mioXL and "Retired" interfaces

bax · October 2019

Congrats on the next evolution of the mio; the XL looks very interesting and I am excited for a few of the new features (built-in USB hub/ports for class-compliant devices, more RTP-MIDI ports, presets). I haven't really seen much here since the news of the release, and I guess I have a few questions:

Street Date? The marketing states that it is available, but nobody seems to have it for sale yet (at least in the USA). Any ideas when it might actually be generally available for purchase at our favorite retailers?

Manuals and Software downloads - could we please take a look at the manual while we wait? Is it possible to get some additional explanations about the next iteration of Auracle and its capabilities compared to prior utilities (current "non-Series" version of Auracle, iConfig)?

I am curious about the new 8in-12out DIN port arrangements...is this set in stone via hardware implementation, or is there any ability to re-configure the unit in software to look like the previous 10in-10out setup employed by the mio10?

Is there any kind of buyback/trade-in program being considered for those of us who have multiple mio units and would like to "upgrade" to the new XL units? I have 3 mio10 units (and honestly need one more), and I'd really like to be able to take advantage of something like that...

Are the "Retired" midi interfaces (such as the mio10) completely done and over with as far as any further development or support is concerned, or will future versions of the Auracle utility be able to manage those units as well (and possibly with the extended features from iConfig that were supposed to make their way into Auracle)? Is there any possibility to extend the RTP-MIDI capabilities of those "retired" units in firmware to match the extended RTP-MIDI port capabilities provided by the XL (or at least extend them to the point where we could have enough to mirror the DIN ports)? Does the current RTP-MIDI driver work correctly and completely with both the older and newer mio hardware?

Sorry for the tons of questions, but speaking for myself I'm just trying to figure out the direction that things are going with the new XL hardware, and whether or not any of my now "retired" hardware will be able to tag along for the ride or I am going to be better served by starting over again. Any additional info is appreciated...

Thanks!

bax

EDIT: I found the software and related videos for Auracle for X-Series (linked off the Control Software page: https://www.iconnectivity.com/auracle-x-series ) which gave some additional info and explanations of the software and it's capabilities.

Stevie · October 2019

To be honest, I'm very disappointed by that move. I own 2 mio10 and if you think about that they have only been released in 2017...

The worst part is, that the mioXL does in no way replace the mio10. It has less "real" MIDI ports and the front panel is even more cluttered now with additional ports. In a studio setup this doesn't make sense at all. You don't plug most of the devices at the front, but at the back. And regarding all the additional USB ports that the mioXL comes with... This can be easily achieved by connecting a hub to the mio10.

Again, I can in no way think how the mioXL should be a successor to the mio10.

I really hope that the mio10 will be supported for a long time.

bax · October 2019

@Stevie - yeah, I do agree with the fact that the 8in-12out arrangement is moving slightly backwards for me, although I do have some rack gear that I would potentially not really require the dedicated ins for (although that can be limiting for librarian/editor purposes). I like the idea of the inlined USB ports (especially a few front USB ports) as I have a number of devices that aren't always plugged in, and being able to just connect easily without digging around behind racks is an attractive feature for me. I use hubs now anyway, so it isn't a major difference other than cleaning things up a little bit and having one less point of failure (or in my case, three) in the rig.

My biggest fear about this situation right now is that the mio10 will simply be abandoned, especially since the website now shows it as "retired". Like you, I have multiple mio10 units in my rig that I went "all-in" on recently to replace my older MOTU gear mainly because these were newer, had excellent features, and was being actively developed. Auracle was touted as the software that would make everything easy to configure and (eventually) have the advanced features that iConfig has to allow for more complicated setups. iConfig (despite repeated attempts, re-installations of Windows10/drivers/software/etc and I do "I.T." for a living) only works for me when I have one of the mio10s on and the others turned off, which makes advanced configuration inconvenient and frustrating at best.

I understand that iConfig was dropped in favor of Auracle development so I've been patiently waiting during its progression. I (along with pretty much all other mio owners) was absolutely expecting that Auracle would eventually get to feature parity with iConfig as has been stated for the last year or more. Now it looks like it may have finally gotten there, but isn't compatible with the $1000 of hardware I've already purchased... I really hope that point isn't lost on iConnectivity management and the Auracle software will continue to be developed to be compatible with the legacy interfaces in a reasonable timeframe. If there for some reason is some technical issue preventing that from happening, then please do the right thing and provide legacy owners who have supported you to this point some option or consideration towards a trade-in of our legacy units for a reasonable allowance on the newer generation of hardware.

bax · October 2019

They are finally in stock and available for purchase as of today, at least from Sweetwater...

