Audio drop outs on M1 Pro Macbook Pro

[jaytwoeight]

Hey,

I am experiencing audio drop outs on a M1 Pro Macbook pro. If I have the multi-core processing On the CPU load is much lower (like less than 5%) but the drop outs are a lot more common. If I set the multi-core processing to Off the are way fewer audio drop outs (like 1 per hour), but the CPU is much higher (around 10%).

This is with only a few native devices & tracks inside MuLab DAW with nothing else open on the computer (just stuff in the backround like Elektron Overbridge Engine, SoundID Reference, etc). I am using the built in Mac sound interface and headphones to test this (to rule out interface issues).

Do any of the logs reflect audio drop outs? If yes, which one? The CPU meter does not seem to show them.

I saw an old thread saying this is an issue with Mac OS and the suggestion was to research it... but I am not sure what to look for in my research... "Mac OS DSP drop outs" ?!

I had a similar issue with Bitwig where if I had a web browser on it would cause Bitwig to produce audio drop outs... so I just close any browsers to avoid it. But in this case I am not sure what to do.

Thanks!

Screenshot 2025-12-18 at 7.20.48 PM.png

[MuTools]

Do any of the logs reflect audio drop outs?

No.

The CPU meter does not seem to show them.

Right-click CPU meter -> Audio Engine Stats
There is a Project Overloads counter. It works per project.
It works like this: It measures the time needed to process an audio block, then this time is divided by the total time of that audio block. If that's more that 100% for that specific block then the overload counter will increase.

I had a similar issue with Bitwig where if I had a web browser on it would cause Bitwig to produce audio drop outs... so I just close any browsers to avoid it. But in this case I am not sure what to do.

I'm not a MacOS expert, but reading this it sounds not like the web browser itself is the culprit but some lower level system part used by apps like the web browser. Maybe something with the Mac's graphics device system that takes more priority than the Mac's audio system?

[MuTools]

PS: Maybe use one of the demo projects as a reference so that other MuLab for Mac users can play that same demo project and report if they encounter the same drop outs as you encounter. Eg Airtime as i mostly has smooth sounds which makes dropouts more hearable.

[jaytwoeight]

Yes, the browser example was for Bitwig. For MuLab it has to be something in the OS itself.

Messing around with the demo projects to recreate this is a great idea! I will try playing around with them and report back. Thanks!