Mac OS aggregate device for Live with Aira devices

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Jabzzz
Posts: 7
Joined: 13:45, 26 September 2015

Mac OS aggregate device for Live with Aira devices

Post by Jabzzz »

I am using a Macbook Pro running OSX 10.9.5 with a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 with 16GB RAM, and my main sequencer is Ableton Live 9.


I am trying to create an aggregate audio device with my MOTU Ultralite, Roland Aira devices (TB-3, TR-8 and System 1m), and my Pioneer DJM2000 nexus. The reason I want to use an aggregate device is so that I can give the Aira devices, and in particular each drum sound coming from the TR-8, its own channel in Live 9.

The master in the chain is the MOTU Ultralite, followed by the DJM2000, the TB-3, TR-8 and System 1m.

The MOTU Ultralite works fine, and I have no problems with it, but when I add each of the Aira devices, the quality of the sound is unbelievably bad, and unusable (although they work fine if I plug the audio outputs into the Ultralite, but then I don’t have the sound-per-channel control that I want to use).

Could it be a problem with too much information going over USB? I have 2x USB3.0 hubs running into an OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock, so I would have thought that the bandwidth of this dock would be easily able to handle these devices, as the only other things plugged in are 2x USB3.o external hard drives and then a series of USB midi controllers.

Please watch the video below for an example of the problem, and please please please let me know if any of you have experienced similar problems, and how you solved them.

Thanks in advance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw5jt5IWDsI
Happy
Posts: 175
Joined: 14:55, 7 April 2014

Re: Mac OS aggregate device for Live with Aira devices

Post by Happy »

I don't have a Mac, but here are a few things you can try. First of all, most USB Hubs will change the speed of all their ports (except the port to the host) to the speed of the slowest device. So remove all your mice, keyboard etc.. from that hub and only connect your Aira's to it. If that does not work, connect your Aira devices directly to the USB port of the Mac. If you Mac has USB 2.0 port and you connect your USB 3 Hub, USB 3 won't make much difference. I experienced problem with my TR8 on my PC USB 3.0 port, specially on a non-Intel USB Host controllers, so try to avoid those.
Jabzzz
Posts: 7
Joined: 13:45, 26 September 2015

Re: Mac OS aggregate device for Live with Aira devices

Post by Jabzzz »

Thanks very much
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