I got it working. Happy days. Thanks for your help Walker!
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I think mainly wot did it was buying a new - good quality - usb C to usb B cable with a ferrite choke on it.
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I had been using the usb A to usb B cable that came with the spectro, but then with a basic usb A to usb C adapter head plonked on it to get into my MBP. Clearly that wasn't stable enough.
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Also I think perhaps I hadn't always been doing steps 1-3 so fastidiously - doing so definitely helps.
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Cheers
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