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iMac Pro Sent 1st iMac Pro Back, New One Coming, Please Advise

L

lsilver

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 20, 2010
10
0
Two days ago, I received the iMac Pro (8 core, 64gb, Radeon 64, 2tb). I upgraded from an older iMac because I am doing a huge amount of video editing now with vast amounts of video content.

First, I installed newest version of High Sierra, then did a full migration from old iMac using Migration Assistant with Time Machine on an external drive.

Everything was fine except for one issue, when using the iMac Pro speakers, with each click of the volume adjustment, the speakers had a major "crackle" or "static". This was very odd and concerning. It did not do this on external speakers, only on the iMac Pro speakers. I got on the phone with Apple support, they tried a number of resets and could not figure it out.

I packed up the computer and shipped it back yesterday and will be shipped a new one.

I just read in another thread about someone having the same issue on their iMac Pro.

When I get the new one, I will not use Migration Assistant. Does anyone have any advice about migrating to the new computer, so many settings, applications, etc... Is there any great way to do this other than simply starting over and installing everything one app at a time?

Thanks.
 
lsilver said:
Two days ago, I received the iMac Pro (8 core, 64gb, Radeon 64, 2tb). I upgraded from an older iMac because I am doing a huge amount of video editing now with vast amounts of video content.

First, I installed newest version of High Sierra, then did a full migration from old iMac using Migration Assistant with Time Machine on an external drive.

Everything was fine except for one issue, when using the iMac Pro speakers, with each click of the volume adjustment, the speakers had a major "crackle" or "static". This was very odd and concerning. It did not do this on external speakers, only on the iMac Pro speakers. I got on the phone with Apple support, they tried a number of resets and could not figure it out.

I packed up the computer and shipped it back yesterday and will be shipped a new one.

I just read in another thread about someone having the same issue on their iMac Pro.

When I get the new one, I will not use Migration Assistant. Does anyone have any advice about migrating to the new computer, so many settings, applications, etc... Is there any great way to do this other than simply starting over and installing everything one app at a time?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Yes I had the same issue and did a return. Got the replacement and had the exact same problem. It is a bug and I think it is related to the new T2 processor since it actually controls speakers and other components in your system. Migration assistant isn't the root cause of this. To mitigate the issue you can turn off the volume feedback under sound in system preferences and this will solve the problem. If enough people report this to Apple they should fix the issue. When you get the new machine and assuming it does the same thing, contact Apple Support, ask to speak with a senior advisor and request that they send you a link to upload the logs from your computer. This will go to engineering and hopefully they can identify the root cause of this sound problem.
 
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Hello Floridaman!

Man, I wish I know about this sooner, before I sent the computer back, I was not even aware of that setting for "volume feedback"! Well, it will be interesting to see if this bug is present on the new computer when it arrives.

Do you have any thoughts about using Migration Assistant, there was definitely some sort of conflict as I got a few error messages after the migration, but everything seemed to be working fine other than the sound issue.

Thanks for your feedback!
 
A full migration would be suspect to me. Anything old and in your case audio related apps plug-ins or startup items could be the problem. I started from scratch and made sure to leave anything old behind. No issues.
 
powerslave65 said:
A full migration would be suspect to me. Anything old and in your case audio related apps plug-ins or startup items could be the problem. I started from scratch and made sure to leave anything old behind. No issues.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's going to be the way I will do it with the new one! Thanks.
 
Has anyone tried to use an app like Boom and is the issue still present with that App? Boom has been a life saver in the past because it's a Volume booster/EQ and saved me from having to use speakers to hear things like podcasts in some cases.
 
I always have those OS effects off, but I turned them on now and get something similar. It's comes and goes, and some volume adjustments "click" more than others. This is clearly a software issue, not hardware, if the speakers otherwise sound fine. Just send an email or call Apple support and mention this software bug, and feel free to also mention the crapola audio and graphics drivers presently in Bootcamp for iMac Pro (which has similar issues).
 
As @Mac32 I have OS effects off. Turning them on and I have the same issues. But if I use Airpods, issue is there as well!
So this has got to be a software issue.
 
