Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Yes Im on the latest Ventura and the 4.06. 4.06 was working great for me on Monterey. Not so great on Ventura. I have just rolled back to 3.27 and I'll see how it goes!

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Hi!

Same for me. Worked great on Monterrey (3.27, UCX II). When I updated to Ventura -> Stuttering and glitches. Now I have 4.06 but no difference. I have noticed that there is a lot less problems when the memory pressure (in the activity monitor) is green. When it goes to yellow the stuttering is unbearable. Seems to be some kind of resource thing. Any of you experienced any difference related to RAM usage?

Cheers
Terje

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Eithunsen wrote:

Hi!

Same for me. Worked great on Monterrey (3.27, UCX II). When I updated to Ventura -> Stuttering and glitches. Now I have 4.06 but no difference. I have noticed that there is a lot less problems when the memory pressure (in the activity monitor) is green. When it goes to yellow the stuttering is unbearable. Seems to be some kind of resource thing. Any of you experienced any difference related to RAM usage?

Cheers
Terje

That is an interesting theory. But I wonder if that is the problem I have have cause I got the problems with just a few instances of web browser and Spotify open.

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

naturligasteg wrote:
Eithunsen wrote:

Hi!

Same for me. Worked great on Monterrey (3.27, UCX II). When I updated to Ventura -> Stuttering and glitches. Now I have 4.06 but no difference. I have noticed that there is a lot less problems when the memory pressure (in the activity monitor) is green. When it goes to yellow the stuttering is unbearable. Seems to be some kind of resource thing. Any of you experienced any difference related to RAM usage?

Cheers
Terje

That is an interesting theory. But I wonder if that is the problem I have have cause I got the problems with just a few instances of web browser and Spotify open.

Yup, it's OS related.  However, it doesn't matter whether you're using an RME driver, or something else. It'll glitch like crazy.
The only workaround I am using for now for example with Pro Tools to stop it from crapping out mid recording, is to re-nice it to -20. Basically giving it priority over system events that it would normally flake out over.  Note, this will work for most DAWs.

----------------
Matt McKenzie-Smith (UFXII, UFX, Babyface) MacStudioUltra OS13.2.1
----------------

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Looks like you have right: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254533016

So the only 'solution' is to downgrade to Monterrey? Or wait for a fix from Apple (who never admits or inform anything). Oh' the headache!

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

In my case (Ventura 13.2.1 on Mac Studio) the audio glitches seem to depend on the application. I don't get glitches in Cubase, Logic or Dorico but when using Safari. After changing from Safari to Firefox the glitches seem to be gone...

Eithunsen wrote:

Looks like you have right: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254533016

So the only 'solution' is to downgrade to Monterrey? Or wait for a fix from Apple (who never admits or inform anything). Oh' the headache!

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Eithunsen wrote:

Looks like you have right: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254533016

So the only 'solution' is to downgrade to Monterrey? Or wait for a fix from Apple (who never admits or inform anything). Oh' the headache!

Once again I have to raise my hand and say this is not the problem on my system. I only use wired mouse and keyboard and have no bluetooh devices in connected. So since this is about bluetooth that is another issue not releated to the RME802 and beta drivers on my Mac Studio M1.

158 (edited by mikejamesgal 2023-03-16 17:29:54)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

RME tech support directed me here. Just wanted to throw my frustrating experience out there.

Just received my new Mac Mini M2 Pro. Installation of everything has been a breeze and really easy until I started setting up my RME Fireface UC.

Constant audio distortion/stuttering/crackling through all software running the driver: macOS, Pro Tools, Soundminer. Reminiscent of the sound of sample rate issues. Same issue whether I'm plugged into the Mac Mini or a USB 3 powered hub.

I've been able to make it temporarily work by unplugging and plugging back in the USB cord. But after awhile the distortion comes back, or instantly comes back after rebooting.

Here are my specs:
Fireface UC
Mac Mini M2 Pro
macOS Ventura 13.2.1
Firmware v138
Driver v3.28

What are my options as of now? Where should I report this to Apple to add onto the pile?

I'm gonna try this public BETA to see if anything changes.

EDIT: I tried this BETA 4.06 and now I'm not getting any audio at all. I have a YouTube video playing in the background and every 30 seconds or so I'll here a little millisecond slice of audio poke through but that's it.

Really hoping there's some kind of temporary fix here

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Update on my last post right above this:

I went back to v3.27 and I have the same problem of consistent glitching audio reminiscent of mismatched sample rates.

But if I unplug the USB and plug it back in while everything is running, then reselect the Fireface UC output in macOS- Everything seems to work perfectly. I've been working with Safari/Pro Tools/Soundminer for the past hour with zero problems.

