Any new updates on this?
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We are most unfortunately at a dead end. Steinberg will do nothing to help fix this, even if an audio interface manufacturer wanted to help. They feel itās not their problem. I ended up buying a Pro Tools subscription for tracking because Avidās software works just fine with aggregate devices (as do all the other competitive DAW platforms). Iām beyond frustrated. Itās a Steinberg-only problem and they wonāt do anything to fix it. Iāve been using Cubase since 1998 and Nuendo since version 1.0 in 2000.
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I feel you on this.
I got Logic Pro so I tracked with it yesterday. Having an iPad is really cool to use with the aggregate feature. Shame that Steinberg wonāt do anything about that issue.
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I am here because I was searching the webs out of frustration because this works intermittently with Cubase 12 and Monterey 12.4. Fwiw my hardware IS STEINBERG HARDWARE (a UR242) and I just want to agg it with other things. =/
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I have an update at least if you are using Lynx Aurora(n) and/or Hilo converters over Thunderbolt (TB3 in my case).
As some may know, Apple is in the process of forcing driver developers in macOS to move away from kernel extensions (KEXTs) to their new Audio Driver Kit model with driver extensions (DEXTs). The main difference to me is that it gets 3rd-party code out of the operating system kernel (KEXT) which risks security, stability, requires reboots to update, etc., and puts the driver code entirely into user space (DEXT) where reboots arenāt required to update the driver, itās much safer overall for the OS, etc. The new driver model is completely different from the old kernel extensions and requires audio manufacturers to do a good bit of development to support this new standard.
Fortunately for my situation, Lynx has a public beta going now with this new driver format. Download it here:
I helped them out with testing over the past couple of weeks and am happy to report that Cubase 12.0.40 running on macOS 12.6 with this new driver works with my 2 x Aurora(n) / 1 x Hilo aggregate device.
Perhaps the move to DEXT drivers by all of the current interface manufacturers will make this issue with Steinberg products go away. Iām skeptical but happy that my setup is working once again.
Fire away with questions.
How is the performance with small buffer sizes? External clocking is OK?
IME, aggregates worked fine for a bit, then not so much, then fine again etc. depending on your version of drivers and MacOS.
Letās hope that moving to user space solutions will give more stable results that will last for a couple of MacOS versions.
I think I have my buffer set to 128 samples at the moment and itās working fine so far. Havenāt tried anything lower just yet. I have a 3-interface setup (1 x Lynx Hilo and 2 x Aurora(n) units) in the aggregate. The Hilo is clock master and I have BNC clock cables going from itās clock out to the first Aurora(n) and then on to the second, so thereās really nothing for the computer to do with clocking other than the application passing on the current sample rate to the Hilo and the Aurora(n)s follow suit.
For me, aggregate devices stopped working with Steinberg apps on macOS 11.x Big Sur. All apps I have from other manufacturers worked fine. This new beta driver from Lynx gets me back to being able to use aggregates for the first time in almost two years.
Yes after using Cubase for 20 yearsā¦ no more aggregate device support. It is the end of the road - couldnāt recommend it to any friends and colleagues. Over to Logic Pro.
Steinberg shot themselves in the foot with this.
Hi,
Using the Aggregate Device is not recommended for any serious work because of synchronisation missing.
For any serious work? Are you kidding? I have 72 ins/outs in my studio because I track things like drums & percussion. No way to do that on a single interface.
And secondly, calling out a synchronization issue is misinformation. My Lynx Aurora(n)/Hilo units sync clock amongst themselves with BNC clock cable - absolutely nothing to do with the aggregate device itself. The aggregate device simply accumulates the channels into a single device. I do set a clock master which is my Hilo, but thatās only because the DAW/software needs to tell which interface to change sample rates. The other units fall in line.
Read the background in this post. It is extensive and Iām finally in a working configuration again with really zero help from Steinberg.
