DVS 4.3 and above for macOS is available only for the ‘User Mode' operation. Some users of older Intel-based Macs may find performance to be superior using the ‘Kernel Mode' version of DVS. This guide describes some tools and techniques you can use to improve the performance of your Apple Silicon macOS for audio applications.
Note: Some recommendations in this guide can have potentially hazardous results. We recommend you back up all of your data before embarking. You must understand the implications of each change before making it. The OS may warn or request your permission for some tasks.
Software Versions
Always ensure that you are running the latest DVS on the latest supported macOS.
You can download the latest DVS from https://my.audinate.com/support/downloads/dante-virtual-soundcard.
System Load
Open Activity Monitor and ensure that nothing is overloaded on the CPU, Memory, Disk, or Network. Switch off the apps that you do not believe you are using, or that you do not wish to run in the background when you are not using the program.
Energy Saver
Prevent Mac from entering power-save.
- Go to System Settings> Energy Saver (“Battery” if you are using a laptop)
- Enable "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off".
- Disable "Put hard disks to sleep when possible".
Disable sleep in the system-wide power settings
Using the command line, you can disable sleep in the system-wide power settings.
- Open the terminal window.
- Type:” sudo pmset disablesleep 1” to set the sleep disable as TRUE
- If you want to undo it, use the command “sudo pmset disablesleep 0” to set it as FALSE
Lock Screen
Prevent Mac from entering screen-lock.
- Go to System Settings> Lock Screen
- Switch the “Start Screen Saver when inactive” menu to “Never”.
- Switch the “Turn display off when inactive” menu to “Never”.
- Switch the “Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off” menu to “Never”.
Network Interface Priority
Set the interface used by Dante to the highest priority interface on the Mac.
- Go to System Settings> Network.
- Right-click on the name of the network adapter for Dante.
- Select “Set Service Order…”
- Drag the Dante service to the top of the list.
The alternative is to fully disable any unused network interfaces, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
AirDrop & Handoff
Disabling AirDrop & Handoff.
- Go to System Settings> General> AirDrop & Handoff.
- Disable both “Handoff” and “AirPlay”.
- Switch the “AirDrop” menu to “No One".
AVB/EVA
Switch the AVB/EVA mode on/off.
- Go to System Settings> Network> [name of the network adapter]> Details> Hardware.
- Switch the “Configure” menu to “Manually".
- Enable the “AVB/EAV” mode and click OK.
- Then, disable the “AVB/EAV” mode and click OK.
Peripherals
- Some display interrupts network latency. If you come across performance issues, change the display if available.
- Use built-in Ethernet adaptors if possible.
- When your computer doesn’t provide built-in network adaptors, use an external USB-To-Ethernet adaptor instead of a USB multiport hub.
- When choosing USB Ethernet adapters, we advise that you choose USB CDC-NCM Ethernet Standard adapters. Please see: https://www.getdante.com/support/faq/dvs-usb-ethernet-adaptor-choice-for-macos-systems
Non-performance issue - a counterexample
The performance limitation of the computer can increase the media transmit latency with no doubt, but not every high latency issue is caused by the computer performance limitation.
The following example shows extreme latency, which far outweighs the possibility of delays caused by system performance issues.
In fact, the above issue is caused by a clock synchronization problem. Latency value is the delay between an audio packet leaving the transmitter, traversing the network, and reaching the receiver. If the clock of the peer nodes is not synchronized, the calculation is on a mismatched baseline and therefore gives out an incorrect value.