Red Jacket Mike

I just installed 3.0.1; I previously had been using 2.6.3 with El Capitan (10.11.6) to keep Direct Mode active. I listen exclusively with headphones, and I like the SQ improvement I'm hearing. A bit wider soundstage, and I don't notice any restriction in the bottom end. No problems installing--I kept both the old and new versions, and everything is working perfectly.

In case anyone is hesitant to install the latest updates, everything is working fine on my Mac Mini / W4S DAC-2 DSDse setup, with Audirvana 2.5.3, El Capitan 10.11.6, and the latest iTunes update, which is 12.4.2.4.

I decided to bite the bullet and get an answer to my own question (with a fresh clone for my HD first, of course). After installing Yosemite, iTunes 12, and all other updates, the DAC-2, along with iTunes and Audirvana 1.5 is working fine. Nothing to reset; all is normal. I don't notice any audible differences, but I do like the new iTunes look. Very clean. Possibly this info will help someone with similar gear.

I use a W4S DAC 2 with my Mac Mini; I'm wondering if anyone with a similar setup has upgraded to Yosemite--I remember there was a problem with the Wyred 4 Sound driver when Mavericks first came out. Eventually W4S updated the driver. Does the Mavericks driver for the DAC-2 work with Yosemite?

Thanks for starting this thread! As others have attested, it's introduced me to a lot of new artists I otherwise never would have heard of. I've ordered a few of these from Amazon, and I'm anxious to hear them. Finally, I haven't seen a mention of the 'Camp Meeting' album by Bruce Hornsby, Christian McBride and Jack DeJohnette; I'd highly recommend it. Excellent recording, as well.

Thanks again for the help--I did call, and talked with Clint in person. He said the newest update should fix my issues, and that it downloads with an uninstaller for the old driver, which should be removed first. I accomplished this during my lunch break (I work at home), and I'm happy to report perfect glitch free audio now, either with BitPerfect or Audirvana. Crackling and static are completely gone. The W4S DAC 2 was the last thing I suspected as the culprit--I did troubleshooting with my Samsung monitor, BitPerfect and Audirvana, Mavericks, iTunes, etc.; and a simple DAC 2 driver upgrade solved everything. Clint did mention that these ongoing updates are beta releases, and that there still are a few glitches when using Amarra with the DAC 2; eventually when those are solved there will be a formal, official update. Also, thanks to ckpiv for the heads up on this updated driver--I didn't see a mention of this anywhere else, and would not have known about it.

Hello- Thanks for the reply and the information. But I'm still not sure if I need to delete the old driver first, or just install over the new one. Here's a quote from Wyred4Sound's FaceBook page when the first Mavericks driver was made available last November: "IMPORTANT: The new driver should be installed with the DAC-2 USB disconnected and with the old driver still in place. If you have already removed the old driver and have an error during installation, please re-install the 10.7-10.8 driver and then install the BETA driver." But I also remember installing the Lion/Mountain Lion driver, and reading that I should locate and delete the previous driver first--I'm not sure that it would make a difference, but I'd like to know for sure which is the preferred method.

I have not tried bypassing the W4S DAC2 driver; I may try that today, if I can find where the driver is located and temporarily remove it. I did get a reply on another forum from someone who had similar gear and a similar problem to mine; they had installed the W4S mavericks driver last November, and experienced the static at the beginning of tracks. They said that installing the new driver released a few days ago solved the issue. I have downloaded the new driver, but I'm hesitant to install it; W4S at one time said not to install a new driver without removing the old one first (I think that was for the Lion/Mountain Lion driver) and then for a different driver installation, they recommended installing the new one over the old. I've sent them an email inquiring about which procedure would be correct for this update. Thanks again for the replies and suggestions. I'm anxious to get this solved.

I updated the W4S driver a couple of months ago; their original driver didn't work at all with Mavericks. I didn't know there were any newer ones than that. I'll check into that--thanks.

Yes, I've turned off the notifications. And activity monitor shows nothing unusual; CPU use is a tiny bit for iTunes, and some for screen sharing; 93-94% idle. Nothing else of any consequence going on. It's odd that the glitches are identical with two players that are designed somewhat differently (although they both do basically the same things, I guess).

I use the Mac Mini only for music playback; I have disabled just about everything else, so no high processor demand. When I use either player, I do not upsample; I set them to use the sample rate of the track, whatever it might be. And no, I have not tried the standalone mode with Audirvana; I usually run things with the Apple Remote app, from my iPhone or iPad. I should probably try standalone mode--I'll report back if I have any success. Thanks for the reply and the info.

I have a Mac Mini (mid 2010 model) with 8GB of RAM, running OSX 10.9.2 and the latest iTunes 11.1.5. I send audio out to a Wyred4Sound DAC-2 via USB; it then goes through my amp and into my headphones. I also use either BitPerfect or Audirvana Plus (in iTunes integrated mode). No problems at all, until installing Mavericks (1o.9.1 and 10.9.2) and the newest versions of iTunes. (probably the last two updates). What I'm hearing is right at the beginning of each new track as it starts to play. There are crackling, popping noises; not loud, but certainly audible. It sounds a bit like dropping the needle between tracks on a noisy vinyl record. Sometimes, the first couple of seconds of the tracks will stutter and repeat, as well. Once the track gets going, it's usually fine. Occasionally, I'll hear a glitch somewhere in the middle of the track as well. I've been through the manuals for both BitPerfect and Audirvana, and tried all of the different pref settings that are suggested to stop this sort of thing (i.e. stopping gapless playback,integer mode on/off, iTunes interaction, etc.) No combination of settings that I've found will eliminate these crackling noises completely. BitPerfect support has been excellent; they've even sent me an experimental version to try, which seemed to help somewhat, but the noises still appear now and then. The only way I can eliminate the glitches completely is to run iTunes directly without using either BitPerfect or Audirvana Plus. I don't hear a huge difference in audio quality with either program, but I enjoy the automatic sample rate switching. To get around that, I've just set my W4S DAC-2 to upsample everything to 192kHz, since iTunes alone can't do it. I would love to get either or both of these players back in the chain again, but right now the only noise-free listening I can get is when I am bypassing them. I know that a lot of people had many diverse audio problems with iTunes and other software when Mavericks first came out, but most people reported them solved with 10.9.2, or with the newest iTunes. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

Yes, I've noticed this as well. However, for me, the only preference change that won't stick is 'Stop iTunes Using AirPlay Devices'. I don't want it checked, but when I uncheck the box, it always reverts to being checked/activited. Everything other prefs change I make sticks as it should. I posted about this in the BitPerfect thread over on Head-Fi, and they responded, saying they would look into it.