USB Turntable Static Problem

Hi Maksy, and a warm welcome to the forums! 🙂

Just Archive the old Driver by Right Clicking on it, chooze Archive, you'll get that file/folder with a .zip extension.

I had this problem with a Pro-Ject USB turntable using Spin Doctor. It was intermittent at first. It seemed to work better when I switched to DVD quality from CD quality. But then it started having a buzzing sound almost immediately. I tried Audacity and it worked but I didn't like the interface. I got Amadeus and it is working so far. I used some other program a few months ago and it would get static-y after 5 to 10 minutes. So far, Amadeus is working for me. Some places I found indicated a "grounding" problem with the turntable and the computer being "double grounded". I know less than Ben Franklin about electricity, though!

Hi,

I wondered if anyone had since had any solution. I've had the same problem and have tried many of the suggestions on the Ion website, none of which have worked.

I have the same problem, and the ION recommends that I downgrade the OSX USB Audio file. My problem is - how do I perform the downgrade? I can't seem to locate the old zip file. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi.

If the USB cable hasn't got it, you could try adding a Snap Choke Core to it.

Good Luck.

Maksy, I've had the same problem, this is what I've done to correct the problem for my static distortion. I've added a 4 port USB hub with power supply and haven't had a problem ever since. I believe the USB connection is not suppling adequate power to the turntable causing static distortion. I hope this helps as it resolved my problem.

I experienced the same issue with my ION USB turntable and Audacity and this is what worked for me. Go to Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup, under Properties for: select USB Audio CODEC, change format to 48000.0 Hz under Audio Input and presto all static is eliminated. The only issue is that it seems to revert back to the old setting on each new recording, I am still trying to figure out how to make the change permanent.

Maksy wrote:
I have an ION USB turntable for converting vinyl records to digital format. i.e. into iTunes. After 20 to 30 minutes of converting, a static sound develops. The ION solution is to "downgrade" the Mac USB driver to v2.5.0b8. My opinion is that it is a turntable problem (static buildup} but I am willing to try the "downgrade" but am concerned about restoring to the origonal driver. Has anyone had this problem or have any comments on downgrade and restore?

I did downgrade - ION emailed me a zip file to do so and I believe also one to undo the change.
The attachment is named:
OSX USB_AudioDowngrade.zip (386KB) It might be downloadable somewhere, if not, get it from ION tech support.

I am enclosing a cut and paste of their email:

*+Thank you for contacting us, I am going to enclose a guide that will help to make sure your turntable is properly setup with your Mac. If you still experience issues after checking these settings, You may need to downgrade your USB audio codec. There is a problem with the USB Audio codec in MAC os versions 10.4.11 to the current, the problem is users will experience static, anywhere from 45seconds to 5 minutes during the playback / recording of there songs. I will attach the file and guide on how to do this. If you decide to do this, please make sure that you close all applications before performing the downgrade, make sure that the USB turntable is not hooked up to the computer during the process. Please know that you never improperly shut down your computer. If you still experience issues after this, please give us a call at the number below, and any of our agents will be more than happy to further assist you.+*

I made the change and no more problems. On another forum however had a negative comment on the solution; here's an excerpt:

+However I don't think "downgrading" the Mac USB services is a particularly good way to go. It smacks of somebody who designed a product around a software error. Then, when the error was corrected (newer Macs) the older products dropped dead. So rather than fix the product, already a thin profit margin item, and too late in many cases anyway, they tell you to break your Mac. +

+ Are you serving **** on the internet yet? Are you sure? This would be a perfect way to plant bogus and dangerous software code on your machine, and yes, if you do it right, Macs can get sick like this. They made you change system software, right, and you had to put your password in? +

I certainly hope this person is wrong.

I looked at the zip file and it does indeed include instructions as to how to revert the Codec. Here's the cut and paste that's part of the instructions:

_If, at any point, you'd like to undo this downgrade procedure, and go back to using the current version of the AppleUSBAudio.kext, perform the following:_
_1. Use your mouse to highlight the text below: sudo cp -Rfvp /AppleUSBAudio.kext /System/Library/Extensions/_
_2. Press Apple+C on your keyboard to copy the text._
_3. On your Macintosh desktop, double-click the icon named Macintosh HD._
_4. In the window that opens, double-click the folder named Applications._
_5. Now double-click the folder named Utilities._
_6. Find and double-click the utility named Terminal_
_1. Paste the text that you copied in step 2 above into the window that opens by pressing Apple+V on your keyboard._
_2. Press Enter_
_3. The back copy of your original AppleUSBAudio.kext file will be restored to your system._
_4. Click the red X in the upper-left of the window to close the Terminal utility._
_5. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect._

Hope this helps, there are of course downgrading instructions that are part of the zip file as well.

I struggled with this problem for quite awhile. It is: Increasingly worse static halfway through a side of an album. It makes the ION turntable useless with my Macintosh.

Some facts: running 10.5.5 on Intel White Macbook. Moved the ION turntable to a Windows machine and it worked perfectly--so not a hardware problem per se. Using Roxio Titanium CD Spin Doctor---so not an Audacity problem; static appears to happen with all software. Tried using powered USB hub, and switching the USB port I plugged the turnable in; this changed onset (maybe), but did not eliminate static.

What worked: something suggested earlier in this forum. I didn't try it for awhile, because it doesn't make sense. BUT IT WORKED. Here's the quote:

"... experienced the same issue with my ION USB turntable and Audacity and this is what worked for me. Go to Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup, under Properties for: select USB Audio CODEC, change format to 48000.0 Hz under Audio Input and presto all static is eliminated. The only issue is that it seems to revert back to the old setting on each new recording, I am still trying to figure out how to make the change permanent."

I can confirm that this works!!!

But, boy, it seems like a Windows type of problem and solution. Some obscure (misnamed) utility is what controls audio setup---and no one else (including ION) has a clue.

Hope it helps others.

More information. At least in CD Spin Doctor, the format of the input (i.e. 44100, 48000) is controlled by the choice of recording quality in CD Spin Doctor. The most likely choice, CD quality, changes the setting in Audio Midi Setup to 44100, the one you want to avoid. Choosing DVD quality sets it to 48000, which is what you want.

The audio files (AIF) are quite large with this setting, but in some sense they are only temporary. After you mark tracks and export to iTunes, the music is converted to MP3 (much smaller) and you can delete te original AIF files that CD Spin Doctor first creates.

Minkychic's solution is the right one. I had the exact same problem until I plugged in my USB hub's power supply. That did the trick. The issue seems to be, as Minkychic suggested, that the USB connection is not supplying adequate power and that causes the static distortion. Give it a try - I think it's a much better solution than downgrading!

I have a similar problem with an ION USB turntable, but instead of static I get no sound at all. ION tech support recommended the codec downgrade and I fell for it but when I installed it my Mac no longer offered USBAudio codec as an option in the preferences panel so I tried the copy, paste to revert back to my original codec but it wouldn't go. Now I'm hooped. I can't get my original back and my Mac doesn't recognize the USB option anymore. Can I download the original codec from somewhere or should I try a newer version?