Maybe why your Balance sucks.

pushedbutton · 19 Jun 2016

https://goo.gl/photos/qiSWQ4KpTgnD9XgV6
If I can draw your attention to the top left of the picture where you'll see some sticky tape holding the thing together, you might have noticed that this connection is slightly temperamental due to it being some fucking copper sticky tape.

Squishing this back into place hasn't solved all of my problems with the unit but it sure has made investigating further a damn sight more challenging.

Oh and for those who wish to look into it, there are 2 hidden screws under the sticker and 6 under the foam padding. Fuck your warranty, you don't have one.

Last Alternative · 19 Jun 2016

Yeah not cool. I wanted one so bad when they came out but boy am I glad I got a Focusrite Scarlet 2i4 instead, after seeing all the problems people have had with the balance.. Another thing PH made and abandoned. I wonder why they do that.

19 Jun 2016

Mine was an early model for beta testing and is working flawless to date, even after being thrown into gig bags! Sorry to hear folks are having issues with theirs…

pushedbutton · 19 Jun 2016

As soon as I have some spare copper tape I'll dig a little deeper and find out why ..
1) Balance needs to be power cycled before it appears in the device list.
2) XLR inputs only work after repeatedly hammering on the phantom power buttons.

but as I can't risk breaking it further to get that far I'll have to call it a day for now.

jonheal · 19 Jun 2016

If it makes you feel any better, there's no way Propellerhead didn't lose a ton of money with the Balance. It costs a fortune to prototype and tool up for manufacturing hardware. Especially something with such a unique enclosure as the Balance.

They're probably still trying to pay it off.

jjpscott01 · 19 Jun 2016

Man thats strange to read others having issues with. Mine has been my favorite interface for several years and 3 versions of windows systems(I should add I've owned several interfaces including the Scarlett range, m-audio, etc). I also carry it around traveling quite a bit to use with my laptop. I still prefer its design and ease of use to any of the other dual input interfaces.

Sinistereo · 19 Jun 2016

Despite all the problems I've had with it, I still love my Balance. I use it with my laptop on an as-needed basis.

On one hand, I'm disappointed that it hasn't been better supported. On the other hand, kudos to Props for trying to create such an inexpensive and sexy device! Hope they stick to software from now on...

ZombieFightsShark · 19 Jun 2016

jjpscott01 wrote:Man thats strange to read others having issues with. Mine has been my favorite interface for several years and 3 versions of windows systems(I should add I've owned several interfaces including the Scarlett range, m-audio, etc). I also carry it around traveling quite a bit to use with my laptop. I still prefer its design and ease of use to any of the other dual input interfaces.

Same here.
Exactly zero problems.

pushedbutton · 19 Jun 2016

I don't mind the fact they called it a day with hardware, I'm not even all that bothered about the copper tape that was just barely hanging in there, but when I ask where to take it to get it fixed and they don't even bother to say 'I don't know', that's what pisses me off.

KEVMOVE02 · 20 Jun 2016

Is it uncommon for unsuccessful product lines to be abandoned? Even successful ones will eventually suffer from the loss of product service and support because its no company has the capacity to cover every product they ever made forever. It may not seem reasonable that this could or should occur with a product as new as the balance audio interface, but its not they only product to ever suffer such a fate. Newsflash: if this is the worse product support experience you have in life, consider yourself a candidate for most fortunate person in the world award.

The_G · 20 Jun 2016

I've never had any problems with Balance. Plus it cost me the same as the upgrade to 7 would have at that time, so it was essentially free.

jonheal · 20 Jun 2016

Typically, and as expected, Mr Buttons of Pushing, It looks like the proletariat are dismissive and/or downright hostile to your alleged injustices suffered.

Oh, well. I still feel for ya. I suppose companies that sell audio hardware take on new and drop old products all the time. It's just more obvious when the company has only ONE piece of hardware.

I'm happy that you were ingenious enough to figure out how to fix your own device.

