Dropouts on Audirvana Origin

Origin
1

Dropouts on Mac Mini M1 with Origin:

a. I get very short random dropouts – especially in the beginning of a listening session. They seem to diminish the longer I play. I have tried to change the memory buffer from 7GB, 5BG, 4GB and 1,2GB but the dropouts remain. (The memory capacity load never exceeds 62% and the CPU load stays below 50%)

b. I get the same very short dropouts when I scroll my library in the remote app on my iPad. Here the dropout is not random but occur just when I start scrolling.

I have tried this without success:

• Moved the computer to avoid possible interference from other electric sources
• Erased the hard disk and reinstalled all music files and Audirvana Origin from scratch – twice
• Erased all other files and plugins – the computer is a dedicated music server
• Changed USB connection between computer and DAC with three different cables
• I have tried with and without Replay Gain

Does anyone have an idea why I get these annoying dropouts?

Best regards,
Erik

1 Like
2

I get the same issue with my MacBook Pro 16" M1 Pro with Monterey 12.3.1, this is show-stopper issue for me. Restarting the laptop addresses it temporarily but it does come back.

I’m using a Grace m9XX device which has never given me issues with the older Audirvana 3.5.x.

3

Hello,

Can you send us a copy of the “Debug Info” when you have this issue? You can get it in Audirvana Settings>My account

Note: By clicking on the Debug Info button, Audirvana automatically copies all its content, all you have to do is paste it in response to this message

4

Hello Antoine, I did send it to your support@audirvana.com email since I couldn’t see how to attach it here. I sent it 25.04.2022 at 09.04.

Yesterday I installed 3.3.50 on the Mac Mini M1 - and also had dropouts. So I’m still confused if it’s a software or hardware issue - or a compatibility issue between the two.

Best regards Erik

5

Hello @ErikBagger,

I received it but couldn’t take a look at it for the moment. I will come back to you tomorrow or next week about it by mail.

6

It’s really annoying - you end up sitting there listening for the next dropout, right?

1 Like
7

@Antoine, Thank you very much

8

And buy the way, I have also run Apple Diagnostics and Onyx system control and maintenance – and there is nothing wrong with the hardware or the setup…

Furthermore, if I use Audeze Reveal+ (optimized for Apple Silicon) as a plugin/audio unit for my Audeze headphones the dropouts go totally bananas - excessive dropouts and speeding up and leaving out bits of music. And I really enjoyed that feature when using both my Audeze headphones with the 3.5.50.

9

@ErikBagger Just in case, do you upsample your files? Like x2 or more using either algorithms?

Because I did experience some dropout too using a M3X Shanling DAC, when upsampling was turned On (for any upsampling parameters).

The DAC is way capable of upsampled files up to 396 kHz, so I guess this is an AO issue.

Also cpu never exceeds 20%, on macOS Monterey.

Edit: tried several buffers, no luck for now. The dropouts appear when I switch from one desktop to another on Mac, or switching between apps, even with the RAM freed.

10

@pierrechapuis Yes I do upsample - and the even to DSD256. It sounds way better (more relaxed and effortless) on my setup - and I guess that is one of the main ideas with Audirvana; to let the stronger CPU in the computer take care of most of the processing and upsampling. My iFi Pro IDSD then natively upsamples to DSD1024. (I assume, that since it sounds better, the DAC is optimized to work with the DSD format).

And I had no trouble doing so on my older iMac (Intel CPU) with 3.5.50. But now an even stronger CPU in my new Mac Mini M1 can’t do the job with etiher Origin or 3.5.50.

As stated I have also tried many different buffer settings but that makes no difference.

When Audirvana starts upsampling a track, it uses up to 45% of CPU capacity but that drops to 3-4% when the track has been upsampled (The grey line ahead of the blue playback indicator).

11

@ErikBagger Sounds good. Well, I retried today, but with another USB cable, and upsampling works fine here, even converted up to DSD 128, no hiccup anymore (excepted if I overload the CPU/RAM by loading an app sometimes, but works fine once it’s launched).
→ Maybe you should try another cable too?

Note: I only have 8 Go, with an i5 intel MBP from early 2015. (I mean, not the best config., but still works great now with Origin)

12

I have tried three different usb cables - but the dropouts remained

13

Further information on this weekend’s trials:

I tried to install Studio but still got dropouts - I don’t know if it’s a clean and discrete installation or if it uses parts of the Origin already installed.

But the good news is that I avoided dropouts this way:

  1. I play an album ripped in the DSD256 format - my target upsampling format but with no need for CPU upsampling. Here I get no dropouts (so they are not caused by cable overload or in the DAC)
  2. I then activated the Audeze Reveal plugin for my headphones - and still no dropouts. (Before when I activated this on top of DSD256 upsampling, dropouts would go babanas).
  3. Then I played a CD-album with both plugin processing AND DSD256 upsampling - and I had still no dropouts. And CPU load never exceeded 40%. Had I started with this playback, dropouts would have been unbearable.
14

@Antoine Are there any news about eliminating the dropouts? Br Erik

15

Hello @ErikBagger ,

Based on your previous response, does the activation of upsampling help for your issue?

16

The issue is still the same: If I just immediately start playing a track that is upsampled (to DSD256) I get dropouts. And that gets even worse if I also use processing via a plugin. And I didn’t have that problem when playing with 3.5.50.

As I wrote above, it seems I can somehow ‘cheat’ the dropouts but that isn’t a lasting solution. It was meant for you to better identify the problem with Origin and/or the M1 processor.

17

Can you send your debug info when you have a dropout?You can get it in Audirvana Settings>My account

Note: By clicking on the Debug Info button, Audirvana automatically copies all its content, all you have to do is paste it in response to this message.

18

I already did that.

But if you need me to do it twice, I’ll do that…

19

Audirvana Origin 1.0.3 (10003)

macOS 12.3.1 with 8GB physical RAM

Connected account of : Erik Bagger

SIGNAL PROCESSING:

Polarity Inversion:
	Globally: OFF
	Per track: ON
Effects plugins ACTIVE in offline mode with new macOS API
	AU plugin #0: Effect - Audeze Reveal ()
	AU plugin #1: None
	AU plugin #2: None
	AU plugin #3: None

UPSAMPLING:
SoX to DSD256 with filter type A 7th order
SoX filter parameters
Bandwidth at 0dB = 99.5%
Filter max length = 30000
Anti-aliasing = 100
Phase = 66%

AUDIO VOLUME:
Max allowed volume: 100
Replay Gain: by album
SW volume control: OFF

LIBRARY SETTINGS:
Sync list: 1 folders
AUTO: /Users/erikbagger/Music
iTunes/Music library synchronization: not synchronized
Library database path: /Users/erikbagger/Library/Application Support/Audirvana/AudirvanaDatabase.sqlite

Remote Control server:
Listening on 127.0.0.1 on port 49159

=================== AUDIO DEVICE ========================

CoreAudio audio path, buffer I/O frame size: 512

Max. memory for audio buffers: 5120MB
Exclusive access: Enabled
Integer mode: Enabled

Preferred device:
IFI (BY AMR) IFI PRO IDSD
Model UID:iFi Pro iDSD:20B1:3009
UID:AppleUSBAudioEngine:iFi (by AMR):iFi Pro iDSD:000:1

Currently playing in Integer Mode:
Device: 2ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32bits little endian Signed Integer, 8 bytes per frame 705.6kHz

Active Sample Rate: 705.6kHz
Hog Mode is on

Bridge settings:
Sample rate limitation: none
Sample rate switching latency: 2s
Limit bitdepth to 24bit: OFF
Mute during sample rate change: ON

Selected device:
Local audio device
ID 0x2c iFi Pro iDSD
Manufacturer: iFi (by AMR)
Model Name: iFi (by AMR) iFi Pro iDSD
Model UID: iFi Pro iDSD:20B1:3009
UID: AppleUSBAudioEngine:iFi (by AMR):iFi Pro iDSD:000:1

10 available sample rates up to 768000Hz
44100
48000
88200
96000
176400
192000
352800
384000
705600
768000
Audio buffer frame size : 14 to 4096 frames
Current I/O buffer frame size : 512
Volume Control
Physical: Yes
Virtual: Yes
MQA capability
Auto-detect MQA devices: Yes
MQA Decoder device
DSD capability: DSD via PCM 1.1
Device audio channels
Preferred stereo channels L:1 R:2
Channel bitmap: Ox3, layout:
Channel 0 mapped to 0
Channel 1 mapped to 1

Audio channels in use
Number of channels: 2
Use as stereo device only: No
Simple stereo device: Yes

1 output streams:
Number of active channels: 2, in 1 stream(s)
Channel #0 :Stream 0 channel 0
Channel #1 :Stream 0 channel 1

Stream ID 0x2d 2 channels starting at 1
30 virtual formats:
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 768kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 705.6kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 384kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 352.8kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 192kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 176.4kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 96kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 88.2kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 48kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Float 44.1kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 768kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 705.6kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 384kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 352.8kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 192kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 176.4kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 96kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 88.2kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 48kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 44.1kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 768kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 705.6kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 384kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 352.8kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 192kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 176.4kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 96kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 88.2kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 48kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 44.1kHz

40 physical formats
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 768kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 705.6kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 384kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 352.8kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 192kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 176.4kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 96kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 88.2kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 48kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 44.1kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 768kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 705.6kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 384kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 352.8kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 192kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 176.4kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 96kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 88.2kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 48kHz
2 ch Mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 44.1kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 768kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 705.6kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 384kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 352.8kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 192kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 176.4kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 96kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 88.2kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 48kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 32 little endian Signed Integer 44.1kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 768kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 705.6kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 384kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 352.8kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 192kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 176.4kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 96kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 88.2kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 48kHz
2 ch Non-mixable linear PCM Interleaved 16 little endian Signed Integer 44.1kHz

Local devices found : 3
Device #0: ID 0x36 SONY TV *00 Manufacturer: SNY Model UID: 4DD90480-0000-0000-011C-010380905178 UID: 4DD90480-0000-0000-011C-010380905178 Model Name: SNY SONY TV *00
Device #1: ID 0x2c iFi Pro iDSD Manufacturer: iFi (by AMR) Model UID: iFi Pro iDSD:20B1:3009 UID: AppleUSBAudioEngine:iFi (by AMR):iFi Pro iDSD:000:1 Model Name: iFi (by AMR) iFi Pro iDSD
Device #2: ID 0x45 Højttalere i Mac mini Manufacturer: Apple Inc. Model UID: Speaker UID: BuiltInSpeakerDevice Model Name: Apple Inc. Højttalere i Mac mini

UPnP devices found : 2
Device #0: ID 0x0 DMP-BBT01 UID: uuid:4D454930-0100-1000-8000-20C6EB6D8E40 Location: http://10.0.1.31:60606/20C6EB6D8E40/Server0/ddd
Device #1: ID 0x0 KD-65XF9005 UID: uuid:23456789-1234-1010-8000-38184C0CFDFF Location: http://10.0.1.38:52323/MediaRenderer.xml

20

I pressed the Debug info just after the first dropout.

(And I did this before installing the new release. I’ll do that now and cross my fingers.)