Overbridge & Apple Silicon Audio Glitch (M1 Pro vs M3 Max)

[mdiprima]

I have audio glitch/crackling issues with overbridge and my M1 Pro MacBook. I spent several hours reviewing the recommendations here on this forum. But no solution so far! Than I did the following comparison to isolate the issue.

I tested the whole setup, cables, etc with a second MacBook. Here are the two setups:

Computer A - a 2021 MacBook M1 Pro - Sonoma 14.1.1
This is my music production computer and has a clean installation of Sonoma 14.1.1. No other programs have been installed to keep the system clean of potential interferences.

Computer B - a 2023 MacBook M3 Max - Sonoma 14.1.1
This is my work computer and has other programs installed.

Computer A has audio glitches and crackling. Computer B works without any audio issue

I tested both computers like this:

• both setups use the same cables, Elektron Overhub, etc
• Rytm Overbridge plugin in stand alone
• No DAW involved
• Overbridge 2.7.1
• Rytm 1.70
• tested all 3 USB ports
• audio listened through MacBook speakers and headphones

I did the same test with the Analog 4 with the same result.

It seems to me there is a particular issue with the M1 Pro chip and overbridge.

Did I miss anything?

[protrusion]

Some generations of MacBook had general issues (not speaking about Overbridge in particular) depending on whether you were using USB ports on the left or right of the computer. Have you tried using ports on a different side of Computer A (if available)?

[dzyndzel]

@mdiprima

Did I miss anything?

What is your audio output device? Is it only experienced with Overbridge or is it audio in general?

[mdiprima]

@dzyndzel

What is your audio output device? Is it only experienced with Overbridge or is it audio in general?

I tried to eliminate all potential sources of sync interruption and only monitor the output through the MacBook speakers and headphones.

[mdiprima]

@protrusion

Some generations of MacBook had general issues (not speaking about Overbridge in particular) depending on whether you were using USB ports on the left or right of the computer. Have you tried using ports on a different side of Computer A (if available)?

Good point. Yes I tested all 3 port with the same result of glitching audio.

[dzyndzel]

That’s fine. But is it only via Overbridge or is all audio out of the Mac speakers crackling?

[protrusion]

Again speaking from a general “you can tell I did Mac IT for a bunch of years” perspective, more than any specific Overbridge troubleshooting experience: do both systems have the same settings under System Preferences -> Battery?

& In Audio MIDI Setup, are the output settings the same (in Hz, etc.)?

[mdiprima]

@dzyndzel

That’s fine. But is it only with Overbridge or is all audio out of the Mac speakers crackling?

I got your point now! Yes it is only with Overbridge. The audio of the laptop is flawless when listening to any other audio source.

[dzyndzel]

Ok. Then that seemingly narrows it down to Overbridge specifically. Are you using the standalone apps with your Elektron device (the ones found in your Launchpad)? Or are you loading the AU/VST for your device in a DAW?

[dzyndzel]

In the Rytm app, can you open ‘Analog Rytm’ in the top left and navigate to ‘Audio & MIDI Options’? Please compare the settings there between the two computers - specifically the sample rate & audio buffer size. By default these should be at 48000 Hz & 256 samples respectively.

[mdiprima]

@protrusion

Again speaking from a general “you can tell I did Mac IT for a bunch of years” perspective, more than any specific Overbridge troubleshooting experience: do both systems have the same settings under System Preferences -> Battery?

& In Audio MIDI Setup, are the output settings the same (in Hz, etc.)?

These are the battery settings on both computers

[mdiprima]

@protrusion

& In Audio MIDI Setup, are the output settings the same (in Hz, etc.)?

Yes both have - 48,000Hz and 2ch 32-bit Float

[mdiprima]

@dzyndzel

Ok. Then that seemingly narrows it down to Overbridge specifically. Are you using the standalone apps with your Elektron device (the ones found in your Launchpad)? Or are you loading the AU/VST for your device in a DAW?

I use the standalone apps on both computers - no DAW involved

[mdiprima]

@dzyndzel

In the Rytm app, can you open ‘Analog Rytm’ in the top left and navigate to ‘Audio & MIDI Options’? Please compare the settings there between the two computers - specifically the sample rate & audio buffer size. By default these should be at 48000 Hz & 256 samples respectively.

Yes - both have the same settings.

[cretakano]

Same issue here on regular M1, audio totally glitches out every minute or so. Tested lots of cables, adapters, hubs, DAW, standalone, buffer sizes etc.

Will test again tomorrow, but pretty sure this doesn’t happen on my Intel Mac.

[mdiprima]

I suspect it is a general issue with M1 architecture. I tested my RME interface and I get the same result. Crackling with M1 Pro and no issues with M3 Max.

At this point I don’t see another solution than trading in my M1 for an M3.

[CreepBeat]

Long time lurker, joined to respond to this thread.

I have a 2021 MacBook Pro M1 and I spent the last two days trying to fix the crackling (OB w/ a ST and a DT). I tried all sorts of things and I think I have it solved at this point. This may not help you since you have a clean dedicated Mac for music production and I don’t, but what solved it for me was killing background processes from running at startup. I had a few like the crud that Adobe installs and runs in the background. I killed everything (Sonoma makes this easier than previous versions of Mac OS) and no more crackling in Live using the plugin. May want to double-check what is actually running at startup if you haven’t already.

I need to do a few more tests like using the stand alone app. I was also getting crackling in Logic too so I need to test that that is also no longer the case.

I’ll report back if in a day or two if I indeed have a crackle free M1 MacBook Pro or not. Hopefully this info is in some way helpful to you - I know it’s insanely frustrating!

[Gunkanman]

I too have a 2021 MacBook Pro M1 and was struggling to minimise cracking (both in the standalone ST app and Ableton). Untoggling ‘Reopen windows on startup’ and removing some background processes like Adobe has helped and I can only hear it with some ST Machines such as SY RAW, but otherwise the sound appears to be clean.
I have also reverted to Overbridge 2.3.9 as the crackling was worse on more recent versions. However, I have not tried the set up above in 2.7.3.

[CreepBeat]

Well, hate to report that after testing the stand alone apps (DT and ST recording simultaneously), I am still getting crackles. They are much less frequent than before, but still occurring. Ugh - I am pretty out of ideas at this point other than to trade up my M1 for a newer mac as well. Sadness.

[Shista]

I have the same issue on mine and it appeared after the update to 2.7.x, it was absolutely fine before that on the previous versions.

It must have something to do with the update…