# Cubase 9 Performance Issues on Mac!



## kmm08 (Dec 11, 2016)

Just spent the weekend testing Cubase 8.5 and 9.0.1 on a Mac Pro desktop with (2) internal SSD drives and (1) mechanical drive. Clean installed Yosemite, El Capitan, and Sierra on all drives as well as both versions of Cubase. Without a doubt, both Cubase versions seem to work better and quicker under Yosemite than the later two systems. There is for some reason a noticeable lag when changing tracks or selecting audio/midi in the project window which does not occur under Yosemite. This seems to be true with both Cubase versions. This is surprising considering that Yosemite is not even listed on Sternberg's site as being supported any longer, yet El Capitan and Sierra were supposed to be tested with it. Have contact Sternberg regarding this but have not received a response as of yet. Although this is often typical behavior when new OSX systems are released (been using Mac computers for over 20 years now), I would have thought that someone would have noticed these kind of things when beta testing the product. Looks like I'll be sticking with Yosemite for a while.


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## holywilly (Dec 11, 2016)

thanks for the testing, I was debating whether to upgrade from Yosemite to El Capitan (definitely not going for Sierra). 

I'll stick with Yosemite for a while longer.


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## zvenx (Dec 11, 2016)

kmm08 said:


> ............. I would have thought that someone would have noticed these kind of things when beta testing the product. Looks like I'll be sticking with Yosemite for a while.



And that there is the first clue that it may be local to you.

Without 'giving my hand away', I switched from Yosemite, to El Capitan to Sierra all in less than a month (used Yosemite for a year plus before).
Why did I switch?

1. Several developers who I know and trust told me the Core2Audio drivers in Sierra fix a lot of outstanding issues and are more stable.

2. Sierra fixes most if not all the blacklisted erroneous 'issues' in Cubase 9. Without Sierra, one would have to wait for software developers to update their software which some of them did, and some software like DCAM Synth Squad for instance is so old and fxpansion are moving to strobe 2 and cypher 2 you just know that those wouldn't be updated, or one could reactivate the blacklisted plugins from within Cubase 9).....

I noticed zero lags or performance issues in that move. And the noticeable lag does not happen on my system or many others I know about.
Does Sierra have issues? Yes.....I did find Cubase more stable in yosemite than I do in sierr and there is an issue with sierra's file open/save dialog operations that affect some users and some platforms currently.

rsp


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## URL (Dec 11, 2016)

I use Yosemite and CB 9..., the blacklisted fx or instrument is no problem to change path or reactivate.
I find that EL capt. is the a little more cpu demanding then Sierra and Yosemite, Yosem. still IMHO have been the best OS for a long time.
Sierra is there but there is a update time for all developers.... to be complete for DAW...
I have "no issue" with Yosemite on CB9 and it probably describes how little difference there is between the different OS versions...
But Im switching slowly, over to win 10 so...
Url


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## kmm08 (Dec 11, 2016)

I wasn't referring to compatibility with other companies plugins or drivers. Some of these issues may have been corrected under Sierra. I'm referring to the actual performance of Cubase itself within El Capitan/Sierra as opposed to Yosemite. There is definitely a more sluggish feel to how it responds and a lag when selecting things in the newer systems. I am using a Mac Pro desktop (2012), which was the last model released before the black garbage cans, and which many audio/video people still use. And again, I tested on (3) new internal drives with all (3) systems on each drive. I took some screen shots which shows very clearly the difference, put for some reason, I still can not post attachments on this forum without getting error boxes.


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## kmm08 (Dec 11, 2016)

I think it may have actually worked this time. If so, here are (2) examples: (1) showing Cubase 9 performance under El Capitan/Sierra; (1) showing Cubase under Yosemite.


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## Fab (Dec 11, 2016)

URL said:


> I use Yosemite and CB 9..., the blacklisted fx or instrument is no problem to change path or reactivate.
> I find that EL capt. is the a little more cpu demanding then Sierra and Yosemite, Yosem. still IMHO have been the best OS for a long time.
> Sierra is there but there is a update time for all developers.... to be complete for DAW...
> I have "no issue" with Yosemite on CB9 and it probably describes how little difference there is between the different OS versions...
> ...



