Q: iMac late 2013 + Mavericks + USB Sennheiser - input freeze

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?

Thank you Peter for the update on the 10.9.2 release progress.  I (like most everyone on this thread) am anxiously awaiting the USB fix.  I have gone the Apple support route to no avail and am simply wanting to continue to transfer my vinyl LPs to iTunes (using a Griffin USB iMic) as I was doing on my 2006 Mac Pro before I "upgraded" to a December 2013 iMac running 10.9.1 with a 3TB fusion drive.  My biggest mistake was almost immediately upgrading to Mavericks on the iMac without testing various functionality, including USB...I should have known better.  Thanks also to you and everyone on this thread who have posted helpful info.

Something very odd has happened with this.  Per Apple customer care, in order to test the system I added a second partition.  Now, I cannot recreate the crash on partition one...I almost wonder if reducing the size of the first partition on the fusion drive somehow "fixed" the problem.

Note, I am not suggesting this as a fix to any one (I am eagerly awaiting the new Mavericks 10.9.2 update to see if it fixes the issue) but it just an interesting point.  I will update if I recreate the crash.

Weird... It will only occur when your disk is using the Fusion technology, depending on the disk it uses the Flash memory first. When this is full it will store files on the regular HDD and swap files from the HDD to the flash part when needed. According to my info it keeps 8gb of space for this.

So in theory: When having a clean disk and when not using all the Flash Fusion wont work so you wont have the problem. When you are using the HDD it will most likeley occur.

Not sure how it works with another partition but if this is only on the flash it could be working since you are not using any files or something. Still weird.

Guys,

I managed to install the latest beta build of Mavericks 10.9.2 (build 13C48).

And guess what?! No more issue!!!!!!

I've been running it for the last 2 full days with my usb microphone connected. I record audio on Logic Pro X and all is good.

I was never able to use my computer for more than let's say an hour with the usb mic connected before (but most times just few minutes and it would freeze).

Just thought you guys would like to know

Good to know! To bad it was too late for me. I decided to buy another iMac with a full SSD disk. So there goes another 3k. I was also having a lot of ghosting issues with the other one so it needed repair anyway. Tnx for the update!

Anyone know when 10.9.2 will be available?

I just thought I'd pop by this thread to let you folks know that I have been posting issues and my tests with this under a different thread named 'How do I get my Blue Yeti Mic with USB 2.0 to work properly with my late 2013 27' iMac that has USB 3.0' - I am new here and hoping that there is no problem in mentioning that here in this thread about another thread, after all I hope it helps someone help us all in regards to the sound issues. BTW I am also experiencing the sound issues but I do not have a fusion drive. Tested on latest 10.9.2 beta. Problem still persists to highlight the point.

Also popping in to say that I've just experienced this problem.

Brand new iMac 27" with a 3TB fusion drive running 10.9.1.

Few minutes on skype and I started getting the cylon voice and soon after silence and then my usb mouse and keyboard simply stopped.  Lucky for me I was able to ssh in from another machine and reboot.

Tried another skype call and same thing.  Google brought me here.

Incidentally, this problem with fusion drives also seems to break firewire audio (there are other threads on that).

Very disappointed in my new machine.

This is so confusing. Seems that the majority of people see improvement or resolution of issues with 10.9.2. Also, seems to be isolated to Fusion Drive for most. So I wonder if people who are using 10.9.2 and/or don't have a Fusion drive are experiencing the same problem, or a different one?

Well... it took a serious security leak, but 10.9.2 is out! I have installed it and hooked up my ipad / iphone (which caused the freezes on my machine). Will check back in a day or so to let you guys know if it is fixed for me (or not). *fingers crossed!*

I was experiencing system freezes requiring a hard reboot when I used my USB Onyx Interface in combination with a browser and Skype/or Audition/or Screenflow.  I reported these earlier.

The issue persisted.  Today, I upgraded and have been using the system for several hours trying to recreate these freezes and cannot!!!  

Yay!!!!!!

For now, I think the upgrade has fixed this issue, at least for me.  Of course, I want to be cautious but unless you hear differently it appears the upgrade has fixed the issue.

It took them long enough, but thanks to Apple for quashing this nasty bug in systems with fusion drives like mine.

I'll report back if anything changes....

One other thing I noticed in the release notes:

Fixes an issue that may cause audio distortion on certain Macs

I think we may have a winner here!

Yes, running 10.9.2 for a full day now with all my usb gear hooked up... no problems.

I think it's safe to say my USB problems have gone now!

Yes I am the same, everything is still working after 24 hours.