This is really baffling. Again, RME tech support directed me to this thread but, after reading through this thread, I have yet to see someone who is experiencing exactly what I'm experiencing.

Curious to know anyone's thoughts on this, like if maybe I'm experiencing a whole other problem altogether.

160 (edited by naturligasteg 2023-03-17 08:20:37)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Hi, mikejamesgal. Welcome to our un-merry little gang. Weird that they directed you here. We have found no universal solution. Personally I went back to 3.27 driver and got it working ok again after trying all sorts of antics with the 4beta driver and swapping usb ports and all sorts of stuff.

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Hello,

I just wanted to share my recent experience that may help some people:

I wanted to connect my MADIFace Pro to my MacBook Pro M1 Pro (Ventura 13.2.1). I installed the drivers available on the website (3.28) and connected the MADIFace Pro to a USB2 port of my Apple Cinema Display Thunderbolt, as I did before. I encountered the problems that are described in the thread.

I then installed the beta 4.06 drivers, same problem.

I finally decided to connect the MADIFace directly to my MacBook Pro using the Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter and everything started to work normally. No more distortion, no more clipping, the normal behavior of an RME interface.

I will do more tests with my usb/thunderbolt hubs but it seems that connecting directly to the Mac solves the problems, at least in my case.

Bertrand Allaume

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Total Mix FX is sometimes crashing and my UCX dissappears.
It will only show up again after a reboot.
It is not disappearing from the Fireface USB Settings.

It just happened now in the moment I plugged my Digiface USB.
As if the Digiface is pushing out the UCX from Total Mix FX (as far as I know Total Mix supports 4 parallel interfaces though and it works after reboot...).

Let me know if you need more info.

I am on Total Mix 1.80 beta 5 and 4.06 beta drivers.
MacBook Pro M1 13", macOS Ventura 13.2.1

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

@ naturligasteg - how are you connecting the Fireface UC? Apple USB C convert? or something else?
I have only had success when using either a Caldigit TS3, or the official little apple dongle thingy...

164

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

You can try 4.07 with TM FX 1.80 release version:

https://www.rme-audio.de/downloads/driv … ac_407.zip

The crash that you reported sounds like the one fixed in TM FX 1.80 RC3.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

165

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Thanks for the update. I will do some testing this werkend.

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

mattrobertson wrote:

@ naturligasteg - how are you connecting the Fireface UC? Apple USB C convert? or something else?
I have only had success when using either a Caldigit TS3, or the official little apple dongle thingy...

I am using the braided USB-A cable that came with my RME802 and into one of the few USB-A sockets on the back of my Mac Studio. It works since I backed down to 3.27 driver.

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

MC wrote:

You can try 4.07 with TM FX 1.80 release version:

https://www.rme-audio.de/downloads/driv … ac_407.zip

The crash that you reported sounds like the one fixed in TM FX 1.80 RC3.

Ok, are there any release notes about what is new in this packet? When I download it I get a .pkg file.

168

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Ok, are there any release notes about what is new in this packet? When I download it I get a .pkg file.

Version 4.07

- Supports the UFX III based on firmware USB 19 DSP 6

- Improved installer

- Settings dialog checks for running RME kernel extension


New in TotalMix FX 1.80:

- Supports the UFX III

- Adds the ref level 'Boost' to inputs 3/4 of the Babyface Pro, with 9 dB more gain. Note: requires firmware 203 or higher.

- Improved: Using the ARC USB to close/open the TotalMix window had unexpected side effects under Ventura

- Bug fix Digiface Ravenna: MADI channels were shown as Ravenna channels when Names option was active

- Improved: switching the Digiface Ravenna from USB 2 to USB 3 did not show the additional channels without reboot

- Added support for 75 dB mic gain for the Digiface AES

- New function Offline-Device Setup (Optionws): allows to use TotalMix FX without connected interface, including load/edit/save of Setups and Workspaces

- New function Color in Channel Layout: the channel name can be white or shown in 7 other colors

- Change: Key focus is now locked when in background after start to avoid unintentional configuration changes

- Improved function to determine IP addresses in Network Remote Settings

- Bugfix Network Remote Settings: Deletion of a user did not work correctly

- Improved: Opening of Network Remote Settings device-dependent, avoids collision with mixer settings
- Improved function to determine IP addresses in Network Remote Settings

- Improved: Loading of user list in Network Remote Settings

- New ARC USB: can now control the makeup gain of the mic channel's Dynamics section

- New ARC USB: all encoder functions are now also available as 'Push' mode (only active as long as the button is pressed)

- New PFL mode: When in PFL mode the global Solo button (upper right) will switch off all active PFLs

- Fix: in rare cases connecting the audio interface could exit TotalMix


- Extended OSC support. The updated OSC table is here:

https://www.rme-audio.de/downloads/osct … fx_180.zip

The OSC table zip includes a new touchOSC template that showcases all functions.

