Audio drop outs with new 2013 iMac

I exchanged my Fusion drive iMac with SATA 7200 RPM drives got it 3 days ago so far no issues with it. I am happy and rocking Logic and Final cut without any issues.

With fusion drive even playing Spotify and iTunes were giving me problem with both firewire or direct USB interfaces.

Well...it looks like that's going to be my plan of action...since I bought mine in Novemeber I have until Jan. 7th to return it...- just came back after letting it sit awhile and the sounds were garbled when I played back...woohoo back to my old Mac Mini for awhile I guess...- I'm taking the refund and not exchanging. This blows.

I am having same problem.

I sent feedback to apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/ from Eric Root

I am using the Apogee Duet iOS with a brand new iMac.

27-inch, Late 2013

Processor 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2048 MB

Software OS X 10.9.1 (13B42)

The Brand new Apogee Duet works fine 100% with my iPad Air. When using on my iMac it will work for 5-10 min then no sound. If using iTunes match the song will hang like it downloading. If I pull the USB out of the Duet it will start playing instantly through the iMac speakers.

Im an noticing a drop out 80%of the time if it is working and I jump to another Application. Like from iTunes into Youtube.

This is causing me major problems as I purchased the Mac and the Apogee Duet to Record. I not able to do this........

So is this the issue related to the fusion drives vs hard drives? I am about to receive a new late 2013 iMac with a hard drive. I was also about to order a presonus audiobox 22vsl but hesitated after seeing the compatibility warning on sweetwater:

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/important-presonus-audiobox-vsl-com patibility-issues-with-2013-apple-imac-and-macbook-air/

I have no idea if that is at all related.

But having a hard drive and not a fusion drive, could someone let me know if I'm more or less safe with that audio interface! I'd wonder if I should look for another but it isn't completely clear to me if any Interface is going to work with the new macs.

I have a late 2013 iMac 3.2GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive running Mavericks.

I have had an unbelievable amount of USB headset issues. I've tried 3 different USB adapters (including a Griffin iMic which I used on my MBP for 3 years) as well as straight USB headsets. The biggest problem that I've encountered is the audio dropping. I can listen to music and after 3-4 minutes (or 30-40 minutes) it just randomly completely drops off and I have to unplug and replug my headset.

I have a HooToo USB 3.0 hub that I was plugging everything into (came highly recommended): http://amzn.com/B00AYQ433U and have tried plugging directly into the back of the computer.

So far haven't really found anything that works, but this seems ridiculous. I never had any of these problems on my Macbook Pro. I do have all USB ports full including all available ports on my hub.

Any idea why the audio just DROPS?

I have just got this back from Apogee inregards to the Duet 2 iOS:

In the last few days we've had great success with using our USB devices at sample rates of 96k and above. Lets change the sample rate of the device or create a session at a sample rate of 96k or above and see how your unit reacts.

Hi folks, didnt read the whole discussion, but i got big problems running my focusrite pro 14 (firewire) with my imac 2013, 27" 16 gig ram and i7 processor. after a couple of seconds the sound went silent. the main problem is the fusiondrive thing. somehow it doesnt work well with ableton and to much sound processing.

Fixed

i solved the problem by installing mac osx only on the ssd and using the hdd as a place for windows and data storage. using google to find out how to install mac osx only on the ssd

hope i could help 🙂

alex

Hey guys wanna report my new iMac i7, 3 TB fusion drive with Duet 2 was having the same constant dropouts and driving me insane. CoreAudio dropping every couple minutes, both in PT and Logic. After reading all the boards I tried defusing the fusion drive last night and it worked. Left Duet plugged in on record all night with no dropout. So the culprit seems to be the fusion drive. There are instructions everywhere on internet how to do it. Of course you lose all info so back up.

Problem now for me is the SSD portion is only 128 GB and all my apps (with add-ons like Logic additional content) are way more than this, and it says I can't install the exapnsion packs becasue there isn't enough space. So I have to figure out a way to have apps on the regualkr HDD side I guess? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Is there a way to just install OSX on the SSD and applications and the rest redirect to be on the HDD ? Thanks guys.

I am having similar problems.

