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<< Solved >> USB Audio Interface Artifacts and Dropouts

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I started having audio dropouts and static on my USB Alesis Multimix after upgrading from 11 to 11.1. I've had this mixer since 10.13 and it's always just worked, so this was a new behavior.

It seemed to be tied to the GPU usage (Radeon VIIs) and coreaudiod would crash after a few minutes. After a few days of messing around, simply moving the mixer to it's own USB 2.0 port on the motherboard solved everything.
 
The journey continues...
I reverted back to Catalina and the issue went away.

I have repurposed an old drive as a test install and installed a fresh version of Big Sur 11.1. The stuttering was still there.

I changed the SMBIOS just now to MacPro 7,1 and the audio works great. However I am now getting a memory error and my Bluetooth has stopped working.

just got to find solutions to those issues now, but it’s progress on the audio, so I am happy.
 
The journey continues...
I reverted back to Catalina and the issue went away.

I have repurposed an old drive as a test install and installed a fresh version of Big Sur 11.1. The stuttering was still there.

I changed the SMBIOS just now to MacPro 7,1 and the audio works great. However I am now getting a memory error and my Bluetooth has stopped working.

just got to find solutions to those issues now, but it’s progress on the audio, so I am happy.
how weird. My issue started with Catalina. How much RAM do you have? I ask because back when I was wrestling with this problem, It seems like the issue would be most prevalent when my RAM usage went up. I upgraded from 16 to 32GB and it dramatically helped. It seems illogical but if you're eyeing an upgrade already, it could be worth a try.
 
The journey continues...
I reverted back to Catalina and the issue went away.

I have repurposed an old drive as a test install and installed a fresh version of Big Sur 11.1. The stuttering was still there.

I changed the SMBIOS just now to MacPro 7,1 and the audio works great. However I am now getting a memory error and my Bluetooth has stopped working.

just got to find solutions to those issues now, but it’s progress on the audio, so I am happy.

I know it's not sexy, but Mac mini is closer than Mac Pro.
 
how weird. My issue started with Catalina. How much RAM do you have? I ask because back when I was wrestling with this problem, It seems like the issue would be most prevalent when my RAM usage went up. I upgraded from 16 to 32GB and it dramatically helped. It seems illogical but if you're eyeing an upgrade already, it could be worth a try.
I have 64GB installed. Thanks for your suggestion. I did remove a few sticks to see if that helped on Big Sur, but to no avail.
 
I know it's not sexy, but Mac mini is closer than Mac Pro.
Would that have any effect on hardware acceleration etc? Also hoping to upgrade to a 6800xt once they are compatible, will that effect that?

I will give Mac mini a try though, and see how it works.

Thanks
 
Hi!
I am also encountering this annoying audio stutter/dropout problem under Big Sur on my Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi Mini ITX and a Coffee Lake processor. The audio is working fine for half a minute and then suddenly stutters. Video chats are also impossible. I cannot disable the serial ports via BIOS because there is no option for it.

I was using my external soundcard with (High) Sierra and Catalina for years and it just worked out of the box. I have tried mapping my USB ports via custom SSDT's, changing the SMBIOS to other Systems but nothing worked so far.

Is there anyone with new tips or discoveries? I am getting desperate :banghead:
 
Hi!
I am also encountering this annoying audio stutter/dropout problem under Big Sur on my Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi Mini ITX and a Coffee Lake processor. The audio is working fine for half a minute and then suddenly stutters. Video chats are also impossible. I cannot disable the serial ports via BIOS because there is no option for it.

I was using my external soundcard with (High) Sierra and Catalina for years and it just worked out of the box. I have tried mapping my USB ports via custom SSDT's, changing the SMBIOS to other Systems but nothing worked so far.

Is there anyone with new tips or discoveries? I am getting desperate :banghead:
This problem drove me nuts for ages, I thought I had it sorted and then it came back. Never consistent in when it occurred.

Changing SMBIOS to 7,1 sorted it for a while, but it would come back after sleep. And other times randomly.

in the end I had to change my USB interface to a powered one and that sorted it.

does the problem only occur with your sound card? Does the issue occur on the headphone or line out from your motherboard?

One other issue I suspect may have had something to do with my issue is mismatched RAM. I have 64GB (4x8gb). I bought it in two batches and even though they are the same make and speed they are a different silicon. Is your RAM all exactly three same?
 
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