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Troubleshooting Hints
Where can I get the latest version of the manual?
Do I need a computer to use ERGO?
Does ERGO do correction via the headphone jack too?
Does ERGO work with my existing computer audio interface?
Can ERGO work with any speaker?
Can ERGO work with 2 sets of speakers?
Can ERGO work in a 2.1 system?
Can ERGO work in a 5.1 system? Can I use 2 or more ERGOs for this?
Does ERGO color/change my sound?
Can ERGO function as a stand-alone FireWire audio interface?
What controls are on the ERGO?
What do the different LEDs on the Focus/Global button indicate?
Does ERGO use analog or digital volume control?
Does ERGO need external power?
Does ERGO work during tracking, or only during mixdown?
Why does ERGO room correction only affect frequencies below 500Hz?
Why is my ERGO not powering up via just FireWire?
Using a Mac, I cannot see ERGO as a FireWire device.
Why is my ERGO Calibration wizard not running?
Why is the calibration mic not picking anything up?
ERGO is telling me the calibration mic level is not loud enough.
Why is ERGO calibration asking for so many measurements?
During calibration, why does the Room Knowledge never get to 100%?
During the ERGO calibration am I only supposed to hear out of one speaker?
I don’t hear a difference between ERGO in bypass and processing modes.
How do I know when ERGO Cal is finished with the system calibration?
Why does my ERGO appear locked and flashing at me?
I installed ERGO as a FireWire device, and now my other FireWire interface is gone.
While using ERGO in WDM Mode, I’m not able to select a buffer size value from the Control Panel.
Does ERGO do correction via the headphone jack too?
ERGO is a digital room analysis and correction system. It consists of the ERGO unit, a microphone and control software. These three pieces are used to measure and analyze phase and frequency problems within a listening environment and then a powerful digital signal processor in the ERGO hardware unit processes audio to correct for these problems.
ERGO can help if your mixes do not translate well from your studio to other listening environments. Instead of running to check your mix in your car or home stereo, ERGO corrects for the audio coloration in your room and this, in turn, allows mixes to translate better to numerous listening environments. If your room has problems, better speakers will not help. Sticking foam all over the place can help, but to ensure you get things right, also get ERGO.
Do I need a computer to use ERGO?
ERGO requires a FireWire connection to a computer in order to run the analysis portion of the room correction process. Once the analysis is complete, ERGO no longer needs to be connected to the computer providing one uses S/PDIF or the analog inputs on ERGO to carry the main Left/Right audio channels. Should another room analysis be required due to new furniture, new speakers, etc.; ERGO will need to be connected back to a computer for control and analysis.
What is the difference between ERGO and “room correction” software built into operating systems like Vista?
Room correction relies upon the accuracy of the measurement and the analysis of this data to create an acceptable correction that does not distort or color the sound. To do this, variables in measurement, analysis and correction need to be reduced or eliminated. ERGO is a complete system, with the only 2 variables being your speakers and room. Operating system-based correction introduces a number of variables that result in inaccurate measurement. Also operating system based correction eats up valuable CPU cycles ALL THE TIME! This means fewer plug ins, increased latency and overall poorer system performance.
ERGO does not place any processing load on the CPU when performing its room correction.
Does ERGO do correction via the headphone jack too?
No, room correction is just that, room correction on only on the A and B monitor outputs. What happens inside your headphones, (and to some extent your head) cannot be corrected using ERGO.
Does ERGO work with my existing computer audio interface?
YES! ERGO will happily sit between the main Left/Right analog outputs of your existing audio interface, or will connect to an S/PDIF out on your existing system. This is a wonderful way to work with ERGO since there is no reconfiguring of your audio workstation or drivers.
YES! ERGO will sit between the main Left/Right analog outputs of your Protools interface or will connect to the S/PDIF outputs of your Protools rig. Assign your “main” outputs in Protools, and you are ready to go.
Can ERGO work with any speaker?
Pretty much. ERGO is designed for active monitors but will work with passive monitors as well. When using passive monitors make sure the amplifier has any sonic altering features bypassed. Ex. graphic EQ, high pass/ low pass filters, EQ presets etc….
Can ERGO work with 2 sets of speakers?
