I followed all the instructions (including the extra steps for my 2018 Mac Mini), but I still don’t see Direct Mode. The only item under Low Level Playback for my UPnP network player (Sony STR-DN1080) is Max Memory Allocated.
Everything seemed to work and IOAudioFamily is showing as version 204.4 in System Information. I also trashed the preferences file and reloaded but no Direct Mode switch. Any suggestions?
Direct mode only works directly connect to dac i think…
I tried my iFi Locally Connected DAC… still no Direct Mode switch or Integer Mode Type.
Don’t know what to say… always worked for me, all macos versions, every updates.
I didn’t test the mac mini 2018 if you mean you have the T2 chip in…
the pictures in my text to follow, were from a user that have that chip and succeded…
can’t verify it 
I have change a little bit the text file for the new Catalina Update 10.15.5
Direct Mode is still working, but i had to put back the security first
before i could see Direct Mode in Audirvana.
Here is all the links again for enabling Direct Mode back in Audirvana after El Capitan (10.11.6):
Sierra Link:
High Sierra Link:
Mojave Link:
Catalina Link:
This worked for me! Thank you very much for your help.
Hi All,
I have an old iMac 2010 which is nor Catalina compatible, so, still running Mojave and driver replacement went well - no issues, direct mode enabled.
But the Mac mini with Catalina installed lost sound completely after kext replacement. I followed up instructions provided by RunHomeSlow and used his .kext from his package as well as my own, copied from my El Capitan. MIDI setup showed totally nothing, not even default input and output. I restored Catalina from backup but definitely don’t have direct mode
Anyone has similar issue?
Hello,
You don’t have a new Apple T2 chip in it ?
I have change my text last week maybe…
i had to put back security before being able to see things for the first time with the update 10.15.5
i can say on my mac mini late 2012 it is still on in Catalina 10.15.5
if you check that the .ktext was change seing the old date in the ext folder of system, then i guess it is just maybe had to unplug DAC and plug it back?
Did you tried to reset the PRAM parameters after… this help reset sound settings on the mac, with display, memory… well know shortcut you can type pram in Google.
Now it is too late for you, you reinstalled, maybe for others…
When Mac start and you here the Bong! just hold those 4 keyboard keys at the same time and HOLD them till you hear a second Bong! louder, then let go the keys and it will start normally:
ALT CMD P R
Thank you for the quick reply, RunHomeSlow!
I’m going to try again this or next weekend. Let me double check if I understand this correctly:
Am I missing anything else?
I definitely verified .kext date and it was the old file. I also unplugged DAC and plugged it back - it didn’t help but output via HDMI didn’t work either. In Settings - Sound it was seeing only AV Receiver via AirPlay. I have mac min 2012 and 10.15.5, same as yours
Catalina was funny because after update 10.15.2 direct Mode stayed for me… 10.15.3 had to reapply the .ktext like usual, 1015.4 direct mode stayed also. With only 10.15.5 i had no direct mode in audirvana but the .ktext was change, so i finish installation with putting back the 2 security setrtings and Direct Mode appeared as usual in Audirvana… working since
One more Q - do I need to run RepairPermission like for older systems or just enable Gatekeeper right after .kext replacement?
PRAM reset is commonly known for Mac exist… it just reset settings of couple of things in your mac… nothing to do with Direct Mode or Audirvana, but when some have troubles, with memory or their display or sound… never hurts to do it.
No permissions repair need in Catalina
Gatekeeper and csrutil enable too…
Great, thanks heaps for your help. I’ll let you know if another attempt is successful
at least you know how to backup
I had similar issues as some above with losing all audio after running through the install script. I went through the entire process multiple times to make sure that I wasn’t messing something up, and always the same result. The IOAudioFamily.kext showed up in my extensions list, but it would not load. The error shown was permissions related. Rereading (again!) all of the instructions from the top of this post, I decided to refer to the tonymacx86.com page that CongoFather references in the first sentence of his original post. On that page, it describes HackInTool and how it can be used directly to load the .kext file. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I used HackInTool instead of the step-by-step script to load the .kext file and things worked from the start. I’m pretty sure that I turned SIP on and re-enabled GateKeeper after my success, but after a day or two I had to revert to leaving GateKeeper off and SIP off for Direct Mode to show every time in A+. My MacBook Air is only for my music, so I do not routinely download apps from the web so this is not a concern for me. YMMV. Bottom line is I have Direct Mode now with Catalina and all is right in the music world again.
Maybe the last macOS update for Catalina (10.15.6) today…
and maybe last time doing the putting it back thing
10.15.6 just works again like before for adding Direct Mode,
i updated my text a little bit to make it clearer again,
but same manipulations as before.
Same link as above, just wait for download arrow to appear:
Hello,
After the last update, I again went through all the steps and it works, but it made the system quite unstable. After a period of time playing without issues, the system would reboot itself while spinning the fan to max (even though the system is not warm/hot at all). After putting back the Catalina version of the kext, the system is stable again…
With regards,
Angelo Machils
