My MPC X Has Died

Howdy!

About 2 weeks ago, I done the update to 2.10, and everything was fine!
I turned the machine off for a few days, and the next time I turned it back on, it displayed an error 'no internal audio device could be found', and would then automatically shut down - I was shocked to my very core!
After panicking for a while, and attempting to turn the unit on and off again for an hour or so, I bit the bullet and emailed Akai - to this day, they have not replied.
I also came here looking for a magical fix (there is none), and then proceeded to call the Akai HQ in LI, here in the States.
I nice lad called Aaron replied, and suggested re-installing 2.10 from an SD card or Thumb Drive, and since my machine would not properly boot, he also suggested using the 16 Step (3 button) method, which puts the MPC into offline boot mode as soon as you power on.
This actually worked, in that instead of just shutting down, it would now freeze on the Update splash screen, but would not allow any updates, or communication, even when plugged into my PC.
I emailed Aaron again, to tell him my bad news, and he then informed me it was most definitely a hardware issue, and I was out of warranty, and basically - 'here's some telephone numbers for service centers', and goodbye - they are very emphatic that they are not taking any responsibility here at all.
I then emailed MPCStuff, and they replied that my problem is more than likely an issues with the Carrier PCB Board ($350), but they're out of stock, and won't have them until the end of the year.

Now, I have a $2300 MPC sitting on my desk, which has turned into a huge turd!
My issue is as follows, there appears to be many folks out there having issues with PCB boards for the MPC X/Live. This is starting to appear more and more like a hardware flaw, as my little unti has sat on top of a desk for 2 years, and been gently caressed and loved only by me in that time, but now there's this rather expensive flaw inside.

Your thoughts, please.

Stephen

So plug in a usb soundcard before powering it on? it will likely reconfigure alsa to use the new card. then when it boots just yank the usb out and it will default back to the internal sound card.

did you test an external sound device and power off the unit while plugged in? if so thats why.

Your buddy aaron is WRONG. its a software issue related to alsa (the sound server) and misconfiguration.

If you cant get it to reconfig with my outlined steps the try another usb audio interface.

Superb!
Let me try when I get home tonight..

Many thanks!

If an update can break a device frankly, it doesn't look good for AKAI at all. Furthermore, if a folk on this forum is more knowledgeable than AKAI customer themselves about a potential fix, then What the F... ? I appreciate AKAI updating their software, but this SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN, period. This is so F*ckep up.

How old is the MPC X, 2 years? You should talk to your local consumer rights organisation to find out what's possible. Here in the UK manufacturers warranties are just in addition to your normal legal rights and you would probably still be covered under the Sale of Goods Act, where you are entitled to expect a product to last a 'reasonable' time before needing repairs. I think it's reasonable to expect $2300 pro audio gear to have a life expectancy of more than two years.

However you would likely need to go to small claims court to get anywhere and would need to prove that this was due to a pre-existing fault in the product. But as I say this is in the UK (where your 'contract' is with the retailer, not the manufacturer).

Schnooker wrote:I emailed Aaron again, to tell him my bad news, and he then informed me it was most definitely a hardware issue, and I was out of warranty, and basically - 'here's some telephone numbers for service centers', and goodbye - they are very emphatic that they are not taking any responsibility here at all.

Your thoughts, please.

Stephen

So, not to be "that guy" Stephen - but you're out of warranty, so why should Akai take any responsibility at all? It's covered for 1 year, you passed that 1 year, so yeah - you're pretty much on your own. I know it sucks, and I'd be raging if it was me as well, but you absolutely cannot hold Akai responsible in a case like this.

Also, if there was a massive failure of this PCB board, we'd have X owners all up in our s h it here all of the time, but - we don't.

I guess order the parts, or pay to get it fixed, and be done with it. Or not - your call.

Things like this does make me feel better about buying my MPC Live II from Sweetwater so it has a 2 year warranty. Just hoping the years after that are OK!

So, not to be "that guy" Stephen - but you're out of warranty, so why should Akai take any responsibility at all? It's covered for 1 year, you passed that 1 year, so yeah - you're pretty much on your own. I know it sucks, and I'd be raging if it was me as well, but you absolutely cannot hold Akai responsible in a case like this.

Also, if there was a massive failure of this PCB board, we'd have X owners all up in our s h it here all of the time, but - we don't.

I guess order the parts, or pay to get it fixed, and be done with it. Or not - your call.