Despite my better judgement, I broke down and bought two because it will substantially help my workflow to be able to convert most of my stuff to RTP-MIDI without having to channelize/aggregate 16 devices to one netmidi port. I still hold out hope that the legacy mio interfaces get some consideration as far as Auracle is concerned.

Thanks!

bax

Stevie · October 2019

Hey bax! Couldn't agree more about what you wrote. Same as you, I wasn't actually worried that they released a new product. I was worried about the fact that this new (to me inferior) product is supposed to replace the mio10 and is therefore getting retired. And I still want to remind everyone, that this product is close to 2 years old. And same as you, I also expected Auracle to get all the features that iConfig used to have. So there's a lot of disappointment in a row...

I gotta say, if iConnectivy is now becoming a marketing driven company, then I'm out. The mio10s will be my last investment.

bax · October 2019

Agreed!!! I can't say "I'm out" at this point because my wheels still have to keep turning and the XL feature set will make those wheels turn more smoothly, but I would be very disappointed and wary of support of XL and/or future products if they completely drop the legacy stuff without at least delivering a feature-complete version of Auracle or in-lining that support into the "Auracle for XL Series" codebase. Backwards compatibility shouldn't be maintained forever, but the "retired" mio interfaces are still IMHO basically a new product.

So many companies move too quickly onto the "next big thing" without finishing the current product, and I hope this isn't the case here. It would set a very bad precedent otherwise...

hahnice · November 2019

I too would like to see a confirmation that development, or at least an update to mio10 that would allow Auracle X series to work with mio10.
It appears iconnectivity have gone very quiet over this which is a shame as their hardware is excellent but is let down by inferior software. Auracle seems a backward step from iconfig though Auracle X series implements a lot more routing functionality. With Auracle it appears they want the DAW to do the routing which isnt helpful if your not using a computer.

IFM · November 2019

I have been trying to get mine set up. Since I have a Studio and Mobil rig I preferred the Mio10's dual DAW connection. Now I have to deal with Networked MIDI for one of the Macs and so far it has proven quite unreliable.
The only way it stays connected without using OSX's own network MIDI is to have the app open and that freezes a lot. I have a better connection using OSX's network MIDI and creating one session per port but I do have to do that every boot.

Personally I do like having more outs than ins as some modules like the Mother32 do not need anything and I can have it all connected from the front.

My biggest complaint again is just only one main USB to Computer connection.

IFM · November 2019

Returning my MioXL. I might as well get the MOTU for a lot less with all the routing I have to do with software just to equal when I was doing with the Mio10.

tsho08 · November 2019

Hey friends. Sorry we have missed your thread above here.

The mio4, mio10 and MIDI4+ are being "retired".
We will still warranty them and assist in support but they will just be stopped from being produced in the future.

There is currently no manual. There is one in the work that needs some updating to make it available.

We are hoping for Auracle for X-Series to be THE future software. We know that software has been a hard point in our past and now have an in house team who create Auracle for X-Series. This software will continue to get updated and we do want to do backward compatibility for MIDI product and add Audio into it for previous and future audio gear.

We hear your concerns on the single USB port and 8/12 vs. 10/10. We actually made that change based on feedback over the year of the mio10 much like adding Presets.
RTPMIDI was our own push and we slowly tried to assist people in using that over the previous years as we've had it in the MIDI4+ for MANY years. We do see the future of MIDI and audio connections in the industry going through ethernet.
We have ideas to develop this more and make it easier in the future. In Auracle for X-Series we've started the process of creating connections inside the software itself and look to hopefully take over Apples MIDI Studio Network Setup in the future to make the integration stronger.

Keep shooting us feedback as we do listen to what everyone says about the gear and make future decisions off of that information.

Thanks
Travis Short
iConnectivity

hiJinx3r · November 2019

Before including audio into the mix, simply allowing the «legacy» devices like the mio10 to have the same filtering and mapping features though Auracle, would be comforting with future support in mind.
Remember, not supporting hardware after just a few years is the nightmare of all users who spend lots of money on this.

geertmae · December 2019

I bought a mioXL and have no clue on how to connect it. I filed a complaint and got the answer that there is no manual yet. Have you ever heard that for a marketed product?? I guess I'll just sit and wait a bit but will definitely return if no manual in the weeks ahead. What a bummer.

RobinC · December 2019

Thought I'd add my voice to this thread. I've owned a MIO 10 for about two years now. On the whole it has been a dependable device. Have never been a fan of iConfig in terms of usability but it does a job. It's been very disappointing to see some of the advanced functionality of iConfig left behind in Auracle. There have been murmurs on this forum about Auracle being updated to reintroduce the missing functionality but nothing has appeared so far.

