Level 1

5 points

clipping sound on new iMac when Logix X is running

I just got the new iMac that was released two weeks ago yesterday. All I did was set it up with Logic X, Main Stage, and Aperture all from the app store. nothing else was put on it. I opened up logic just to check it out and see how much faster the performance would be. I just wanted to give it a quick test and played some apple loops I immideatly noticed it was making a clipping sound randomly. The meters were not peaking everything was in the green and if you turned down the gain the clipping just got quiteter. I called apple support thinking it was a hardware issue. They had me do some trouble shooting like playing the same loops through quicktime and the clipping persisted. they also had me play a youtube video to see if I could hear the clipping. It wasn't as noticible but it was there. Apple decided that it would be a good idea to reformat the computer tomorrow and start over. Sounded fine to me seeing how I didn't have much installed yet. I did a little more trouble shooting on my own after I got off the phone with apple. First I made a copy of three apple loops and put them on my desktop then restarted the computer. Then after a fresh restart and nothing running I opened one of the apple loops off the desktop with quicktime player and it sounded great no clipping. Same with You Tube. I then opened Logic Pro X. Did nothing with it but minimize it. I then went back to quick time player and tried to play the loop again. This time the clipping was back. Same with You Tube.

My conclusion for some reason when logic is running the audio makes a random clipping sound no matter what audio program you play the audio through. (Clipping sound comes out of the internal speakers as well as headphones)

All of my software is up to date.

I am running:

27" iMac

3.5GHz Intel Core i7

16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

If anybody has experienced this same problem or has any recomendations they would be greatly appreciated.

I am going to reformat in the morning and try and start again.

I will post my results

Thank you,

Aaron

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on Oct 8, 2013 11:22 PM

998 replies

Dec 16, 2013 5:45 AM in response to south_

USB1 sound card? That seems very unlikely...Which model?

Rolling back to ML is only likely to solve issues with devices that worked fine with ML in the first place.... so, did yours?

south_

Level 1

0 points

Dec 16, 2013 5:47 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

Focusrite saffire, it is usb1 - usb2 version supposedly has less issues. I was going to purchase a Duet2 but then researched and discovered people with all the same issues. Truth be told I can't remember, but I'm getting desperate for a solution.

Dec 16, 2013 5:55 AM in response to south_

Did you install the latest Beta drivers for the older USB1.1 versions?

Points of note : Our testing has shown that the Saffire 6 USB MkII (USB 2.0) works without problem. If you own the Saffire 6 USB MkI (USB 1.1), please download the latest beta driver. If you are unsure whether your unit is a USB 1.1 or 2.0 version, please check the text below the USB port on the back of the device.

south_

Level 1

0 points

Dec 16, 2013 5:59 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

I had checked for beta's before but they weren't up - I'll try these, thank you. Expect a marriage proposal if they work.

Dec 16, 2013 5:59 AM in response to south_

Expect? I'd demand one! 🙂

south_

Level 1

0 points

Dec 16, 2013 6:12 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

This is very promnising so far, logic x projects that would distort after 30seconds play fine and itunes playback has been ok for the last 10minutes (used to last 2-4minutes). Fingers crossed, will report back after some more testing.

Dec 16, 2013 6:22 AM in response to south_

Great.. and yes, please let us know the outcome after more testing....

Cheers..

Nigel

spanck

Level 1

8 points

Dec 17, 2013 1:09 AM in response to Deadphish42

Guys, 10.9.1 is out.

Could somebody please test it and tell us if problem is solved?

Dec 17, 2013 1:13 AM in response to spanck

I am afraid but 10.9.1 does not address any of the audio problems.

-act

Maxesse

Level 1

0 points

Dec 17, 2013 1:41 AM in response to spanck

Just updated, let some internet radio run for 10 minutes and launched Disk Doctor to make some disk activity because I was tired of waiting for the problem to show, and instantly started clipping as usual 😟 *sigh*

Dec 17, 2013 4:57 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

Art of Sound, I have a new FD imac and have a motu ultralite mark 1 connected via a fw400 to fw800 cable, then through a thunderbolt adaptor.

I only get sound for about 15 secs before it cuts out.

Pretty sure I have the latest drivers and have 1.15 firmware (latest).

Any idea why mine isn't working?

Thanks!

Dec 17, 2013 6:56 AM in response to Simon Edwards1

Simon,

Unfortunately it will be because you have the 2013 iMac with a FD fitted issue... which affects all audio interfaces of any type including Motus....

But if you read through this thread, (Ref: Issue #1)

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5659615?tstart=90

You will find there are some temporary workarounds available to you until Apple release a fix for this issue...

Cheers..

Nigel

Dec 17, 2013 1:04 PM in response to The Art Of Sound

Please note:

I have now placed the relevant info regarding current issues in a User Tip as that will allow us to easily update the information, as and when needed...

The User Tip can be found here....

Info on Issues regarding 2013 iMacs with Fusion Drives, USB2/3 and Driver Incompatibility with 10.9

south_

Level 1

0 points

Dec 17, 2013 1:07 PM in response to The Art Of Sound

Whilst it greatly improves the length of time before distortion, it still occurs roughly 30minutes after initiating audio on itunes. It's helped a lot with logic X although I haven't been able to run it long enough to tell how much it helps. There is noticable clicks and pops regardless of program however.

Dec 17, 2013 9:01 PM in response to The Art Of Sound

Great article.

Here's yet another twist for me. After the 10.9.1 upgrade ran on my machine and rebooted, now NO USB or FW interface is recognized by the iMac. Weirder still, e.g., with the UR824, the UR applet detects and shows the unit, but the OS is only displaying internal sound, and none of the connected interfaces that were working before the upgrade - not the HD500, not the UR824, not the Ultralite 1 via FW ... nothing shows in Osx. Tried reinstalling drivers, nothing.

I hate this machine. What a soul drain.

- Noel

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clipping sound on new iMac when Logix X is running