UR44 - Clocking issue on Mac? Please help me verify!

I’ve called and talked with Steinberg support.
I’ve emailed back and forth with Steinberg support.
They don’t believe me.
Please, someone else help me verify that I’m not alone in this.

I’ve been able to recreate this with multiple UR44 units, on multiple machines, running various versions of MacOS/OS X, in both Cubase and Nuendo (Latest and previous versions).

Have run through this several times with the same results:

• Clean install of latest MacOS, updated.
• Latest Steinberg Tools for UR44 (minus the included Yamaha USB Driver).
• Latest Yamaha USB driver.
• Clean install of Nuendo or Cubase, updated.
• Create a new session.
• Create a new mono track.
• Plug in a QBox or equivalent tone generator at -20 dB.
• Start recording.
• Approximately every 3 minutes, or more, or less, there’s a very small click, which when you zoom in, looks like a clock slip.
• Happens no matter what the buffer is set to, but definitely takes a little longer the higher the buffer (Last time I tested, it took 13 minutes at 2048).
• If you create more tracks, it happens across all tracks being recorded.

Is this just a Mac thing?
Anyone? Bueller?

I’ve attached screen shots of what it looks like. You can imagine what it sounds like, but if someone really wants I’ll upload the audio as well. I can also share the session.



I don’t have a Mac with current software now, so I can’t really help. But I’ll move this to the Nuendo General forum to get more exposure for this post.

Thanks Steve. If you have the time, will you take a few minutes to try the test on Windows? Not the clean install part, just run tone and listen for a few minutes. I sincerely apologize for asking anyone to listen to tone, but if this is in all our recordings with this hardware, it’s worth it. I’ve opened the same sessions with a Motu box and have made crystal clean recordings.

Like I said, I don’t know if it’s just a Mac issue, but all of my troubleshooting instincts tells me it’s the hardware.

Hi, I think I am having the same issue. Its a muffled click showing up more now that I’ve made sure the sample rates from my DAW match up with the UR 44. Did you find a solution?

This may not be relevant to your problem, but I have a UR424 and experience occasional, but serious clicks in recorded files. It’s a stereo interface so I would only record 2 tracks at a time, I use and elderly MacBook Pro running 10.11. As you say, it looks like a clock slip.

I was not able to resolve the problem. I posted on the Sternberg hardware forum and searched, there are other posts there with similar issues IIRC but no solutions. I suspect a driver issue.

I have now dumped the interface and use the little Audient, which is faultless - everything else in the system the same, it confirms to me the Steinberg interface has a problem. I won’t be buying Sternberg hardware again.