Order Mac the Scope / Waavebox: Precision Audio Signal Analyzer and Audio Signal Generator
    Important: the current version of Mac the Scope / Waavebox requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier (Rosetta environment). It will not run on a newer OS version.

    Viable means exist to use Mac the Scope / Waavebox, which possess unique features not found in other, similar products:

  • Purchase a used Mac with OS X 10.6.x installed
    • This is the best option. Reasonably priced used Mac computers (Mac Minis, laptops, etc.) are available online, e.g. PowerMax and are perfect for running Mac the Scope / Waavebox. We'd recommend getting the latest available model that includes OS X 10.6.8.

    We regularly use OS X 10.6.8 on Mac Pros (tower model with PCI expansion slots) and a Mid 2010 Mac Mini to run Mac the Scope and Waavebox in our shop for product testing, and in the field (Mac Mini) for making acoustic measurements to optimize speaker placement when setting up our exhibit rooms at audio expos.

  • Use a virtual machine emulator environment
    • We've installed and run Mac the Scope / Waavebox under Parallels and Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server 10.6 hosted by OS versions up to 10.12 (Sierra and Parallels 12).

    OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Server can be purchased from Apple (must be ordered via telephone, 800-692-7753) for $20, part number MC588Z/A. The Server includes OS 10.6.3 which after installation into the Parallels virtual machine (instructions for installing Snow Leopard Server can be found on the Parallels website and on the Internet) is then updated using the customary Software Update mechanism.

    If you don't have Parallels an OEM copy is available for $39 from OWC with purchase of an optical drive or SSD storage product; or $80 by itself. (Windows also can be installed and run under Parallels.)

    Creating the virtual machine with Parallels (we used version 10 or 12) and installing Snow Leopard Server is straightforward, and instructions are included with Parallels. Important note, Snow Leopard Server is required, because the client version of Snow Leopard supplied with regular Mac computers won't work.

    The limitation to using the virtual machine approach is that only built-in audio and USB audio devices are supported. Firewire and Thunderbolt audio devices aren't "bridged" in the Virtual Machine environment. The weakest link is audio output and the USB audio device "glue" in Parallels; however other functions (file analysis for example) generally function satisfactorily.


    UPDATE: we have successfully used Mac the Scope with the new RME ADI-2 Pro 768 kHz ADC/DAC with full i/o capability while running on another 2010 Mac Mini purchased used in 2017 from OWC (MacOS 10.6.8); and on a 2014 Mac Mini (Core i7, 3 GHz model) running Sierra 10.12.4 including up to 768 kHz. The ADI-2 Pro is a plug-and-play "Class Compliant" device that runs under MacOS 10.6.8 and later without requiring separate driver software.


    Channl D

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