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Apogee ditches Duet FW based on Apple abandoning FireWire Core Audio driver, Apogee ditches Duet FW based on Apple abandoning FireWire Core Audio driver

Apogee, very late and on the same day that El Capitan was released (9/30/15), informed me by mail that my Duet FW would not be supported from El Capitan and forward.


"As a result, Apple has discontinued development and maintenance of their FireWire Core Audio driver for the new Mac OS X El Capitan. For this reason, we simply cannot ensure a stable/reliable experience for users of our FireWire audio interfaces who choose to upgrade to this new Mac OS release. "



So in short, is this true? And, if, why have you abandoned the FW audio driver.


My concern is, having a Duet FW at home and 3 RME 800 in the studio, that I will be left behind with perfectly good hardware and a staling OS


Comments?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Oct 2, 2015 12:57 AM

Reply
6 replies

Oct 2, 2015 3:54 AM in response to fissmoll

I’ve updated to El Capitan and am using Duet FireWire.


Maestro 2 opens and still functions when changing settings in the software window, also adjusting levels and gain using the Duet button is reflected in the Maestro 2 software.


The Duet has always been great and I’m hoping apple doesn’t make any major changes regarding the Firewire core audio driver in updates to 10.11 otherwise i’ll have to start looking for replacement audio hardware.


At the minute the Duet Firewire is working fine.

For me at present Not Supported doesn’t mean Not Compatible.

Oct 5, 2015 6:55 PM in response to darasc

That is encouraging news to hear! Glad that your Duet FW is working after the update to El Capitan, darasc. I've been scrambling to learn all that I can and it's been quite a challenge to get info about this at the moment.


Out of curiosity here, what was your previous operating system and what DAW are you using? I'm currently on Mavericks - for what its worth - and I was preparing to make the move to El Capitan until I learned about Apogee's discontinuation support for it.


And my DAW is: Logic Pro X [version 10.2].


Any info is DEFINITELY appreciated here...as I am trying to weigh the rewards of upgrading versus the risks of being in a tough spot w unsupported equipment.

Oct 5, 2015 11:14 PM in response to WOF24

I’ve had more time to checkout 10.11 with the Duet (FW) and Logic 10.2.


I updated from Yosemite on a 17” MBP (mid 2009) and am impressed with the improvement, 10.10 was fine and gave me no problems but 10.11 shows better performance with OSX and Logic 10.2.


I have no 3rd party plugins in Logic and keep my OSX pretty clear of any 3rd party software. I have disabled as much eye candy as possible and optimised my system for DAW usage. I’m not really sure yet but disabling SIP is still something i’m considering.

Oct 6, 2015 11:06 AM in response to darasc

Cool - your setup is very similar to mine [using a 13" MBP mid 2012 here]. That helps a lot. I am hoping to have a smooth transition like yourself to 10.11, once I get everything backed up. It's nice to know that your experience has been a stable one, given the similarities in our machines and DAWs.


You mentioned SIP...I can't speak too much on that - as I'm not familiar w it [just googled it and saw that it requires making changes within Terminal]. I will keep it in mind and learn as much as I can about it...if it happens to interfere w LPX or Duet. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.


Appreciate you addressing my concerns, darasc. I'm more likely to upgrade now than before. The critical reviews I heard regarding Yosemite left me content w sticking w Mavericks; however, the growing number of positive reviews - yours included - are helping me tremendously in preparing for El Capitan. So thanks again!

Oct 6, 2015 8:25 PM in response to darasc

Will check out the link you left. Having information is always a good thing - so I appreciate the heads up.


Regarding 3rd party plugins...


I'm not using any at the moment, although I had thought of getting one from Native Instruments. And as you mentioned, NI "identified major compatibility issues" and caution users from upgrading right now. On a tangent note, it is odd how a number of music tech companies are still figuring out how to get everything operating smoothly w El Capitan.

Apogee ditches Duet FW based on Apple abandoning FireWire Core Audio driver, Apogee ditches Duet FW based on Apple abandoning FireWire Core Audio driver

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