Have a QC few days ago with the latest firmware and when power off with the button the QC a constant noise signal sounds with the xlr outputs. No phantom power and tried with diferent devices (mixers and sound card).
Comming from Fractal FM3 and this problem not accurs. Readed a “solution” here but is not good for me: Resolving Noise Problems
Thanks.
Hi @MP11Z and welcome to the community. Sorry to hear that you are experiencing noise which NDSP has stated is normal and recommends to use standby which works great:
Turning off first the monitors or amplifiers connected to Quad Cortex is a good practice.
For smoother switching, the XLR Outs use optical switches to lift the ground, and the default mode when these are not powered is open, so the grounds are lifted when the power is turned off.
If you’d like to keep your monitors powered on and connected to Quad Cortex when it is not in use, using the STANDBY feature will solve the issue as the ground state will remain. Press the Power Button to access the Power Functions and select [STANDBY]. All audio outputs will be disabled and the screen will be turned off.
STANDBY mode also had the advantage of having immediate boot-up.
If you continue to have issues, please feel free to email support@neuraldsp.com and they will get you sorted quickly.
XLRs are not useable live with that horrible noise while powered off. IMHO it’s a serious design oversight and hopefully future units will employ a different hardware solution. The ‘Standby’ suggestion is not a practical solution for live use: if you get unplugged or need to reposition your gear then as soon as the power goes down the noise starts.
Fortunately you can use a TRS jack (i.e., stereo jack) to XLR cable from outputs 3 & 4. No noise from them. Hopefully you never need to use more than two outputs to front of house!
Thanks! No problem if in mode Standby I disconnect the power cord?
I’ve read elsewhere on this forum (Just put my QC on a board! - #4 by grimm26) that there’s no risk associated with cutting power without shutting down. Although, that does beg the question “why even bother having a shutdown feature?”. It makes sense that this thing should be tolerant to randomly losing power: pedal boards are chaotic places after all!
Nowadays it’s not unusual to have the QC on a desk, permanently connected to power. I think it’s a useful feature being able to switch on/off the unit without having to cut the power.
Why not have a hardware switch then? Just turn it off like you do your amp?
That’s actually what I’d prefer, too. Then we could choose whether the QC powers on when plugged in or not. Now it always powering on without any option to avoid that.
Not a perfect solution but I have mine always plugged into a Furman power conditioner which has a switch for the applicable outlets. When leaving for extended trips etc., I simply shut that outlet down otherwise you could always add an inline switch. Again, not a perfect solution but it accomplishes what I need.
That NDSP stated this issue as “normal” is just one more joke in a long row…
I’m completly with @Scottiopause … XLR is unusable like this.
But hey, if some more people will complain here, the thread just gets closed like all the other ones 
We close threads when the issue needs to be reviewed and escalated with support since they can determine if there is an issue or not and what the fix may be.
We lock threads to make it easier for other people who searching for the same issues to see that the correct course of action is to reach out to support for the particular issue.
Email in its the best way for support to keep track of ongoing issues and see the severity if it’s effecting more than 1 units etc.
For me it is a minor problem. I’ll just tell my sound guy to mute the channel at the end of the show.
I’m happy this can be addressed with standby mode, that should work for many users. No way though can this be considered “normal”, and it should be fixed. And not in a future hardware version; in this one. Hopefully that is in the works if it is not irremediable design flaw. If it is, I can live with it and by all means fix it in the next generation of hardware.
I also agree with you that there is something that smacks unpleasantly of censorship when threads regarding legitimate bugs get closed or locked unless the comments get out of hand. Persistent bugs or issues deserve to have persistent threads such that users can not only vent but also for easy access to workarounds. The thread also remains a constant and PUBLIC reminder to the company and any new customer contemplating buying the product, that something needs fixing. That way, in an informed fashion, prospective customers can determine whether or not it is a showstopper for them. It certainly isn’t a showstopper for me. Opening tickets with ND is also a great or even a superior approach often more likely to produce a resolution but it is a PRIVATE form of communication visible only to the customer and the company.
I don’t want to come off as an armchair quarterback, so at the risk of pandering, I happen to think the moderators here do a phenomenal job in general, providing valuable information, an excellent format, and fostering a respectful, useful, and productive forum with a true sense of community. However, my intense affection for democratic operation and transparency leaves me unable to understand why ANY thread on any forum should be closed or locked for any reason other than the usual good ones such as the issue having been resolved, trolling, spreading inaccuracy or lies, rudeness, personal attacks, etc… Perhaps mine is an extreme view on how a forum should operate. Admittedly, I don’t have to admin or moderate this thing, so I remain receptive to being convinced of the need to close or lock threads with the diligence that this forum practices. At the moment however I fail to see the need.
Multiple threads on the same topic are inevitable in any forum but keeping the older ones available and unlocked helps to cut down on infinite identical topic replication. Perhaps the forum moderators simply feel that keeping topics shorter and in more manageable chunks is a better way to access their information. I can see that being a legitimate position to take. Personally, I prefer sorting on threads from newer to older, despite their length, and having the ability to respond to older threads if necessary. Also, when I encounter an issue or bug, I prefer searching through one long thread for historical perspective, discovering how long the issue has persisted, and hopefully workarounds or proposed solutions, all located in one convenient location, rather than having to search potentially through multiple threads that have all been opened on exactly the same topic, solely because the previous one was closed or locked. Others may feel differently.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. As @MP_Mod mentioned we try to keep it organized and easy to for users to find solutions. If there is a bug to be found again the support team works close to the development team to determine if something appears to be software related. If several users are experiencing an issue after an update it flags it could be software related. I understand what you mean about private form of communication but often times they need to be private because there’s levels of troubleshooting and back and forth that is involved to determine issues that only the support team is trained to do. There are benefits to both.
If we do come across a confirmed bug we typically communicate and update the thread that is being worked on.
If you go back through other threads as well even if isn’t exactly positive for Neural we listen to feedback and if it’s constructive we leave the threads open for discussion. If threads grow to not be constructive or are re-hashing items that have already been answered or discussed several times, they are locked.
We’ll take your feedback into consideration, thanks for sharing your POV. Feel free to dm if you want to discuss further.
I generally agree with the comments regarding thread closing, etc. I purchased a QC after endless research. Fractal, Kemper, and Helix are close competitors. As a new product, I think it is fair to say that many, like me, have made the choice to go with the QC, at least partially, in the hope that the product will become a superstar in its marketplace. Open, timely communications showing steady progress, along with regular incremental soft upgrades are critical to keeping the vibe alive. And forums are the town square (s) where the QC’ers gather… and should be open, vibrant, regularly refreshed communication centers. I am very happy with my decision to buy QC, but it does seem like customer-facing communications and especially features updates are a bit slow, leaving me “hoping” for more… admittedly this could be perception more than the fact if compared to competitors’ performance in those areas; let’s see what happens over the next several months.