Note that even some audio interfaces with USB-C connectors do actually make use of the USB2.0 bus.) (There are also some reports that USB3 devices are unaffected, but I can’t confirm that and those devices are rare.
Audio interfaces using FireWire or Thunderbolt are reportedly unaffected by this particular bug, but USB 2.0 is for the moment the most popular bus for audio devices, so nearly all owners of the new machines are encountering the issue. To clarify: all T2-based Macs, that is all Mac models from the 2018 generation, are evidently unusable with USB 2.0 audio interfaces, irrespective of vendor. The cheap hubs do not work because they don’t run on the TB3 bus, and therefore they don’t create their own separate USB2.0 bus, which means you’re going to get dropouts. Using a certified TB3 hub creates a separate external USB2.0 bus, in which you can run your USB2.0 audio interface. The only solutions are 1) Get a Thunderbolt or USB3.0 audio interface, or 2) Use a Certified Thunderbolt 3 powered hub (not a bus-powered or cheap non-certified hub) – Cable Matters has a solution for $169 on Amazon, but most of those hubs are at least $200-300. There is no way any musician should go on stage with a 2018 and a USB2.0 audio interface directly connected to it. Any time the T2 chip tries to sync, it will overload the USB2.0 bus, causing dropouts. You need to also uncheck the location sync in the Time Zone tab, but even then you’re only reducing the dropouts. Unchecking the time sync only reduces the dropouts. Nebulae aka Abid Hussain, an Ableton Certified trainer, writes in comments: Switching off “Set date and time automatically” in System Preferences will reduce, but not resolve the issue.
This of course unfortunately leads users to blame their interface manufacturer, but the fault lies with Apple.) (It seems basically all USB 2.0 audio interfaces will be impacted. Issues with the way the new chip synchronizes timing causes dropouts and glitches in the audio stream.
#2018 mac mini for music production pro#
The problem is, it appears that this new chip has introduced glitches on a wide variety of external audio hardware from across the pro audio industry, thanks to a bug in Apple’s software. By redesigning and integrating several controllers found in other Mac computers-such as the System Management Controller, image signal processor, audio controller, and SSD controller-the T2 chip delivers new capabilities to your Mac.” The T2 in Apple’s words “is Apple’s second-generation, custom silicon for Mac. Perversely, readers are also reporting widespread issues with Apple’s own internal audio (speakers and headphone jack). We have have some reports of issues over FireWire, which initially had seemed like a refuge. Impacted hardware of this and possibly other bugs includes most external USB 2.0 audio hardware.
#2018 mac mini for music production software#
Apple has a serious, unresolved bug that causes issues with audio performance with external interfaces across all its latest Macs, thanks to the company’s own software and custom security chip.įollowing bug reports online, the impacted machines are all the newest computers – those with Apple’s own T2 security chip: