Audio stutters with USB Dacs on Macbook M1 Pro

[Zensō]

I'm surprised they support multiple OS platforms. 3-4 months does seem excessive.

There would’ve been a mutiny in the Graphics department if we were forced off of MacOS.

Seriously, in reality the differences between Adobe CC on Mac and Windows is fairly insignificant these days. That said, most designers are trained on Macs so it remains the default platform in that industry.

 

[JayGilb]

There would’ve been a mutiny in the Graphics department if we were forced off of MacOS.

Seriously, in reality the differences between Adobe CC on Mac and Windows is fairly insignificant these days. That said, most designers are trained on Macs so it remains the default platform in that industry.

We all run Windows and use vnc to log into out Linux compute platforms. Linux is the dominant OS platform for ASIC design software, so we will always be using it.

 

[Jeromeof]

Decided to try the RC of Sonoma - I see you can make any website an "App" so here is ASR as a Dock App (might need a better Icon )

 

[Zek]

What is this?

 

[vurt]

Git https://www.macworld.com/article/672065/how-to-use-git-and-github-on-mac.html

 

[cosmom3]

Glad to know that I wasn't the only one that was experiencing this problem.

Update: Can confirm that updating to MacOS 14 Sonoma fixed the issue.

 

[ericthefish]

Just registered to add my 2 cents.

I have a 16" MacBook Pro with M1 Pro/16GB/Topping D10s and this has been driving me crazy... For me at least, Ventura 13.6 did NOT solve the issue. I have not tried Sonoma yet- I'm glad it does appear to be solving the problem for everyone but I want to give it a few weeks for all of my apps to update... (I can't bring myself to install a x.0.0 release... although I'm glad to read how stable the betas have been).

FWIW, it also seems like NOT running Firefox helps... (even with the memory pressure in the green, 0 GB in swap, but a few GB in compressed- It still skips when Firefox was running, but not when it isn't... Maybe this is just a "closer to the edge" issue and it is just really sensitive..?)

 

[Veri]

(I can't bring myself to install a x.0.0 release... although I'm glad to read how stable the betas have been).

FYI all my apps work. Oh except SoundSource which needed an update.

 

[Vezza]

Just registered to add my 2 cents.

I have a 16" MacBook Pro with M1 Pro/16GB/Topping D10s and this has been driving me crazy... For me at least, Ventura 13.6 did NOT solve the issue. I have not tried Sonoma yet- I'm glad it does appear to be solving the problem for everyone but I want to give it a few weeks for all of my apps to update... (I can't bring myself to install a x.0.0 release... although I'm glad to read how stable the betas have been).

FWIW, it also seems like NOT running Firefox helps... (even with the memory pressure in the green, 0 GB in swap, but a few GB in compressed- It still skips when Firefox was running, but not when it isn't... Maybe this is just a "closer to the edge" issue and it is just really sensitive..?)

At my Studio the error message ( while I was streaming Apple Music stuff ) actually named the guilty app to Firefox, though there was no audio coming from that direction. I'm using two DACs - Hegel and Ifi - and they both do this. At least Ifi does clocking - if that has any effect on this, mac cannot throw data at it's own pace

 

[vurt]

Ventura 13.6 was fine for a day but the stutter is back ... maybe less frequently

 

[ericthefish]

Ventura 13.6 was fine for a day but the stutter is back ... maybe less frequently

I suspect it was just the restart...

-E

 

[Jeromeof]

Just registered to add my 2 cents.

I have a 16" MacBook Pro with M1 Pro/16GB/Topping D10s and this has been driving me crazy... For me at least, Ventura 13.6 did NOT solve the issue. I have not tried Sonoma yet- I'm glad it does appear to be solving the problem for everyone but I want to give it a few weeks for all of my apps to update... (I can't bring myself to install a x.0.0 release... although I'm glad to read how stable the betas have been).

FWIW, it also seems like NOT running Firefox helps... (even with the memory pressure in the green, 0 GB in swap, but a few GB in compressed- It still skips when Firefox was running, but not when it isn't... Maybe this is just a "closer to the edge" issue and it is just really sensitive..?)

I would suggest people check out the Activity Monitor and sort by Architecture and see if they are running the "Apple Silicon" rather than the "Intel" version of their software - this can be as simple as a re-install and in some cases there are no ARM / Apple Silicon versions but I managed to "upgrade" all my apps ( and crucial background services) so there are almost all native now.

