Weird distorted echo on my iMac. Help?

[joyce]

Hi! This is my first time posting on this website, so sorry if I did something wrong.

Whenever I play audio (specifically the Mac sound effects), there’s a weird distorted echo that follows it. I always have my headphones on as to not disturb my roommates.

When I changed my audio output to my Yeti Microphone which accepts headphone jacks, the echo goes away and sound plays as normal. I don’t want to keep my headphones plugged into the mic for technical reasons (I can't play sound from the internet). Is there a way to get rid of the distorted echo?

I have OSX El Capitan 10.11.6 if that helps, and this started about five days ago when I plugged in my new midi keyboard through one of the USB ports.

 

[honestone]

What exact iMac model do you have?

Does the echo still occur without the midi keyboard plugged in?

What is the make and model of the midi keyboard?

 

[joyce]

What exact iMac model do you have?

Does the echo still occur without the midi keyboard plugged in?

What is the make and model of the midi keyboard?

My iMac is a Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014 model.

The echo still occurs with the midi keyboard unplugged.

My midi keyboard is a Korg microKEY-25

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

The Yeti Mic might have something to do with this echo? Whether or not you have the output set to the Yeti mic, did this issue begin around the same time as you started using the Yeti by any chance?

 

[joyce]

The Yeti Mic might have something to do with this echo? Whether or not you have the output set to the Yeti mic, did this issue begin around the same time as you started using the Yeti by any chance?

Nope. I had the Yeti for a few years now with no issues.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

-The echo is heard through headphones...does it do it through the iMac's speakers as well?
-What brand/model are the headphones?
-It happens via the iMac's headphone jack, but not through the Yet's headphone jack, correct?
-Do you have any audio routing software like Soundflower, Loopback, etc. installed?
-Have you changed any settings on the Yeti recently?

C

 

[joyce]

Hello and welcome.

-The echo is heard through headphones...does it do it through the iMac's speakers as well?
-What brand/model are the headphones?
-It happens via the iMac's headphone jack, but not through the Yet's headphone jack, correct?
-Do you have any audio routing software like Soundflower, Loopback, etc. installed?
-Have you changed any settings on the Yeti recently?

C

-I just tried the speakers, and they seem fine
-The headphones are Samsung Level On headphones, and I've had no issues with them until now
-Yes, it happens through the iMac's headphone jack but not through the Yeti's headphone jack
-I do have Soundflower. I also have WavTap. I changed the output to WavTap and still got the distorted effect.
-What do you mean by changing the Yeti's settings? If it's something with it hooking it up to the computer/installation, then no. I have changed the Gain a few times for recording, but that's it.

Thank you for the welcome!

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks for the additional.

-Yeti - just meant have you adjusted anything on it recently?
-Soundflower/WaveTap - I am leaning towards these, as you could be getting distortion caused by a loop, or the system sounds routing through one or both. Have you changed any settings on these, or have you checked their settings to see if something changed?
-Have you checked all of the settings in Audio MIDI Setup, especially if there is a Multi-Outpur Device listed there?

C

 

[joyce]

-I only adjusted the gain on my Yeti
-It doesn't look like anything changed in the settings.
-In Audio MIDI Setup, there is a Multi-Output Device that I made when I first got Soundflower. I haven't used it since I got WavTap. My main output is currently set to the Built-in output. My Multi-Output device only has Built-in Output and WavTap checked.

 

[joyce]

OK, thanks for the additional.

-Yeti - just meant have you adjusted anything on it recently?
-Soundflower/WaveTap - I am leaning towards these, as you could be getting distortion caused by a loop, or the system sounds routing through one or both. Have you changed any settings on these, or have you checked their settings to see if something changed?
-Have you checked all of the settings in Audio MIDI Setup, especially if there is a Multi-Outpur Device listed there?

C

Sorry, wow, I thought I replied, but it looks like I didn't ^^;

-I only adjusted the gain on my Yeti
-It doesn't look like anything changed in the settings.
-In Audio MIDI Setup, there is a Multi-Output Device that I made when I first got Soundflower. I haven't used it since I got WavTap. My main output is currently set to the Built-in output. My Multi-Output device only has Built-in Output and WavTap checked.

 

[Cory Cooper]

No, you did reply previously. Sorry, been really busy and haven't had a chance to reply to you for a while.

If it happens more with the OS X Sound Effects, try changing the setting of  > System Preferences... > Sound > Sound Effects > Play effects through: to see if that clears things up.

C

 

[joyce]

No, you did reply previously. Sorry, been really busy and haven't had a chance to reply to you for a while.

If it happens more with the OS X Sound Effects, try changing the setting of  > System Preferences... > Sound > Sound Effects > Play effects through: to see if that clears things up.

C

The distortedness is still there It doesn't just happen with sound effects, it happens with all sounds like iTunes music or internet.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

If you launch Audio Midi Set Up in the Utilities folder and in the Menu choose Window ~> Show Midi Studio, is there a driver for the Korg microKEY-25? Can you remove this driver to test if the distortedness disappears? If you remove the driver are you able to re-install it easily enough? It may be worth a shot.

 

[joyce]

If you launch Audio Midi Set Up in the Utilities folder and in the Menu choose Window ~> Show Midi Studio, is there a driver for the Korg microKEY-25? Can you remove this driver to test if the distortedness disappears? If you remove the driver are you able to re-install it easily enough? It may be worth a shot.

I opened up the MIDI Studio and I was able to remove the Korg microKEY-25 drive. I tested the sound, but it still distorted. I even removes other drives on it and the sound is still distorted

Thank you for the option though

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Did you reboot after removing the Korg driver?

 

[joyce]

Did you reboot after removing the Korg driver?

Yup. Still distorted

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hmmm...

The next thing I would try would be to uninstall Soundflower, WavTap, and any other items related to them to get the audio back to System defaults.

C

 

[joyce]

Hmmm...

The next thing I would try would be to uninstall Soundflower, WavTap, and any other items related to them to get the audio back to System defaults.

C

It's fixed! I uninstalled both Soundflower and WavTap. (I reinstalled WavTap because I use it for streaming and stuff) The sound is normal. In the midst of experimenting, I found out how to play audio from the internet on my Yeti.

Thank you so much guys! Guess I probably should have started with uninstalling them first ^^;

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Great news! Yes, it's a learning experience, sometimes easily fixed but other times input by others is needed.

 

[Kola86]

I had this problem and I discovered if I changed the Format settings under my Built-in Output in Audio MIDI, it cleared up the sound. I had a weird double echo sound after using my ATR-2100 mic. I unplugged the mic and rebooted, but the sound distortion was still there. I changed my format to 48.0 kHZ from 44.1, which was the setting it was using.

My question is: why would using the mic change this setting for the output?
I'm new to using external mics, so my knowledge is newbie style