Stable OS for HDX & Mac Pro 7,1

[rmccam]

Hi Everyone,

I have one of the newer 2019 7,1 Mac Pros (16 core), running Catalina 10.15.7. I'm using an HDX 1 system with a MTRX Studio, S3 and Dock.

I can't even begin to list the number of bugs I've had over the past couple of years — GUI issues, routing issues, performance issues, EUCON issues, etc. — everything from menu targeting moving as you scroll over it to audio playing back through muted tracks (which then goes away when rebooted). Most issues are just nuisances but one or two are/were bigger issues. Avid have helped as best they could on a micro level, but I spent soooo much time trying to help them document the issues, many of which don't seem to get fixed, that I've kind of given up and I just live with the issues.

I don't mean this to be a rant though, I'm mainly just wondering how other people with similar setups are finding it? Is anyone having relative stability on another OS with HDX on these newer 2019 7,1 Mac Pros? I figure it's worth a shot.

I'm using PT 2023.3, mainly because I keep upgrading in the hopes that some of the issues get fixed (some did, some did not, and new ones crop up).

I'd love some insight. Thanks in advance!

Ryan

[LukeHoward]

Originally Posted by rmccam

Hi Everyone,

I have one of the newer 2019 7,1 Mac Pros (16 core), running Catalina 10.15.7. I'm using an HDX 1 system with a MTRX Studio, S3 and Dock.

I can't even begin to list the number of bugs I've had over the past couple of years — GUI issues, routing issues, performance issues, EUCON issues, etc. — everything from menu targeting moving as you scroll over it to audio playing back through muted tracks (which then goes away when rebooted). Most issues are just nuisances but one or two are/were bigger issues. Avid have helped as best they could on a micro level, but I spent soooo much time trying to help them document the issues, many of which don't seem to get fixed, that I've kind of given up and I just live with the issues.

I don't mean this to be a rant though, I'm mainly just wondering how other people with similar setups are finding it? Is anyone having relative stability on another OS with HDX on these newer 2019 7,1 Mac Pros? I figure it's worth a shot.

I'm using PT 2023.3, mainly because I keep upgrading in the hopes that some of the issues get fixed (some did, some did not, and new ones crop up).

I'd love some insight. Thanks in advance!

Ryan

I'm on Monterey, similar setup (MacPro7,1 with HDX2 and MTRX). To be honest, I'd have happily stayed on Catalina, I only upgraded to get Atmos output out of Apple Music. So I think your problems may lie elsewhere. Perhaps do the usual checking of plugins, network, etc. Having said that I still do run into the odd bug, usually related to metering, delay compensation or (as you point out) tracks playing when they shouldn't. I also try to file a case but to be honest when I'm in the middle of something it's often just easier to reopen the session. (Hybrid Engine delay compensation seems much better in recent versions but I still run into an issue with it not working correctly when bouncing ADMs online; this is a known bug.)

[rmccam]

Originally Posted by LukeHoward

I'm on Monterey, similar setup (MacPro7,1 with HDX2 and MTRX). To be honest, I'd have happily stayed on Catalina, I only upgraded to get Atmos output out of Apple Music. So I think your problems may lie elsewhere. Perhaps do the usual checking of plugins, network, etc. Having said that I still do run into the odd bug, usually related to metering, delay compensation or (as you point out) tracks playing when they shouldn't. I also try to file a case but to be honest when I'm in the middle of something it's often just easier to reopen the session. (Hybrid Engine delay compensation seems much better in recent versions but I still run into an issue with it not working correctly when bouncing ADMs online; this is a known bug.)

Thanks @LukeHoward. Yeah, I'm quite sure that my issues lie elsewhere but I was just thinking that perhaps these things are better tested on a newer OS (though not newest), and maybe some things might get fixed. It's a hail mary, really. Haha!

[fsavell]

FWIW I was using Monterey for the past year, thought it was OK.

However, random chance caused me to open up some sessions on my backup Catalina install. There was an huge different in CPU usage on heavy mix sessions (all sample rates, but esp. 96khz). Catalina was able to run mixes that were choking in Monterey, sometimes at a lower H/W Buffer size
I was astounded at the difference.

So I promptly did a fresh install and I'm sticking with Catalina on my 7,1 MacPro until something breaks compatibility.

There are some graphical bugs in PT 2022.12 with 10.15.7, but not a big issue. I still have a major crashing issue with offline bounce and DSP mode that I'm working with support on, but that was happening on Monterey too.

I'd prefer to work on the latest OS due to improved Apple features, but as it's a PT system, the PT CPU efficiency is priority.

Forrester

[DetroitT]

Also fwiw, Intel Mac Pro 5,1 macOS 12 Monterey HDX1 ProTools 2023.3
Very solid.
However. Hybrid mode seems finicky.
Regular mode running great.

Also I don’t find myself needing very low buffer.
96KHz is my base sr.