MP 1,1-5,1 Strange Audio Issue on MP 4,1>5,1 Mojave 10.14.4

[rocksarntpeople]

Ok, so this is my first post here since Ive been working with these machines for quite some time and Im fairly knowledgeable with these kinds of things, but this time Ive hit a brick wall so any help would be great.

Recently got a Dual Quad 2.26 MP 4.1 with the intentions of maxing it on the cheap. Great condition machine in and out.

Process:
New SSD - High Sierra Install, all required firmware updates, 4.1 - 5.1
Radeon Pulse RX580 Installed - recognized fine, no real issues there
Upgrade to Mojave - Do the FW update as required, update works no problem, so does card

Heres the strange thing: I get audio playback stuttering when playing anything...no weird errors, runaway processes, etc. Also Im using the standard 3.5 lineout NOT HDMI or DP, but when using either of those its the same story (except HDMI which has no sound as expected) Completely Stumped...

To test, I installed a second drive with a fresh Mojave install...same issue...for the time it was on HS till my card came in (about a week) no audio issues to speak of. Any ideas? The only thing I can think of is it may be CPU/RAM related as those chips are older and its only got 24GBs of RAM...will be putting 96 in tomorrow though so I can see if that helps, but either way the RAM and CPU aren't being pushed that hard on AM when its happening so I don't think that's related...Thanks in advance for any advice

**I can confirm that the issue is no longer present once the stock E5520 chips were removed and replaced with X5680's**

***TL/DNR: So the issue is most likely relegated to GAINSTOWN (5500 series) Xeon chips in both 4,1 > 5,1 and 5,1 (if any) models running 10.14.4 and above. If you found this thread cuz that is you, the suggested fix is to either downgrade your OS (and leave it there) or upgrade your CPUs to a compatible WESTMERE chip***

 

[h9826790]

Did you try different setting in Audio MIDI setup?

 

[rocksarntpeople]

Did you try different setting in Audio MIDI setup?
View attachment 830579

Yeah I tried them all. All have varying degrees of stutter, some worse than others, but not one is perfect unfortunately.

 

[bsbeamer]

Any USB devices connected?
Do you have Perian installed?
Soundflower extensions?
Any additional devices in MIDI setup listed?
Anything Adobe listed in MIDI?
Any Blackmagic Design or ProTools hardware?
How are speakers connected to MP via 3.5mm?
Same problem with front headphone jack?

 

[tsialex]

Yeah I tried them all. All have varying degrees of stutter, some worse than others, but not one is perfect unfortunately.

I had this before and the problem was a dying disk. It was a data, non-bootable disk and took some time to notice the problem.

The disk was working but was locking the SATA controller with retransmissions. I only noticed after reading the logs.

Removed the disk, no more problems.

 

[rocksarntpeople]

No other devices installed. Literally a brand new installation on a brand new Crucial SSD.

The front headphone jack seems like it might be loose as the connector won’t go in.

Yes it’s standard 3.5mm

Only devices via USB are mouse, keyboard and Apple Watch although I will try removing them just in case.

Also tried a second known good disk and same result also on a brand new install.

 

[tsialex]

No other devices installed. Literally a brand new installation on a brand new Crucial SSD.

The front headphone jack seems like it might be loose as the connector won’t go in.

Yes it’s standard 3.5mm

Only devices via USB are mouse, keyboard and Apple Watch although I will try removing them just in case.

Also tried a second known good disk and same result also on a brand new install.

After you noticed the problem, did you checked with 10.13.6 to see if the problem happens with High Sierra too? Did you tried to clear the NVRAM 3 times?

 

[rocksarntpeople]

After you noticed the problem, did you checked with 10.13.6 to see if the problem happens with High Sierra too? Did you tried to clear the NVRAM 3 times?

High Sierra on the second drive is next on my list. NVRAM clear had no effect. Will let you know if the problem persists in HS
[doublepost=1554562827][/doublepost]Also really strange aside: sound is perfect if playing a movie/video/sound only video, etc. such as PLEX movie or random stuff on youtube. Things like Spotify, Pandora and iTunes all have the issue...Dont know if that helps at all

 

[rocksarntpeople]

Haven't gotten a chance to test HS yet on the second drive, but it seems the issues DOES still exist with video related sound output, just not as prevalent for some reason. Perhaps its video card/CPU related? The card was used, so I plan on checking to BIOS out this week seeing if its got some weird mining config on it or something (seller said it was used to mine for 2-3 months but BIOS was never touched). Not sure that would cause the issues but just more info.

