Phantom power issues

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loloskar

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Hello!

I have recently bought an AKG Perception Live P5S dynamic vocal microphone and an AKG Perception 170 condenser microphone (which requires phantom power) and the M-Audio Fast Track C400 audio interface to start my own home studio. The program that I'm using is PreSonus Studio One 2.

Now, everything works just fine with my dynamic microphone, but whenever I switch ON phantom power witch fires up the condenser microphone, I get the error message "The audio device Fast Track C400 ASIO (64-bit) could not be initialized. Please check your hardware configuration and try again".

I've tried to re-install drivers but without any luck whatsoever. Everything's plugged in correct according to the manual and this is a new, clean computer.

Regards
 
It looks like the c400 is bus powered.
Since the symptoms are black and white I'd guess the unit isn't getting enough power from the USB once you turn on phantom power.

Are you plugging the interface into a hub or a front port? If so switch to a rear port.(desktop PC)
If you're on a laptop or already using a rear port, just try another one.
 
I've heard that can be an issue with USB-powered interfaces. Steen's advise is the best you're gonna get.
 
Thank you so much for your tips, I'm very grateful, sadly one solved problem led to another, lol.

I got a trial of an other DAW-program called Sonar X2 and thought I'd try it out, to see if the same problems occurred there - surprisingly it didn't! BUT (pause for effect...) the playback and the recorded sound I get from BOTH of the microphones are a bit crunchy, it crackles (you have to excuse my English and vocabulary, I'm from Sweden). Friends tells me it's the gain level, but it's not it. Does anyone have a clue of what it could be? Tell me if you need more specifications (bout something, anything) that could be a factor, because my knowledge in this field is very limited.
 
It's not the gain level. It's the ASIO buffer size. Try increasing it.
 
Thank you so much for your tips, I'm very grateful, sadly one solved problem led to another, lol.

I got a trial of an other DAW-program called Sonar X2 and thought I'd try it out, to see if the same problems occurred there - surprisingly it didn't! BUT (pause for effect...) the playback and the recorded sound I get from BOTH of the microphones are a bit crunchy, it crackles (you have to excuse my English and vocabulary, I'm from Sweden). Friends tells me it's the gain level, but it's not it. Does anyone have a clue of what it could be? Tell me if you need more specifications (bout something, anything) that could be a factor, because my knowledge in this field is very limited.

Changing USB port fixed the phantom issue?

Ptravel's probably right. If you're getting intermittent crackling that doesn't tie in with distortion/clipping, then the computer is probably just struggling to cope.

Try adjusting your buffer setting within your recording software.
Low buffer size eg 32 = low latency and hard work for computer - Potential for audio glitches.
High buffer size eg 102 = high latency and lighter work for computer - fewer/no glitches.

If that's what it is, the glitches aren't recorded or exported. You just hear them while you're working at the session.
 
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