Things like this does make me feel better about buying my MPC Live II from Sweetwater so it has a 2 year warranty. Just hoping the years after that are OK!

I think you have a very blase attitude towards a $2300 piece of kit.
My gripe IS with Akai, because my unit has sat on my desk, being very lightly used for 2 years, and then all of a sudden - dies completely on me, and you're telling me that's just the way it is.. but you'd also be mad if the same scenario happened to you?
And if only my machine was indeed the only one to have this fault, then wouldn't it be more incumbent on Akai to do something about that - excellent customer service et al!

I'm sorry, I think you've completely missed the point, and are dead wrong!

If this a hardware failure (even a rare one), and I have to shelve out $350 to repair it, I'll never, EVER purchase another Akai product again - the fact that their main customer service page, where you leave a ticket for service, won't even reply, is glaringly obvious how much Akai really cares about their customers.

I have E-Mu samplers from the 80's at home, and are still going strong without issues.. after all these years.

I'll check with different sound cards tonight, and report back.

Thanks for everyone's input - even the negative ones!!

If you can get it Powered up and Running....Make sure you reset your Preferences. Are you able to Do anything in Standalone Mode? Or is the problem just in Controller Mode?

it's not broken though, its just misconfigured. the mpc also stays in "stand alone mode". if you power it off in stand alone mode. It's just some persistant settings... powering down your external audio interface before powering down would have avoided this "bug".

I know because ive created this error by modifying the alsa.conf manually and having it go into the boot loop... luckily i left myself a fail safe.. this is an alsa issue its not "****".. this is pebkac.. find a different usb audio device and repeat steps...

It’s completely bricked in either mode.

Schnooker wrote:

So, not to be "that guy" Stephen - but you're out of warranty, so why should Akai take any responsibility at all? It's covered for 1 year, you passed that 1 year, so yeah - you're pretty much on your own. I know it sucks, and I'd be raging if it was me as well, but you absolutely cannot hold Akai responsible in a case like this.

Also, if there was a massive failure of this PCB board, we'd have X owners all up in our s h it here all of the time, but - we don't.

I guess order the parts, or pay to get it fixed, and be done with it. Or not - your call.

Things like this does make me feel better about buying my MPC Live II from Sweetwater so it has a 2 year warranty. Just hoping the years after that are OK!

I think you have a very blase attitude towards a $2300 piece of kit.
My gripe IS with Akai, because my unit has sat on my desk, being very lightly used for 2 years, and then all of a sudden - dies completely on me, and you're telling me that's just the way it is.. but you'd also be mad if the same scenario happened to you?
And if only my machine was indeed the only one to have this fault, then wouldn't it be more incumbent on Akai to do something about that - excellent customer service et al!

I'm sorry, I think you've completely missed the point, and are dead wrong!

If this a hardware failure (even a rare one), and I have to shelve out $350 to repair it, I'll never, EVER purchase another Akai product again - the fact that their main customer service page, where you leave a ticket for service, won't even reply, is glaringly obvious how much Akai really cares about their customers.

I have E-Mu samplers from the 80's at home, and are still going strong without issues.. after all these years.

I'll check with different sound cards tonight, and report back.

Thanks for everyone's input - even the negative ones!!

Well, if you are out of warranty, what should Akai do?
You can say you don't trust them anymore, that is acceptable, but you cannot pretend they gonna repair any out of warranty unit, that's just impossible for anyone.
I do think your issue has to do with the fact that you used X with an external sound card, so try what a man said some posts before, try to power it up with that sound card and then disable it and switch to the internal one before power off.

Schnooker wrote:It’s completely bricked in either mode.

Not bricked.. misconfugured. bricked means the device doesnt even try to boot... it boots it even loads but it realises your alsa conf is incorrect and shuts down.

Ok.
I’ll give another sound card a try and report back.
Many BBB thanks for your suggestion..

I really think you guys put too much emphasis on manufacturer's warranty. If you are in the US, look into 'implied warranties', which is basically similar to what we have in the UK, i.e. that all products should have a 'reasonable' life span, regardless of the manufacturer warranty. You should definitely not just let it drop, 2 years is NOT an acceptable lifespan for pro audio gear, especially if not used in a commercial environment.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/mag ... /index.htm

I do think your issue has to do with the fact that you used X with an external sound card, so try what a man said some posts before, try to power it up with that sound card and then disable it and switch to the internal one before power off.

I haven’t used it with an external sound card.
I’m going to try that tonight.