XONE:K3 Traktor LED feedback issue

[Bartech]

I’m having exactly the same problem with the Xone:K3 and the blinking LEDs, whose behavior is completely unclear. On the Xone:K2 everything works predictably, the LEDs follow the mapping exactly as they’re programmed. On the K3 they behave differently, blink in a weird way, and you really can’t tell what mode they’re in or what they’re responding to.

Looking at the previous posts in this thread it’s obvious this is not a one-off issue or “user error”. Quite a few people have already reported it, described the situation in detail, and sent you as the manufacturer all the necessary information.

So I’m addressing the whole Xone team responsible for the K3:
stop pretending everything is fine and call things what they are.
If LED feedback on the K2 works correctly, but on the K3 it’s totally unintuitive and inconsistent, then this looks like a bug in the firmware / software or in your implementation, not “mapping problems on the user side”.

As a manufacturer making money from selling the K3 (not to mention you ditched the case and sell just the bare unit…), you should properly reproduce this problem on your side and find a solution:
– test the K3 with Traktor and other popular software,
– clearly state whether it’s a firmware bug,
– and announce a fix or at least give a concrete status, instead of just telling everyone to open a support ticket.

I also completely disagree with the claim that “professionals use the K3”.
At Mayday Poland on 11 November 2025, neither Chris Liebing, nor Speedy J, nor Richie Hawtin – from what I saw – were using the K3. They were all on the good old K2. That shows something is not right with the new controller if even top artists stick to the previous model.

To sum up:
– the LED feedback issue on the K3 is real, repeatable, and reported by many users,
– on the K2 it works correctly, so the difference lies on the K3 side,
– we expect a serious, professional approach from you: an official acknowledgment that something is wrong, and information about when we can expect a fix, instead of brushing people off with “please open a support ticket”.

This is supposed to be “pro” gear, so it’s time for a “pro” approach to the problem.

[Isotoxin]

Dude, chill out. They are working with everyone to find the issue and fix it ASAP.

[Bartech]

Hey man, I’m probably one of the calmest people – maybe even in Poland
This isn’t me freaking out, it’s just frustration. I really hate when we, as end customers, have to buy something new that feels untested, unchecked and not really finished yet.

Also, who thought it was a good idea to ship the K3 without a case?

As for “ASAP” – I’d love to be optimistic and believe that means we’ll actually see a proper firmware/update still this calendar year. That would already make a big difference.

[Andrei_Necsoiu]

^This

I was also a bit skeptical seeing that the K3 isn’t used by any of the hybrid-live DJs as of now.

Also, no K3 reviews on YouTube so far from any of the Youtubers that are in the DJ gear space, and the K3 is out for more than a month.

Kinda iffy in my opinion.

[lukas1]

No well-known DJs are using the K3, there are no proper gear reviews on any major YouTube channels, and store availability is almost zero. That really makes you think…

[Xoneofficial]

have you contacted support about your issue?
If not, please do so.
online: https://support.allen-heath.com/
email: support@allen-heath.com
if you already have, please reply here noting your helpdesk ticket ID

thanks

[Bartech]

With all due respect to you guys at A&H and the work you’re doing – I can open 10 or even 100 tickets, but what’s the point?
The issue is clearly not an isolated case, it’s affecting a lot of users. At this stage it really needs a proper, global fix from your side, not just more individual support cases.

[Isotoxin]

The reason why A&H are asking for the open ticket: they want to gather as much detailed information as possible about the problem from people who have encountered this issue.

[leesinthemix]

Three weeks has passed and no resolution on this issue

[lukas1]

This whole situation is starting to feel like a joke. Weeks keep passing by, and apart from hearing that the testers are “working on it,” there’s still no real progress or any . Honestly, if the same testers were responsible for releasing this product in such a broken state in the first place, it doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence that this time they’ll get it right.

[Bartech]

I just wanted to kindly follow up on this topic, because it’s been very quiet for a while and I’m not sure if anything is currently happening with this issue.

Have there been any internal tests or progress on reproducing and fixing the K3 + Traktor LED feedback problem?

Could you please let us know whether this is actively being worked on and, if possible, share an estimated date or at least an approximate timeline for a firmware/update release that addresses it?
Even a rough target (for example “by the end of this year” or a specific quarter) would be really helpful for us to plan our setups and decide whether we can rely on the K3 in professional use.

As an additional thought: if the root cause turns out to be complex, maybe you could consider removing the current K3 LED logic and simply loading the same firmware/LED behaviour that you use on the K2 – or at least offering a “K2-style LED mode” as an option. For many of us that would already be a perfectly acceptable solution.

Thank you in advance for any update you can share.

[Keith]

We are currently working on two issues relating to the LED feedback on the K3.

The first is when using K3 with a K2 map that relied on some unintended behaviour in the K2 hardware. In the K2, the LED’s always respond to the same messages, and always the last message received. The LED control is also somewhat separate to the button state. That meant that some maps only sent note on (without note off) messages to illuminate LED’s and sequential note on only messages to trigger different colours on the different layers.

The K3 however, needed to have LED’s that responded to various messages tied to the configuration of the keys. It was expecting note on AND note off messages, meaning that incomplete messages (note on only) would not work as expected.

We have a fix for this currently in test and expect a release in the next few weeks (unless something major comes up during test of course!).

The second issue is related to dumping large amounts of messaging to the unit via the XLink connection, where it’s possible that some of those messages will not be correctly received. This is currently being investigated and is therefore more of an unknown at this point. (note that it does not affect the USB connection and only presents when updating lots of LED’s at once).

Thank you to those affected by either of these issues for your patience.

Keith.

[Mididreams]

Hello Keith,

Thank you very much for the update.

I would like to suggest a small correction to your text and clarify the issue. The K3 uses what is known as value caching. This is the big difference between it and the K2.

When we work with the latch layer turned off, it is intentional and also unavoidable that we only send an “on” signal and no ‘off’ signal, depending on the function. An “off” signal would only be sent if the corresponding function is also turned off. So it could be that I activate Quantize (which would always remain on) but also activate the same button with Headphone Cue via the Shift button and overwrite the Quantize LED. However, since Headphone CUE is switched on and off repeatedly during DJing, I would like the Quantize LED to light up again when Headphone CUE is switched off so that I can see that it is active. In practical terms, this means sending 0 to Headphone CUE and sending 127 to Quantize.

I therefore believe that this function, or let’s call it the absence of value caching, was very much intentional in the K2. This is the only way to control the LEDs relatively easily. With value caching, I first have to send to the LED with the value 127 another value and then use 127 to make the LED light up again (this value does not have to be 0 or off, it can simply be a value other than 127).

[lukas1]

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[lukas1]

I’ve already ended my K3 journey. I returned both units to the store last week — thanks to the retailer’s goodwill in extending the return period — and I’ve now received a full refund. So for me, the K3 issue is officially closed. I wish patience and perseverance to everyone who decided to keep their units and wait for a fix. And to Allen & Heath — congratulations on what is, in my personal experience, probably the biggest product misstep in your history.