New in Page 1: CUE control as channel dependent function, control of link speaker B, and the direct selection of a channel in Page 2 as a start offset of Page 1.

New in 'none paged' page: added setOffsetInBank and loadQuickWorkspace (these are no new functions)

- Various performance improvements and fixes

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Thank you @FZ.

170 (edited by magebarf 2023-03-19 10:48:52)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

The zip file linked by MC was updated with release notes as well, so we know it's the official word. But in this context I'm not sure if FZ here is the chicken or the egg? Thank you very much FZ!

171 (edited by douscinco 2023-03-20 16:31:09)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Hello. I don't know if this message pertains to this thread, since it's not beta anymore. I've installed the 4.07 publicly available driver and, as soon as I rebooted, I've got this message in a pop-up:
Concurrently running RME USB kernel extension detected!
Please try to reboot your computer.
If this message persists, disable third party kernel extensions in security policy!
I rebooted and still got the message. While I know I can disable the extensions, as per the message, I'm worried that the older driver hasn't been uninstalled properly.
EDIT: the interface works. I don't know under which driver.

172 (edited by naturligasteg 2023-03-21 09:55:23)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

I installed 4.07 a few days ago. Did not expect any improovement in the sound dropout. At first it worked worked a few days and I thought that maybe the new install made it work. That was a wrong assumption. The problem is back. 4.07 is as glitchy as 4.06. sad

So I am going back to 3.27

173 (edited by alectroniq 2023-03-23 11:23:15)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

douscinco wrote:

Hello. I don't know if this message pertains to this thread, since it's not beta anymore. I've installed the 4.07 publicly available driver and, as soon as I rebooted, I've got this message in a pop-up:
Concurrently running RME USB kernel extension detected!
Please try to reboot your computer.
If this message persists, disable third party kernel extensions in security policy!
I rebooted and still got the message. While I know I can disable the extensions, as per the message, I'm worried that the older driver hasn't been uninstalled properly.
EDIT: the interface works. I don't know under which driver.

I'm getting the same message each time I boot my Macbook Pro 2021 14" M1 Pro, macOS 12.6.3 with Babyface Pro.
Everything seems to work and Driver is 4.07, but I'm bothered as well.

Edit: see here > https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=37074
Set it back to default and got rid of that message.

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Cubase 11 is not producing any sound! Cubase 12 is fine. System sound is fine! Can I go back to older drivers? I did not know that was beta

175 (edited by fa151515 2023-03-26 20:17:52)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

My 2 conf :
Apple MacBook Pro 15 M1 Pro / MacBook Pro 13 Core i5
Ventura 13.2.1 / Monterey 12.6.3
2 UCXII units (one on the M1 Pro Ventura and one on a MacBook Pro 13 Core i5 Monterey)
Firmware V39
Driver3.28
Unit directly connected to the usb port of the Mac

-> Lots of audio dropouts  on the M1 Pro Ventura,  Not usable

Is there a roadmap to fix the issue ?
It's on Apple side ? RME Side ? both ?

thanks

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

fa151515 wrote:

My 2 conf :
Apple MacBook Pro 15 M1 Pro / MacBook Pro 13 Core i5
Ventura 13.2.1 / Monterey 12.6.3
2 UCXII units (one on the M1 Pro Ventura and one on a MacBook Pro 13 Core i5 Monterey)
Firmware V39
Driver3.28
Unit directly connected to the usb port of the Mac

-> Lots of audio dropouts  on the M1 Pro Ventura,  Not usable

Is there a roadmap to fix the issue ?
It's on Apple side ? RME Side ? both ?

thanks


The MacOS Ventura update (13.3) dropped today and appears to have addressed those audio glitches and dropouts.

----------------
Matt McKenzie-Smith (UFXII, UFX, Babyface) MacStudioUltra OS13.2.1
----------------

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

mattrixx wrote:

The MacOS Ventura update (13.3) dropped today and appears to have addressed those audio glitches and dropouts.

What are you basing this "appears to" on, @mattrixx? Experience, writings or both? Thanks.

RME Babyface v226 | 4.07 | MacBook Pro 13" 2020 | 16gb/1tb

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Definitely both.