 

[Riff_Al]

I have the same issue!
The same cMP 4.1->5.1 with two Xeon 2.26, 48GB RAM and GTX680 flashed card.
Also i have fresh and even clean install (without any programms, etc) 2 Mojave 10.14.4 and 1 High Sierra. In differend disks, one of which is SSD. Al disks are good.
In HS sound without any issues, in both Mojave sound is stuttering.
Sound stuttering most in iTunes. When i tried QuickTime or Vox Player, sound stuttering far less.
In High Sierra (Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite etc) never had problems at all.
Moreover i have ESI Maya44XTe sound card with new official macOS driver, sound stuttering even when played from it too. Sound stuttering from ALL audio outs, including built-in sound.
So i'm thinking this issue is with Mojave, not with hardware, because as i said - different fresh installation of Mojave (i tried to detect the problem and installed Mojave and High Sierra repeatedly), different sound devices, no issues in High Sierra with the same hardware.
I have no idea how to solve this issue.

 

[Squuiid]

I have the same issue!
The same cMP 4.1->5.1 with two Xeon 2.26, 48GB RAM and GTX680 flashed card.
Also i have fresh and even clean install (without any programms, etc) 2 Mojave 10.14.4 and 1 High Sierra. In differend disks, one of which is SSD. Al disks are good.
In HS sound without any issues, in both Mojave sound is stuttering.
Sound stuttering most in iTunes. When i tried QuickTime or Vox Player, sound stuttering far less.
In High Sierra (Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite etc) never had problems at all.
Moreover i have ESI Maya44XTe sound card with new official macOS driver, sound stuttering even when played from it too. Sound stuttering from ALL audio outs, including built-in sound.
So i'm thinking this issue is with Mojave, not with hardware, because as i said - different fresh installation of Mojave (i tried to detect the problem and installed Mojave and High Sierra repeatedly), different sound devices, no issues in High Sierra with the same hardware.
I have no idea how to solve this issue.

P.S. What graphic card You use?

What model SSD and disks are you using?
[doublepost=1554698745][/doublepost]

No other devices installed. Literally a brand new installation on a brand new Crucial SSD.

The front headphone jack seems like it might be loose as the connector won’t go in.

Yes it’s standard 3.5mm

Only devices via USB are mouse, keyboard and Apple Watch although I will try removing them just in case.

Also tried a second known good disk and same result also on a brand new install.

Did you remove the Crucial when trying the second disk?
What model was the second disk out of interest?

 

[Riff_Al]

What model SSD and disks are you using?
[doublepost=1554698745][/doublepost]
Did you remove the Crucial when trying the second disk?
What model was the second disk out of interest?

Disks are different. SSD Crucial M4.
HDD Seagate, Hitachi, etc.
I tried different combinations, with and without SSD, HDD. Installed Mojave several times in differend disks. Disks are good, i use HDSentinel soft in Windows where i see disks life, smart atributes and condition in general.
But as i said there no sound issues in High Sierra now, and never issues were in previous macOS in the same machine with the same hardware, HDDs, SSDs.
I even disabled SIP, but it didn't help.
[doublepost=1554700139][/doublepost]This is how it looks after numerous attempts

 

[rocksarntpeople]

Yeah I removed each drive when installing/booting the other, will test HS Sierra today, but it appears I am not the only one with the issues. I wonder if its related to using 2.26 chips instead of Westmeres, either way I have 2 new 6 cores scheduled to arrive this week so I will also be able to test that.

 

[Riff_Al]

Yeah I removed each drive when installing/booting the other, will test HS Sierra today, but it appears I am not the only one with the issues. I wonder if its related to using 2.26 chips instead of Westmeres, either way I have 2 new 6 cores scheduled to arrive this week so I will also be able to test that.

I do not think this issue is caused with CPU.
Dual 2.26 is more than enough to create and edit music, and this CPU's power is too much for only listening music.
Besides, I tried to use a separate card with integrated audio chip, but issue still present.
And sound ok in High Sierra with the same Dual 2.26.

 

[Riff_Al]

UPDATE
It seems i was able to locate the issue!
Just install Mojave 10.14.3 and no problems with sound at all!
Tried different audio outputs and integrated or additional ESI Maya44XTe cards. Everythink is OK as it was in previous macOS's.
What is wrong with 10.14.4??? Core Audio issue?
My next step i will update from 10.14.3 to 10.14.4 (not clear install) and will see what will occure.

 

[bsbeamer]

What is wrong with 10.14.4??? Core Audio issue?

FYI, 10.14.4 added HDMI and DisplayPort audio fixes for several GPUs. AudioAUUC was updated in this release. May want to start there with your troubleshooting.

 

[h9826790]

FYI, 10.14.4 added HDMI and DisplayPort audio fixes for several GPUs. AudioAUUC was updated in this release. May want to start there with your troubleshooting.

