I have used a Dragonfly USB-DAC on my iMacs for some time to listen to music, but I recently got a Mac Studio M1 but when I plug the Dragonfly into the USB-A port it sounds terrible with constant static and terrible fidelity. Anyone know what the problem might be with this interaction? I am not aware of any software ever used for the DAC. It plays fine through the Studio headphone jack. Thanks for any help offered
Test the DAC connected to one of the Mac Studio's USB-C ports using a USB-C to USB-A adapter.
for some examples,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9N3QSL3/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?
https://www.target.com/p/philips-usb-c-to-3-0-usb-a-female-adapter/-/A-79804275
That doesn't seem like a solution unless your saying the output to USB-c on the Studio is different than the USB-A output. I have a USB-C monitor that outputs to USB-A through the USB-C input which is basically the same as an adapter and that doesn't make any difference. I went to the Audioquest website and they are including some software for the newer Dragonfly's but they don't apply to my version and I never had to download any software previously on either the 2009 iMac a 2012 Mac Mini or a 2019 iMac but of course those are all Intel chips. I know the M1 and M2 chips have caused some problems and that may well be the case here. So maybe an additional question might be, does anyone here use their M1 or M2 Mac as a music streamer and send the signal to an external DAC in their audio system (i.e. does it work).
Also open Utilities -> Audio MIDI Setup and make sure your Mac is set to send out a digital audio format the Dragonfly can understand.
For example, if it's sending out an 8 channel 24-bit output, the Dragonfly won't know what to do with that as it only does stereo.
Thanks Dogcow-Moof. I did play around with the Audio Midi setup and as you ramp down the format Hz the static slows down a bit with each step down but it stops of course at 44,100 Hz and the 2 ch 24 bit is the only choice given for the Dragonfly. It might be that the DAC won't process 24 bit feed as it is quite old, but I love the sound it yields through the Sennheiser Amperion headphones and the direct headphone feed from the Mac Studio is ok but not nearly as compelling. Like many things, every iteration of new computer processors and OS you lose some things you've used for a long time, i.e. programs and accessories. I have contacted Audioquest but not heard back from them yet.
I should have asked if anyone on this forum has used a portable USB DAC with the new M1 Macs.
I've used both an AudioQuest DragonFly Red and a DragonFly Cobalt on my M1 MBP with zero issues.
The former was via the Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter and plugged directly into the MBP as well as into the USB-C ports on the Apple Studio Display; the latter was the same via the AudioQuest DragonTail.
Dragonfly DAC connected to Studio M1 has nothing but static
