FM9 USB audio interface driver for Mac Sonoma?

Joe Bfstplk

Joe Bfstplk

Legend!
It's not a thing, right?

Mac support guy is pointing the finger for my nice new Mac Studio audio glitching at the FM9. It worked fine on the same Sonoma 14.6.1 OS version on my Intel Macbook Pro. Hoping I don't have a $6000 paperweight on my desk....
 
I see a LOT of reports of audio glitching with Sonoma - possibly related to the coreaudiod daemon. Some say restarting it every hour or so is the key. Anyone out there got any idea on this one?
 
Dunno. Getting sample rate warnings and glitches and gaps that never happened before. Only other thing I can think of is I had to add a powered USB hub to reach the FM9, since it stopped working with the USB cable it was using. Maybe the problem lies there....
 
Reassembled, and it sounds so good....

Had to juggle the bits, but wound up using one less cable somehow.

Also, I added the OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock I had been using with my work computer, since the HDMI adapter pluggie I was plugging into it to hook up the two monitors was the only thing plugging into it, and it plugs into the work Macbook just fine. So, there's lots of extra ports for USB pluggies to plug into now....

Figured it out with some help from the Apple Care dude. I added a USB hub that I had subsequently forgotten about. With a little creative juggling of bits and bobs, the audio seems rock solid now.

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Joe Bfstplk said:
Dunno. Getting sample rate warnings and glitches and gaps that never happened before. Only other thing I can think of is I had to add a powered USB hub to reach the FM9, since it stopped working with the USB cable it was using. Maybe the problem lies there....
Click to expand...
Joe,
Only obvious thing I can think to suggest might be check your sampling rates within Audio/Midi Set-Up, as well as at your audio interface level. The FM9 runs exclusively at 48KHz. Likewise, LogicPro prefers 48KHz. Setting your sampling rates to consistent values across the board will help prevent audio glitches.
 
bleujazz3 said:
Joe,
Only obvious thing I can think to suggest might be check your sampling rates within Audio/Midi Set-Up, as well as at your audio interface level. The FM9 runs exclusively at 48KHz. Likewise, LogicPro prefers 48KHz. Setting your sampling rates to consistent values across the board will help prevent audio glitches.
Click to expand...

Got it sorted. The powered USB hub I added to get around the cable length limitation was not good enough to let the audio sync, though it solved the MIDI connectivity problem I was having with the long USB cable. The settings were correct, but the hub was not capable of passing the data in a stable enough manner.

The solution ended up being relocating everything on my desk so the one Thunderbolt dock could be moved close enough that the newer, shorter USB cable would reach the FM9 without a hub....
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
Got it sorted. The powered USB hub I added to get around the cable length limitation was not good enough to let the audio sync, though it solved the MIDI connectivity problem I was having with the long USB cable. The settings were correct, but the hub was not capable of passing the data in a stable enough manner.

The solution ended up being relocating everything on my desk so the one Thunderbolt dock could be moved close enough that the newer, shorter USB cable would reach the FM9 without a hub....
Click to expand...
Good. I prefer a 3 or 4m USB cable for my FM9 and plug that directly into the powered hub. Note that the powered hub adds just enough oomph to transit signal across longer USB cable lengths.

The Thunderbolt dock...is that the thing sitting atop your FocusRite?

Someday I'd love to upgrade my Mac system to something with more than 8GB cache. Spent my money on the 1TB SSD, though...the wish will need to wait...
 
bleujazz3 said:
Good. I prefer a 3 or 4m USB cable for my FM9 and plug that directly into the powered hub. Note that the powered hub adds just enough oomph to transit signal across longer USB cable lengths.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was enough to make MIDI between FM9-Edit and the unit work, but apparently not enough to let the audio sync properly.

bleujazz3 said:
The Thunderbolt dock...is that the thing sitting atop your FocusRite?
Click to expand...

Yes. That one is the one I glommed from my work computer. The one extending the FM9's USB cable is hidden below and to the left of the desk, to give the extra reach needed....

bleujazz3 said:
Someday I'd love to upgrade my Mac system to something with more than 8GB cache. Spent my money on the 1TB SSD, though...the wish will need to wait...
Click to expand...

I am starting, these past few years, to make "probably-last-in-a-lifetime" purchases. Mac Studio, unless I am unlucky enough to live a long life in retirement, is one of those....
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
I am starting, these past few years, to make "probably-last-in-a-lifetime" purchases. Mac Studio, unless I am unlucky enough to live a long life in retirement, is one of those....
Click to expand...
Same here. I think I purchased my last vehicle in 2022, downsized a couple guitars, upgraded one additional. My feeling is that if my computer purchases are consistent with my annual AppleCare+ support, it would make good sense to buy for the long haul.

Currently owning a 2021 24" iMac M1, would love to upgrade to a Mac mini M2 Pro 16GB/2TB SSD in the next year or so. Seems most cost-effective. 27" Apple display. Touch Numeric Keyboard, wired mouse. (Yeah, I'm just weird that way, dislike rechargeable keyboards and mice.)
 
bleujazz3 said:
Same here. I think I purchased my last vehicle in 2022, downsized a couple guitars, upgraded one additional. My feeling is that if my computer purchases are consistent with my annual AppleCare+ support, it would make good sense to buy for the long haul.

Currently owning a 2021 24" iMac M1, would love to upgrade to a Mac mini M2 Pro 16GB/2TB SSD in the next year or so. Seems most cost-effective. 27" Apple display.
Click to expand...

Nice!

bleujazz3 said:
Touch Numeric Keyboard, wired mouse. (Yeah, I'm just weird that way, dislike rechargeable keyboards and mice.)
Click to expand...

Yeah, wireless keyboard and mouse are for the birds....
 
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