USB audio stops working after a few hours of playback

[aaronk6]

Hey there,

When using USB sounds cards I get audio dropouts after a few hours. Finally, the audio goes silent completely while iTunes, mplayer, etc. still show that the playback runs. To restore the audio output, I can either change the sample rate of the USB audio device or run killall coreaudiod. Then it works fine for another few hours.

While the issue is occurring, the Console gets filled rapidly with the following messages:

coreaudiod HALS_IOContext.cpp:1496:IOWorkLoop_HandleOverload: HALS_IOContext::IOWorkLoop_HandleOverload: Overload on context 569 current time: 5406720 deadline: 5407779
coreaudiod HALS_IOA1Engine.cpp:337:EndWriting: HALS_IOA1Engine::EndWriting: got an error from the kernel trap, Error: 0xE00002EE

I tried the following devices:

• Terratec Aureon X Fire 8.0 HD
  
• LogiLink 7.1 Dolby USB Sound Box

Both have the same issue. It does not happen with the built-in audio though.

I recently upgraded to Sierra, however, I had this issue before. Actually it was the reason for me to upgrade—hoping it would fix it which it apparently didn’t.

I’m on a Mac mini (Late 2012) running macOS Sierra 10.12.

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[BrianBaughn]

Most likely happening because they're unsupported...the Terratec since Mac OSX 10.9 and the LogiLink since forever. I would think that it's some sort of "clock" issue.

I don't know any tricks to avoid it.

At least you know how to get them working again!

 

[fisherking]

try contacting the audio device manufacturers, see if they can help.

i run eve-audio monitors with usb, and works perfectly (as does my apogee groove, also usb); both with a usb3>usbc adapter...

 

[aaronk6]

Thanks for your replies!

Most likely happening because they're unsupported...the Terratec since Mac OSX 10.9 and the LogiLink since forever. I would think that it's some sort of "clock" issue.

I find it hard to believe that suddenly all of the USB audio devices I have would stop working. I also tried a third device (Speedlink Vigo USB) which also shows the issue. I realize that these devices might not have official macOS support. However, they are a class-compliant audio devices and they have been working without any issues for years. Actually I think it must be something else related to my system. Otherwise there would also be more complaints from other users on the Internet, I guess.

I’ll cross-check with another Mac (also running Sierra) to see if it shows the same behavior. If it doesn’t, I’m probably going to re-install the Mac mini. It hasn’t seen a fresh install for ages.

Will keep you posted

 

[fisherking]

how old are these devices? (am not familiar with any of them); it could be a driver issue; if it persists, check with the manufacturer, find out thru what OS's you have compatibility...

 

[Partron22]

A little launch daemon that runs once an hour or so and resets your USB would likely fix this.
If you're lucky, someone has already written this. If not, it's not that hard to roll your own.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Thanks for your replies!

I find it hard to believe that suddenly all of the USB audio devices I have would stop working. I also tried a third device (Speedlink Vigo USB) which also shows the issue. I realize that these devices might not have official macOS support. However, they are a class-compliant audio devices and they have been working without any issues for years. Actually I think it must be something else related to my system. Otherwise there would also be more complaints from other users on the Internet, I guess.

I’ll cross-check with another Mac (also running Sierra) to see if it shows the same behavior. If it doesn’t, I’m probably going to re-install the Mac mini. It hasn’t seen a fresh install for ages.

Will keep you posted

It was "suddenly" in some prior OS version according to your initial post.

There are thousands of posts on many audio and pro audio related forums through the years regarding OS updates of all kinds crippling audio devices. This isn't something new and with the new Apple File System coming there could be a lot more breaking.

 

[fisherking]

i'm repeating myself, but... go to the source: talk to the manufacturers, about their drivers, and OS support...

 

[Takuro]

You may want to wait for 10.12.1 to come out. It has a lot of fixes for USB related issues, including incompatibilities with USB audio devices like DACs. I enrolled in the beta program just to get access to the 10.12.1 previews, and they are so far way better than the 10.12.0 GM. No more kernel panics when using my Nuforce DAC.

However, if you had issues even before Sierra, I don't know if this will help. Regardless, Sierra had some pretty big changes to USB drivers (which initially broke a lot of stuff) so maybe be hopeful that you'll have better luck soon.