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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

#84

Post by mrtksn »

jccalhoun wrote: post #78

I don't have a mac or airpods so maybe I'm missing some context but paragraphs 2-4 seem to be a digression and actively confused me as to what this does. I would suggest removing or rewriting them for clarity.

Apologies for the bad writing, wrote everything at once and posted right away and looking back I see plenty of room for improvement.

The app simply sets the system default sound input/output device in a specific way depending on what’s connected. This fixes the sound quality degradation on Bluetooth headphones with mic. The issue arises when the computer tries to use the Bluetooth mic, in most cases it’s better to use the built it microphone anyway.

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

#85

Post by textadventure »

ro_bit wrote: post #73

I guess you need a subscription for everything these days

Hey, your comment just got a reply, if you want to read it please subscribe to Hacker News Plus for just 1.99 an hour. If you spend less than an hour a day procrastinating here, then it's free. But we all know that's not the case.

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

#87

Post by viraptor »

Osiris wrote: post #75

This is really a Bluetooth issue. The same happens with any headphones that have a mic on any OS. When Bluetooth mode is switched from Headphones to Headset (with mic), only much lower quality audio codes are used. Does anyone know if Bluetooth 6 adds support for higher quality codes for Headset? It's a big issue, in my opinion.

It was a Bluetooth issue years ago. Now it's only an Apple issue where it can't use a more decent codec. On Linux you can choose the mSBC codec and get decent two-way quality on a modern headset.

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

#88

Post by chem83 »

alibert wrote: post #81

Sorry to crash your launch but this is supposed to be fixed in the new version of MacOS Sequoia + AirPods 2 https://www.headphonesty.com/2024/07/apple-solves-bad-airpod... I'm still on Sonoma for work reason so I didn't test it.

IIUC, what Apple is doing is reducing the number of active channels, so they can keep audio streaming at 48kHz in mono. OP is claiming better audio out quality, which to your point will be unnecessary with the new update, but also better audio in quality by always forcing the external microphone to be the default source, since it's not constrained by the BT bandwidth and is of overall better quality than those of AirPods.

I also think that by doing this, BT audio out can be in stereo/48, which is arguably "better" than mono/48, so their app is still useful.

I personally wouldn't subscribe to it, though. The script OP mentioned on their post seems sufficient for my use case.

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

#90

Post by chem83 »

Osiris wrote: post #75

This is really a Bluetooth issue. The same happens with any headphones that have a mic on any OS. When Bluetooth mode is switched from Headphones to Headset (with mic), only much lower quality audio codes are used. Does anyone know if Bluetooth 6 adds support for higher quality codes for Headset? It's a big issue, in my opinion.

Samsung phones paired with Samsung earbuds also, on paper, support high-quality audio for calls.
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