I have a set of external speakers plugged into the headset jack that I use as their sound quality is much better than the built in speakers. I don't see the issue either in bootcamp or MacOS.
 
If you have the money, get a quality external sound card (Focusrite Clarett 2pre sounds considerably better than iMac's internal DAC) and some good studio monitors (like Eve SC205). If you put the SC205 monitors on ISO Acoustics monitor stands, they will perfectly match the construction/chin of the iMac. Highly recommended. :)
 
lsilver said:
Hello Floridaman!

Man, I wish I know about this sooner, before I sent the computer back, I was not even aware of that setting for "volume feedback"! Well, it will be interesting to see if this bug is present on the new computer when it arrives.

Do you have any thoughts about using Migration Assistant, there was definitely some sort of conflict as I got a few error messages after the migration, but everything seemed to be working fine other than the sound issue.

Thanks for your feedback!
Click to expand...
Yes I got error messages about extensions during the migration process but I really don't think the migration assistant caused the sound issue. When you get the new machine try not using migration assistant and see if this changes anything. There is a bug, whether it is software related or not is another question that I don't have the answer to. Definitely report back and let us know what happens without migration. Another idea might be to go to an Apple Store if you live near one and check a display model and see if that machine exhibits the same behavior.
 
lsilver said:
Two days ago, I received the iMac Pro (8 core, 64gb, Radeon 64, 2tb). I upgraded from an older iMac because I am doing a huge amount of video editing now with vast amounts of video content.

First, I installed newest version of High Sierra, then did a full migration from old iMac using Migration Assistant with Time Machine on an external drive.

Everything was fine except for one issue, when using the iMac Pro speakers, with each click of the volume adjustment, the speakers had a major "crackle" or "static". This was very odd and concerning. It did not do this on external speakers, only on the iMac Pro speakers. I got on the phone with Apple support, they tried a number of resets and could not figure it out.

I packed up the computer and shipped it back yesterday and will be shipped a new one.

I just read in another thread about someone having the same issue on their iMac Pro.

When I get the new one, I will not use Migration Assistant. Does anyone have any advice about migrating to the new computer, so many settings, applications, etc... Is there any great way to do this other than simply starting over and installing everything one app at a time?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I have the 10-core iMP.

I used migration assistant and have had no problems with static in my audio. Although I do have an annoying audio problem where the internal speakers become unavailable for output. Meaning they're greyed-out in the audio drop-down, and won't play, even if they're the only audio device on the system.

I can still play audio through other devices, but the internal audio won't be available again until I reboot the system. Happens about 3-4 times a week.
 
lsilver said:
With every previous Mac I have owned, the Migration Assistant did a perfect job and I had not one issue.
Click to expand...
Migration Assistant does work and isn't necessarily the entire problem. But it cannot differentiate between software or startup items that can cause problems. If you have tons of older stuff it's better to avoid it when going to a new Mac.
 
Migration Assistant isn't the problem. I didn't use it, I went on from scratch. And still have the same issue. It is there when I use iMP with airpods as well. I will test iMP with some external speakers as well, as soon as I can get my hands on some :)
 
I had exactly the same issue on my iMac Pro and I didn't use migration assistant either. After a few crackles and static sounds with systems sounds, I too became very worried (The sounds you hear while, emptying the trashcan, raising volume, etc etc). Considering there were no issues at all with sounds from Spotify, other applications or even browsers I thought it must have been a bug in the software.

I reinstalled the software in macOS Recovery, (Command (⌘)-R) and chose "reinstall a new copy of macOS". Don't worry, this won't remove any content from your iMac. After about 10-15 minutes the reinstall was finished and now it appears to have solved all of my crackling sounds. I haven't heard any since reinstalling. Let me know if this worked for you guys
 
did it really work ? too lazy to reinstall everything.... Why would reinstalling fix it anyway ? It's supposed to be a clean install already.
 
alkar said:
did it really work ? too lazy to reinstall everything.... Why would reinstalling fix it anyway ? It's supposed to be a clean install already.
Click to expand...
Yes it worked for me, It's not an entire clean reinstall, you won't have to start from scratch. It's just 15 minutes of your time... Apparantly there's a bug in the software, as the issue returned a few days ago. By doing the steps above again, I managed to fix it. However we should report this bug to Apple, as reinstalling the software is not a permanent solution.
 
