Sample-rate mismatch

If your input and output devices are running at different sample rates, NØISE shows this modal after startup finishes — and again in the main window whenever the engine detects it while running. This page documents every button and every step in it.

Why this happens

NØISE's audio engine (AVAudioEngine) requires input and output to run at a matching sample rate to run the effects chain safely. When you pick two different devices (or one device that changed rate since you last used it), the live rates read from Core Audio can differ — most commonly one at 44100 Hz and the other at 48000 Hz.

The header of the modal says it plainly:

SAMPLE RATE MISMATCH <input> 44.1 kHz in · <output> 48 kHz out · FX off

Below that, a screen shows the two devices side by side, INPUT and OUTPUT, each with its name and its rate in red and a ≠ between them, then the explanation:

Input and output run at different rates, so the FX chain stays out until they agree. Everything else keeps playing.

RECOMMENDED

The recommended way, ringed in green, is titled ONE DEVICE FOR BOTH and is a single key:

Send the output through the interface too. One clock, best quality, lowest latency — plug your headphones or speakers into it.

USE <INPUT DEVICE> FOR OUTPUT

Clicking it switches your output to the same device as your input (the key names whichever device is currently the input). While switching it reads "SWITCHING...". If it fails, the specific error text is shown under the key. On success the modal closes.

IN AUDIO MIDI SETUP

Beside the recommended way stand two others, each with its six steps in the modal itself and a warning under them. The steps name your own devices and rates.

1. ALIGN THE RATES (warning: "Some devices have a fixed rate"):
   1. Open Audio MIDI Setup — "⌘ SPACE, type "Audio MIDI Setup", or the key below"
   2. Select the input device — <input>
   3. Set its format — "<output rate> Hz — or <input rate> if the other device is fixed"
   4. Select the output device — <output>
   5. Set the same format — "the two rates must read the same"
   6. Come back — "I FIXED THE RATES checks again; no restart"
2. AGGREGATE DEVICE (warning: "Adds latency - use only if needed"):
   1. Open Audio MIDI Setup — "⌘ SPACE, type "Audio MIDI Setup", or the key below"
   2. Create an aggregate device — "the + at the bottom left"
   3. Tick the input device — <input>
   4. Tick the output device — <output>
   5. Clock source: the input — "the interface keeps time"
   6. Pick it in AUDIO I/O — "as input and output"

Bottom actions

The modal's footer holds three keys:

1. OPEN AUDIO MIDI SETUP — opens the macOS Audio MIDI Setup app directly.
2. I FIXED THE RATES — re-reads the live rates. Shows "CHECKING..." while it does. If they still don't match, it reports the exact rates under the recommended key, e.g. "Sample rates still don't match: 44100 vs 48000 Hz". On success it closes the modal automatically and startup finishes normally.
3. CONTINUE WITHOUT FX [ESC] — closes the modal and proceeds; dry guitar, drums and the metronome still work, but the FX chain stays disabled.

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