M2 Mac Driver Active?

[carrickp@mac.com]

I installed the Mac driver for my M2. It duly asked the security question and I allowed the installation to continue.

But trying to use the M2 with JamKazam, my latency is higher than it should be with the M2. So I reinstalled the driver. Did NOT get the security warning.

Now I want to find out whether the driver is indeed installed. I can't find it in ~Library/Application Support or any of the other places I could think to look.

How can I tell if the driver is installed and working? Mac Mini 2018 (Intel, not M1), Big Sur 11.2.2

[mikehalloran]

Connect the M2 and turn it on. Fire up your DAW. If Loopback is available as an option on your I/O channels, the driver is “active”. Loopback is not a Core Audio supported function—you need the driver installed for that. You’ll find more info in the online manual.

[HazelRah]

I have this same question about checking M2 driver install (I'm trying to install the M2 driver on a 2019 16" MacBook Pro running macOS 11.2.2), and I don't know how to find out if loopback is available. I'm only using the M2 with JamKazam. I did launch GarageBand to try to find loopback, but I just don't know GarageBand enough to even know where to look. Instead, I'm using JamKazam latency as my indicator of driver install (I am assuming this is valid, but not sure).

For me, "installing" the M2 driver in Big Sur I think doesn't actually install it. The installer says "successful", but in JamKazam it says my M2 latency is 11.27ms. I was not asked to Allow MOTU permission to install, so that's not a good sign. Officially, MOTU says M2 drivers are not compatible with Big Sur yet (https://motu.com/en-us/news/motu-and-macos-big-sur/). I did open a MOTU help ticket, and they suggested disabling SIP (terminal command "csrutil disable" in Recovery Mode) then installing the driver again, but this had the same result (11.27ms latency in JamKazam). Not sure if I need to somehow uninstall in order to successfully reinstall? I've never been shown the security Allow prompt.

I happen to also have an older 2015 MacBook Air that I've kept on macoS 10.14.6 (Mojave), and I was able to successfully install the M2 drivers on that machine (including the security prompt) and saw 3ms latency on JamKazam (yay!). But, the computer is much more sluggish so that introduces other delay issues on JamKazam.

I really only bought the M2 to get low latency in JamKazam. If I can't get that, then I'll probably buy another product from another company rather than wait indefinitely -- it seems others have sorted the Big Sur OS change more promptly. I would be happy to learn there's a workaround that will get me the low latencies on my Big Sur mac. Any ideas welcome. Thanks!

[mikehalloran]

I have this same question about checking M2 driver install (I'm trying to install the M2 driver on a 2019 16" MacBook Pro running macOS 11.2.2), and I don't know how to find out if loopback is available. I'm only using the M2 with JamKazam. I did launch GarageBand to try to find loopback, but I just don't know GarageBand enough to even know where to look. Instead, I'm using JamKazam latency as my indicator of driver install (I am assuming this is valid, but not sure).

For me, "installing" the M2 driver in Big Sur I think doesn't actually install it. The installer says "successful", but in JamKazam it says my M2 latency is 11.27ms. I was not asked to Allow MOTU permission to install, so that's not a good sign. Officially, MOTU says M2 drivers are not compatible with Big Sur yet (https://motu.com/en-us/news/motu-and-macos-big-sur/). I did open a MOTU help ticket, and they suggested disabling SIP (terminal command "csrutil disable" in Recovery Mode)

Somebody is giving you really bad advice. The MOTU M series drivers are most certainly Big Sur/Monterey/Ventura/Sonoma compatible and you do not have to disable SIP except to remove old drivers installed before macOS 10.11 (El Capitán). Big Sur is macOS 11.

M2
Latest Downloads
Note: macOS 11+ drivers support Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs.

Driver Supports
MOTU M-Series Installer
Mac v93305 | June 6, 2023
macOS 13, macOS 12, macOS 11, macOS 10.15, macOS 10.14

Firmware Supports
MOTU M-Series Universal Firmware Updater
Mac v2023.9 | Sept. 18, 2023
macOS 13, macOS 12, macOS 11, macOS 10.15, macOS 10.14, macOS 10.13

Make sure that you download and update to the latest firmware.

You need to go to this page, click on the links and follow the instructions.

https://motu.com/en-us/news/motu-and-macos-sonoma/

and this page within 30 minutes of the installation:

https://motu.com/techsupport/technotes/ ... igh-sierra

I see that it's finally been updated to support Ventura and Sonoma. Scroll down to find the instructions for High Sierra Mojave/Catalina/Big Sur/Monterey.

It doesn't always ask and definitely won't after 30 minutes. I recommend downloading, installing, rebooting immediately and enabling it immediately after.

Here's the thing about latency. The difference between CoreAudio and the M2/4/6 drivers is about the same as moving your ears closer to or further away from your monitor speakers about 14 inches. You can hear the difference monitoring a pair of click tracks but that's about it.

Go to page 23 in the User Guide so that you understand what Loopback is and how to use it.

https://cdn-data.motu.com/manuals/usb-c ... _Guide.pdf