El Capitan USB audio problems.

I have rolled the dice again and have purchased and installed a Kanex Thunderbolt to USB3 & esata port adapter based on recommendations found on a Numark web site:

http://community.numark.com/numark/topics/ns7ii-display-is-junk?page=1

https://www.numark.com/kb/article/1957#usb3

So far, one day, I haven't had any USB dropouts. What gives me optimism is that I can no longer induce USB dropouts by quickly rocking the volume levels up and down when the option for, "Play feedback when volume is changed," is selected in the Sound System Preferences.

Keeping my fingers crossed. Note that it didn't stop the uneven channel balnce on startups, but I am now using the, "Balance Lock," app to take care of that issue.

Hi there, I have a same problem with my wadia 321 dac (it is a high end audio product), and randomly with my thunderbolt western digital hard discs........ I used the 321 via usb to Macbook pro 2011 mid without any problems. Than it has 3rd times motherboard problem and its a "vintage model " now and apple doesnt made motherboard for this model anymore....so its is a garbage....

I bought a brand new Macbook pro i7 16GB 2,2Ghz (A1398 - 2015 mid) and i started to use it. After couple hours it lost the connection to wadia (the dac doesnt need a driver, it is using apple own driver). I tried to PRAM reset, disc utility, restarts reinstall osx (i am using yosemite 10.10.5) , i tried sierra it is worst. In the audio/midi preference it apears wadia usb device for 2-15 seconds and than disappears.

I am killing the apple....

so Lanny do you think kanex will fix my problem?

so Lanny do you think kanex will fix my problem?

That, I couldn't predict.

I had previously tried a Schiit Wyrd USB box, it didn't fix my issue. I bought it directly from Schiit and was able to return it under their 30 day guarantee. But, I was charged a restocking fee.

The Kanex is available directly from Kanex, from the Apple Store, and by resellers. I chose to buy it from my local Micro Center store, Cambridge, MA, because they have a 30 day return policy. Apple has a 14 day return policy.

However, the Kanex Thunderbolt to USB3 & eSATAta port adapter definitely resolved my USB audio dropouts problems. I used to able to artificially induce a USB dropout by rocking my volume levels up and down when the, "Play feedback when volume is changed," option was selected in the Sound System Preference. With the Kanex, I can't do that anymore.

I'd say it's worth a try, expecially if you can get your money back. It also gives you an eSATA port that could be used with an external drive.

One extra thought: If the key to this Kanex thing is the use of your Mac's Thunderbolt port, then Thunderbolt docks with USB ports may offer the same remedy.

That's probably why they're sold in the Apple store. One note from the small print though, the Kanex USB3 port does not support booting from OS X. You make a clone to an USB3 external drive, but the drive won't be bootable.

Thx Lenny your idea again. The Kanex Thunderbolt USB3 & eSATA works well for two days without USB audio dropouts (on brand new MBP 11,4 - 2015mid- osx10.10.5). So I am happy...but i lost one of two thunderbolts ...bravo apple (if its intel problems why built in apple since 2015..!!!!??? - it is a shame..)

I'm sad to report that this Thunderbolt to USB3 adapter hasn't helped me.

I have an external sound device (ham radio transceiver) that I've not been able to successfully use since El Capitan was released. I've had a number of different problems from the sound suddenly switching to the internal speakers to just no sound happening anywhere and an audio port error showing on the software.

A couple of months ago I connected an external HDD to my 2011 27" iMac and installed a brand spanking new Sierra build. That had exactly the same problems.

I then installed Yosemite on that external HDD and it works perfectly. However to reboot to that when I want to operate data modes on my HF transceiver really isn't a workable fix - Sometimes the contests I want to operate last all weekend and that would mean my family are without all the iTunes shared media. It's just not practicable.

Yesterday I ordered the recommended Thunderbolt to USB3 adapter, it's just arrived and made absolutely diddely squat difference. I have exactly the same problems I've had before. I'm effectively getting audio dropouts where the external USB sound device disappears from the computer for a few seconds and then comes back again.

This external sound device uses standard Apple drivers, I don't need to load anything to make it work, it shows up as "USB AUDIO CODEC".

The annoying thing is that although I have this problem (and searching around the internet, so do a lot of other radio hams), it doesn't affect everyone. A friend who has exactly the same model Mac and exactly the same model transceiver doesn't have any issues at all.

It's really spoiling my enjoyment of a hobby I've had for nearly thirty five years!

The annoying thing is that although I have this problem (and searching around the internet, so do a lot of other radio hams), it doesn't affect everyone. A friend who has exactly the same model Mac and exactly the same model transceiver doesn't have any issues at all.

It's really spoiling my enjoyment of a hobby I've had for nearly thirty five years!