----------------
Matt McKenzie-Smith (UFXII, UFX, Babyface) MacStudioUltra OS13.2.1
----------------

179 (edited by soundpotion 2023-03-28 11:21:49)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Hello! Did all the steps mentioned in the ReadMe that came with the latest official 4.07 update! Sad that nothing has changed and the glitching and stuttering continues. Was expecting a solution but its very disappointing that there is none. I don't know wether its Apple or RME, but I really hope some solutions come soon! Will have to hold off my upgrade to a higher end RME interface until we get some answers. So many years of fabulous service so disappointed that it has come to this.

MacBook Pro M1Pro - Monterey -  Babyface Pro FS - Fireface 800 -  Logic Pro X 10.7.7

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

As mentioned in my answer #161, I continued testing with my Thunderbolt Hubs:

No problems with the OWC Thunderbolt Hub and a USC-C to USB-B cable connected to the MADIface Pro.

Bertrand Allaume

181 (edited by PLAYSTARZ 2023-03-28 18:34:12)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Hello everyone!! I also confirm that there are very strange sound drops (similar to clicks of switching the frequency of sample rate) and they started with the MacOs Big Sure 11.7.5. I am now on the latest Monterey and no driver has yet fixed this problem (Babyface Pro). The interface works terribly. As I understand it, there is still no solution? Thanks

182

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

PLAYSTARZ wrote:

Hello everyone!! I also confirm that there are very strange sound drops (similar to clicks of switching the frequency of sample rate) and they started with the MacOs Big Sure 11.7.5. I am now on the latest Monterey and no driver has yet fixed this problem (Babyface Pro). The interface works terribly. As I understand it, there is still no solution? Thanks

A solution ?
What do you want ? A special custom built driver for your computer ?
What is that interface ?
What is the computer ? intel-Mac ?
Actual MacOS is Ventura 13.3
Actual driver is 4.07
Here MacbookAirM1 Ventura 13.3, driver 4.07, Babyface old, Digiface USB, Madiface Pro, no problem, music plays fine.

M1-Sonoma, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

soundpotion wrote:

Hello! Did all the steps mentioned in the ReadMe that came with the latest official 4.07 update! Sad that nothing has changed and the glitching and stuttering continues. Was expecting a solution but its very disappointing that there is none. I don't know wether its Apple or RME, but I really hope some solutions come soon! Will have to hold off my upgrade to a higher end RME interface until we get some answers. So many years of fabulous service so disappointed that it has come to this.

Which OS??

----------------
Matt McKenzie-Smith (UFXII, UFX, Babyface) MacStudioUltra OS13.2.1
----------------

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

waedi wrote:
PLAYSTARZ wrote:

Hello everyone!! I also confirm that there are very strange sound drops (similar to clicks of switching the frequency of sample rate) and they started with the MacOs Big Sure 11.7.5. I am now on the latest Monterey and no driver has yet fixed this problem (Babyface Pro). The interface works terribly. As I understand it, there is still no solution? Thanks

A solution ?
What do you want ? A special custom built driver for your computer ?
What is that interface ?
What is the computer ? intel-Mac ?
Actual MacOS is Ventura 13.3
Actual driver is 4.07
Here MacbookAirM1 Ventura 13.3, driver 4.07, Babyface old, Digiface USB, Madiface Pro, no problem, music plays fine.

Yes, it's not the driver... it's the OS.. Ventura 13.3 fixes this.

----------------
Matt McKenzie-Smith (UFXII, UFX, Babyface) MacStudioUltra OS13.2.1
----------------

185

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Could one of you just record these clicks and glitches via the totalmix loopback function? Would be surely interesting for Matthias, since the problem is apparently not reproducible in the development team, otherwise we would have gotten feedback about it.
Maybe the dropouts are caused by something else and the RME driver has nothing to do with it... Who knows.

186

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Yes, it's not the driver... it's the OS.. Ventura 13.3 fixes this.

@mattrixx Sry, I did not read your post. That’s good news! I will give Ventura a try now.

187

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

I have Macbook Pro M1 Max and tried 4.07 last week, but had to go back to 3.28A because of short random dropouts in Ableton. Also installed Ventura 13.3 yesterday, actually before using Ableton. I don't know if install order (driver before update) could cause problems but 13.3 definitely did not fix anything for me.

I've had zero problems with RME drivers and multiple interfaces on this machine, earlier macbook 2018 didn't never really worked with RME without external usb controller.

188 (edited by soundpotion 2023-03-29 08:53:27)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

mattrixx wrote:
soundpotion wrote:

Hello! Did all the steps mentioned in the ReadMe that came with the latest official 4.07 update! Sad that nothing has changed and the glitching and stuttering continues. Was expecting a solution but its very disappointing that there is none. I don't know wether its Apple or RME, but I really hope some solutions come soon! Will have to hold off my upgrade to a higher end RME interface until we get some answers. So many years of fabulous service so disappointed that it has come to this.