YES! ERGO can switch between A and B speakers via its front-panel controls. Each set of speakers will have their own correction filters so that when you are A/B’ing a mix, you will always be doing so in a room-corrected environment.
Can ERGO work in a 2.1 system?
YES! ERGO will work with and correct 2.1 systems. It will treat the subwoofer as part of the monolithic speaker system.
Can ERGO work in a 5.1 system? Can I use 2 or more ERGOs for this?
Not yet…. Surround has other issues that have to be taken into consideration. Keep checking www.krkergo.com for exciting ERGO developments.
Is there a way to bypass the Digital to Analog converters on ERGO so I can use another D/A converter?
No. ERGO uses phase accurate FIR filters in both, the correction algorithm and the D/A converters. FIR filters, unlike IIR filters found in some D/A converters, do not exhibit frequency dependent phase shifts. Since ERGO corrects in both time (phase) and frequency domains, it is imperative that we know the characteristics of the D/A converter and do not induce unwanted or variable phase distortions. Hence the reason behind ERGO's architecture.
Does ERGO color/change my sound?
ERGO does NOT color your sound, it corrects it for presentation in your listening space. Just as the “sound” of your mix would change if you padded your environment with acoustic foam everywhere, ERGO does something similar but in the digital domain. The difference between ERGO and a stack of foam is that ERGO measures and analyzes the room to create accurate correction filters.
Can ERGO function as a stand-alone FireWire audio interface?
ERGO is also full-featured 4-in/6-out audio interface. For example, you can use ERGO to record the Left/Right bus from an analog mixer, or directly record VSTs being played from a SPDIF output on another computer. In this case, the ERGO outputs would connect directly to your monitor speakers, while the mixer or other PC connect directly to the ERGO inputs. Each input and output stream appears as an ASIO stream on a PC or Mac (4 inputs, 6 outputs).
What controls are on the ERGO?
ERGO has 6 physical controls:
What do the different LEDs on the Focus/Global button indicate?
Does ERGO use analog or digital volume control?
ERGO uses a digitally controlled ANALOG volume control. This means that the signal to noise ratio of ERGO is constant throughout the volume setting. This is far superior to systems that use digital volume control, since digital volume adjustments actually reduce the signal to noise ratio of the system at lower volumes. ERGO is true and clear throughout its volume range.
Does ERGO need external power?
No. ERGO can draw its power directly from the FireWire interface. If using ERGO in “stand-alone” mode, i.e. not using it as an audio interface on your PC, you can plug its external power supply into the wall and forego using the FireWire cable altogether (FireWire is still required for calibration).
Does ERGO work during tracking, or only during mixdown?
ERGO’s room correction should be bypassed during tracking. This results in the lowest latency when monitoring your performance. After the track is recorded, room correction can be enabled again. This is the reason why we placed a nice lighted button on the front panel to easily bypass room correction.
Why does ERGO room correction only affect frequencies below 500Hz?
90% of the big acoustical problems in studio control rooms occur in frequencies below 500Hz. ERGO is designed to specifically correct this area of the freq. spectrum. To fix the remaining 10%, or problems above 500Hz, requires significantly more processing horsepower. KRK is definitely researching a full freq. solution. Keep checking http://www.krkergo.com for exciting ERGO developments.
Why is my ERGO not powering up via just FireWire?
Most likely you are using a 4 pin (mini) FireWire port. These FW ports are commonly found on PC laptops. You need a standard 6 pin FW port in order to power ERGO. The 2 pins that are missing are the pins that carry power. Additional reasons for the ERGO not powering up:
FireWire port is not supplying enough power for ERGO. Use the 12VDC power adapter to power up ERGO.
Is power switch REALLY turned on? Check it again while using the external adapter.
Is the AC outlet working?
Using a Mac, I cannot see ERGO as a FireWire device.
ERGO needs Leopard (10.5.x) or later in order to run. Check http://www.krkergo.com for detailed instructions on how to enable workarounds for other OS versions.
Why is my ERGO Calibration wizard not running?
Why is the calibration mic not picking anything up?