Iapetus 9 · 20 Jun 2016

Conversely, I had a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 for strictly band practice mic inputs, and it fell apart after 6 months of twice a week practice. I should blame Behringer

On that note, I never did get a Balance. It looked pretty, but it didn't have what I needed for the price. I'll blame Focusrite for that one

21 Jun 2016

Sorry to read you are disappointed.
Adhesive copper is used in some places to add some shielding, and is not structural.
It should not get in the way if you want to further disassemble the device.
(Of course, any remaining warranty would be lost when the device is opened.)

I would personally be surprised if any audio interface manufacturer recommends a repair shop where one of their audio interface models can be repaired if the circuit is broken, except maybe if the exact type of damage is known in detail and it's easy to imagine how it can be repaired.

Like most (almost all?) today's audio interfaces, it contains modern electronics with multiple layers and small pitch surface mounted components.
Any electronics repair shop can give it a shot, but you would be lucky if you find one that can pinpoint the fault in detail and repair it cleanly.
This is in no way unique for Balance compared to other audio interfaces.

The warranty included with Balance allows you to replace the device itself, instead of repairs.
What does not work right for you?
Is it damaged / changed since you bought it, or is it the same since you bought it?
Have you contacted with e-mail support and explained what does not work right for you?

21 Jun 2016

I really don't use it that much anymore. Balance still causes (too) occasional BSODs. Three different PCs, Win7-Win10. My friend has these problems too.

Other than that I really dig it but I'm still using my Roland Edirol FA-101... which rocks!

FXbypass · 21 Jun 2016

pushedbutton wrote:As soon as I have some spare copper tape I'll dig a little deeper and find out why ..
1) Balance needs to be power cycled before it appears in the device list.

I HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION TO THIS, after a few years. It's a Windows problem.
You have to turn off "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option given in Shutdown settings section.
SEE THIS LINK:
http://www.askvg.com/fix-windows-8-rest ... n-feature/

At least it solved the problem for me, and I do not have to Power cycle Balance anymore.

Dabbler · 21 Jun 2016

FXbypass wrote:
pushedbutton wrote:As soon as I have some spare copper tape I'll dig a little deeper and find out why ..
1) Balance needs to be power cycled before it appears in the device list.
I HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION TO THIS, after a few years. It's a Windows problem.
You have to turn off "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option given in Shutdown settings section.
SEE THIS LINK:
http://www.askvg.com/fix-windows-8-rest ... n-feature/

At least it solved the problem for me, and I do not have to Power cycle Balance anymore.

Thanks for this link.

Sinistereo · 21 Jun 2016

FXbypass wrote:
pushedbutton wrote:As soon as I have some spare copper tape I'll dig a little deeper and find out why ..
1) Balance needs to be power cycled before it appears in the device list.
I HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION TO THIS, after a few years. It's a Windows problem.
You have to turn off "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option given in Shutdown settings section.
SEE THIS LINK:
http://www.askvg.com/fix-windows-8-rest ... n-feature/

At least it solved the problem for me, and I do not have to Power cycle Balance anymore.

I'm glad you found a solution for your setup!

It's not a "Windows problem," though... more likely a problem with the supplied Windows driver. Other USB sound devices work perfectly for me where Balance fails. Windows plays nice with devices that play by the rules.

kuhliloach · 21 Jun 2016

There is a Balance on one of the workstations I manage and it has been flawless so far. It goes on occasional trips on cars and planes. Its class-compliance has bailed me out in non-Reason situations. The design and engineering is quite impressive. The current alliance with Focusrite is still quite welcome, though personally I'm using a Mackie Onyx Blackjack after retiring the old Line6 UX2.

Bonkhead · 21 Jun 2016

It's a motherboard usb chipset problem in combination with windows problem, as far as i know.

Meanwhile I have zero problems with Balance on w7 and w8.

moofi · 21 Jun 2016

Thank you for hinting. Very much appreciated

FXbypass wrote:
pushedbutton wrote:As soon as I have some spare copper tape I'll dig a little deeper and find out why ..
1) Balance needs to be power cycled before it appears in the device list.
I HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION TO THIS, after a few years. It's a Windows problem.
You have to turn off "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option given in Shutdown settings section.
SEE THIS LINK:
http://www.askvg.com/fix-windows-8-rest ... n-feature/

At least it solved the problem for me, and I do not have to Power cycle Balance anymore.

Maybe why your Balance sucks.

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