Hopefully Apple won’t take the HDMI audio away to fix this

 

[bsbeamer]

Hopefully Apple won’t take the HDMI audio away to fix this

I'm not sure OP's issue is a widespread problem. I cannot reproduce on my authentic MP5,1 (mid 2012). Have tried several times, even changing bitrates. I'm getting "clean" audio for 24-bit 44.1, 48 and 96 without issue with "Built-in Line Output". Specifically tried varieties of MP3, AIFF, WAV through Finder, iTunes, Quicktime, and VLC without issue. No issues with video files with embedded audio either, even clean with 6K RED source material. I'm also getting the non-optimized QT7 to play audio fine. I'm nearly constantly scrubbing and playing audio files in Adobe CC 2019 applications and if it was a system wide problem would have noticed it by now.

I do get a delayed start to HDMI and DP audio with the first millisecond(s) of a file being "cutoff" before hearing audio on DP monitor or HDMI monitor, but I'm not shocked by that at all. There are several factors to that and could even be an issue on the monitor side.

DP and HDMI audio for Apple's own specifically recommended GPUs is/was almost essential. Now that it's available, cannot see it being taken away very easily unless it's causing something catastrophic (like the MBP blown speakers).

This may be another issue with MP4,1>MP5,1 that is presenting itself and does not appear with authentic MP5,1's the same way. I'm not sure how these users are performing their hack, or if they are all universally being done the same way. From previous forum reports, I suspect some are doing this incorrectly or using non-verified methods to force machine IDs (which would explain why iMac/iMacPro specific builds of macOS appear on some of these hacked machines). The hack method is something these users likely want to pay closer attention to and provide more clarity around when seeking help.

Overall, I am starting to wonder if there are specific adjustments being made in the firmware/BootROM that maybe should require 1.39f11 SMC. Since users are bypassing/hacking the first requirement (an MP5,1 machine) they would likely never be flagged as incompatible. Cannot imagine programmers/engineers paying that close attention to SMC version and blacklisting the older version when technically it shouldn't even be supported or available to those machines.

 

[MIKX]

I have no audio issues in 10.14.4 / 141.0.0.0.0 rom.
Samsung 960 EVO M.2.
Sapphire Dual-X 7970 flashed / metal supported
I'm using a Sanwa Bluetooth headset with a 4,1 USB Bluetooth dongle

Doesn't seem to be a Mojave 10.14.4 problem at least in my setup.

 

[Riff_Al]

I'm not sure OP's issue is a widespread problem. I cannot reproduce on my authentic MP5,1 (mid 2012). Have tried several times, even changing bitrates. I'm getting "clean" audio for 24-bit 44.1, 48 and 96 without issue with "Built-in Line Output". Specifically tried varieties of MP3, AIFF, WAV through Finder, iTunes, Quicktime, and VLC without issue. No issues with video files with embedded audio either, even clean with 6K RED source material. I'm also getting the non-optimized QT7 to play audio fine. I'm nearly constantly scrubbing and playing audio files in Adobe CC 2019 applications and if it was a system wide problem would have noticed it by now.

I do get a delayed start to HDMI and DP audio with the first millisecond(s) of a file being "cutoff" before hearing audio on DP monitor or HDMI monitor, but I'm not shocked by that at all. There are several factors to that and could even be an issue on the monitor side.

DP and HDMI audio for Apple's own specifically recommended GPUs is/was almost essential. Now that it's available, cannot see it being taken away very easily unless it's causing something catastrophic (like the MBP blown speakers).

This may be another issue with MP4,1>MP5,1 that is presenting itself and does not appear with authentic MP5,1's the same way. I'm not sure how these users are performing their hack, or if they are all universally being done the same way. From previous forum reports, I suspect some are doing this incorrectly or using non-verified methods to force machine IDs (which would explain why iMac/iMacPro specific builds of macOS appear on some of these hacked machines). The hack method is something these users likely want to pay closer attention to and provide more clarity around when seeking help.

Overall, I am starting to wonder if there are specific adjustments being made in the firmware/BootROM that maybe should require 1.39f11 SMC. Since users are bypassing/hacking the first requirement (an MP5,1 machine) they would likely never be flagged as incompatible. Cannot imagine programmers/engineers paying that close attention to SMC version and blacklisting the older version when technically it shouldn't even be supported or available to those machines.

Ok. The only question; even if 4.1->5.1 hack was not correct (but I did it right, I guarantee) why there no sound issue with 10.14.3?
[doublepost=1554755706][/doublepost]I continue to investigate the problem.
As i said before there no audio issues with 10.14.3
I updated to 10.14.4 from 14.3 (not clean install) and the issue is back.
Now i can confidently say in my case the problem is with 10.14.4
But what causes audio issue in 10.14.4 in my machine?
Why only two of us (me and rocksarntpeople) have this problem, and both machine have Xeon 2.26
Something in conflict between 10.14.4 and hardware?

