Macbook pro 2013 usb3 popping noise

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Macbook pro 2013 usb3 popping noise

Hello,

I've been trying a number of usb dacs and audioplayers on my 2013 macbook pro. No matter what program I use with whatever setting the soud out of the usb dac is plagued by a popping/cracking noise. With some programs the music even stops or turns to mono.

When I put an usb1 hub in between, the sound is ok, but i cannot use my dacs to their full capability.

Also I experience no dac/cracking problems on my ipad3 with a usb2 photo adapter.

I've noticed that this is a recurring problem for mac gear; is there any advice to solve this problem myself?

Thanks, Coen

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), Using external usb dac on usb3 port

Posted on Jan 16, 2014 12:55 AM

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Answer 1

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Erich_808

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39 points

Feb 11, 2014 7:13 AM in response to CoenP

I've just reaized this problem as well--problem being that many DACs are generally not as compatible with USB3.0! It's not a matter of power supply, but rather how data is transferred. It sure seems like a step back to me as far as USB connectivity goes. I had an older iMac with USB and the DAC worked fine for 3 years--I did have problems running it through a hub. At that time the Chief Tech Officer at HRT told me that it was a matter of power supply and that I had to run it off one of the computer USB portts rather than through a hub. So I just bought a new iMac. Now with this current problem *(basically the same as you are describing--popping noises), he told me to go back to the hub--thereby giving me a USB 2 port to use, since the hub is USB2. He also recommend I try using a different USB3 port on the back of the computer, although I'm not sure why there would be any difference in how data is transferred.

I've been yrunning off my USB hub with soome success, although it tends to come and go. If I start getting poopping noises, I can usually just stop and start the music and it clears up. Sometimes. Very finicky and frustrating at this point.

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Answer 2

CoenP Author

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Feb 11, 2014 8:08 AM in response to Erich_808

Hi,

This seems to be a complex problem. The manufacturer of my newest DAC (IFI nano) recognised the problem and promised a firmware update in the coming weeks. This is in line with the following I encoutered on some (cannot remember what) forum:

"

Actually, what Apogee said is that there are two distinct problems with identical symptoms -- one linked to USB 3.0 in the Haswell Macs, and one linked to the Fusion Drives. That's why it's been so hard to pin down a solution, and why all of us have been seeing slightly different behavior.

This is a verbaitm quote from an exchange I had with Apogee support:

"There are 2 separate issues:

1) The "Fusion Drive" issue, affecting new iMacs with a Fusion Drive installed.
2) The "USB Audio" issue, also affecting the iMacs as well as other new "Haswell" computers likeMacBook Pros / Airs.

The Fusion Drive problem has been addressed by Apple directly, and the upcoming version of OS X - 10.9.2 - includes a fix. As mentioned above, there is a beta version available now, but you must be a member of their developer program to obtain it legally.

For some people the OS X update will fix their audio interface problems completely. Others with "Haswell" Macs may still be experiencing disconnects/distortion due to the separate USB Audio issue. We recently received code that addresses this issue, which we have integrated into the firmware for the Duet and Quartet. Today we're opening up betas of this firmware, available through our support team."

"

I'm looking forward to the 10.9.2 update that contains updated USB audio drivers and probably more fixes for USB3.

regards, Coen

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Answer 3

Feb 11, 2014 12:06 PM in response to CoenP

After I wrote this post earlier, I continued to look around for answers and I did find mention elsewhere in the Apple forums a thread on the Fusion drive issue. The individual had a new iMac with a 3TB Fusion drive (same as I have). As you said, this is a complex problem and probably is a combination of several minute things not working together as they did before. Totally understandable I suppose, as much of an inconvenience it is. Anyway, in his opinion, the Fusion drive was the source of the problem, and he fixed it by splitting his fusion drive into two drives (SSD and HDD). This of course eliminated all benefits of the Fusion drive, but he said it solved the popping issue.

Rather than reformatting my HD and turning my drive into a "not-so-fusion" drive, I think I'll wait until Apple releases an OS update, and see if it that solves it. I'm not sure what a Haswell is, I'll have to look that up.

Good luck! BTW--never heard of IFI--I checked 'em out--that tube DAC sounds interesting--reasonable price too!

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Answer 4

CoenP Author

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Feb 11, 2014 1:06 PM in response to Erich_808

Hi,

Haswell is the INTEL cpu version of -at least- the latest macbook pros. Each processor version gets its own name, Haswell is the one of the current production, next will be 'Broadwell' if I'm not mistaken (rumourded to be 30% more energy efficient).

IFI is a spin off AMR audio, wich is all designed by some industry gooroos. The Nano is designed for HQ sound with support for all current formats and portability. IMHO the perfect combination with a Macbook and some quality headphones when you are on the go or in a crowded space (like an office). If only that would work as intended 😢!

Now I'm going to wait for the update,

regards, Coen

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Answer 5

Feb 28, 2014 7:38 AM in response to CoenP

An update on this topic. The recent OS update (10.9.2) appears to have fixed this issue.

Among the list of fixes was "Fixes an issue that may cause audio distortion on certain Macs."

I've listened to my DAC streamer for about 2 hours without any issue--hopefully this message isn't premature. The DAC is plugged into one of the four USB ports on the back of the computer, and I've been using all three other ports for other devices/peripherals including a USB hub.

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Answer 6

CoenP Author

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Mar 21, 2014 9:04 AM in response to Erich_808

Hi,

The 10.9.2 update did unfortunately nothing for me. I am still plagued by pops and stops. I even have the impression that it got worse: no sound at all...

The Dac supplier promised to come with a firmware update last week, but I haven't seen anything sofar.

I noticed that there is still focus on audio in the upcoming 10.9.3 release. We'll see....

regards, Coen

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