I can understand that it can be frustrating how your friend has an identical device, identical mac and no problems... but this can also be an opportunity. What this means (together with the fact that the device and mac work correctly in Yosemite, thus excluding a hardware defect) is that there is something different in the *software*.

This is too long a thread for me to go back and check who has tried what, so I don't know which of possible fixes you tried - a clean Sierra (or El Capitan) install would be an obvious thing to try.

Feek wrote:

The annoying thing is that although I have this problem (and searching around the internet, so do a lot of other radio hams), it doesn't affect everyone. A friend who has exactly the same model Mac and exactly the same model transceiver doesn't have any issues at all.

"Same model" doesn't mean you have same hardware. The same model (or even part number) can have multiple hardware revisions. These are sometimes detectable on the product label, sometime not. WiFi products are particularly notorious for this, where manufacturers will use several totally different and incompatible chipsets over the lifetime of the product. These are not the problem for Windows users, as manufacturer will supply device drivers for all chipsets they ever used for that product in a single installer. But they are sea of pain for anybody depending on generic device drivers (e.g. Linux, and sometime even Mac users). It may be just as well that your friend's radio ham has different USB chip in it.

The other possibility is that you have them connected in a different way. Are they connected directly to Mac's USB port? Or through external USB hub? Same model/type of USB hub? I read mixed reports that people managed to get it to work by either connecting their audio USB device directly to a Mac, or through this or that USB hub (but some other model of USB hub would not work). Of course, it would be totally unreasonable to call that a solution to the problem.

<rant>It looks like generic support for USB audio is completely broken in OS X for a long time. Some problems seem to have been fixed. Some are still ongoing. My NuForce µDAC started working after some number of OS updates, but OS X allows software volume control for it, which it shouldn't (device has hard-wired volume knob, so OS allowing software control results in double volume control, which is terrible idea). My other USB device is Dell soundbar. When connected to a Mac, even when set to the lowest volume it is way too loud. I wish Apple would invest half an hour of engineering time to finally fix USB audio support.</rant>

Obviously I can't comment on the USB chipset but we're both connected the same way, direct into the back of the iMac.

Searching for the symptoms, it seems that quite a lot of ham radio operators are experiencing the same symptoms although few are linking them to this USB audio problem. The most common suggestion is that it's RF getting in somewhere which is causing the issue. In each case, that suggestion is proven to be inaccurate but with no final solution ever offered.

I too have been encountering this problem "on and off". A reboot seems to solve it for me but I understand from all the frustration I read that the issue is probably deeper than my own issue.

However, I did finally establish a connection to my external USB device. Perhaps there is a clue here that someone else can analyze.

sudo killall coreaudiod ... had no effect

plugged audio device directly into USB3 port ... had no effect

changed to a gold-plated USB cable ... had no effect

plugged audio device into CalDigit USB3 port. CalDigit is connected to Thunderbolt port ... worked

It could be a combination of "killall coreaudiod" and using the Thunderbolt port.

I don't regularly monitor this forum so I'll probably not pick up any responses. But, I'll post more if I discover anything additional.

OS is 10.11.6

Ninjei

10.12.14 has killed my NuForce uDac2 too - stuttering to unusable. But not my Fiio E10. 2 different 2011 27" iMac (i5 and i7). Not had a problem until this update.

Curiously it also makes the bluetooth keyboard unusably flakey too.

*sigh*

I've got a Fiio E10 DAC connected through an LG thunderbolt display and this continues to happen from 10.11 to the 10.13 betas. It works fine, until I play audio of some kind. After playing audio and then not doing so for a while (Anywhere from 10 seconds to an hour), it won't work when trying to play audio again without unplugging and replugging the DAC.

10.10 has no such issues, which I've continued to use the past few years because of this one flaw, but unfortunately it only has about a month of support left. Hopefully 10.13's general release will fix this.

Hi hopefully you´ll see this, just got the same sound card and installed this drivers you linked but its not working either... 😟 Im running EL CAPITAN 10.11.6. Please if you have an update please help me!

thank you heaps!

Hi hopefully you´ll see this, just got the same sound card and installed this drivers you linked but its not working either... 😟 Im running EL CAPITAN 10.11.6. Please if you have an update please help me!

thank you heaps!!

I finally got my Audioengine D1 to work, with no issues at all. I bought a USB 3.0 hub, tried the D1 just to see if it'd work and it did. Haven't had a single problem while using the hub. Why, I have no idea.

Thanks Apple, all those hours talking to your support (over the phone and at stores) and following their instructions were of no use at all. The problem hasn't been really fixed, and it seems that Apple either doesn't care or doesn't know how to fix it. Not exactly the kind of service you expect for a laptop that costs 3x as much as it's windows equivalent.