My audio interface (1): M2Tech Hiface II

My audio interface (2): Audio-gd Compass II

My computer: iMac late 2013 with GTX775m and 1TB Fusion Drive

OS: Mavericks 10.9.1

Description of problem: The Hiface II drops out every minute, while the Compass II every 30 minutes approximately. Both of the two audio interfaces work perfect on my old Macbook Pro 2010 (same OS).

Solution: unplug, replug audioface in. A USB 2.0 hub can largely extend the working time but still drops out occasionally. This probably implies a USB 3.0 compatibility issue behind.

PS. It is a driver and/or hardware problem for sure. Anything from software aspect, such as changing sleeping or power preference, would not help at all.

Just some points in addition to my last post.

1. Tried booting from an external USB drive and unmounted the fusion drive, the problem is still there.

2. Tried connecting a thunderbolt cinema display to the iMac, plugged USB audio interfaces into the USB ports on the cinema display, and it almost solved the problem - only drops out every few hours, which is much more acceptable. This approach is pretty much the same as getting a Belkin Thunderbolt Dock other than costing even more money.

Some more updates:

Just tried my TC Studio Konnekt 48, which is a Firewire 400 interface.

1. iMac Thunderbolt port -> Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 Converter -> Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 Converter -> TC SK 48 -- drops out in 10 seconds

2. iMac Thunderbolt port -> Cinema Display Thunderbolt Port -> Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 Converter -> Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 Converter -> TC SK 48 -- drops out in 20 seconds

3. iMac Thunderbolt port -> Cinema Display Firewire 800 Port -> Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 Converter -> TC SK 48 -- drops out in 10 seconds

4. Boot from an external USB hard drive, unmount fusion drive and use configuration 1, -- works fine

Conclusion: for my firewire interface, fusion drive is the problem.

To summarise all my research, USB interface problems can be solved by a thunderbolt-to-USB converter, namely Apple Cinema Display or Belkin Thunderbolt Dock. USB problems are potentially caused by USB 3.0 chips/drivers built-into the new iMac. Fusion drive does not seem to affect the behaviour of USB interfaces.

However, firewire interface problems can (only) be solved by disabling the Fusion Drive. Thunderbolt daisy chain does not seem to help with firewire problems.

Hope someone from Apple see this thread, it is a big shame for them to keep silent and force users to do this kind of testing though.

Thanks for all your hard work trying to get to the bottom of this.

I'm experiencing an almost identical issue with my Echo Audio 2 USB soundcard.

Having just intalled 10.9.2 and I still get the same issues occuring with my 2013 iMac/i7/16GB/1TB fusion

Can you confirm if after 10.9.2 you are still getting the same dropout? My adapter lasts for about 5 to 10 minutes and then totally disappears, I have to reboot for the system to recognise that it's plugged in.

The story is still going on. Before I upgraded to 10.9.2, I got a Belkin thunderbolt dock. With my USB interfaces connected to that stuff I still got audio dropouts. It was better than the USB ports on my iMac, but worse than the ones on the thunderbolt cinema display.

The reason why the Belkin dock behaves differently than the cinema display, I suppose, is because that the USB ports on the thunderbolt cinema display are USB 2.0, whereas the Belkin thunderbolt dock provides USB 3.0.

Now comes the interesting part. After I upgraded to 10.9.2 (initially a beta version and then the release), I've got my Audio-gd compass working almost perfectly. By almost, I mean it still drops out occasionally but gets reconnected automatically after a few seconds. On the other hand, my M2tech Hiface II still doesn't work properly either on my iMac USB ports or on the Belkin dock.

Apple has done something to fix the audio dropout problem for sure, but somehow they just did not mention it in the release notes. What they said is just 10.9.2 'Fixes an issue that may cause audio distortion on certain Macs'. Very likely, this is because the current fix in 10.9.2 is more or less just a workaround rather than an ultimate one.

I'm having the same problem with playing sound from my 2012 iMac with Fusion drive through my Onkyo Receiver. Usually after a couple of restarts (and much cussin'), it finally comes around.

I'm wondering if the stereo 3.5mm port is analog or digital. Would one of those digital (toslink and s/pif)-to-analog converters (about $20) possibly be the answer? What sort of connection should I make at the audio out port (assuming not all 3.5 connectors are the same?). Or should I use a USB3 port? or Thunderbolt?

It's such a nuisance that I'm increasingly losing patience and pulling out anything that's connected to my iMac's audio "out." At least the sound from the iMac's internal speakers are far from the worst of their type.