.