 

[bsbeamer]

Ok. The only question; even if 4.1->5.1 hack was not correct (but I did it right, I guarantee) why there no sound issue with 10.14.3?

See #16: FYI, 10.14.4 added HDMI and DisplayPort audio fixes for several GPUs. AudioAUUC was updated in this release.

Audio bugs were improved/fixed with 10.14.4 18E226 on supported machines. I suggest looking at the AudioAUUC.kext first. Maybe even take the 10.14.3 version and modify/replace it in 10.14.4 to see if that could help resolve the issue.

The version in 10.14.4 reports as version 1.70 (build 4601). It ID's as macOS build 18E217 and macosx10.14internal, so I'm not sure what beta number that would correspond with (if there even is an official number).

Based on reading through the code, IOACPIFamily, IOAudioFamily, IOGraphicsFamily, and IOPCIFamily are all being utilized or accessed by this kext in some fashion. If there is a conflict in any of those, it could also create a problem.

Cannot do a thorough comparison of versions right now, but looking at two versions side-by-side it looks like an LSMinimumSystemVersion key was specifically added to the latest 10.14.4 version. There is obviously a reason this was needed and do wonder why.
[doublepost=1554758271][/doublepost]

I updated to 10.14.4 from 14.3 (not clean install) and the issue is back.
Now i can confidently say in my case the problem is with 10.14.4
But what causes audio issue in 10.14.4 in my machine?
Why only two of us (me and rocksarntpeople) have this problem, and both machine have Xeon 2.26
Something in conflict between 10.14.4 and hardware?

In System Report > Software > Extensions do these extensions below report as LOADED?
If so, what versions and what last modification date?

AudioAUUC
IOACPIFamily
IOAudioFamily
IOGraphicsFamily
IOPCIFamily

My machine shows there were only 19 kexts changed from 10.14.3 to 10.14.4. And of those, only 13 are actually currently loaded on my machine. The majority can be eliminated almost immediately. Shouldn't be too massive to try and replace/fix/workaround.

I suspect the fix or issue has to do with these three files: AudioAUUC, IOGraphicsFamily and IOPCIFamily. The only other two worth exploring would be AppleGraphicsDeviceControl and IONDRVSupport.

Backup your AudioAUUC.kext first. Then modify the AudioAUUC.kext to remove the LSMinimumSystemVersion key and string in the info.plist (towards bottom). Does that help anything?

 

[bjar]

Removed. Not relevant.

 

[Riff_Al]

In System Report > Software > Extensions do these extensions below report as LOADED?
If so, what versions and what last modification date?

AudioAUUC
IOACPIFamily
IOAudioFamily
IOGraphicsFamily
IOPCIFamily

My machine shows there were only 19 kexts changed from 10.14.3 to 10.14.4. And of those, only 13 are actually currently loaded on my machine. The majority can be eliminated almost immediately. Shouldn't be too massive to try and replace/fix/workaround.

I suspect the fix or issue has to do with these three files: AudioAUUC, IOGraphicsFamily and IOPCIFamily. The only other two worth exploring would be AppleGraphicsDeviceControl and IONDRVSupport.

Backup your AudioAUUC.kext first. Then modify the AudioAUUC.kext to remove the LSMinimumSystemVersion key and string in the info.plist (towards bottom). Does that help anything?

In both 10.14.3 and 10.14.4 these 4 kexts are the same and all of them loaded.

AudioAUUC 1.70
IOACPIFamily 1.4
IOAudioFamily 206.5
IOPCIFamily 2.9

But IOGraphicsFamily is different.

In 14.3 530.14 05.02.2019
In 14.4 530.60 21.03.2019

Tried to replace kext with older version. Then repaired permisiions, rebult kextcache, but macOS do not load. Tried different ways to replace that kext, still no success.

 

[bsbeamer]

Did you:

Backup your AudioAUUC.kext first. Then modify the AudioAUUC.kext to remove the LSMinimumSystemVersion key and string in the info.plist (towards bottom).

Does that help anything?

 

[Riff_Al]

Did you:

Backup your AudioAUUC.kext first. Then modify the AudioAUUC.kext to remove the LSMinimumSystemVersion key and string in the info.plist (towards bottom).

Does that help anything?

No, i didn't.
Because AudioAUUC.kext is the same for 14.3 and 14.4 and even when i open plist in editor LSMinimumSystemVersion in both of them is 10.14 (not 10.14.3 or 10.14.4).

In IOGraphicsFamily info.plist LSMinimumSystemVersion key is 10.14 too, but there are another difference in CFBundleversion, DTPlatformBuild etc.
[doublepost=1554775877][/doublepost]I'm thinking may be not to replace the whole IOGraphicsFamily.kext but open it and replace only IOGraphicsFamily file in it?