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Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

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Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#61

as a long term apple user, their blatant disregard for fixing bugs is really starting to piss me off to the point where next time i upgrade my phone and computer, i'm probably going back to android/linux. their software is literally a microsoft-tier experience (maybe even worse at this point) across the board now, and i'm not going to keep paying a premium for non-premium bullshit full of stupid bugs any junior dev c…

Please do stop buying their junk. It's sad to watch people i know squandering so much money to buy buggy stuff that i end up troubleshooting for them. If it were linux we could just fix it ourselves and be done with it, but apple's entitled paternalism is the final insult. "Maybe you're holding it wrong?"

the only reason i've been using their shit is because i rely on software that doesn't exist on linux for certain hobbies and it was still drastically superior to windows which i refuse to use for any reason in my personal time, but now that it's not even better anymore, i'd rather just abandon those hobbies.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#62

I have been producing music on macOS for 8+ years on multiple laptops (from x86 to ARM), different external DACs, wired and wireless headphones, etc. I am very sensitive to L/R balance and sometimes have to adjust the panning ever so slightly if my ears are off (e.g., after pressure change during a flight) in phone’s Accessibility settings. The fact that there is an Apple-specific L/R audio balance bug, which now see…

I‘m in the same boat. I record and produce my music on macOS precisely because its audio system is so good. I have never had any issues with it.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#63

I have been producing music on macOS for 8+ years on multiple laptops (from x86 to ARM), different external DACs, wired and wireless headphones, etc. I am very sensitive to L/R balance and sometimes have to adjust the panning ever so slightly if my ears are off (e.g., after pressure change during a flight) in phone’s Accessibility settings. The fact that there is an Apple-specific L/R audio balance bug, which now see…

I had it happen for years with a Fiio DAC, but it only rarely occurs with my SMSL dac. The flip side is that I get the crackling extremely frequently.

IIUC this crackling has always happened to me regardless of the OS, both on macOS and Windows. It should be solvable by increasing audio buffer size (& therefore latency), getting better hardware, or bouncing/freezing tracks to audio.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#64
post #42

The fact that this has existed for so long and is common enough to warrant a third party program devoted to resolving the issue is an embarrassment for Apple. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/balance-lock/id1019371109?mt=1...

There are so many bugs and even more poor ergonomic choices that have been unfixed for years on Apple Devices. It's fascinating considering the whole cult regarding the company's so called attention to details.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#65
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any application or website can select the default microphone or a specific audio device which can cause that bluetooth issue. And lots of applications are enabling the microphone even if they don't need it. I don't think switching away from mac would solve that.

The default microphone is set to another microphone. I can assure you that I didn't have this issue in Linux. :) There were other issues, of course, but they were at least solvable.

Most conferencing applications or sites use a separate 'preferred' microphone and select that one.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#66
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, I’ve very much discovered and confirmed this behaviour independently, I was so shocked to learn that it was a known issue. I know it’s silly but it helped me with imposter syndrome to see such a major OS that prides itself on seamless “it just works” experiences tolerate bugs like this. That and the fact if you airplay a movie to Apple TV it thinks you want it to cast over the top of it with random advert videos…

But a lot of those bugs are basic functionalities, it is just that they are not the path Apple wants you to take. For years now, and across iphone models and iOS versions, my iphone randomizes the artwork of the mp3s in the music app (ie display the wrong album cover). I see people complaining about that in forums but I guess if you are not using Apple Music they don't care. I don't seem to be able to copy files from…

It has nothing to do with profitability. The problem is there are too many devices, protocols and applications so it's impossible to test them all. You'll have exactly the same type of issues on a Windows or Linux based system. Microsoft also doesn't seem to care anymore and Linux distributions are not even tested for desktop use.

If anything, profitability of chip makers cheaping out on USB implementations is a bigger problem.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#67

as a long term apple user, their blatant disregard for fixing bugs is really starting to piss me off to the point where next time i upgrade my phone and computer, i'm probably going back to android/linux. their software is literally a microsoft-tier experience (maybe even worse at this point) across the board now, and i'm not going to keep paying a premium for non-premium bullshit full of stupid bugs any junior dev c…

I'm using about every Apple product you've listed and only encountered the first problem and even then only sporadically. I won't be saying 'you're using it wrong' but I presume different ways of use or app workload can make a big difference.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#68
post #42

The fact that this has existed for so long and is common enough to warrant a third party program devoted to resolving the issue is an embarrassment for Apple. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/balance-lock/id1019371109?mt=1...

Apple is quite fine with their OS being an embarassment that needs 3rd party apps to fix, people will still hail it as the best thing ever.

For example, window management on macOS is trash, and the shortcuts are command+arrows which is fine if you have both hands on the keyboard. Not so much when you have a separate mouse. The OS is built expecting you are on a laptop or using a trackpad of some kind.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#69
Man I remember having to deal with this multiple times a week, weirdly it stopped maybe from the 2015 MBP onwards for me never encountered it again and assumed it was fixed. But all my computers between the Titanium Powerbook and then had it.

Re: Apple has not fixed the macOS audio left/right balance bug for nearly 10 years

#70
It seems like lots of very mature software projects have these bugs that just hang around forever. Someone could fix them. Someone should fix them. Nobody fixes them.

My own projects have a few so I am guilty.

Maybe they give the project “character.”

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