Zephyr Zackson

Q: Why does my volume jump up 20dB each time a new YouTube tab is opened?

I just upgraded to Yosemite and am using OSX Yosemite 10.10.4.

 

I am a music producer so my speaker set up is linked to an audio interface. Apogee Quartet, to be precise.

 

So the flow is, laptop, to audio interface via USB, and then audio cables to two KRK VXT 6 speakers.

 

A comfortable listening level, especially since I'm using near field monitors, is about a number -45 on my audio interface. For some reason, every time I open a new YouTube tab (quite normal for creative people), the audio interface volume jumps to -20dB and blasts the **** out of my ears since YouTube starts playing automatically. What is causing this spike?

 

I'm using Safari, and it doesn't just happen on YouTube but on other video playing sites too.

 

Please Help!

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), Audio Interface: Apogee Quartet

Posted on Aug 11, 2015 2:13 AM

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Q: Why does my volume jump up 20dB each time a new YouTube tab is opened?

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  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 11, 2015 11:35 AM in response to Zephyr Zackson
    Level 9 (72,578 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 11, 2015 11:35 AM in response to Zephyr Zackson

    Try a restart.

     

    Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.

     

    Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.

     

    Isolating an issue by using another user account

     

    If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode using your normal account.  Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up after waiting 10 seconds. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application un-installer. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

     

    Safe Mode - About

     

     

    Safe Mode - Yosemite

  • by Zephyr Zackson,

    Zephyr Zackson Zephyr Zackson Aug 14, 2015 11:25 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 11:25 AM in response to Eric Root

    Hi Eric,

     

    Thanks for your response. Well as it happens, I'm in the middle of my wedding planning. And also some other things career wise. Is there no simpler way to go about this? It's happening on VLC player as well. Each time I load a new window, the volume jumps. It seems like the system gets the volume up as a way of saying "we're now ready to play your media". And that's not internet related. So it's definitely within the computer somewhere. r

     

    When you say 3rd party applications, can you go a little into the definition of a "3rd party application"?. Is it stuff that runs in the background (I remember years back when I used Windows there used to be a lot of these), or is it something that runs when the Internet is running?

     

    Regards
    Zeph

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 14, 2015 11:29 AM in response to Zephyr Zackson
    Level 9 (72,578 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 14, 2015 11:29 AM in response to Zephyr Zackson

    You are welcome.  Two things you can try.

     

    Restart the computer holding down the command - option/alt - P - R keys before the gray screen appears. Continue to hold until you hear the startup chime for the second time.

                                    

    Reset NVRAM/PRAM

     

    Try a SMC reset. The article covers when this is required, but doing this will not affect anything.

     

    Reset SMC

     

    A third party application is any application not produced by Apple. VLC is one example.

  • by Zephyr Zackson,

    Zephyr Zackson Zephyr Zackson Aug 14, 2015 11:32 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 11:32 AM in response to Eric Root

    Alright cool will try these tomorrow or so and update you how it went! Thanks again man appreciate it

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 14, 2015 11:42 AM in response to Zephyr Zackson
    Level 9 (72,578 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 14, 2015 11:42 AM in response to Zephyr Zackson

    You are welcome.

  • by Zephyr Zackson,

    Zephyr Zackson Zephyr Zackson Sep 16, 2015 9:33 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2015 9:33 AM in response to Eric Root

    Hi Eric!

     

    Tried both, neither worked. The volume on the Apogee Quartet is still jumping every time a video in YouTube loads and starts playing. This happens for every new video loaded.

     

    The same happens with VLC except with VLC, only the first opening video has the jump. After that, it stays where I put it even when I open subsequent videos.

     

    At the mentioned jumps, the new volume that it comes to rest on is -35db.

     

    Regards
    Zephyr