iSub loses track of the beat!

[veedubdrew]

Hey everyone,

I have a 17" iMac G4 with an iSub. After a short time playing music in iTunes (less than an hour) the beat of the bass is noticeably off from that of the music. I have to pull the USB cable out of the Mac, reinsert it, then it syncs up again for another half hour to an hour.

Anyone else having this issue? I have the new audio driver update thing and that didn't solve the issue. FWIW, my machine also has the symptom of adjusting balance and iSub settings on its own, with no intervention in System Preferences from me. It just ends up all tweaked to the left or right every few days. Should I call Apple?

 

[irmongoose]

Yeah, definitely call Apple... it won't hurt. If you can't figure it out, then just call Apple. If you still have warranty, all the after-service is free, so you won't lose anything (except maybe the time it takes to make the call and send your stuff to them).

Although, if anyone here knows how to fix this problem, well, then fix it yourself.




irmongoose

 

[mmmdreg]

there was another thread a while ago with no replies unfortunately...here

 

[BenderBot1138]

USB Devices

You can't be using a hub with a device that has a high priority need. Also try switching the USB devices from your input plugin port 2 to 1 or 1 to 2. If your drive is full, you may have some performance problems.

It's not the iSub. And the idea that a Bass beat could be out of sync is quite an event. It basically sounds like your USB port isn't giving enough love to your USB device. It's not iTunes or the iSub.

In general, High Bandwidth and Isochronous USB devices can experience problems when connected to hubs. You can try to resolve the problem by getting a powered hub, or easier, rearrange your connections as mentioned above. The powered hub doesn't always resolve the issue.

Be sure to check your ASP (Apple System Profiler) Utility that comes with OS X (in your Home->Applications->Utilities folder on your HardDisk). It may help show what's going on with your USB devices.

 

[veedubdrew]

I don't have a hub on my iMac. The iSub is plugged into one of the three USB ports on the back of the Mac, along with my keyboard and printer. This is really starting to bug me! I have to reach around the back of my computer and pull, then re-insert the iSub USB cable every hour or so.

 

[Billicus]

Is the printer always on? It could be sapping bandwith even if its not doing anything. Also, check which port it's on - because the one next to the modem is on a seperate controller, with the modem. If you're always using the modem, it's sapping at least half, if not more of your USB bandwith on that controller. Hope this helps.

 

[Gus]

What OS are you running? This is actually a known issue. If you check the Apple discussion boars for iSub, you will see quite a few posts about it. There was even a petition started to get better support. I had the same exact problem as well until I updated to Jaguar. Everything has been peachy since. I am assuming you are using the Apple Pro Speakers in conjunction with the iSub? The problem seemed to result from a delay between the USB information to the iSub and the Digital Speaker port for the Pro Speakers. I always had ro re-pug also. It was frustrating. I also had problems with the sound if I was playing a song in iTunes and browsing with IE at the same time too.

Post some info on your OS for us, and we'll see if there is anything else to do.

Regards,
Gus