Anyone else have problems using their XDR display with an audio interface? I keep getting audio static feedback noise on the audio inputs when the XDR is plugged in. As soon as I unplug the XDR display the noise goes away.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Pro Display XDR - Owners Thread
- Thread starter - rob -
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not here, and I have many audio sources and outputs - including speakers, the second monitor LG5K speakers and mike, the mike on the logitech 4k camera, the MBP 16" speakers and mike and AirPods (Pro and Max). In any combination no feedback at at all from the XDR
I have a MacBook Pro. The sound sources are connected via the USB ports directly to the Mac except the speakers that are connected to a caldigit T3 hub via its analog port. So probably a different setup
I have no problem with Genelec active speakers and Focusrite Scarlett Solo ?♂️
But i remember one guy on YT with (maybe) similar problem:
My MBP 16" 2019 need to go for repair. I have a spare MBP Mid 2012 Retina that has the Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 1,536 MB and is running Catalina (10.15.7). The 2012 has Thunderbolt 2. Has anyone tried the Mid 2012 Retina with the XDR using the T2 to T3 adapter (or the LG5K). I know it is not officially supported. I don't yet have the T2 to T3 adapter to test, but would order it if confirmed to work. Even if XDR resolution is not at MAX, will need this for a few days while the 2019 is repaired.
If it works, you may be limited to 2560x1440 (not HiDPI) with the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012). 2560x1440 is one of the modes supported by the XDR, according to all the EDIDs I've seen.
Do you mean a Radeon Pro 580X MPX Module in a Mac Pro? Apple says yes. https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT210319
You can connect one to the top Thunderbolt ports and another to the I/O card Thunderbolt ports. They take two DisplayPort 1.4 connections each from the GPU (four total). You might be able to connect a couple other displays to the HDMI 2.0 ports (GPU supports 6 connections total).
Actually, in another post, you said you have a 27 inch iMac 5K. I suppose you mean the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019). The iMac only has one Thunderbolt controller. The support document at https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT210437 says it can support 6K so I assume it has a Titan Ridge Thunderbolt 3 controller to support DisplayPort 1.4 (the tech specs at https://support.apple.com/kb/SP790?locale=en_CA don't have that info).
The R580X doesn't support DSC, so you can only get 6K 60Hz using two DisplayPort connections over Thunderbolt. Each Thunderbolt controller only has two DisplayPort connections, so you can only connect one XDR display per Thunderbolt controller - that means only one XDR for the iMac.
To connect two XDR displays, you would need to make each one use only one DisplayPort connection. There are two options:
A) Use a non-Thunderbolt connection. Maybe a normal USB-C cable? If it connects at Thunderbolt 2 speed of 20 Gbps, then you would be limited to HBR2. What you want is a HBR3 connection. For that you need a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter and a USB-C to DisplayPort bi-directional cable (does the Belkin Charge and Sync cable support HBR3? It might be too long for that or the chip inside won't accept it). Actually, I don't recall anyone being able to get a single HBR3 connection to an XDR display so maybe you'll have to accept HBR2?
B) Maybe two Thunderbolt connections on the same Thunderbolt controller can work:
1) connect a normal display (to use one DisplayPort connection)
2) connect the first XDR (to use the remaining DisplayPort connection)
3) disconnect the normal display (to free it's DisplayPort connection)
4) then if the first XDR doesn't automatically take the freed DisplayPort connection for itself as a second connection, then you should be able to connect the second XDR.
Once you have a single DisplayPort connection working (use the AGDCDiagnose command to verify), then you can find out the max refresh rates that can be obtained.
People have tried using chroma sub sampling on the XDR (using Windows since macOS gives you no control) but the XDR does not accept it. 6bpc is known to work in Windows but macOS doesn't allow it. Therefore, macOS needs to use 8bpc RGB. 10bpc is required for HDR.