Which OS??


Latest update of Monterey 12.6.4 that came out a few days back! Its glitching so much that its not usable. Won't even play 4 bars before dropping out! I am in luck that I have my trusty old Fireface 800 that runs like a real RME that we know from so many years. To get the better conversion from the BF Pro FS, I have connected it thru ADAT from the Fireface 800 and my speakers are connected to the BF Pro... I just use the FF800 as a primary interface connected to my M1Pro MBP. FW> Thunderbolt>Thunderbolt 3. Even with all this conversion it runs perfectly! A sudden upgrade to Ventura is not possible as I have to wait for all my plugins to have stable support in Ventura. That will be the case with most professionals who need stability! I want to upgrade to a higher end interface from RME but I can't until I know for sure that this has been sorted. Companies like Universal Audio who are nowhere near RME when it comes to driver support have figured it out so I don't see why RME can't. Waiting is all we can do as when I contacted support, I just got back a rude and sarcastic reply!

MacBook Pro M1Pro - Monterey -  Babyface Pro FS - Fireface 800 -  Logic Pro X 10.7.7

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

soundpotion wrote:
mattrixx wrote:
soundpotion wrote:

Hello! Did all the steps mentioned in the ReadMe that came with the latest official 4.07 update! Sad that nothing has changed and the glitching and stuttering continues. Was expecting a solution but its very disappointing that there is none. I don't know wether its Apple or RME, but I really hope some solutions come soon! Will have to hold off my upgrade to a higher end RME interface until we get some answers. So many years of fabulous service so disappointed that it has come to this.

Which OS??


Latest update of Monterey 12.6.4 that came out a few days back! Its glitching so much that its not usable. Won't even play 4 bars before dropping out! I am in luck that I have my trusty old Fireface 800 that runs like a real RME that we know from so many years. To get the better conversion from the BF Pro FS, I have connected it thru ADAT from the Fireface 800 and my speakers are connected to the BF Pro... I just use the FF800 as a primary interface connected to my M1Pro MBP. FW> Thunderbolt>Thunderbolt 3. Even with all this conversion it runs perfectly! A sudden upgrade to Ventura is not possible as I have to wait for all my plugins to have stable support in Ventura. That will be the case with most professionals who need stability! I want to upgrade to a higher end interface from RME but I can't until I know for sure that this has been sorted. Companies like Universal Audio who are nowhere near RME when it comes to driver support have figured it out so I don't see why RME can't. Waiting is all we can do as when I contacted support, I just got back a rude and sarcastic reply!

Yes, I wrote to support last year, they immediately advised me to reinstall the operating system on another disk, which I tried, and then when I wrote further, they stopped responding to me)))) (Before that, 6 years of impeccable work, starting with MacOs Mavericks) Apparently, they themselves do not understand what it is and how to fix it.  It's easier to ignore everyone, but not many have reached the forum.

190 (edited by stromkraft 2023-03-29 20:54:17)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

PLAYSTARZ wrote:

Yes, I wrote to support last year, they immediately advised me to reinstall the operating system on another disk, which I tried, and then when I wrote further, they stopped responding to me)))) (Before that, 6 years of impeccable work, starting with MacOs Mavericks) Apparently, they themselves do not understand what it is and how to fix it.  It's easier to ignore everyone, but not many have reached the forum.

Just to be clear, your account starts in 2022 with beta stage software, or? Please don't mix together stories about various versions with each other, as no-one have anything to gain from that. Even if you didn't, not making it clear is not helpful for others. Threads like these are for all beta users, not just for those of us that have problems.

Now when the 4.07 release is out, issues related to this should be posted in a specific thread, I think. Is there one?
EDIT
OK, created New macOS RME USB 4.07 (release) driver. If you agree the release should be discussed separately, feel free to post there.

RME Babyface v226 | 4.07 | MacBook Pro 13" 2020 | 16gb/1tb

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Ventura 13.3 seems to fix the issue !
Excellent

fa151515 wrote:

My 2 conf :
Apple MacBook Pro 15 M1 Pro / MacBook Pro 13 Core i5
Ventura 13.2.1 / Monterey 12.6.3
2 UCXII units (one on the M1 Pro Ventura and one on a MacBook Pro 13 Core i5 Monterey)
Firmware V39
Driver3.28
Unit directly connected to the usb port of the Mac

-> Lots of audio dropouts  on the M1 Pro Ventura,  Not usable

Is there a roadmap to fix the issue ?
It's on Apple side ? RME Side ? both ?

thanks

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Ventura 13.3 did NOT fix the issue for me. Nothing changed at all. When memory usage goes up, the stuttering/glitching starts.

