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Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

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Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#61

Post by DrammBA »

lxgr wrote: post #41

> CrystalClear Sound requires a paid subscription(a rather cheap one), which supports the development of the app. Sorry, but I'll pass. I'd spend a few dollars on a convenience app like this as a one-off purchase (it would save me from option-clicking the volume icon every once in a while), but what ongoing development or infrastructure am I paying for with a subscription here?

There's no ongoing development, he wants the recurring revenue to build a cash reserve so he has the option to hire a freelancer to fix bugs or implement new features if they are needed, if not then he just keeps the cash.

edit: I'm not condoning nor condemning OP's monetization strategy, I'm just summarizing what he has explained on the original post and subsequent comments.

Direct quotes:

> I suspect further development might be needed as bugs emerge or API behavior changes

> It’s not free because freeware also requires to provide support.

> if it happens that I get a few hundred paying users I can pay a freelancer to improve on the app occasionally or rationalize spending time on this fixing bugs and adding features

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#62

Post by kokada »

lxgr wrote: post #45
cstrahan wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe it’s because macOS uses a worse audio codec: https://gist.github.com/dvf/3771e58085568559c429d05ccc339219

I don't think the AirPods support anything better than mSBC for bidirectional audio on iOS either. (AAC and aptX are only unidirectional, and macOS already supports AAC and uses it for the AirPods.) But maybe iOS just uses the built-in microphone more often to avoid having to switch away from (high quality) unidirectional audio on Bluetooth?

Considering it is Apple they could also be using a proprietary profile that side-steps this issue, especially since they created their own Bluetooth chip (Apple Hx). But again, I don't know if this is true or not since I don't have an iPhone to test.

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#63

Post by lxgr »

DrammBA wrote: post #61
lxgr wrote: post #41

> CrystalClear Sound requires a paid subscription(a rather cheap one), which supports the development of the app. Sorry, but I'll pass. I'd spend a few dollars on a convenience app like this as a one-off purchase (it would save me from option-clicking the volume icon every once in a while), but what ongoing development or infrastructure am I paying for with a subscription here?

There's no ongoing development, he wants the recurring revenue to build a cash reserve so he has the option to hire a freelancer to fix bugs or implement new features if they are needed, if not then he just keeps the cash. edit: I'm not condoning nor condemning OP's monetization strategy, I'm just summarizing what he has explained on the original post and subsequent comments. Direct quotes: > I suspect further develo…

Why would that not be possible using a one-off purchase?

I really have a much higher understanding for things that run server infrastructure or require frequent work to keep up with things like changing third-party APIs or scraped websites.

But this is literally an Apple-hosted app using a stable API.

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#64

Post by lxgr »

kokada wrote: post #62
lxgr wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the AirPods support anything better than mSBC for bidirectional audio on iOS either. (AAC and aptX are only unidirectional, and macOS already supports AAC and uses it for the AirPods.) But maybe iOS just uses the built-in microphone more often to avoid having to switch away from (high quality) unidirectional audio on Bluetooth?

Considering it is Apple they could also be using a proprietary profile that side-steps this issue, especially since they created their own Bluetooth chip (Apple Hx). But again, I don't know if this is true or not since I don't have an iPhone to test.

The second-generation Airpods Pro even do feature a custom low-latency audio codec, but it's apparently only used for the Vision Pro (which is a real shame, as it would be extremely useful for latency-critical things like playing rhythm games on iOS and macOS as well).

On the standards side, there's Bluetooth LE audio, which also offers very low latency, but that might actually require hardware changes (I believe there's reliance on some hardware layer changes).

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#65

Post by wolrah »

peterldowns wrote: post #18

Can anyone explain why something like this is necessary on a Macbook, but when I use my airpods with my iPhone I seem to get high quality audio and microphone usage at the same time?

> Can anyone explain why something like this is necessary on a Macbook, but when I use my airpods with my iPhone I seem to get high quality audio and microphone usage at the same time?

Are you sure? How often does your phone have the microphone active while simultaneously continuing to play audio? When the mic is active on a phone it almost always pauses music or video or whatever you're listening to. At that point it can switch modes and then switch back when you're done and go back to music.

On a PC (meaning the overall category of personal computers including Macs, not just a Wintel machine) there isn't that sort of integration. If you start a VoIP call with music going the music just keeps going, so the mode switch is obvious.

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#66

Post by shinycode »

mrtksn wrote: post #24
shinycode wrote: post #22

If I press the option key of the Mac and clic on the speaker icon of the menu bar, I can select the source of the speaker and mic as well. Am I missing something here ?

It's a convenience app, doesn't do anything you can't do by yourself. That's how I used to do it, got sick and tired of doing it every time I connect my AirPods and made an app to make it happen automatically and put it on the AppStore to see if others can find it useful too.

