Skip to content

Earbuds on a stand

With nothing wired attached, an iPad or iPhone sends its audio to Bluetooth earbuds, and the click is sent early by the delay iOS reports for that route, so it lands on the beat. Wired and built-in output are never adjusted.

Trim it in

Reported figures are often well short of the truth, especially on Bluetooth speakers.

  1. Connect the earbuds and open a cue.
  2. Tap Sync. The Earbuds row shows the pair's name, the reported figure and how early the click is being sent.
  3. Play the cue and listen against the room or a wired reference. Move Trim until the click sits. It takes effect while playing.

The trim is remembered for that pair of earbuds, so a device tuned once is right every time they reconnect.

Calibrate with the microphone

  1. In the Earbuds row tap Calibrate with Microphone….
  2. Hold one earbud, or the speaker, to the device's microphone.
  3. Tap Calibrate Earbuds. Five short bursts are played and timed on their way back.
  4. The sheet shows the measured delay against the reported one. Tap Apply to set the trim, or Measure Again.

Calibrate in a quiet moment; the measurement needs to hear the bursts over the room.

If it doesn't work

  • The trim seems to do nothing. It applies live from version 2.9.0 on. On older versions it applied at the next Play.
  • Calibration hears fewer than five bursts. Hold the earbud closer to the microphone and turn the device's volume up.
  • The earbuds are 44.1 kHz and the cue is 48 kHz. iOS resamples; there is no drift.