MacBook Pro M1, 16gb RAM
Ventura 13.3
RME UCX II/ARC USB
Firmware 42, Driver 4.07, Totalmix 1.80(3)


Cheers
Terje,
Norway

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

soundpotion wrote:

Waiting is all we can do as when I contacted support, I just got back a rude and sarcastic reply!

My replies were neither rude nor sarcastic - all I did was point out to you that if and when issues are related to our drivers, we usually find and fix them quickly. In cases where the issue is on the other side (e.g. Apple), and that is what things eventually turn out to be most of the time, there is little we can do to fix the situation. No new driver can just overcome OS related issues.

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

RME Support wrote:
soundpotion wrote:

Waiting is all we can do as when I contacted support, I just got back a rude and sarcastic reply!

My replies were neither rude nor sarcastic - all I did was point out to you that if and when issues are related to our drivers, we usually find and fix them quickly. In cases where the issue is on the other side (e.g. Apple), and that is what things eventually turn out to be most of the time, there is little we can do to fix the situation. No new driver can just overcome OS related issues.

Yes spot on.. actually Monterey was where all this started.. and we were blurred with whether it was  a beta driver, or OS...  We've driven the trails and thankfully, on top of a great RME beta program and some comms with apple.. It's working perfectly. Monterey or earlier versions of Ventura are not ideal. Ventura 13.3 is where the magic is back at!

----------------
Matt McKenzie-Smith (UFXII, UFX, Babyface) MacStudioUltra OS13.2.1
----------------

195 (edited by soundpotion 2023-04-01 08:15:49)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

RME Support wrote:
soundpotion wrote:

Waiting is all we can do as when I contacted support, I just got back a rude and sarcastic reply!

My replies were neither rude nor sarcastic - all I did was point out to you that if and when issues are related to our drivers, we usually find and fix them quickly. In cases where the issue is on the other side (e.g. Apple), and that is what things eventually turn out to be most of the time, there is little we can do to fix the situation. No new driver can just overcome OS related issues.

U said nothing will "magically" fix this followed by a lot of words in quotes like "Fix this" etc...(Check Your mail) What kind of tech support replies like this to a customers query or concern? That is sarcastic because obviously its not going to solve itself magically!
I have invested in your products so I have the right to ask why its performance is suddenly so terrible that its unusable. This thread is proof that this is not an isolated issue and a lot of people are facing it. I have no idea what conversation goes on between RME and Apple so all you had to say was that its being looked at and, if possible, give me a time frame to when it could be fixed. That's all I asked for.

MacBook Pro M1Pro - Monterey -  Babyface Pro FS - Fireface 800 -  Logic Pro X 10.7.7

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

mattrixx wrote:
RME Support wrote:
soundpotion wrote:

Waiting is all we can do as when I contacted support, I just got back a rude and sarcastic reply!

My replies were neither rude nor sarcastic - all I did was point out to you that if and when issues are related to our drivers, we usually find and fix them quickly. In cases where the issue is on the other side (e.g. Apple), and that is what things eventually turn out to be most of the time, there is little we can do to fix the situation. No new driver can just overcome OS related issues.

Yes spot on.. actually Monterey was where all this started.. and we were blurred with whether it was  a beta driver, or OS...  We've driven the trails and thankfully, on top of a great RME beta program and some comms with apple.. It's working perfectly. Monterey or earlier versions of Ventura are not ideal. Ventura 13.3 is where the magic is back at!


I am glad that it's been fixed with Ventura, but sadly a lot of plugin companies have still not optimised their stuff for Ventura so an upgrade to a new OS is not possbile for a lot of people. Hopefully Apple can release an update for Monterey where this problem is addressed. Good to hear that the RME magic that we are familiar with is back! smile

MacBook Pro M1Pro - Monterey -  Babyface Pro FS - Fireface 800 -  Logic Pro X 10.7.7

197 (edited by innerclock 2023-04-02 08:45:32)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

New to forum - moved original post from yesterday to this thread as it seems relevant.

Topic: Fireface UC and MADIFace USB - new Driver Kit Driver issues - Ventura 13.3

Environment:-

Model Name: Mac mini
Model Identifier: Macmini8,1
Processor Name: 6-Core Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 3 GHz
Number of Processors:    1
Total Number of Cores:    6
L2 Cache (per Core):    256 KB
L3 Cache:    9 MB
Memory:    8 GB
OS - 13.3

Fireface UC - latest (DevKit) drivers and firmware
MadiFace USB > M-16DA - latest drivers (DevKit 4.07) and firmware (V25)

DAWs - Live, Cubase 12, ProTools, Logic PRO - all latest builds.

Test Projects - lean - totally stripped computer - fresh OS install - single track or single plugin instrument.

