Noise Issue with CQ-18T After Upgrading to macOS 26

CQ CQ Troubleshooting
1

I’m using the CQ-18T and connecting it to my computer via USB as a stereo audio interface. My computer is a Mac, and I recently upgraded to macOS 26.

After the update, I noticed an issue: when I play videos online, the audio works normally. However, once I close the video page, a noise starts to appear. The moment I open the Mac system Sound settings, the noise disappears.

Has anyone else experienced the same problem? My CQ is already updated to firmware version 1.2.2, but the issue still persists.

2

Hello Jeffery,

Sorry to hear that you’ve had this issue.
We’d typically advise people don’t update until we’ve had a chance to test new versions of operating systems, in case there are things that don’t work properly - both Apple and Microsoft have prior for changing parts of the system that stop things from working properly.

There’s a notice on our Resources pages that says this, although I’d understand if you’d not seen it:

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image1437×327 31.2 KB

I suspect this is related to an issue introduced by the Tahoe update. I’ll report this to our software team for investigating.

If you’ve got any questions or want any further support from us directly with this, please email support@allen-heath.com

3

I’m sorry, I didn’t see this notice earlier, otherwise I wouldn’t have upgraded the operating system. Thank you for your reply.

4

I’m having precisely the same issue on MacBook Pro 14-inch, Nov 2024 M4 Max running macOS Tahoe 26.2. CQ-18T firmware is 1.2.1 R4213.

Easily reproduced on Youtube. Every time I navigate away from a video I get a high pitched buzz (maybe 5-10k) which sounds like a very short buffer under-run. The buzz does go away after a few seconds or if I start another video.

5

This seems to be a problem with some apps running in Tahoe system. When user hits ‘Stop’ button during playback - a short audio buffer remains playing creating a buzzing/beeping sound. The problem also occurs when skipping the audio with a mouse using the browser window progress slider.

System:

CQ-18T connected via USB to Mac Tahoe 26.4.1 as a 24-in/out interface.

Tested apps (latest versions):

App - Problem
Audacity - (YES)
Firefox browser - (YES)
Chrome browser - (NO)
Safari browser - (NO)
Music - (NO)

So maybe there is a new requirement/protocol for apps in Tahoe to stop/tear down audio playback?

6

Adding another data point: I’m still seeing the same issue with:

  • MacBook Pro M1

  • macOS Tahoe 26.5.2

  • CQ-18T firmware 1.2.2

It’s very easy to reproduce on my setup: if I close a Chrome YouTube tab while the video is still playing, the CQ USB channel immediately start making a continuous beep/buzz until I play some other audio or re-open the YouTueb tab.

Since this has been reported for quite a while and is still happening on a stable macOS release, I’d really appreciate it if this could get some renewed attention. The sudden loud noise can be pretty unpleasant, especially with headphones or a PA connected.

Happy to help test or provide more info if needed.

7

I also have this issue - Macbook Air M4 Tahoe 26.5.2 /CQ-20B Firmware 1.2.2 r4248
When any audio source is playing and then closed without first hitting stop, the buzzing happens until another sound source is started. It is a very reproducible issue, happens every time. I would also be happy to test anything or provide any logs or anything.