Contribute
Register

Hackintosh, Universal Audio - Static Noise Problem

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hi,
I just finished my build and have Apollo twin Quad with tb2 connected to apple tb3 adaptor into my z390designare, static noisy, increased noise with mouse movement, sounds very much like an earthing issue, but is weird to see so many with the same problem..
i ha da bit of that too. I rolled back to Mojave and solved all my issues. It was a tough decision, but my graphics weren’t stable either and causing system freezing, so I had no choice. I had to go back to an RX 580 also. I think the audio glitches are due to anything graphics related, or when the GPU is doing it’s thing. It sounds like grounding but it glitches during activity, if it was a ground issue I would suspect the noise to be more constant. Run a CPU bench and listen, then run a GPU bench and listen. Also, the firmware for the tb on this board has never been addressed by GB.
 
Hey guys!

Sorry I somehow missed all these replies and the discussion haha!

I'm still experiencing the same issue, despite a marginal improvement upon setting a fixed VCORE voltage in Bios.

I noticed another thing. Once I log into Windows on this same machine (dual boot) and try to play a game, the noise skyrockets - much worse than in Hackintosh. I suspect that this noise is hence connected with Video Card activity more than anything else.

Any pointers on how to test Video Card? Anything in BIOS that I could change to force its voltage to remain constant?

Thanks!
 
I see, I see. It sounds to me like you’re getting audio glitching due to bad sample rate management and tb incompatibility, not audio line interference. Here’s what I think, and what I’ve found.

With this mobo (Z390 designare) and the way the Thunderbolt has never been updated or ‘fixed’ - I get the Apollos in any Tb card configuration (except for the UA tb1 card on this mobo in any OS) working when in windows 10, or on a real Mac - no issues at all. On a real Mac, any UA tb 1,2 or 3 card and any tb 1,2 or 3 Mac will work just fine.

When in Hackintosh mode, I get an Apollo x8 with a tb3 card working perfectly, but when I put a tb3 card in my silver face Apollo, it also glitches a lot when on the Hackintosh, but not when on a real Mac or in windows. It has taken me months to figure this out As I was blaming everything else in my computer or OS first.

I think there is some sort of incompatibility with the silver face Apollos maybe, as they were produced during the tb1 era and this mobo has no compatibility with tb1 devices at all. So the solution is to put a tb2 or tb3 card in it to make it work right? Well, it sort of works but sort of doesn’t for me, so I’m guessing there’s still something behind the UA tb2 or tb3 card in the silver face Apollo that is not being controlled properly by this Thunderbolt controller.

I’m sure you’ve seen others have flashed their Thunderbolt controllers on this Z390 designare motherboard and had success in their tb devices working much better, including uad gear, but still have a little strangeness. Seems like a huge pain overall with this motherboard.

im going to try a UA tb2 card in my silver face and see if anything changes. If not, then I’m going to switch motherboards and Thunderbolt controllers or get a new Apollo. I haven’t got much choice at this point as I’ve been on the uad platform for 15+ years now.

Thank you FormerUser-50757, I hear you!

Any pointers on how to flash the TB controller? I understand that I may need to upgrade my Apollo (even though I'm happy with the unit) - but I have a reservation that this may not solve the problem, and that's too large of an investment to justify...
 
Thank you FormerUser-50757, I hear you!

Any pointers on how to flash the TB controller? I understand that I may need to upgrade my Apollo (even though I'm happy with the unit) - but I have a reservation that this may not solve the problem, and that's too large of an investment to justify...
Apollo upgrade wont do anything. Flashing the TB on the MOBO is possible though. Just look at the amazing thread here


10.15.5 just released, maybe that will fix things, but not sure. I literally replaced every piece of hardware including the graphics, ram, cpu and mobo to solve my audio glitching and graphics freezing problems. Nothing worked. Rolling back to Mojave solved everything right away. It must be a Catalina, as far as I can tell.

I can’t be bothered to flash the TB on this MOBO, as you can get a different MOBO and a TB add on card that’ll work. It’s somewhat of an involved process that needs extra gear to do, and is not a guaranteed fix anyway. Then again, I’m not a Hackintosh hobbyist, I just need a working machine if you know what I mean. Go back to Mojave! Run! Haha.
 
Hi,

I am having the same problem on the same build using internal graphics through HDMI.

I have apollo twin quad and connected through FW2 to FW3 adapter to the motherboard TB.

I tried with a Liquid Saffire 56 FW card and the problem is still there but much quieter.

I have updated the BIOS to F9b and no help. Really running out of options here..and our studio has no computer atm.. really annoying issue.

I am thinking since the static sound is there even in bios and when restarting it could be something with the motherboard.

I haven't tried with windows but I guess the problem would be there too since its constant..

any ideas anyone. all help is appreciated.
 
Hey all,

A small update. I started editing video on the system and noticed that the noise has skyrocketed. This is definitely related to video card activity.

Does anyone have any clues on which settings could I experiment with? BIOS or clover?

Otherwise, I am waiting on Apollo X - which is TB3. I will update you once it's here, and whether the noise is here too.
Thanks.
 
Noisy static Sound / audio coming from my Hackintosh.


Over the last three month I’ve tried most of the published solutions with no change. I am using external speakers powered by the usb port. I have two computers both similar builds, one is perfect with no sound distortion at all.


The noisy Hackintosh is contrived of as much use stuff as I could find. Recently I plugged the usb power for the speakers into an external power supply. Presto No annoying noise!


Conclusion: at this point CHEAP power supply.
 
Same here guys, same crackle/static, even with TwinX turned off, as long as TB3 cable connected. Tried redoing power configuration, managing cables, no luck...
 
FOLKS, I just solved it! At least for me...I switched from running 1/4" - 1/4" speaker cables to 1/4" - XLR (XLR into monitors), and poof the noise went away!
 
Hey,

I'm a bit relieved to hear of others who are having the same issue that I've been dealing with for hack/build and Apollo Twin mkII. Been a while since you all updated, has anyone actually solved this?

I've had countless theories and swapped out different parts, to no avail. My best theory at this point is that EMI/interference somehow leaks into the grounds/power and gets picked up by my monitors power cables, rather than the thunderbolt cable. (Just a theory)

Does anyone know of any other threads about this issue that has gotten more traction? Also has anyone actually asked UAD support about this (thinking since the noise is there in windows 10 aswell)?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top