Result - low buffer settings (sub 64) at 96kHz project setting - serious audio glitching - much more when opening windows etc - unusable really.

Update:-

Just swapped over to another Mac to test - exactly same hardware and project settings.

MADIFace USB > M-16DA and Fireface UC (all latest firmware)

Model Name: Mac mini
Model Identifier: Macmini9,1
Chip: Apple M1
Total Number of Cores: 8 (4 performance and 4 efficiency)
Memory: 8 GB
OS 12.6.4

RME MADIFace > M-16DA and Fireface UC with KEXT V3.28A

Both now exhibit Zero audio glitching at 24/96 at 32 samples buffer size.

I know its probably been discussed at length but don't have the time to deep dive so apologies in advance - are we talking:-

1: Ventura early days?

2: Late model Intels (2018) vs M Series Processors?

3: KEXT vs User Space Driver ?

4: Combination of the above ?

I purchased the MADIFace USB and M-16DA which I love obviously to get access to 16 DAC outs @ 96kHz with low buffer settings but a little concerned if Apple are forcing great hardware developers to what seems like an inferior driver design especially if future OS releases will phase out the KEXT driver dev platform?

Best - David

Fireface UC MADIface USB M-16DA PT Logic PRO Cubase 12 Live Intel and M Series Macs Mojave ~ Ventura

198 (edited by ramses 2023-04-02 11:52:05)

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

Eithunsen wrote:

Hi!

Same for me. Worked great on Monterrey (3.27, UCX II). When I updated to Ventura -> Stuttering and glitches. Now I have 4.06 but no difference. I have noticed that there is a lot less problems when the memory pressure (in the activity monitor) is green. When it goes to yellow the stuttering is unbearable. Seems to be some kind of resource thing. Any of you experienced any difference related to RAM usage?

Cheers
Terje

EDIT: rephrased

Looking at the reports from some users, the audio dropouts seem to be related to the main memory fill level in some cases.
In this context, it could be that paging and swapping activities of the system (also) cause the audio dropouts.

Even if there is still memory available, operating systems try to swap currently not needed RAM to disk according to certain strategies rather early. This to be able to serve future RAM requests of applications faster and not to slow down applications until enough memory is free. Memory allocation is a dynamic process, it is not static as you might think. So, there is instantly the allocation and deallocation of memory going on in the background and a certain paging activity.

As paging/swapping is a critical function in the kernel and essential for any system, it is most likely that those I/O activities have higher precedence over normal system and user processes. Especially time-critical processes like audio processing could be quicker impacted (-> audio loss). For normal applications this has no impact, but for audio processing it has.
Same for macOS changes regarding memory management. So, the best is simply to have enough memory.

Therefore, it might have helped mattrixx, in his case, to prioritize Protools to -20 which is the highest priority for user and background processes on systems with Unix flavor. Still, kernel processes have higher priority and when it comes to important kernel related I/O processes they may not be interrupted.

mattrixx wrote:

Yes, it's not the driver... it's the OS.. Ventura 13.3 fixes this.

Such strategies can also change between OS versions, why it can function in the one or other OS version sometimes better and sometimes worse.

In error reports that say that the problems get worse with increasing RAM load, I am missing concrete information about:
- how much RAM is installed in the system
- the CPU, and memory usage and
- how high the paging and swapping activity of the system is.
This could help to correlate issues with audio dropouts with available memory and swapping/paging activities of macOS.

mattrixx wrote:

Yup, it's OS related.  However, it doesn't matter whether you're using an RME driver, or something else. It'll glitch like crazy. The only workaround I am using for now, for example with Pro Tools to stop it from crapping out mid recording, is to re-nice it to -20. Basically, giving it priority over system events that it would normally flake out over.  Note, this will work for most DAWs.

mattrixx also reported that raising the process priority of Protools showed improvement. But this will probably not help in all cases.

Some personal remarks regarding DRAM capacity

My personal impression is that 8 GB of RAM equipment is a bit meager on a 64-bit system. That will lead to paging/swapping activity of the OS very early on. So if some issues come from too little main memory and increased paging/swapping activity, that will be the case more often (or always) with 8 GB.

But even with a 16 GB system, you might run out of memory if you simply need a lot of memory.
This depends on whether the DAW projects are large, how many and which virtual instruments are in use, and what other programs or background services are running on the system.

Turning off virtual RAM to eliminate a negative impact from paging/swapping - like some people in internet suggest - could only be considered, if one is sure to have enough main memory. But also see the reports about crashes.
I wouldn't recommend the deactivation of virtual memory for an 8 or 16 GB system, maybe only for a quick test whether a problem might be related to paging/swapping. BUT ONLY if there is enough RAM.
BECAUSE … if an operating system runs out of main memory, this will inevitably lead to a hard crash (kernel panic).
This is associated with data loss for open files, and a file system check is due because the file system cannot be closed properly. So be careful.

