Ask me anything: Z1 MK2

Man, I've been a huge fan of NI hardware (interfaces, DJ gear, keyboards, everything) for 15+ years but this here is just a mind blown "why!?" moment. The only reason I can think for this is that USB A connectors are sturdier than USB C. I suspect the overwhelming majority of users would only be using the X1 and Z1 together here and will now just use two USB cables or a non-powered hub anyway.

It's been a particular joy for me to get on stage for a lot of sets and not even have to plug into AC as my laptop battery is enough for the Z1, X1 and F1.

Am I wrong in thinking NI could at least be selling an accessory cable with USB C split to USB B and 15V on the other end?

I would be grateful if you are willing to send me the name and direct e-mail address of the person who is very familiar with the KONTROL S49.

Best wishes from The Netherlands, Jeff

jdavis591@hotmail.com

Re USB-C having worked for a while in IT support, I can only applaud the decision to go for the older USB for resilience. As Michael has already said, it's a more robust connection, and the last thing you want doing anything in real time is even momentary drop-outs. On my own gear, I use USB C for external SSDs but ONLY EVER with seriously good quality (and therefore expensive) cables, while some of my clients had problems with USB C cables they bought online, and which turned out not to be tight enough - either physically (fit) or build quality (spec).

As with audio, momentary drop-outs on high speed data transfer cause all kinds of problems. So by going with the older more robust standard, NI are looking after us, as well as protecting themselves from at best puzzlement, at worst accusations when people have problems that are actually caused by the cables. (There's a cost element too in an affordable device - again, a high spec, fine tolerance USB C socket is going to cost, and is 'spec-ed' way higher than is needed for the data transfer rates we need.)

Thanks Michael and everybody for this discussion - learning a lot already, and really looking forward to playing with the mapping when I upgrade to Z1(mk2) and X1(mk3) in the New Year!

I absolutely LOVE the new screens/displays on the Z1 and the X1.

Is it too cost prohibitive to have smaller screens, above or below each control? Having labels for each control, that CHANGE based on the mapping you're running, or the modifier you're in, would be an absolute dream come true.

Possible one day, do you think?

And let me guess. NI does not provide that cable. You got to purchase it extra ;). FAIL!!!

I feel NI has missed an opportunity here. There are hundred of Conscious dance DJ's who need a small foot print controller with a mic input, no one makes one. At the moment the best fit is the Reloop Mixtour but it has no mic input so they generally have to go for a larger controller or an external sound card.

Personally I was really hoping for a Traktor version of the Mixtour for traveling light so I miss the track selection and the play, cue sync section. I feel this would have given this controller some other markets. I am not sure that it is really what a beginner dj needs as they need the track selection and basic transport controls.

Dont get me wrong it looks great just not what I need, I will stick with the reloop for travel and the Z2 and X1 for bigger gigs.

A few of us windows users are having issues with bugs selecting outputs with wasapi, and driver errors in device manager when using asio drivers.

here is my original post…
https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/37926/z1-mk2-driver-error-audio-interface-selection-is-buggy

Is there any fix for this?
Can I propose that Ni needs to release a new asio driver?

And on another topic, I would really like to re-map the two gains and the master volume while in eq mode. Will this ever be possible?

Im really considering returning the z1 mk2 and just sticking with the original z1. Its more practical for my use unless Ni fixes these issues.