Here's some possible refresh rates for different options (using CVT-RB2 timings):
Code:
rate bpc clock 4K 5K 6K
MHz Hz Hz Hz
--------------------------------------
A) HBR2 10 576 65 37 27
B) HBR2 8 720 81 47 34
C) HBR3 10 864 97 56 41
D) HBR2 6 960 107 62 45
E) HBR3 8 1080 120 69 51
F) HBR3 6 1440 157 92 67Remember, HBR3 probably doesn't work on the XDR and 6bpc only works in Windows and the XDR probably doesn't go higher than 60Hz. I don't remember if people tried 6K at lower pixel clocks (the built-in XDR 6K timings use 1286MHz for all refresh rates).
Of course, the simplest method to connect a second XDR is to use an eGPU.
Thanks for the help and suggestions! Yes, I got rid of my iMac so I'm connecting it to my Mac Pro with Radeon Pro 580X MPX Module. Is there a benefit of upgrading to the w550x or w700x in terms of the display performance? (refresh rate and resolution?). I mainly do photoshop and web design work, I've heard it's not worth to upgrading if I'm not doing motion work but would like the best display performance with two xdr monitors.
This might have been asked before. I am contemplating whether I should get AppleCare for my XDR Display. It's $500. But I have never had any problems with Mac displays over the last decade+. In fact, I don't think I have ever needed service on any Apple product after a year.
Curious if there have been any problems with the monitors so far after a year or more?
Curious if there have been any problems with the monitors so far after a year or more?
I don't know about performance, but with a W5500X or W5700X, if it supports DSC (I'm not sure about the W5500X or Big Sur) then you could connect two XDR's to the same Thunderbolt controller. DSC allows higher refresh rates and resolutions on displays and USB-C hubs that support it but Apple broke DSC support in Big Sur?
The product page for the W5500X says you can only connect one XDR so maybe two XDRs is too many pixels, or it doesn't use DSC, or Apple is wrong (like they are for the Vega II).
The product page for the W5700X says you can only connect three XDR displays, so maybe four XDRs is too many pixels, or it doesn't use DSC, or Apple is wrong (like they are for the Vega II).
I use a thunderbolt 2? to 3 cable with a 2015 MacBook Pro and it works at 5k. Very usable.
Use SwitchResX to view the timing. It's probably 5K scaled down to 4K 60Hz unless you made a custom timing for 5K 39Hz or whatever.
So I took a gamble from Amazon for an open box Pro XDR display that stated it has major cosmetic damage, I figured if it was on the screen, I would just return.
It came in a really beat up brown box which was the original Apple brown box with foam inserts and well....
Guess my gamble paid off, it was brand new and sealed...... I'm guessing the major cosmetic damage was the brown box it came in??
It came in a really beat up brown box which was the original Apple brown box with foam inserts and well....
Guess my gamble paid off, it was brand new and sealed...... I'm guessing the major cosmetic damage was the brown box it came in??
Looks like a major score.
I've seen this beat up brown box issue a few times--mine had the same problem. I think Apple designed the brown enclosure box in a way that is not super compatible with whatever loading tools are common by shipment companies.
I haven't looked at that monitor but the bar is set pretty high with the XDR. Can you link to useful discussion of that product?
Edit:
Here's a reddit thread discussing that monitor. It looks like although that has an OLED and possibly great contrast, the DPI is 139.87 (31.5", 3840 x 2160 px).
Do I have that right? If so, that's way too low to compare with XDR, which remains among the highest on the market at 215.7. The 32EP9505B is more like the 2017 LG 32UD99-W with better color?
Last edited:
I've mentioned this somewhere here before, 218PPI adds very little(if any) value to a professional display. "Way too low" is just a silly thing to say, almost all content you have ever consumed, whether it be movies, TV, photos and graphics both digital and physical etc, have all been created on "way too low" PPI displays. And this is the way it will stay for a very, very long time.
The only real benefit XDR has is its ability to reach and maintain high brightness levels for 'prosumer' HDR editing. If this is not a requirement for your workflow then there is basically no reason to buy an XDR.
