MiC: How To’s

The following troubleshooting topics are presented to resolve issues when using Apogeeʼs MiC with Apple iOS devices and Macintosh computers.

iOS Device Trouble Shooting

No audio input with GarageBand and MiC Symptoms - If you are using iOS 4 and connect an Apogee MiC, GarageBand may display a message to connect a microphone or other input device. If you press record, you may see a message that the device does not have an audio input and that you cannot record. Resolution - This issue is resolved in iOS 5 - see Apple support article here - http:// support.apple.com/kb/TS4129. MiC not initialized (no blue LED) after a cold start of the iOS device On iOS devices updated to iOS 5, MiC may not be initialized after starting the iOS device from a powered-down state. In this case, MiCʼs LED indicator is not illuminated blue (as should be the case). Simply disconnect then re-connect MiC, or connect MiC after the iOS device has completed its start- up sequence. After sleeping then waking an iOS device while GarageBand is open, audio may become distorted Symptoms - After an iOS device goes through a Sleep/Wake cycle, audio may become distorted. Resolution - Quit all audio apps (see clicks and pops below) and re-launch GarageBand No input after connecting Apple headphones with mic Symptoms - After connecting Apple iPhone headphones, or other headphone equipped with a built-in mic, audio apps donʼt accept input from MiC. Resolution - iOS devices accept audio input from the most recently connected peripheral, in this case the built-in mic. To re-establish input from MiC, disconnect and re-connect MiC. Clicks and Pops on iOS devices Tip - When experiencing clicks and pops on iOS devices, try closing all apps and re-starting the audio app with these steps: 1) Press the Home button to return to the Home screen 2) Double-tap the Home button to display recent apps 3) Tap and hold the affected app until the red minus appears 4) Tap the red minus to quit the app. GarageBand and Airplay - Bluetooth - HDMI equipped output devices GarageBand 1.01 and higher offers the capability to output to external output devices equipped, including Airplay, Bluetooth and HDMI-equipped media devices. When using any of these devices there is no support of audio input, including MiC. See the Apple Support article which describes this functionality here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4622. Latency Weʼve measured latency from MiC through GarageBand iPad to iPad headphone output to be 23ms. We havenʼt found instances of latency inconsistency, though there are reports from the field indicating that latency can increase.

MacIntosh Troubleshooting

Long latency after putting the Mac to Sleep - OS X 10.6.8 Symptoms - After the Mac goes through a Sleep/Wake cycle, latency through MiC is excessively long. Resolution - This is fixed in OS X 10.7 Clicks and Pops on the Mac Tip - When experiencing clicks and pops on a Mac, try raising the buffer size in the audio app. In Logic, for example, choose Logic Pro > Preferences > Audio, click the Devices tab, then the Core Audio tab, and set the I/O Buffer Size to the next highest number.  

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Because MiC does not have an audio output it must be included in an aggregate device that combines multiple sources to create one audio device.   To set up MiC to work with Pro Tools do the following: 1) Connect MiC to your Mac using the included USB cable. 2) Open Audio MIDI Setup located in the Utilities folder on your Mac. 3) Select the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O device on the left side of the screen.   4) Click the check box next to MiC on the right hand screen to add MiC to the aggregate device. 5) In ProTools open the Playback Engine Setup... 6) Select Pro Tool Aggregate I/O in the "Current Engine" drop-down menu at the top of the page.  Set the H/W Buffer Size to 64 Samples and click OK.   7) Open the IO Setup 8 ) Go to the Input Tab and choose "New Path".  Create 1 new mono input path. 9) Rename the input path "MiC" and assign it to input 3.  Click OK. 10) Assign MiC as the input for your desired audio track. Now you are ready to record using MiC!

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Yes, Mac OS allows you to use multiple audio devices at once and use them as-if they were a single device. Through a process called Aggregation, inputs and outputs of the separate devices are combined and can be used simultaneously.  For example, you can aggregate 2 ONE's, effectively creating a device with 4 output channels. Apogee supports device aggregation for a maximum of 2 devices only on Mac OSX 10.7 (Lion) or greater.   Apogee devices that support Aggregation:

• Duet 2
• Quartet
• GiO
• JAM
• MiC
• ONE

  To create an aggregate device and use multiple interfaces simultaneously:

• Open Audio Midi Setup (Located in Applications/Utilities/ on your Mac)
• Click the + from the button left of the window
• Select "Create Aggregate device"
• Double-click the newly created device's name "Aggregate Device" and rename it if desired
• In the right side of the window, select the devices you wish to aggregate. For example ONE, Built-in Input, Built-in Output.
• For best results, be sure Apogee device is selected as the Master Clock
• In your recording application, select the device name you've just created.
• To select this device to be your default for Mac sound, Right click (or control click) the device in Audio MIDI Setup and select "Use this device for sound input/output"
• Select the Output speaker channels by clicking "Configure Speakers", selecting the stereo tab and assigning destinations for left and right channels
• Select "Done" button and you're all set.

     

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