Yeah so I won't bother then if it comes back after quite some time. It's definitely a software issue because the sound is great otherwise.
 
I posted audio issues on my current and two replacement machines I tested a couple months ago and experience static noises when connecting an audio device through the 3.5mm headphone jack. Every time I raise or lower the audio with "Play feedback when volume is changed" enabled I can reproduce it 100% of the time. There is also rare instances that sound outputs on one side abruptly as if the balance is raised to the max left/right sides and raising/lowering the volume immediately fixes it. Fortunately, I found a solution for these rare occasions by connecting to my Satechi USB-C dock with a USB sound adapter. I'm not sure why connecting through USB or a headphone jack causes these issues, but so far there hasn't been any problems for a week now.

As for the internal speakers I only have issues with the "Audio MIDI Setup" that produces sound only on the left speaker when testing the sound output in the configure speaker option on the Mac platform. In Windows, however, I get the crackle and static noises with poor sound drivers that Apple can resolve through driver updates.
 
boto said:
I posted audio issues on my current and two replacement machines I tested a couple months ago and experience static noises when connecting an audio device through the 3.5mm headphone jack. Every time I raise or lower the audio with "Play feedback when volume is changed" enabled I can reproduce it 100% of the time. There is also rare instances that sound outputs on one side abruptly as if the balance is raised to the max left/right sides and raising/lowering the volume immediately fixes it. Fortunately, I found a solution for these rare occasions by connecting to my Satechi USB-C dock with a USB sound adapter. I'm not sure why connecting through USB or a headphone jack causes these issues, but so far there hasn't been any problems for a week now.

As for the internal speakers I only have issues with the "Audio MIDI Setup" that produces sound only on the left speaker when testing the sound output in the configure speaker option on the Mac platform. In Windows, however, I get the crackle and static noises with poor sound drivers that Apple can resolve through driver updates.
Click to expand...
Apple is becoming a joke. The iMac Pro has been out for 100+ days, and afaik none of the bugs have been fixed (of which there are many). Apple can't even offer a proper GPU driver in Bootcamp (OSX driver isn't great either), even though Vega Pro is nothing more than a downclocked version of Vega RX. AMD could have released a driver several months ago, but Apple won't let AMD release their own Bootcamp drivers. Not to mention, you have to use an external sound card to get decent sound in Bootcamp. Tim Cook needs to take a break from emojis and accessories, and focus on the real important stuff. What's next, the Apple makeup line?
 
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Just FYI 10.13.4 has yet to fix this issue... I think it's related to the T2 chip handling parts of the audio process. I guess it must be sleeping a lot, and having troubles waking up.. System sounds are buggy as hell on iMac Pro, first time I ever have such a bug on a Mac.
 
alkar said:
Just FYI 10.13.4 has yet to fix this issue... I think it's related to the T2 chip handling parts of the audio process. I guess it must be sleeping a lot, and having troubles waking up.. System sounds are buggy as hell on iMac Pro, first time I ever have such a bug on a Mac.
Click to expand...
Turning off the T2 security is easy, same turning it on again. (Boot with command+R, and choose "No security" = same as a regular Mac.) Wish I'd tried that when I tested beta versions of Macs Fan Control for Bootcamp and an alpha Vega (not 580) driver from Bootcampdrivers.com. It could be the issue blocking fan control software from working in Bootcamp, as well as getting proper GPU support with unofficial drivers. You could turn it off, and see if it also makes a difference in OSX. The chip is most likely still active is some form though. I don't know too much about the T2 tbh., as it's not a function I particularly need.

The 10.13.4 update caused several issues for me: Now my iMac Pro boots up into OSX with near max brightness every time, and my MacBook sometimes freezes when waking up from sleep. Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm lately. Overall, High Sierra has been a downgrade performance-wise, maybe except for Metal 2 and eGPUs.

(Edited for clarification.)
 
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