iMac late 2013 + Mavericks + USB Sennheiser - input freeze

Hi,

My dealer replaced the main board of my 2 month old iMac though I told him that I really felt it was a waste of money! Which it was - same audio stuttering after brand new main board.

I've fixed the problem by partioning the 3Tb fusion drive into two and redownloading Mavericks onto the new partition, re-installing Steinberg Cubase and it all seems to work perfectly.

Hope this helps!

Hi

I did try this workaround - http://www.enttec.com/support-center/kb/article/108-OS_X_Mavericks_(10.9)_-_IMPO RTANT- same story with my Logitech HS ... After 3 minutes the headset stops working. Waiting for 10.9.2 ... hopefully.

Well, good to see that I am not insane, because tha'ts the feeling Apple support is giving me. "No never heard of it, not known sir, ok, we can not help you with that etc etc."

Guys, really. This is a mayor issue and I think we are just starting to see the tip of the iceberg. The thing is that you have to google for different problems since not everybody is using their Mac the same way.

Anyway, its impossible for me to use ANY USB headset. And also me recently bought USB soundcard (the Omni pro 5.1 from Creative) is having issues. Cracking, pops, unresponsive etc.

Ive spend at least 1000 worth on headsets to see if anything would work. But it didnt. I am experiencing weird robotic voices, drop outs, interference sounds etc. I also tried to workaroud but that did not work though.

FYI iv'e tried:

- Sennheiser USB headsets

- Sennheiser DW office headset (2 of them)

- Sennheiser Presence UC headset

- Microsoft LX 6000 Headsets

- Creative Soundblaster omni 5.1 with headsets

All have the same issue. But when you switch to the build in mic, all is fine.

If they would just admit those issues I could have saved my *** from Googleing 6 days to find a solution. The threads with USB sound problems and the iMacs from 2013 with Mavericks seem endless.

One weird thing tho: Ive tried the same headsets with an older iMac with Mavericks (also a 21 inch model) and nothing happened....

Just to answer your last point M2thec,

It's not weird. Your older iMac probably didn't have a fusion drive.

This issue is found on a fusion drive (SSD + HD) iMac running Mavericks.

Cheers

Eric

Yes, well, if that is so then:

1. Why do I find similar issues in this thread, starting from 2009: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2166616?start=0&tstart=0 ?

2. If its only a matter of repartitioning the HDD, this would mean that 1: If Apple is delivering the new iMacs partitioned in a different way now, they in a way admit that its the issue. 2: I think its wiser to admit the issue then "keeping it a secret" which is damaging the company reputation even more.

Also, its kind if stupid from all the iStore employees to keep repairing hardware and replacing complete motherboards right?

But, without going trough all the issues related to this, its safe to say that splitting the HDD solves 90 percent of the issues mentioned? I would like to believe so and I would like to do this, in a desperate attempt ofc…

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Yes, that could be the only logical reason for Apple not talking about this issue. Cause if they wait there is a higher chance of people not sending the mac back cause they dont use those features to the fullest. Then they would only need to help the people who actually discovered the issues themselves...

Yes, but the fact that they dont do so means the issue must be bigger then we think..

They actually stopped selling headsets themself...

Yeah, Ignore it and it will go away... Screw them. A 2600 dollar computer that can't play something a 200 dollar computer can. Complete and utter ********.

I have the same issue, with a usb hub. Imac late 2013 27"

Usb hub working fine in 10.8, but in 10.9 after some minutes just freezes all the usb ports, keyboard, wacom, sound, etc...

Have to hold the power button to shut and disconect the hub.

Not cool. Is it a driver problem? Bucause it was working just fine with 10.8

The fix I posted earlier in this thread should fix your hub issue until OSX 10.9.2 arrives. However it is not a cure all for some audio issues.

Message was edited by: Peter MacLaren

Hi Peter,

Just so you know, I had applied the driver fix that you had suggested, and I thought it had fixed the input freezing issue. But after a long while it reproduced again (hard reboot required as all inputs were frozen).

Then I didn't try to keep my USB audio device connected (Pro Yeti USB microphone).

I'm now just hoping for 10.9.2 to be released soon.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread! I was getting cyborg like sound with both an iMic and Onyx Blackjack USB interface after a few mins on Skype...then, I bought a powered hub and hooked the Onyx into that. Low and behold, the cyborg sound went away but now the computer would totally freeze and become completely unresponsive requiring a hard reboot with the power button when I used Skype and a browser.

Note, it is not Skype specifically because I have seen the same issues with a browser w/Adobe Audition and with ScreenFlow.

This maps to exactly what others have reported!

FYI: I have a late 2013 iMac with a 1TB Fusion Drive

I then called Mac Support after getting the front line person who wanted me to do an OS reinstall on a month old computer, I got to a very helpful tech. We are in the middle of diagnosing the situation. However, I can report that after having installing Mavericks on a second partition for testing that I am on Skype (where I was having a lot of problems) and have been browsing the net for about 25 minutes (which would have caused the hard freeze after about 5 minutes before).

Sounds to me it is some software issue that involves the fusion drive. We'll see, hope Apple fixes soon. Disappointing for a new Mac user who just spent a lot of money and needs this iMac for his job!

Jim - glad you found someone helpful at Apple. As you may have noted from earlier postings what you have just done with the second partition is a proven workaround. The problem does relate to the fusion drive set up and the new USB drivers which somehow interact to cause the crashes. As you may also have read the OSX 10.9.2 beta cures the problem. The 3rd beta was just released today, a week after the 2nd, so I imagine we will see it by month end or so in general release. Peter

Having the same issue here with USB freezes (and bluetooth devices as well) on my new iMac 27" with 1TB fusion drive. I applied the fix that Peter suggested and need to see how things go over the next few days. Also going to try to refrain from pluging in my Logitech USB headset which may have been contributing to this?