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Mic+Audio plays parallel to AUM, instead of inside AUM 🤷
I bought an analog synth and I'm trying to add an effects chain to its output, passing the audio through my iPad.
I bought an audio splitter, to be plugged into the iPad headset 3.5mm jack (it's HAMA, usually it's a decent brand; purchased in a store, rather than a random chinese from Amazon).
This adapter allows to receive the Synth-OUT audio into the iPad-Jack-MIC; and to output the processed iPad-AudioOUT back into my headphones.
This is roughly how it is connected; I hope is understandable!
SYNTH-OUT
|
| HEADPHONES
| |
\/ \/
3.5mm 3.5mm
MIC-IN AUDIO-OUT
| |
|__________|
|
|
3.5mm-HeadSet-Male-jack
|
|
\/
IPAD-3.5mm-Headset-Female-jack
I would expect to have to open AUM, and create a new channel, with MIC as input and Audio as output.
But the weird thing is that once I plug everything like above, I can already hear the synth playing in my headphones. Without any AUM running.
It is like there is some parallel kind of "System Audio IN/OUT" that is always running, regardless of the Host/AU app that I run.
I recorded a video of this weird behaviour but, funny enough, it didn't catch any audio. 😒
If I open AUM and add a microphone on a channel:
- it either feeds ambience audio-input from the embedded/internal microphone of the iPad (while the "system audio" keeps playing audio from the external-gear)
- OR it recognizes the headset male-jack but then it receives no audio-in (again, although the synth is still playing in the background, parallelly to AUM)
That's the most unintuitive behaviour I've found out witht iPad concerning the audio. Doesn't make any sense, and it seems that there is absolutely no way to choose the behaviour of this parallel "system audio IN/OUT", because AUM doesn't seem to influence it at all.
Why the input from the external microphone gets received and played-back in the headphones, regardless of having any audio app running? Is there a parallel "system audio" on iPadOS/iOS?
Why the hell the synth output is received (and played back) by "system audio", while AUM HeadsetMIC (HDSET) is instead silent? (it's counter-intuitive, given that the synth goes inside HDSET)
I thought just buying a cable and plugging it would have solved my problem, but thanks to Murphy's Laws now I am very confused about what's going on.
Comments
I suspect there’s a very small chip in your “splitter” that routes in audio input right to the
audio output so you can monitor your synth. Yo manage everything in AUM you probably need
a more complex audio interface.
An audio interface would have chip electronics to convert the analog signal from you synth to
a digital stream that is connected to the iPad via the Lightning or USB port depending on your iPad
Model.
AUM will accept this input as a recognized audio interface. It can add the desired FX and return a
modified digital stream to you audio interface which will have a headphone port to hear the finished
results.
That's a good/smart guess @McD !
If that would be the case, wouldn't then I hear the mic signal in the headphones, regardless of having plugged the headset-male-jack anywhere? (or would the jack be required be plugged, in order to power up the maybe-small-chip?)
According to your idea it's a hardware feature, hence it should do the same on any device, right?
To test it I tried:
I would exclude the hypotesis of a monitor-chip in the splitter, because then I would expect the behaviour to happen regardless of the device; what do you think?
Feels like it could be a software problem..... 🤔 (iPad Air is on iOS 18.6, while iPad-6thGen has still v15.5)
OR somehow the older iPads have a different wiring on the TRRS connector, other than the Android and the UBC-to-3.5mm (not-original) adapter.
If you have one of these HAMA splitters then it’s just signal rerouting to adjust a lead headphone with built in MIC
for PC’s that have 2 ports (audio in (MIC) and audio out. But you’re providing a synth as input…
I wonder if the source impedance of the synth may prevent iOS from recognizing it as a connected mic input. If that is the case, you may have to explore compact audio interfaces.
😨
Do you mean the they won’t work bidirectionally??
If that’s true, then I’m misunderstanding something very basic about electronics (sorry, I’m a software guy😅).
Then the issue was in my expectations i guess..
I’ll return it to the store. (Btw in Germany it costs only 9.99€, crazy !)
Yeah so we deep dive in those electronics concepts that I’m not confident with 😁
But I’m guessing what you mean: that the voltage out from the synth is too strong/wreak or active/passive?
Would a resistance in the middle change that impedance? (sry, impedance is a blurry concept in my mind, I’m not sure how it works).
Btw, yes, with my Focusrite audio interface I can make everything work as desired; that was my first test 😊
But i was trying to have a cheap minimal setup, for when I do backpacking, where I don’t need to carry my audio interface. I thought that some cables & adapters works suffice.
Could you post a picture of (or link to) the actual device you're trying to use?
It's not about voltage, although that usually varies with impedance, but the iPad may sense the impedance, and use that to decide whether a mic is connected versus using the built-in mic. Remember, iOS is still basically a phone OS, so that mic is really important to it.
I didn't notice but it's the exact opposite of the adapter that @McD posted
Thanks. Theoretically, that ought to work. Are you sure it's correctly inserted in the iPad headphone jack? With 4 contacts on this short plug, mating with the contacts in the iPad could be tricky – knsert it far enough, but not too far.
Do the headphones work (connected to the adapter) when you play music on the iPad, without connecting the synth?
Can you find out the connection of the mic jack? Should be simple TS mono connection. And what is the connection on the plug you're using to connect the synth?