External USB DAC audio dropouts on Ventura and M1

Started to experience this as well with my M1 MBP and a Steinberg UR-RT2. It's very annoying, I can't even listen to music on my speakers because every x minutes I need to restart unplug plug the interface and restart Spotify.

Last Mac I'm buying if this is not resolved in OS14

I've been living with this for over a year with my M1 Pro MB. Blaming my high end Audio Interface, Correction software, and more. And it's clearly an Apple engineering fault so egregious that it is affecting literally everyone, and most importantly Audio professionals.

I cannot do my job. APPLE, you must address this and fix the sound drop out issues on M1 Mac and external USB interfaces. This is YOUR segment. Your inability to address this over the years (Potentially) is so damaging to your core base of professionals.

My next computer, **** my next ecosystem for not just work will not be APPLE.

Just an update relating to Ventura 13.6 (22G120) update. It was working fine however as time wore on and browser use became more intensive the glitches have returned. I will be moving to Sonoma later today so fingers crossed the improvements are steady there.

Hi! I also have similar issues, using an external USB dongle to connect many other devices, my USB A DAC works fine however when I try to use Fiio Q3 there is no chance, even unable to recognize it by system, tried type c lightning on my mac but still not ok.

Fiio Q3 works perfectly fine on my iPad with Type C.

Macbook Pro 2019 16" intel i7

The same issue: having dropouts that develop overtime.

MacBook Pro 16 M1 Pro

Ventura 13.5.1

Volt 476P, Elektron Digitone in audiointerface mode

I can't work on my music production on this laptop because of this, it makes it unusable.

Also, the same issue: having dropouts that develop overtime.

MacBook Pro 16 M1 Pro

Ventura 13.6

Any headphones/earphones connected to "FiiO K3s", which is later connected to "Ugreen 2 In 4 Out USB 3.0 (UGR281)" KVM switch that is finally connected to my Mac. I do not observe this issue on my Windows laptop.

I believe that this issue does not affect the audio input (microphone).

Same issues with me? I'm running a Cranborne 500R8 audio interface with studio one DAW and getting random dropout at tracks playback.. I have recently switched from windows to Mac M1 running Ventura, is there a fix? frustrating when I'm mixing a song!

I am onboard with you as well. Been having reboots EVERYTIME there’s a Mac Apple update. My Volt is not the issue and I couldn’t agree more. Why so many updates?? I’m about to get a PC. I’ve never encountered these issues on a PC.

Same issue here. I do audio production and mixing, and this has been an absolute nightmare. Apple has always been so solid with audio, so I'm pretty shocked, but it makes critical listening on my studio impossible. Multiple dropouts occur each minute. I've spent hours trying to resolve this. I spoke with RME – who makes the UFX III that I use as my audio interface – and they are just as frustrated. Is Apple working on a fix for this issue? It seems pervasive. Running an M1 Max Mac Studio. Just wanted to add my voice to this to hopefully help get some momentum behind resolving it.

I've additionally noticed issues with core audio conflicting with macOS' built-in screen sharing. For example, if I'm allowing audio and video to be recorded through OBS, Discord, or Zoom, the output level varies depending on the default device being used.

Laptop Speakers: Records at full internal system volume

AirPods: Records at full internal system volume

Studio Display: Records at 80% of internal system volume

Audio Interface (RME): Hard limits at 50% system volume and is unusable

External Asus Display: Records at full volume

Simply changing the output level of said device has no effect on its recorded volume either since the screenshare utility grabs the audio before it is sent to the devices for amplification.

To address this, I've had to route any system audio through a loopback as a system input to achieve full fidelity. I've confirmed this is an OS issue, as the inconsistencies persist across different Apple products.

I've been stumped on this for a while and don't understand why a fix hasn't been pushed during Sonoma's lifespan. Holding out hope that the next OS addresses it, as my work requires this simple feature, daily.

Having this problem as well – M2 Ultra Mac Studio running latest Sonoma. Monitor Controller is an Audient ORIA. Signal is all-digital until it hits the monitors (Genelec 8250A). This problem is rendering our post-production suite essentially unusable and is completely untenable.

Anyone having any luck?

I'm on an M3 Max with 128 gb ram. My computer is fully maxed out as far as specs go running 16 cores and this is just absolutely UNACCEPTABLE. I did not pay 7k for a machine that drops out audio when I'm in the middle of a **** performance or gig. Apple needs to get their act together.

How is this still an issue in 2024? I have a Mac Studio with the M1 Max chip, paired with an RME Fireface UFX III USB 3 interface. Altogether, this system costs more than $8000 and is quite straightforward in its setup. You would expect an Apple product, especially one marketed towards audio professionals, to at least handle audio playback without any stuttering or artifacts. If this issue isn't resolved soon, it will be the last Apple product I ever own. I keep crossing my fingers with each new update but the problem persists. This machine has been plagued with problems since I bought it, and customers are led to believe that these issues will be addressed, only to find themselves out of Apple Care coverage and spending hours of their own time working on resolving these problems to no end. Prepared for my farewell, Apple. Just recall the M1 products with this issue, or give us a statement as to what is exactly happening and why (transparency) or PATCH AND FIX IT. Thanks

So I too have been putting up with this for years. It is completely frustrating and like others does not reflect the quality I expected. I have patiently been waiting for a fix, trusting that Apple will back its products and address issues, but this has not happened. Has Apple even acknowledged this issue? If not - what do we do for that to occur?

Thanks xotic_wav :) Was there a USB 2 cable provided with the interface? I have to dig my packaging out of storage so thought I'd ask to save time if there isn't haha. Running in USB 2 mode just means swapping the cable? Or is there something I need to do in the Fireface USB Settings app to achieve this? Forgive me if these are stupid questions, I could probably just look it up. I have been running my interface straight into the computer so I can rule out any dock sort of situation or problem, but I'm willing to try USB 2 mode for sure. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks so much!