You need to have the Calibrate switch on the back of ERGO pushed in, in order for the mic to work. ERGOCAL will tell you when to push the button in, make sure the Calibrate LED on the Front Panel is illuminated. Use only the KRK mic! Don't plug in any other mic for calibration. If you lose your KRK mic, you can buy a new one from KRK customer support at (954) 316-1580.
ERGO is telling me the calibration mic level is not loud enough.
Turn up the volume on your speakers. The speakers need to excite your room in order for ERGO to measure it accurately. Turn up the volume knob on ERGO. If your speakers are playing REALLY loud, something is wrong, like the mic is not plugged in; you are using an unbalanced mic cable or a bad mic cable etc…
If you have tried everything above and ERGO Cal is still not satisfied with the volume for the calibration- just make sure the output of the calibration tones is coming out fairly loud out of your speakers and click on the “NO” button. ERGO Cal will ask if you want to accept this volume and then move on to the next step.
Why does the ERGO Calibration wizard always state that my volume is too high during the first volume measurement, even when the knob is all the way down?
This is normal. ERGO wants to ensure that you turn your volume way down first so there is no chance of damaging your speakers. Slowly turn the volume control up until the software tells you the volume is sufficient.
Why is ERGO calibration asking for so many measurements?
That's OK. It can take between 3 and 9 measurements before you get to 90% or greater Room Knowledge
During calibration, why does the Room Knowledge never get to 100%?
Some things in life cannot be fully understood—like your spouse, for example. So, your room may be another one of these things. As long as Room Knowledge is 90% or greater, your mixes will sound better.
During the ERGO calibration am I only supposed to hear out of one speaker?
No. During ERGO CAL only one speaker will play at a time- ERGO will test the left speaker first then the right speaker.
If you’re getting no sound:
Make sure that your speakers are plugged into the speaker jacks (oops).
If you’re getting sound out of your right speaker first:
Check to see that your connectors aren’t crossed and plugged in the wrong jacks.
How do I know when ERGO Cal is finished with the system calibration?
After ERGO lets you know that it has stored the cal measurement, it will ask you to disengage the "calibrate" button on the back of the unit. At this point you are done - you can just quit the application. The ERGO Cal screen will return to the start of the measurement process incase you want to store a 2nd measurement.
I don’t hear a difference between ERGO in bypass and processing modes.
The acoustics in your room may already be very good, so ERGO isn't doing much. This is very unlikely however.
ERGO's effects can range from subtle to extreme, so there should be a difference. In particular, listen for the following:
Improved imaging
Tighter bass
More definition among instruments
ERGO's goal is not to make the mix “sweeter” but to make it more accurate. If you don't think you are hearing something, finish the mix and see how it translates to other environments. This is proof that ERGO is working. If you are still not hearing what you believe is an accurate mix, you may have problems with:
While listening to my mix in Global Mode, I do not perceive my mix in the same way than when I listen to it in Focus Mode. Is there any technical reason?
In Focus mode, ERGO is correcting for time and frequency domain problems. In Global mode, ERGO is only fixing frequency domain problems. This makes sense, considering that in Global mode ERGO’s processing power is correcting a much larger area. It is almost impossible to correct both time and frequency issues in this scenario.
Why does my ERGO appear locked and flashing at me?
If there is no room measurement stored in ERGO, pressing the Focus/Global button will cause the “Calibrate” LED and the Focus/Global button to flash. You CANNOT use the Focus/Global/Bypass button without at least one valid calibration (A or B/Sub), as the function is meaningless if ERGO has not stored a correction. If you cancel out of ERGO Cal without saving a measurement the Focus/Global button will exhibit this behavior as a way of telling the user "Run a calibration". You MUST take a room measurement in order for this button to work correctly. If you only store a calibration on A, select the B/Sub button and push Global/Focus button. You will again get the 3 flashes indicating that there is no Cal stored in B/Sub.
I installed ERGO as a FireWire device, and now my other FireWire interface is gone.
This should not happen on Macs, since the Mac OS can aggregate, or combine, multiple devices into a single interface. Windows users have a couple of options:
While using ERGO in WDM Mode, I’m not able to select a buffer size value from the Control Panel.
WDM does not allow you to adjust buffer size. To manually select a buffer size, select ASIO from the Control Panel.
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