I was switching from Eizo 32" 4K to XDR, and I have to say it's a huge difference in PPI. Working in photoshop, illustrator and after effects is much more pleasant. Text, UX, photorography ... the difference is noticeable everywhere thanks to clean 200% scaling. This means that, for example, the basic line is exactly 2 pixels wide and therefore sharp, with the eizo it was 1.3 pixels and therefore blurred (127% scaling for 3008 x 1692 workspace). But when watching a fullscreen video, the difference is not noticeable if the video is not in 8k ?
Edit: EIZO even mentions this on its website:
"When you don't set the expansion ratio to 200% or 100% (no-scaling), screen looks somewhat blurry because of the OS scaling."
DPI scaling settings on macOS / OS X (HiDPI display) | EIZO
EIZO is a visual technology company that manufactures high-end monitors and display solutions for business, graphics, home entertainment, healthcare, maritime, security/surveillance, ATC and defense/aerospace.
Last edited:
A month ago I found my XDR in stock at a local Apple store for same day delivery. Was looking today for a potential 2nd one, and see they are no longer available for pickup (glossy or matte) and delivery is late May through Apple. Maybe a refresh coming?
I stare at tiny fonts all day for my professional use of the monitor so this matters to me. I’ve tried lower DPIs and they look bad to me.
I like that I can get the Dolby HDR (or whatever the branding is) video editing richness out of video I record on the 12 pro but that is more of a hobby.
The color is a bonus but the real estate at high DPI are major points of value for me.
For reference, my previous monitor was a dell p2715Q which has a dpi of 163. I wouldn’t go backward from there.
My point was that dismissing an OLED monitor(especially one that will most likely become the gold standard for professional use) because it has a lower but still perfectly usable PPI is, as I said, silly.I was switching from Eizo 32" 4K to XDR, and I have to say it's a huge difference in PPI. Working in photoshop, illustrator and after effects is much more pleasant. Text, UX, photorography ... the difference is noticeable everywhere thanks to clean 200% scaling. This means that, for example, the basic line is exactly 2 pixels wide and therefore sharp, with the eizo it was 1.3 pixels and therefore blurred (127% scaling for 3008 x 1692 workspace). But when watching a fullscreen video, the difference is not noticeable if the video is not in 8k ?
Edit: EIZO even mentions this on its website:
"When you don't set the expansion ratio to 200% or 100% (no-scaling), screen looks somewhat blurry because of the OS scaling."
DPI scaling settings on macOS / OS X (HiDPI display) | EIZO
EIZO is a visual technology company that manufactures high-end monitors and display solutions for business, graphics, home entertainment, healthcare, maritime, security/surveillance, ATC and defense/aerospace.www.eizoglobal.com
If your top priorities are text clarity and screen space you could have bought two 27" 5K's, giving you an extra 45% screen space and saving about $3400USD. Just sayin'.
The actual PPI vs the virtual PPI is what is relevant.
If you need room to work on the screen then you might value more screen virtual real estate. In this instance, using the 32" 4K display at native resolution gives you a pretty high "effective PPI" and the pixels are "mostly" unobservable.
If you are using an XDR, the PPI is high but the on-screen real estate is less. You have less usable space on the screen. Here, the PPI is higher, but you still make a sacrifice.
If you need to have a lot open at once, you will prefer using a native 4k 32". If you like having ultra-crisp text, the XDR is the better option.
If you need room to work on the screen then you might value more screen virtual real estate. In this instance, using the 32" 4K display at native resolution gives you a pretty high "effective PPI" and the pixels are "mostly" unobservable.
If you are using an XDR, the PPI is high but the on-screen real estate is less. You have less usable space on the screen. Here, the PPI is higher, but you still make a sacrifice.
If you need to have a lot open at once, you will prefer using a native 4k 32". If you like having ultra-crisp text, the XDR is the better option.
I have an XDR for software development and I love the quality and high dpi. I'd consider a second one. It's a bit worrying that they are delayed until mid-May. Amazon only has 3 right now and Best Buy still has some available. I hope they don't discontinue this one... it's easily the best display I have ever seen or worked with.