[Greenleaf7]

Greetings everyone,

I recently switched from a windows based PC to a Mac running Mavericks (OSx 10.9). From the beginning, I noticed some very obvious clicking and static during music playback.

My set up is, and always has been, Computer > ODAC > O2 > headphones.

Music playback was accomplished using several music players, namely iTunes, Audirvana plus, Swinsian and VLC. The same clicking and static was heard with all the players except for Audirvana plus. I'm curious as to know why playback with Audirvana was sparred the clicking that was very discernible with the other 3 players.

I have toggled the ODAC settings in Audio MIDI by changing the output format to 96kHz but that did not eliminate (though it may have partially reduced) the clicking.

To rule out any issues with my amplifier, DAC or headphones, I first used the same set up with my windows computer. Unsurprisingly, there was no clicking or static heard during playback. Connecting my headphones directly with the audio jack of the Mac also completely eliminated all clicking and popping. This lead me to believe that the problem lied with Maverick's incompatibility with the DAC.

A quick google search will reveal that this issue is not confined to the ODAC but extends to other DACs as well. Wyred4sound issued a statement on their webpage which highlights Maverick's incompatibility with one of their DACs.

Does anyone have a fix for this issue?

 

[senson]

Did you happened to buy a Mac with fusion drive?
all new iMacs with fusion drive + Maverick have problem with USB audio.
there is a huge thread, here's link
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5484036?tstart=0
I bought iMac with fusion drive and returning it on Monday

 

[Jd007]

  Did you happened to buy a Mac with fusion drive?
all new iMacs with fusion drive + Maverick have problem with USB audio.
there is a huge thread, here's link
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5484036?tstart=0
I bought iMac with fusion drive and returning it on Monday

Why not just use the optical output? Unless you play DSD files, TOSLINK should be fine. Of course it still sucks that there are problems with USB though

 

[senson]

  Why not just use the optical output? Unless you play DSD files, TOSLINK should be fine. Of course it still sucks that there are problems with USB though

Isn't optical outputs usually support up to 96K? Besides I don't want a $2500.00 computer that does't work properly, not to mention the problem has started since last october and apple hasn't fixed issue yet(I asked a person at Genius Bar and he didn't even know there was an issue) I'm not sure if the new upcoming update will fix the problem(some beta testers said it fixed the problem and some said not)

 

[Jd007]

 
Isn't optical outputs usually support up to 96K? Besides I don't want a $2500.00 computer that does't work properly, not to mention the problem has started since last october and apple hasn't fixed issue yet(I asked a person at Genius Bar and he didn't even know there was an issue) I'm not sure if the new upcoming update will fix the problem(some beta testers said it fixed the problem and some said not)

optical can do up to 192khz (some DACs/computers are limited to 96khz though). however apple computers are limited to 96khz through optical, which is actually a software limit in os x (if you boot camp to windows you can get 192khz output without issues: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3949888)
 
but yeah i agree it sucks that they aren't addressing this issue. the so called "geniuses" at apple stores are usually quite clueless about more technical issues like these unfortunately . so the problem only affects fusion drive imacs? pure mechanical hdds or pure ssds should be ok i suppose.

 

[senson]

  optical can do up to 192khz (some DACs/computers are limited to 96khz though). however apple computers are limited to 96khz through optical, which is actually a software limit in os x (if you boot camp to windows you can get 192khz output without issues: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3949888)
 
but yeah i agree it sucks that they aren't addressing this issue. the so called "geniuses" at apple stores are usually quite clueless about more technical issues like these unfortunately . so the problem only affects fusion drive imacs? pure mechanical hdds or pure ssds should be ok i suppose.

 
Yes issue is only for fusion drive iMacs, However since I got so spoiled my my macbook pro and windows desktop with sad I do not want a mechanical HDD and....their SSD options are soo expensive and overpriced oh well every apple stuff is overpriced 

 

[Jd007]

 
Yes issue is only for fusion drive iMacs, However since I got so spoiled my my macbook pro and windows desktop with sad I do not want a mechanical HDD and....their SSD options are soo expensive and overpriced oh well every apple stuff is overpriced 

haha yeah me too. tbh though, the prices on their mba/rmbp line look pretty fair to me, but of course they are not the standard 2.5mm drives. nothing beats the evo drives right now in terms of price/performance. i would just get a regular mechanical imac and stick a 1tb evo in

 

[Greenleaf7]

Did you happened to buy a Mac with fusion drive?
all new iMacs with fusion drive + Maverick have problem with USB audio.
there is a huge thread, here's link
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5484036?tstart=0
I bought iMac with fusion drive and returning it on Monday

No I'm using a MacBook Pro without a fusion drive. The issue I had with my ODAC appears to have been resolved after a few Mavericks updates.