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Do you have any issues with audio on the Mac Mini?

Do you have any issues with audio on macmini? (Internal/External audio) like clicks and pops.

  • Yes, I do have some clicks and pops occasionally

    Votes: 19 21.8%

  • Yes, I have some severe crackling sometimes during playback

    Votes: 10 11.5%

  • No, I don't have any issues

    Votes: 58 66.7%
  • Total voters
    87
Are there any other Pro Tools or other DAW mini users here having dropouts and artifacts?
 
anaudiopro said:
Are there any other Pro Tools or other DAW mini users here having dropouts and artifacts?
Click to expand...

I'm using Logic and not having these problems. Nor have I ever encountered it during hours and hours of transcription work in Sibelius and Guitar Pro. You have my sympathies though, with the class of hardware you're using you shouldn't be encountering any problems either.
 
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rmdeluca said:
I'm using Logic and not having these problems.
Click to expand...

Nor have I encountered a problem with Logic. Or with the iZotope software that I use or my Sound Devices USBPre 2 interface.

I empathise with the people who are having difficulties, but I haven't seen a groundswell of complaints from Logic users. It seems to be a fairly isolated problem.
 
HeavyMantra said:
I have occasional audio dropouts when using a USB external soundcard (Apogee duet 2). Can go days without one though
Click to expand...
Intermittent here as well. That's why it's nearly impossible to troubleshoot. Has to be a Mojave issue, or a Mojave/T2 issue.
 
A common element to this is many people affected are using external soundcards or DACs over USB.
 
anaudiopro said:
I am using very expensive Universal Audio equipment over TB3. No USB here. Same issues.
Click to expand...

That's disappointing because I read a statement elsewhere from RME that the problem was with USB, and that TB3 interfaces didn't have the issue.
 
Duncan68 said:
That's disappointing because I read a statement elsewhere from RME that the problem was with USB, and that TB3 interfaces didn't have the issue.
Click to expand...
They are sorely mistaken. At least on the UA side. Maybe their TB devices don't...
 
anaudiopro said:
Wow! So then what exactly is causing all these audio issues with Macs lately? T2 chips that Apple dropped on everyone and still hasn't ironed the bugs out almost 2 years into them? Or has Mojave screwed everything up?
Click to expand...

I previously had a MacBook 12" (no T2 chip) that was on Mojave and audio playback was flawless.
 
Hi
so
anaudiopro said:
Yeah, it has become glaringly obvious that the T2 chip has created a bunch of very real issues.
Click to expand...
You have latest generation uad apollo tb3 interface? and it's still there...
Look, from my observations it's a cpu spike that occurs sometimes and when it does it hits up all the cores at the same time, (I can see that if I keep load meters open in Logic 10.4.4) can't say anything about ProTools since I don't use it and can't even find a reason to start 2 do so...
Did you try to set up a separate user with iCloud and all the possible unnecessary stuff deactivated, a clean one to reduce amount of background processes to a minimum... also don't forget to disable automatic time zone
 
canyelles said:
I read somewhere that audio processing has moved to the T2 chip. So... new code... new problems.
Click to expand...
This is a troubling thought. Because who knows when Apple will have the code mature and developers fully onboard.
 
Last edited:
lapieuvre said:
FYI

https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?pid=136666#p136666

The infos on the above thread from RME ( a very serious player regarding Audio interfaces) scares me to get the latest Mac mini... I even consider going back to pc...
Click to expand...

Who in professional audio is actually using USB 2 for their audio interface? If so, why haven’t they upgraded yet? USB 2 is already inherently flawed for audio, the fact that the T2 sits on the same internal USB 2 hub (and both are on the PCH) should be more than sufficient impetus for someone to finally get a modern interface and enjoy the low latency benefits of Thunderbolt. The fact that Thunderbolt enables CPU-less bi-directional DMA is such a compelling reason to switch to it that no one with the need and means should be contemplating USB nowadays.

For those trying to kick up FUD about the 2018 Mini’s ability to do clickless professional audio, just stop it. You’re an outlier. Almost every audio pro I watch on YouTube uses modern (i.e. T2 possessing) Macs and USB3/TB2/TB3 interfaces without issue. Over months of usage with Logic, Sibelius, Guitar Pro and iTunes I’ve never once experienced any of the issues people are trying to attribute to the T2 here, even over 12-14 hour sessions. And I’m on a measly $1k PreSonus connected via a TB2->TB3 adapter.

Either isolate what in your software stack is causing your problem, buy a different interface or return your Mac and move on.

Some basic things to look for:

* Browser windows sucking up CPU in the background
* Weird, non-integer scaling factors on high resolution displays
* Background processes (updaters, malware scanners and so on)
* Old or poorly written plugins
* Sharing the TB/USB bus with other devices
 
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rmdeluca said:
Who in professional audio is actually using USB 2 for their audio interface? If so, why haven’t they upgraded yet? USB 2 is already inherently flawed for audio, the fact that the T2 sits on the same internal USB 2 hub (and both are both on the PCH) should be more than sufficient impetus for someone to finally get a modern interface and enjoy the low latency benefits of Thunderbolt. The fact that Thunderbolt enables CPU-less bi-directional DMA is such a compelling reason to switch to it that no one with the need and means should be contemplating USB nowadays.