I don't have a problem with you introducing new and improved devices though I feel the reduction in the USB port is a retrograde step. Currently my MIO is connected to two computers.

However, by putting iConfig and the MIO 10 as end of life and not as yet adding backward compatibility to Auracle X you really put a question mark in my mind over whether I should have the MIO 10 as the heart of my home studio and whether I should be spending my money with iConnectivity. The reality is that by not continuing to support the MIO 10 you've possibly cost yourself a shot of a sale of a MIO 10 XL. I've already backed the kickstarter for the Conductive Labs device because I needed another multi port device and wasn't sure whether sticking with iConnectivity was the right move. Which is a massive shame as a MIO 10 has generally performed flawlessly for me.

It sounds as if you've taken some positive steps forward with your new software team. So I'll continue to keep an eye on developments. But you do need to listen to your customers and show them that you are listening. To not respond to a thread like this on the forum of your own website doesn't look good.

ajoelson · January 2020

Hey folks, mio4, mio10, iConnectMIDI4+ and iConnectMIDI2+ is in the progress of being added to Auracle X. We have no intension of leaving users of those devices out in the cold. It just takes a bit longer as thier internal control language is different than their mioX series counterparts.

On the topic of Auracle X in general. We've migrated to this platform for development moving forward. We've made signifigant investments in expanding our software development team and will be continuing to have regular releases to add functionality, compatibility, and of course fix bugs.

To those of you that are worried that we will suddenly become a "marketing driven" company, rest easy knowing that we've actually doubled the size of our developement team and reduced marketing resources.

grumpyman57 · January 2020

tsho08 said:

We hear your concerns on the single USB port and 8/12 vs. 10/10. We actually made that change based on feedback over the year of the mio10 much like adding Presets.......

@tsho08, I rather doubt that anyone asked you to remove the second USB port, as doing so benefits nobody. For many, this was a very useful feature, if you didn’t need it, then you simply did not use it, no harm, no foul. Whilst it is too late for me, as I just purchased the MIOXL, you really need to reconsider the decision to remove this USB port in future iterations of this device. This was a very poorly thought out engineering decision.

tsho08 · February 2020

@grumpyman57
I get where you are coming from with the extra USB ports. We have decided to push toward using RTPMIDI on these new interfaces. This doesn't mean all future gear will go this way but our mio X-Series did.
We see the value in the second /third USB ports but we also see great value and future potential in the ethernet side of things.

We did make some changes based on feedback but some of those decisions were also company based thinking about where we would like to explore in the future possibly. We tag "innovative interfaces" in our logo because we want to do some things that others aren't doing.

We see that many of our users want the extra USBs. I've also seen that once someone sees the potential in the RTP side of things they get very excited about that even over the USB as well. It's a personal preference. I like both because I can't run my USB cables very far in a room and ethernet allows that.

Stevie · March 2020

Hey guys, thanks for clarifying. Looking forward to the old devices getting added to Auracle-X!

EDIT: awesome they are already added, thanks!

tsho08 · May 2020

They are added. NEXT audio!

MatthewleBlom · July 2020

Hello, I wanted to let know as an 2x Mio10 owner, this move to support Mio10 made me buy another MioXL (I needed more, I didn't replace a Mio10). If the Mio10 was fased out I probably would have considered another way of extending my midi network. So thank you for adding Mio10 support, I'm very happy with that!

glm1051 · August 2020

I think we can all be grateful to actually get some feedback from the iConnectivity team who actually take time to provide detailed answers to our many questions.
I had to reconfigure some routing today, and not having had done so in a while, I realized that iconfig had become unusable under current Windows 10 (wouldn't even open).
My memories of Auracle software was horrible from over a year ago.
Now things seem to work well, and I'm happy you guys concurring to support our "legacy" hardware.
I am clueless about how rtp really works, and why I should use it, but I'm willing to learn and get to know more.
I'm also old school, I like many midi ports, but maybe the XL when comes time to upgrade will work out great too.
G

tsho08 · August 2020

Appreciate all the feedback.

RTP is the way we are wanting people to connect on the mioXL/mioXM. Every possible connection gets it's own MIDI port with it's own 16 channels.

If you don't mind checking out some videos you might get some info on our support youtube.

Video1:

Video 2:

Also a note that we are working on some options for better documentation and an updated knowledge base at the moment to help everyone out.

I'm sorry I'm a little slow at times on the forum I'm very busy in our support request department and RMAs and such.
If you need quicker answers sometimes I'm usually quicker accessed there.

mioXL and "Retired" interfaces

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