Yosemite you say, hmm I am tempted as you aren't the first to bring that up


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## zvenx (Dec 11, 2016)

I got that.
I went into that and other things.
That sluggish feel doesn't happen on my system and others I know. Not saying it isn't real on your system but it may be a local issue.
rsp



kmm08 said:


> I wasn't referring to compatibility with other companies plugins or drivers. Some of these issues may have been corrected under Sierra. I'm referring to the actual performance of Cubase itself within El Capitan/Sierra as opposed to Yosemite. There is definitely a more sluggish feel to how it responds and a lag when selecting things in the newer systems. I am using a Mac Pro desktop (2012), which was the last model released before the black garbage cans, and which many audio/video people still use. And again, I tested on (3) new internal drives with all (3) systems on each drive. I took some screen shots which shows very clearly the difference, put for some reason, I still can not post attachments on this forum without getting error boxes.


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## kmm08 (Dec 11, 2016)

Just curious then. Exactly what system and hardware are you using if you haven't noticed any differences between them?


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## zvenx (Dec 11, 2016)

Hi,
Sure.

Cubase 9 | MacBookPro Retina 2.8Ghz Quad Core I7 | 10.12.1 | 16GB | NI Komplete Audio 6 | UAD-2 Satellite Thunderbolt Quad |

rsp


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## kmm08 (Dec 11, 2016)

I'm not sure what year your MacBookPro was released, but maybe these new systems work better on Apple's newer line of computers (such as new MacBooks or trash cans). This wouldn't surprise me either. At this point I'm just waiting to see if Apple one day makes a decent desktop computer again (like they used to not too long ago). 

Cubase 8.0/8.5/9.01 - Mac Pro Desktop (Mid 2012) 3.2 GHz Quad-Core - 32 GB RAM - Steinerg MR816x interface


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## zvenx (Dec 11, 2016)

Sorry 2014.......I suspect that is indeed the case as should be expected.
Re: Apple. I think sadly the days when apple paid attention to the needs of content creator are long behind us sadly.

rsp


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## khollister (Dec 11, 2016)

On Sierra here with a MP 5.1 6 core/3.3 GHz and RME UCX (via USB) - no issues in responsiveness with the GUI that I've noticed.


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## kmm08 (Dec 12, 2016)

I started this same post on Steinberg's forum as well (under "*Cubase 9 Performance Issues!"). *Apparently I'm not the only one noticing these issues with GUI performance. Have not heard back from Steinberg yet though form the support request I sent them. I wonder if anyone has compiled a listing as of yet of popular plugins that have been currently blacklisted under Cubase 9. I have already had a few major ones including some iZotope as well as Altiverb. This is not exactly surprising though, since I have had some issues with different versions of these plugins under Cubase 8 and under in the past. AudioEase has admitted some issues with a few versions of their plugin under Cubase. No response from iZotope as of yet (and not sure I will get one either).


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## zvenx (Dec 12, 2016)

izotope is working on it.. good luck with audioease, they take yearsss to fix stuff.
rsp


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## kmm08 (Dec 13, 2016)

I'm not so sure about that. Here's a statement from iZotope regarding blacklisted plugins: 
_"If you are using Cubase 9 on OS X 10.11 or earlier and encounter this issue, the only work-around presently available is to update to OS X 10.12 Sierra. We apologize for any inconvenience." _

They didn't even mention whether they were looking into it or not. From my experience over many years with their products, they rarely release updates, even after bug reports are confirmed. Considering that many plugins are not being blacklisted, this says that something is up with their products. It may not be any big deal but they should at least look into the issues and if anything can be done. At this point, I have downgraded back to Yosemite and things are working well again. I have no intention of updating the system any time soon. Getting work done is more important at this point than troubleshooting software companies problems. I've been troubleshooting these kind of things for too many years now.


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## kmm08 (Dec 23, 2016)

Here's the official reply from iZotope regarding this issue: 

_"Currently, the only solution for this issue is to update to Sierra.
We are not planning to do an update our products for compatibility with Cubase 9 on older Mac OS Versions.
That said, if you need to continue using Mac OS X 10.11 I would recommend using Cubase 8.5 as the software 
is fully functional in that version." 
_
So I responded and told them I will not be buying their products any longer. As I mentioned, this is not unusual for iZotope. 
I've been using their products (especially Ozone) for years now, and they are notorious for not fixing problems with their software. I can't even count how many reports of issues over the years that I've sent them, and they almost never get fixed. I just don't have time any longer to deal with companies like this and their products. I dealt with the same issue with the notation software Finale. We used to report dozens of problems with the program, and every year like clock work, they would release a new paid update, and never fix the problems with the previous version. Software companies like this have been getting away with this stuff for way too long now...


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