Currently, Steinberg's range of audio interfaces is not fully compatible with macOS 11 Big Sur. There is no Apple M1 support yet and even while some interfaces can be used with Intel-based systems, limitations may apply. Please find the details below.

For an overview of the macOS Big Sur compatibility and which interfaces have been tested specifically, please have a look at this article.

#1
Communication issues with software

[applies to UR-C audio interfaces]

Problem

If multiple applications communicating with Steinberg hardware (e.g. Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver Control Panel, dspMixFx, Cubase, Nuendo, etc.) are running, single applications may not work properly. Symptoms such as below might be seen.

• Hardware status is not correctly reflected in the GUI.
• Hardware status cannot be changed in the GUI.
• Faders on the dspMixFx are not properly locked even if Direct Monitoring is set ON in Cubase/Nuendo.

Workaround

Right after starting macOS 11, open the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver Control Pane first and keep it open.
Please note that in case something unexpected happens (for example, hardware is rebooting repeatedly or unstable USB connections) the symptoms explained above may occur. In that case, please redo the workaround.

Solution

The Yamaha Steinberg USB driver will be updated to address this limitation.

#2
32-bit integer playback/recording not available

[applies to AXR4T audio interface]

Problem

Currently, the Yamaha Steinberg Thunderbolt (High Precision) for AXR4T does not function properly on macOS 11. As a result, the AXR44T cannot play back or record audio in 32-bit integer format on macOS 11.

Workaround

There is no workaround for 32-bit integer playback and recording.
However, playback and recording in other formats is possible by selecting the Yamaha Steinberg Thunderbolt or Steinberg AXR4 2TR driver.
Users can still play an existing 32-bit integer audio file in the Steinberg DAW by choosing one of these drivers. In that case, it will be played back with 24-bit precision.
Users can also export an audio file as 32-bit integer or 64-bit float formats within the Steinberg DAW.

Solution

Not defined yet. We are currently asking Apple to investigate the issue.

#3
Name of digital ports is not changed

[applies to AXR4T audio interface]

Problem

The name of the digital port in the audio application is not properly changed when the digital I/O mode is changed. This happens only when the digital I/O mode is changed, but the channel count of the digital port is not changed. (Ex. changing ADAT to AES when Fs=48kHz)
This happens not only with the audio application such as the DAW, but also the Audio MIDI Setup of macOS itself.

Workaround

Restart the audio application after changing the digital I/O mode. Alternatively, reset the ASIO driver in the application if possible.

Solution

Not defined yet. We are currently asking Apple to investigate the issue.