New Error with Microphone Input - Mac Sierra OSX 10.12.6

I am trying to run a microphone input experiment and I keep getting errors that I have never seen before. I recently upgraded to Sierra Mac OS and downloaded the latest version of SuperLab since my older version of v5 SuperLab did not work with Sierra. This is the first time I have run a microphone experiment since the OS upgrade.

“[C-Media USB Headphone Set ] Some microphone input data frames were dropped. The CPU might have been overburdened.”

What exactly is this error trying to tell me and how do I fix it?

Thank you,

Marnie

Do the messages prevent you from running your experiment? If the experiment is still running, the data dropped may not be significant.

Either way, perhaps the specifications of your machine are not sufficient for what you are trying to achieve. Are you using an older computer?

The experiment starts and runs properly, but when it is finished the error pops up on the screen. This error also occurs if I am modifying the Microphone Input mic sensitivity values in the Participant Input page. It also occurs if I use a different microphone headset or use the built in microphone option.

Here are the specs on the machine I saw the error on. It was manufactured in late 2012 according to “About this Mac” info screen.

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac13,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.9 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 8 GB
Boot ROM Version: IM131.010A.B1D

Marnie, we have tried to duplicate this issue in-house and have not been able to. I’m not sure how to proceed.

Are you using a USB-based microphone or a direct round plug?

Yes, I was using a Logitech USB headset for this experiment. However I also tried to set it up with the iMac’s built in microphone and received the same errors.

The experiment seems to run fine, but I get a report when I finish the experiment listing the times the microphone input frames were missed.

I only ran about 64 trials before I terminated and it looks like the report only listed missed frames at the beginning of the experiment and reported nothing missed while doing the actual trials.

I also ran the experiment on another iMac we have and I don’t recall seeing the same error report. I am away from my office today so I will double check that my memory is correct and add the computer information for the other iMac on Monday.

I don’t think this error will affect the research, but wanted to let you guys know as it is something I haven’t seen before and I’ve used Mac Microphone Input for many years now.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’ll definitely address it once we are able to duplicate it in-house.

Hi Hisham,

I tested the exact same program this morning on another iMac in our lab and did not see the errors. The same model of microphone is used with this second machine. It has also been updated to OS 10.12.6 Sierra.

I have zipped and attached the experiment in case there is something in my settings for the Microphone Input that will help you. The threshold for the microphone trigger is quite low because we have really quiet participants and I have found that the mic will not trigger reliably with higher thresholds. We want the microphone to trigger at the start of their vocal response. I don’t know if that may be part of the problem on the other machine, but it has not been an issue for us in the past.

Thank you for investigating this.

Second Machine Specs:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac13,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 8 GB
Boot ROM Version: IM131.010A.B1D
SMC Version (system): 2.9f5

Dimension3-Katie.zip (2.38 MB)

Thank you Marnie.

I loaded a new microphone project onto the second iMac and am now getting the overburdened errors.

I have attached screenshots of the errors.

We use the Griffin iMic in order to use a regular audio jack on the iMac since they do not have one on these models assuming you would use built in speakers/mic or USB. Once again we have used this with no issues for years.

Screen Shot 2017-08-30 at 9.10.19 AM.png

Screen Shot 2017-08-30 at 9.07.59 AM.png

Can you confirm that the iMic model you are using is identical to this one?

Yes that is the model we use.

Marnie

Thanks. I went ahead and ordered one to see if we can duplicate the issue while using it.