You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

tttxx Author

Level 1

10 points

Sound stuttering after Mountain Lion install

Dear community,

after having installed OSX Mountain Lion my sound startet stuttering whenever there is rapid movement on my screen.

This includes e.g. window movement, scrolling through image loaded websites or video playback (flash player, quicktime).

A restart didn't help. I'm using stereo output, not digital.

I have connected a second monitor but the problem persists after disconnecting it. Movement on the second monitor also causes the sound to stutter.

My GPU Diode temperature is at 85°C (there is some bug that keeps the GPU under load while a second monitor is connected AFAIK), but I guess it was the same under Snow Leopard.

In Snow Leopard the sound output was always perfect even under heavy load or heavy HDD I/O.

Any ideas?

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Jul 28, 2012 5:48 AM

Top-ranking reply

chilblane

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Jul 28, 2012 3:22 PM

I am also having this issue as well.

I opened Activity Monitor and noticed that during the stuttering, coreaudiod jumps in CPU usage, often past 5%. I have also noticed graphics lag when this occurs if I'm doing something like watching full-screen video or gaming.

I'm currently experiencing this on mid 2011 iMac 27" as well as a 24" iMac 2009 model I use at work.

View in context

1,223 replies

Jan 4, 2013 10:54 AM in response to kallisti

kallisti wrote:

go to https://developer.apple.com/programs/mac/

pay them $99

LOL, don't pay them a dime. Be patient or write someone at the top in Apple. You shouldn't buy a overly expensive computer, upgrade the OS that should undergo quality testing, and then be asked to pay for a solution that is 5 times the cost of the OS. Sorry, but that is flawed logic Kallisti.

kallisti

Level 1

15 points

Jan 4, 2013 10:58 AM in response to BarrettF77

oh hey if its that easy, show us the email addresses, I'll get right on that

Jan 4, 2013 3:24 PM in response to kallisti

Be patient and be friendly. Maybe they have enough beta testers now regarding the sound-issue; we don't know.

But there is one thing we can be sure about: 10.8.3 fixes our problem.

So be patient and friendly, wait…10.8.3 will be released…sometime…in future…

Lvivske

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2013 11:58 PM in response to kallisti

Update, but I got the Apple store to replace my logicboard. I'll keep you guys updated if that was the problem this whole time.

RSully

Level 1

40 points

Jan 7, 2013 6:11 AM in response to Lvivske

I had my logic board replaced (along with the speakers) when I had this issue (along with the display to fix ghosting) and the problem is still there.

This is definitely software and not hardware: I reinstalled OSX a few months ago and the problem went away for what felt like a few days at least and slowly came back.

Edit: I found this link and I'm inclined to believe their claims are true: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1407271

Jan 7, 2013 6:19 AM in response to RSully

I'm supposed to be getting the 8.3 beta soon from Apple. I'll post my results as soon as I do. Like Sully said, this IS NOT hardware. I've spoken to so many departments in Apple and had lead geniuses agree, this is software. Yet when you call apple phone support, they instincutally want to treat it as something that can be fixed over the phone. Only a software update or Apple recalling the affected computers is going to fix this.

RSully

Level 1

40 points

Jan 7, 2013 10:58 AM in response to BarrettF77

I reset my PRAM and SMC this morning and haven't noticed the problem since - though I have been using headphones all day (along with an external monitor and power supply) and usually I notice it when I am using the internal speakers without an external display connected. I wonder if triggering sleep mode (or "deep sleep mode") has to do with the problem cropping up as after a restart I don't notice it immediately either.

If 10.8.3 fixes it then great, though I think the problem is deeper and a firmware update might be required.

Jan 7, 2013 11:07 AM in response to RSully

I have been using an external Thunderbolt Display and my audio always goes through the sound sticks from the macs 3.5mm jack. So what you did just band aids the problem and it will return. Others have tried the same thing with similar results.

kallisti

Level 1

15 points

Jan 7, 2013 11:12 AM in response to BarrettF77

gee theyre sure taking a long time to ship your beta copy

Jan 7, 2013 11:14 AM in response to kallisti

I have the invite as of today. I just don't have the OS code to download. But this is what they do, take a long time. It's been what, 6 months since the OS was released before they fixed it in beta supposedly. Are you that obtuse?

kallisti

Level 1

15 points

Jan 7, 2013 11:24 AM in response to BarrettF77

6 months hey? which is weird because most of us encountered the problem with the 10.8.2/itunes11 update

Jan 7, 2013 11:25 AM in response to kallisti

Mine started immediately after 10.8.0 in both of my iMacs. But for what it's worth, welcome to the club.

Jan 8, 2013 6:58 AM in response to BarrettF77

Just to say preview copy 10.8.3 fixed it for me Im pretty sure. All day working no stutter. A big sigh of relief after a lot of frustration there. im sure this new update will be out very soon. I was contacted fairly early on in this, had submitted latency data and all that. I was issued a beta, which i was nervous of using. plus all the backing up to do first. just went for it this morning and updated no back up done and all is fine. Phew. I hope all the people who have been having a hard time with this stutter issue are back on track way before the end of this month.