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Audio Dropouts with New (2018) Mac Mini [Solved -- Time Machine]

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jdindc:
I have read through all of the previous threads about people who have had audio dropouts when using their Mac Mini to run MC.  Unless I missed something, the problem was never fully solved -- although some people were successful in lessening the frequency of the dropouts.

A bit of background.  I downloaded MC 24 last year and ran it on my MacBook Pro (Early 2015; 8gb RAM).  I had occasional audio dropouts of about 2 seconds.  But I always assumed that the problem was that I was using my MacBook to run many other applications at the same time, and therefore that the dropouts were caused by the strain on my MacBook's memory.  That's why I purchased a 2018 Mac Mini with 8gb RAM to use as a dedicated music server running MC.  I even optimized it for audio performance by removing or turning off all non-essential functions and applications.

Unfortunately, the dropouts continued on my new setup.  They seem to occur randomly; there seems to be no relation to the whether the file being played in 44.1kHz or 192kHz.  And because I don't use the computer for anything else, they always occur when the only thing the Mac Mini is doing is playing music.  I have checked the Activity Monitor after a dropout occurs and never saw anything that stands out; I also confirmed that I have more than enough available memory.  I have tried several of the recommendations suggested in previous threads, including increasing my buffer.

A bit more info.  My USB DAC (ESS Sabre 32-Bit) is inside my integrated amplifier (Yamaha AS-801).  My music files (mostly FLAC) are on an external hard drive.  But in order to rule the external hard drive out as the cause of the dropouts, I moved some of the files to my Mac Mini (which has SSD memory), and then played only those files.  But the dropouts persisted.

Having spent a bunch of money a new setup solely to prevent dropouts, I am discouraged.  I would greatly appreciate any help.  I am not as computer savvy as most people on this forum.  But I will do my best.  Thanks in advance.

Josh

blgentry:
I had a thread about this a while back on my Macbook Pro.  I spent quite a lot of time and effort trying to resolve it.  That's not quite strong enough.  I spent months with many, many, many hours of effort towards fixing this.  What I found, in the end, is a buffer of 750 to 1000 mS fixed the vast majority of my dropouts.  My dropouts were extremely brief.  You said yours are around 2 seconds each.  Mine were something like 1/10 to 1/4 of a second.  Very quick, but you could hear them easily.

When I changed hardware and got a much more capable iMac, I never saw the dropouts again. 

Have you tried using a software buffer as big as I have recommended?  To be very clear I mean this setting:

Tools > Options > Audio > Audio Device > Device Settings > Buffering > Software > (set value here)

How are you connected to your DAC?  USB?  Network?  SPDIF?  Something else?

I might be buying a Mac Mini soon to use as an HTPC, so I'm interested in this topic.  On the other hand, I have a Raspberry Pi 3 running raspian linux and using MC24 for Linux.  I do not EVER recall hearing an audio dropout on that platform.  So I might just buy 2 or 3 Pis instead.  We'll see.

Good luck!

Brian.

jdindc:
Thanks for the reply, Brian.  I read through the long thread on this subject from 2015, so I know that you and a few other people put a lot of time and effort into trying to find a fix.  I've tried most of the suggestions made in that thread and a few other forum threads that mentioned dropouts. 

Today I tried memory playback and also completely removing MC from my computer and then installing a fresh copy.  But neither change stopped the dropouts.  (I was surprised that memory playback didn't help.)  As usual, the dropouts occurred when MC was the only thing running on my computer, and when I had a few gigabytes of unused memory (according to Activity Monitor).

To answer your questions, the largest buffer I have tried was 500 ms (so I will try 750 and 1000), and my DAC is connected via USB.

Josh

RayG:
I have an old (2012) Mac Mini. I had dropouts, skips and stutters, even after I upgraded to 16GB of RAM. Then I replaced the HDD with an SSD. Problem 99% gone.

jdindc:
Thanks, Ray.  I tried moving some music files to the SSD drive on my Mac Mini and then only playing those files, but the dropouts continued at pretty much the same frequency.

This morning I tried increasing the buffer to 1,000 ms, but that didn't stop the dropouts either.

I'm not a computer expert, but the fact that using memory playback didn't stop (or noticeably reduce) the dropouts makes me think that whatever is causing them isn't memory-related.

Question: If the "EQ" bars near the top of MC (that move as a song plays) were to keep moving during a dropout, would that prove that the dropout was not caused by MC or something that occurred before the file moved through MC, such as the hard drive?  I've never been able to look quickly enough to notice before the music restarted.  But I will keep trying.

Josh 

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