Okay I get that but for a « click away », a subscription of that amount is really too much compared to other amazing apps that I use every day. For example, I can make screenshots with MacOS a clic away. I bought Shottr because it’s a convenience app and I use it hundreds of times per day and I save a tremendous amount of time and clics to edit screenshots. But it’s $8 once and does a LOT with many great features

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#67

Post by mrtksn »

shinycode wrote: post #66
mrtksn wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a convenience app, doesn't do anything you can't do by yourself. That's how I used to do it, got sick and tired of doing it every time I connect my AirPods and made an app to make it happen automatically and put it on the AppStore to see if others can find it useful too.

Okay I get that but for a « click away », a subscription of that amount is really too much compared to other amazing apps that I use every day. For example, I can make screenshots with MacOS a clic away. I bought Shottr because it’s a convenience app and I use it hundreds of times per day and I save a tremendous amount of time and clics to edit screenshots. But it’s $8 once and does a LOT with many great features

I don’t believe in single payment apps, developers miscalculate and ask for a single payment and they collect some money once and they have to support it for years to come. They later abandon the app or fix it but fixing is’n nice, I’m still bitter with the Halide developer because I purchased the app only for it to become a subscription app. Now I don’t get the new features and tell people to watch out for their new Kino app. I feel deceived.

I don’t see how I can be “booked” for years unless I make at least a few 100K’s from this. I don’t actually expect to have more than a few 100 paying users, this is a niche app.

I probably should have been charging at least 9.99$/month to make any financial sense based on my low expectations but since this is a subscription app at least I can discontinue the app without screwing up people if I have to abandon it.

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#68

Post by shinycode »

mrtksn wrote: post #67
shinycode wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay I get that but for a « click away », a subscription of that amount is really too much compared to other amazing apps that I use every day. For example, I can make screenshots with MacOS a clic away. I bought Shottr because it’s a convenience app and I use it hundreds of times per day and I save a tremendous amount of time and clics to edit screenshots. But it’s $8 once and does a LOT with many great features

I don’t believe in single payment apps, developers miscalculate and ask for a single payment and they collect some money once and they have to support it for years to come. They later abandon the app or fix it but fixing is’n nice, I’m still bitter with the Halide developer because I purchased the app only for it to become a subscription app. Now I don’t get the new features and tell people to watch out for their new…

I completely agree, I gave Shottr as an example. I also have a lot of subscriptions I’m not at all against it. But you gave the example of Kino, I imagine that the skills to develop such an app is quite high and even if they would be 15$ per year or more it would be worth it. But if a « click away » app kind of skills, my personnal preference is more like a sub 10$ a year. Like, I have smoothScroll, I pay a subscription every year and I don’t mind paying 8€ for it. 20€ ? I never would have tried the app

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#69

Post by mrtksn »

shinycode wrote: post #68
mrtksn wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t believe in single payment apps, developers miscalculate and ask for a single payment and they collect some money once and they have to support it for years to come. They later abandon the app or fix it but fixing is’n nice, I’m still bitter with the Halide developer because I purchased the app only for it to become a subscription app. Now I don’t get the new features and tell people to watch out for their new…

I completely agree, I gave Shottr as an example. I also have a lot of subscriptions I’m not at all against it. But you gave the example of Kino, I imagine that the skills to develop such an app is quite high and even if they would be 15$ per year or more it would be worth it. But if a « click away » app kind of skills, my personnal preference is more like a sub 10$ a year. Like, I have smoothScroll, I pay a subscript…

Pricing isn’t really about $/hardship. If you actually deep dive into it, you’ll find that the correlation is very weak.

If this was some kind of app that millions would use, I guess I could have given it for free for exposure or make it very very cheap like 1$/year but I don’t think that this would happen. Now my bet is that if I can get 1000 paying users I will keep the app around and develop it further by spending time on it.

I have some more ideas. I’m currently marketing it as an app for solving this specific issue but it’s also a nice input/output switching app. Maybe it can be the app that solves all the sound issues by always setting the correct input/output? You know how there’s always someone having trouble with their sound when on call. Let’s see.

Re: Show HN: A macOS app to prevent sound quality degradation on AirPods

#70

Post by shinycode »

mrtksn wrote: post #69
shinycode wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree, I gave Shottr as an example. I also have a lot of subscriptions I’m not at all against it. But you gave the example of Kino, I imagine that the skills to develop such an app is quite high and even if they would be 15$ per year or more it would be worth it. But if a « click away » app kind of skills, my personnal preference is more like a sub 10$ a year. Like, I have smoothScroll, I pay a subscript…

Pricing isn’t really about $/hardship. If you actually deep dive into it, you’ll find that the correlation is very weak. If this was some kind of app that millions would use, I guess I could have given it for free for exposure or make it very very cheap like 1$/year but I don’t think that this would happen. Now my bet is that if I can get 1000 paying users I will keep the app around and develop it further by spending…

It’s right, pricing is really subjective and I said « personally » because it’s my perception of the matter. I really hope people will pay what you charge and you will get traction. Too much people are used to get software for « free » like it has no value and I don’t agree with it. I hope the best for you !
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