What was your work aroundā¦ agree it is poor from Steinberg not to let us know that was going to happen
Lynx released a new driver compliant with the new macOS Audio Driver Kit model and aggregate audio devices started to work with Steinberg software again. Iām on the latest macOS Ventura 13.1. Note that all other software I use (Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Omnisphere, etc.) worked with aggregate devices this entire time using both the old KEXT driver and the new one. The problem was always Steinberg-specific for me.
Ah lucky for you, I use an apollo, a apogee symphony mi1 and motu , 3 interfaces and canāt get audio out of themā¦ logic works greatā¦but when I updated Cubaās to v 12 it just stopped.
hi. i have a some question, if cubase 11 has no more available aggregate device, so whatās version of cubase / nuendo still had a available aggregate device choices in the driver setup?
Iāve always been able to select an aggregate device in Cubase once set up in the macOS āAudio MIDI Setupā app, itās just that all Steinberg apps stopped passing audio through an aggregate device when I upgraded to macOS Big Sur 11.3 with Cubase 11 almost 2 years ago (see original post in this topic). Everything worked on macOS Catalina 10.15.x and prior for me before the upgrade to Big Sur.
Hello, I already wrote this here beforeā¦ we use Cubase 12.0.30 or 50 under BigSur and Monterey with six audio devices (4x MOTU + 2x RME = 240 channels) as an aggregate device and so far there was no problem and everything works for us (MacMini M1 ). Perhaps the problem is not really with Steinberg, but in the drivers of sound card manufacturers. j&r
OH boy. I can relate to your issue as I have also been a Cubase user for 25 years. I am currently facing a nightmare problem where I cannot use my three devices any longer using aggregate devices-1) Antelope Orion 32+ 2) Apollo, and 3) RME Adi-2 Pro . I have conducted a lot of personal troubleshooting on this, but I have not been able to resolve the issue. It seems like many people are facing the same problem as us.
Previously, all these devices were working well on Mojave/Cubase 10-11, and I had a rock-solid system with 108 ins and outs. However, now Iāve been down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what the actual issue is. Through my testing on M2 and Ventura (Cubase 11 and 12), Iāve found that it is not a track limitation per se, but rather what interfaces are mixed with what.
My interfaces allow me to reduce the channel counts it presents to Mac , so initially I was convinced it was a 64 limitation thing, however I set them all up below 64 channels, but still no joy. Iāve also tried swapping between a unified driver and Coreaudio on my Antelope ( I can choose either) but there has been no change.
Hereās what Iāve found: In aggregate devices, I can use the Antelope+ADI or the UAD+ADI, and these combinations work fine. However, if I mix the Antelope and Apollo, then nothing works.
I hope this information is helpful, and if anyone has any suggestions or solutions, please let me know. Steinberg is yet to get back to me via the support. I run a commercial studio running SSL console etcā¦ so Iām severely impacted by this issue. letās keep in touch with any findings or workarounds?
Thanks for adding your issue to the thread! Although all of my interfaces are from one manufacturer, things started working again for me when Lynx released a beta of their new macOS Audio Kit Driver. Iām on Ventura now with everything still working. I have 72 I/O channels across 3 interfaces. Just a thought that when all of the manufacturers make this switch (theyāll be forced to at some point), things may work as expected again.
The downside is Steinberg will not help in any way although itās only their software with the problem. And yes, letās keep updating this thread as people find solutions with different manufacturers/interfaces. Thanks, again.
Thanks Stigman, itās Good to hear another voice in this dark tunnel. It sounds like youāve had some back and forth with regards to the drivers. I notice that thereās a` thread on UAD where (for other reasons) users need to move away from KEXT. UAD respond " Weāre working on User Space drivers as is every other company that uses KEXTs."
Is this good news for the aggregate issue? in your opinion. Clutching to some hope hereā¦ 
This thread goes back almost 2 years so the dark tunnel is an accurate description. I actually bought a 1-year Pro Tools subscription for a few projects because Pro Tools worked just fine this whole time. The only company that helped me along the way with this Steinberg-specific issue was Lynx.
I am hopeful that the move to the new driver format will indeed fix this. Your setup will be a good test because you have multiple manufacturers in the mix.
Keep the updates coming!