DRAM upgrade - where necessary / if possible

On systems where upgrading of memory is possible and where paging/swapping takes place, I would propose, to upgrade DRAM, to get more headroom and to be able to exclude paging/swapping as root cause.
By this, you would also proactively solve any potential issues, that could arise due to any future changes in the macOS kernel (when paging starts or how much performance it costs).

To what extent the Apple OS can be parameterized, when it starts to page/swap, I can't say. Others would have to look into this or ask Apple. In any case, main memory is a core issue for IT systems besides CPU performance, and paging/swapping should always be avoided if possible. This is a golden rule for all IT systems and especially for audio processing because delays in processing have to be avoided.

As a side note: who thinks now that 8 GB would be but already a lot, in earlier times everything ran even well with 4 GB…
Please keep in mind, applications are getting fatter and the word width of the CPU on machine level has increased from 32 to 64 bit. So, 4 GB DRAM is simply not enough anymore for a basic 64-bit based system.

Today's minimum for a 64-bit system is 8 GB DRAM, but that's also the "minimum". If you want more headroom, use 16 GB or even more (depends on your demand / projects / applications).
For a DAW, I would always recommend 16 GB as a minimum.

See also this webpage: https://www.pugetsystems.com/solutions/ … endations/
"RAM is an extremely important factor for performance in DAWs. Avid’s website lists 8 GB as the minimum, but later says, “32 GB or more recommended”. For real-world workloads and because multitasking is so common these days, we advise 64 GB of memory as a baseline, with options to go up to 128 GB for more complex projects."

Don't get me wrong, I am not telling everybody needs 32 or 64 GB DRAM for every DAW software. But you should simply take a closer look, what YOUR memory demand is or might become over time and to avoid that your system comes into paging/swapping activity permanently or too early.

As memory demand usually increases over the years, I would plan for memory reserves to be on the save side for OS and Application updates for the next years until the next system change is due. But the more memory and CPU reserves you have, this might be a few years later. Essential to consider on systems, where memory cannot be exchanged / upgraded.

Summed up

You might have memory issues. This needs to be found out.
If yes, upgrade DRAM if possible.
If this is not possible, ask Apple what can be done in terms of parametrization of the operating system.

Please note: currently only a theory based on my personal experience. I only bring this topic up as I have the gut feeling, that some of these issues are related to it. It might help you to get ideas where else to look for possible issues/solutions.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

mattrixx wrote:
fa151515 wrote:

My 2 conf :
Apple MacBook Pro 15 M1 Pro / MacBook Pro 13 Core i5
Ventura 13.2.1 / Monterey 12.6.3
2 UCXII units (one on the M1 Pro Ventura and one on a MacBook Pro 13 Core i5 Monterey)
Firmware V39
Driver3.28
Unit directly connected to the usb port of the Mac

-> Lots of audio dropouts  on the M1 Pro Ventura,  Not usable

Is there a roadmap to fix the issue ?
It's on Apple side ? RME Side ? both ?

thanks

The MacOS Ventura update (13.3) dropped today and appears to have addressed those audio glitches and dropouts.

Hey Matt - seems like you are using the older KEXT Driver on both M1 and Intel machines - on the M1 Pro Ventura 13.3 have you tried the 4.06 User Space Driver?

Fireface UC MADIface USB M-16DA PT Logic PRO Cubase 12 Live Intel and M Series Macs Mojave ~ Ventura

Re: New macOS RME USB 4.06 driver – public beta test

innerclock wrote:
mattrixx wrote:
fa151515 wrote:

My 2 conf :
Apple MacBook Pro 15 M1 Pro / MacBook Pro 13 Core i5
Ventura 13.2.1 / Monterey 12.6.3
2 UCXII units (one on the M1 Pro Ventura and one on a MacBook Pro 13 Core i5 Monterey)
Firmware V39
Driver3.28
Unit directly connected to the usb port of the Mac

-> Lots of audio dropouts  on the M1 Pro Ventura,  Not usable

Is there a roadmap to fix the issue ?
It's on Apple side ? RME Side ? both ?

thanks

The MacOS Ventura update (13.3) dropped today and appears to have addressed those audio glitches and dropouts.

Hey Matt - seems like you are using the older KEXT Driver on both M1 and Intel machines - on the M1 Pro Ventura 13.3 have you tried the 4.06 User Space Driver?


bad news.  Issue is back with Firmware v42 et Driver 4.07.
what's going on ?