S88 MK3 Freezing all the time

I unfortunately don't have an answer for you, but I'm experiencing the same thing with my S49 MK3 on Ableton Live (v11.3.13). I haven't tried with Logic Pro yet, but I'll give that a try as well.

I'm also running a Mac Studio M2 Max (12-core CPU, 38-core GPU), with 64GB RAM and 8TB SSD. I'm running macOS Ventura 13.6.1.

Adding another data point though. I didn't experience any of this with my S49 MK2 Komplete Kontrol 3.0. The only changes for me are (1) the S49 MK3 instead of the MK2 and (2) an update to the latest version of Komplete Kontrol at the time (v3.0.1).

I did create a support ticket for this though, and will update here when I hear back from NI.

I'm not 100%, but I'm very close to sure that it's not CPU spikes. When it happens:

• The keyboard never recovers (for browsing/plugin usage), but I can still play it (like you mention).
• I'm still able to interact with Komplete Kontrol (or Kontakt) in my DAW without issue - browse patches, adjust settings, etc. All while the keyboard is still frozen.
• It happens in a new/blank project, when Ableton Live is the only thing running, when I'm just browsing patches (not trying to load any). The only think happening in Komplete Kontrol is I am getting a preview of the sound.
• I haven't noticed it happening during any of the CPU spikes. I ran a test without anything running, and monitored the CPUs (pic attached). (Note the large spike near the middle is when I restarted the computer.)

Definitely open to any additional help/troubleshooting though!

I also loaded up a larger project in Ableton Live. Noticed something similar. Seemed to freeze not associated with a CPU spike (at least not how I'd classify a spike, but please correct me). In Live, the max CPU utilization matches closely with the graph (~25%), typically sitting around 20-23%.

A day later, and I'm hesitant to say that this has 100% solved the problem, but it does appear to address it most of the time. I can switch projects, have multiple tracks with KK/K7, all without issue. I've opened large projects to try to stress-test it against CPU spikes, and still okay. I did have a crash that happened, but that was overnight when I left Ableton Live open.

Curious if you all are seeing this a lot with direct connection vs. powered USB hubs. I did test the USB-C port on my Mac Studio, and it appears to be functioning correctly (with the appropriate amount of power being delivered). I hooked up other devices to that same port, and it seems to also work fine.

There is definitely some USB issues with the device. I have a M2 studio as well and have issues with certain USB-C cables. I don't have a powered USB hub to test, but I have had better results with some USB-C cables that others. I've been trying to help narrow down the exact cause but have not had very much luck, I feel for the NI team. I have issues with certain USB cables on my Mac, but they seem to work fine on a PC.

From all of my efforts, it seems maybe some sort of power related issue. Possibly a brown out... not enough to trigger the keyboard's "not enough power" screen, but enough that certain subsystems within the keyboard seem to stop responding/working while others continue to function. This frequently manifests itself as the display/main control knob not responding, while the MIDI keys continue to function. This makes sense because the MIDI keys are actually controlled by a different microcontroller within the keyboard.