For example, I do have still have to investigate what the WardaSynthesier is required for and that Logi Options is some Logitech update tool but Apps like Firefox are all native now.

 

[Olivergiangvu]

FYI all my apps work. Oh except SoundSource which needed an update.

Soundsource 5.6.1 work with Sonoma 14.0 but then the beta 14.1 roll out then it stop again =)))

 

[ericthefish]

Not sure if this is significant or not, but I just checked my activity monitor (good idea Jeromeof!) and noticed an old audio driver from Microsoft teams.

I didn't take a screenshot, but there was an intel driver called something like "Core audio Driver (MSTeamsAudioDevice.driver)". I have the latest (Apple native) Teams installed, but apparently this was left over and hadn't been upgraded. (I'm not even running Teams right now, but apparently this driver auto-starts...)

I have not heard a skip yet (and am running Firefox.) But this is also from a very recent reboot, so we will see... I'm still on OSX 13.6, not Sonoma.

-E


This is what I did to solve it, in case you have one of these too:
(stolen from here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...s-in-mac/72447255-29d0-4d83-9c91-61ad9782aa4d

1) Make sure you have the latest Microsoft Teams app version installed.
2) Quit Microsoft Teams app if running.
3) Go to the Finder and locate the Microsoft Teams app in your Applications folder.
4) Right click on the Microsoft Teams app and select "Show Package Contents".
5) Double-click to open the revealed "Contents" folder, then double-click to open the "Shared Support" folder.
6) Double-click to run the "MSTeamsAudioDevice.pkg" installer. This will install the driver using the standard installer process.
7) Launch Microsoft Teams app. Enjoy it not hounding you to update the audio driver anymore.


EDIT: Well, still have some skips... Need to update to Sonoma.

 

[BJD]

I got a Mac Mini M1 recently and have had problems with USB audio dropouts. I've done a lot of Googling, hence finding this thread, and a lot of testing trying to get to the bottom of it, including installing different versions of Mac OS from Big Sur to Sonoma, and I'm now fairly sure the problem is from Rosetta. If I do a fresh install of Mac OS and don't install any apps that require Rosetta then the audio is fine. When I install an app that requires Rosetta, once Rosetta is installed I get regular pops and clicks in the audio from my USB interface. Has anyone else noticed this or done testing with and without Rosetta installed? I'm now on Sonoma with a fresh install without Rosetta and not having any problems.

 

[Jeromeof]

I got a Mac Mini M1 recently and have had problems with USB audio dropouts. I've done a lot of Googling, hence finding this thread, and a lot of testing trying to get to the bottom of it, including installing different versions of Mac OS from Big Sur to Sonoma, and I'm now fairly sure the problem is from Rosetta. If I do a fresh install of Mac OS and don't install any apps that require Rosetta then the audio is fine. When I install an app that requires Rosetta, once Rosetta is installed I get regular pops and clicks in the audio from my USB interface. Has anyone else noticed this or done testing with and without Rosetta installed? I'm now on Sonoma with a fresh install without Rosetta and not having any problems.

Did you check with Activity Monitor if you had any Intel based audio plugin? As that is what I have for example the screenshot above?

 

[voodooless]

Still no stuttering after the upgrade to Sonoma, just as before.. phew

I always run an Intel audio plugin: Dirac Live. No issues with that, other than that the UX is horrible and it sometimes has issues starting properly after USB connects.

I’m even sharing the USB bus with my 4K screen and a 10gbps NIC (over a Thunderbolt dock), so if anyone has issues, it should be me

 

[BJD]

Did you check with Activity Monitor if you had any Intel based audio plugin? As that is what I have for example the screenshot above?

Yes. Even with no Intel processes running once Rosetta was installed I was getting regular audio pops and dropouts. With a fresh Sonoma install without Rosetta installed everything is fine.

 

[BJD]

Still no stuttering after the upgrade to Sonoma, just as before.. phew

I always run an Intel audio plugin: Dirac Live. No issues with that, other than that the UX is horrible and it sometimes has issues starting properly after USB connects.

I’m even sharing the USB bus with my 4K screen and a 10gbps NIC (over a Thunderbolt dock), so if anyone has issues, it should be me

Is your USB audio interface plugged into the Mac or the Thunderbolt dock?

 

[voodooless]

Is your USB audio interface plugged into the Mac or the Thunderbolt dock?

It’s fact plugged into the monitor that is in turn plugged into the Thunderbolt dock. I’ve also had the monitor directly to USB-C, or even the DAC directly connected. All works perfectly fine.