For those trying to kick up FUD about the 2018 Mini’s ability to do clickless professional audio, just stop it. You’re an outlier. Almost every audio pro I watch on YouTube uses modern (i.e. T2 possessing) Macs and USB3/TB2/TB3 interfaces without issue. Over months of usage with Logic, Sibelius, Guitar Pro and iTunes I’ve never once experienced any of the issues people are trying to attribute to the T2 here, even over 12-14 hour sessions. And I’m on a measly $1k PreSonus connected via a TB2->TB3 adapter.

Either isolate what in your software stack is causing your problem, buy a different interface or return your Mac and move on.

Some basic things to look for:

* Browser windows sucking up CPU in the background
* Weird, non-integer scaling factors on high resolution displays
* Background processes (updaters, malware scanners and so on)
* Old or poorly written plugins
* Sharing the TB/USB bus with other devices
Click to expand...

You make good points for audio pro's. But for people like me who use USB DACs to listen to music on an audio system with a headphone or integrated amp, this issue also affects them. And I am unaware of any DACs marketed for home use that use TB3. If they exist, I'm sure they aren't cheap.
 
rmdeluca said:
Who in professional audio is actually using USB 2 for their audio interface? If so, why haven’t they upgraded yet? USB 2 is already inherently flawed for audio, the fact that the T2 sits on the same internal USB 2 hub (and both are both on the PCH) should be more than sufficient impetus for someone to finally get a modern interface and enjoy the low latency benefits of Thunderbolt. The fact that Thunderbolt enables CPU-less bi-directional DMA is such a compelling reason to switch to it that no one with the need and means should be contemplating USB nowadays.

For those trying to kick up FUD about the 2018 Mini’s ability to do clickless professional audio, just stop it. You’re an outlier. Almost every audio pro I watch on YouTube uses modern (i.e. T2 possessing) Macs and USB3/TB2/TB3 interfaces without issue. Over months of usage with Logic, Sibelius, Guitar Pro and iTunes I’ve never once experienced any of the issues people are trying to attribute to the T2 here, even over 12-14 hour sessions. And I’m on a measly $1k PreSonus connected via a TB2->TB3 adapter.

Either isolate what in your software stack is causing your problem, buy a different interface or return your Mac and move on.

Some basic things to look for:

* Browser windows sucking up CPU in the background
* Weird, non-integer scaling factors on high resolution displays
* Background processes (updaters, malware scanners and so on)
* Old or poorly written plugins
* Sharing the TB/USB bus with other devices
Click to expand...
Exactly! How dare anyone here question Apple. Everyone should run out and buy a TB interface immediately to appease Apple and their forward movement. We are totally out of line for expecting our new Mac hardware to play nice with audio interfaces with such antiquated connectivity. C'mon people, get with it! We should NEVER expect backwards compatibility from Apple on anything EVER! Apple has released T2 chip machines and we must obey. Not only that, but with Mojave, stupid companies like Avid (Pro Tools) and Universal Audio have been left in the dust and are clueless as how to bring full compatibility to Apple's latest ingenious OS 4 months down the road. LOL!!!
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rmdeluca said:
Who in professional audio is actually using USB 2 for their audio interface? If so, why haven’t they upgraded yet? USB 2 is already inherently flawed for audio, the fact that the T2 sits on the same internal USB 2 hub (and both are both on the PCH) should be more than sufficient impetus for someone to finally get a modern interface and enjoy the low latency benefits of Thunderbolt. The fact that Thunderbolt enables CPU-less bi-directional DMA is such a compelling reason to switch to it that no one with the need and means should be contemplating USB nowadays.

For those trying to kick up FUD about the 2018 Mini’s ability to do clickless professional audio, just stop it. You’re an outlier. Almost every audio pro I watch on YouTube uses modern (i.e. T2 possessing) Macs and USB3/TB2/TB3 interfaces without issue. Over months of usage with Logic, Sibelius, Guitar Pro and iTunes I’ve never once experienced any of the issues people are trying to attribute to the T2 here, even over 12-14 hour sessions. And I’m on a measly $1k PreSonus connected via a TB2->TB3 adapter.

Either isolate what in your software stack is causing your problem, buy a different interface or return your Mac and move on.

Some basic things to look for:

* Browser windows sucking up CPU in the background
* Weird, non-integer scaling factors on high resolution displays
* Background processes (updaters, malware scanners and so on)
* Old or poorly written plugins
* Sharing the TB/USB bus with other devices
Click to expand...
Might I also add that your “measly” $1k to some people is a whole lot of money. Such an elitist statement. It’s sad too because it’s things like this that ‘PC’ people see when contemplating switching. Then I’m sure they think to themselves, nope I was right about ‘Apple’ people. Such a shame...
 
Last edited:
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anaudiopro said:
Exactly! How dare anyone here question Apple. Everyone should run out and buy a TB interface immediately to appease Apple and their forward movement. We are totally out of line for expecting our new Mac hardware to play nice with audio interfaces with such antiquated connectivity. C'mon people, get with it! We should NEVER expect backwards compatibility from Apple on anything EVER! Apple has released T2 chip machines and we must obey. Not only that, but with Mojave, stupid companies like Avid (Pro Tools) and Universal Audio have been left in the dust and are clueless as how to bring full compatibility to Apple's latest ingenious OS 4 months down the road. LOL!!!
Click to expand...

Don’t hold back, get it all out of your system.
 
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