Wednesday, October 7, 2009

OSX, Snow Leopard, a2dp

So you'd figure with Snow Leopard that sound quality with some a2dp headsets would be better -- turns out it isn't. I was able to 'fix' my sound quality with a Motorola S9 by going to Bluetooth Explorer (option-click on bluetooth to find it) and going into Utilities->Special Options. I changed the bitpool minimum to 40 and the sound quality is MUCH better. Sounds like its a problem with negotiation between this headset and OSX. If you set the value too high OSX will let you know that the headset rejected the codec settings. I'd figure that 40 is ok for me, but might not be ok for others -- use this at your own risk.
Posted by Scott Dier at 11:39 AM

33 comments:

  1. RyanOct 28, 2009 09:30 PM
    AWESOME! This fixed my problem.
    On my Macbook Pro, running Snowleopard, pairing to my Motorola s305 bluetooth stereo headphones ended up with a lot of hissing, craclking, and distortion (while pairing to my iPhone sounded great).
    My wife had similar problems with her Jabra BH3030's, but at some point she paired them and they started to work fine. For me, I had to use your trick (using bitpool size of 50) and now everything's golden.

    Thanks a lot.
    ReplyDelete
  2. HansenNov 15, 2009 01:46 AM
    I can't find Special Options under Utilities. Hmm weird
    ReplyDelete
  3. Scott DierNov 17, 2009 02:41 PM
    I wonder if its related to which bluetooth chipset is in use as to if special options is available.
    ReplyDelete
  4. SprinkesnirgNov 20, 2009 01:27 PM
    I have a Nokia BH-504 headset, that sounded plain awful. I couldn't find the "Special Options" mentioned above, so I took a different approach:
    There's a file called "com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent.plist" in ~/Library/Preferences/. Edit that with a plist Editor (http://www.nightproductions.net/prefsetter.html). I raised the "Apple Bitpool Min" to 50, that did the trick.
    ReplyDelete
  5. SprinkesnirgNov 20, 2009 02:27 PM
    Or even easier: open Terminal and type in this:
    defaults write com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent "Apple Bitpool Min (editable)" 50
    This is case sensitive, so just copy/paste it
    ReplyDelete
  6. Matt HerzogDec 30, 2009 01:13 PM
    Had same issue with Sony DRBT50. Lot of hissing, but worked fine with iPhone. Fixed using suggestions above in 10.5. Thanks!
    ReplyDelete
  7. SteveJan 8, 2010 01:16 PM
    Scott,
    I have just noticed the same problem trying to connect my new MBP wo my Sony HiFi... sounds great when I connect my Nokia phone to the Sony, but the Mac is not too good...
    I also can't find the explorer option in Snow Leopard but wonder if it is because I don't have Xcode dev tools installed (which I am in the processing of installing now - we'll see if it works then)
    Thanks, Steve
    ReplyDelete
  8. Media MonkeyFeb 6, 2010 04:11 PM
    Worked perfectly for me. ihifi receiver sorted out.
    ReplyDelete
  9. corelxFeb 15, 2010 02:19 AM
    Is that possible to use a bt mouse and a bt headset in the same time?
    ReplyDelete
  10. magicflyFeb 25, 2010 01:13 AM
    This is great!!!

    Thanks so much for getting my Nokia BH 905 to work on a mac :-)
    ReplyDelete
  11. ThomasMar 3, 2010 07:54 PM
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    ReplyDelete
  12. ThomasMar 30, 2010 03:36 AM
    Sprinkesnirg first description helped-the others didnt work for me.
    Heres Sprinkesnirg way again:
    "There's a file called "com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent.plist" in ~/Library/Preferences/. Edit that with a plist Editor (http://www.nightproductions.net/prefsetter.html). I raised the "Apple Bitpool Min" to 50, that did the trick."
    ReplyDelete
  13. DarrylApr 3, 2010 08:59 AM
    Had to download the latest version of XCode for Bluetooth Explorer to run on 10.6.3 - did that. Went into special options and checked on "Allow role switches for bluetooth connections" and then hit ok. It all appears to be working. I'm an Intel based iMac (2008) with a belkin bluetooth music receiver hooked up to my home stereo.

    Cheers!
    ReplyDelete
  14. xwandroidMay 16, 2010 09:12 AM
    Thank you very much, now I can use my Motorola DC800 with my MacBook Pro again! :)
    ReplyDelete
  15. yigitMay 16, 2010 11:17 PM
    thank u very much, i just bought Sony DRBT50 and was considering sending it back since it does not work well w/ my macbook. finally i fixed it. TY!
    ReplyDelete
  16. TimothyMay 25, 2010 07:49 PM
    WOW - fully transformed my SE HBH-IS800! thanks so much guys! had to use the terminal trick.
    ReplyDelete
  17. HBMay 27, 2010 01:56 AM
    Hey Guys

    I got my first Mac ever yesterday. So all of this is absolutely not readable for me and I was hoping for detailed support.

    My Mac Mini is from start 2009 running OS X something. Not Snow Leopard. I had little problems connecting my BH-604 but got it to work. The sound is crap and obviously this is the issue.

    So where exactly do I change settings and what do I copy/paste to exactly where, using exactly what editor?

    This is absolutely unknown territory but I am a fast learner :-)
    ReplyDelete
  18. HBMay 27, 2010 02:36 AM
    I do not have the .plist file mentioned above. I have:

    com.apple.BluetoothFileExchange.plist

    I do not see any of the values you mention. Do you recommend I upgrade to Snow Leopard? or can the A2DP issue be solved in my Mac Mini as is, and how?
    ReplyDelete
  19. phJun 9, 2010 11:22 AM
    My Nokia BH-504 was producing a lot o hiss, the songs were almost unheardable. Tho, after installing Xcode and put the min thingy to 40 now it works fine. Thank you very much
    ReplyDelete
  20. lmnowiresJun 16, 2010 06:11 PM
    Thank you very much, for the copy paste command.
    Nnow I can use my BT4051 with my MacBook again! : I raised the "Apple Bitpool Min" to 50, that did the trick.
    ReplyDelete
  21. phassatJun 19, 2010 06:24 AM
    Great tips.... I was purchasing S9HD and I though I was fooled by the store and given a flaw product but after this tip, it's done the trick.
    ReplyDelete
  22. JeffJun 25, 2010 07:27 PM
    Agree with HB i can't find the variable name :/
    ReplyDelete
  23. OrangeyJun 26, 2010 11:40 PM
    Snow leopard upgrade is really cheap (£25 in england) so it might be an idea to upgrade
    ReplyDelete
  24. David CedilloSep 3, 2010 10:30 AM
    Man, this saved my day! s305+macbook (snow leopard), BTW using with the ipad is easy and the sound is clear, but no rewind or ff, i know is an issue with the ios, but still a nice experience
    ReplyDelete
  25. tapsaSep 13, 2010 12:49 AM
    Thanks a lot! This really made my day.
    ReplyDelete
  26. TaurusNov 20, 2010 01:01 PM
    Great Tips
    ReplyDelete
  27. GildowDec 7, 2010 08:11 AM
    Hey man, thanks for the tip!

    Finally figured out why my s705 sounded so crappy...went out to get a new SE MW600 and ended up same crappy sound...only to google and found your page...

    Thx a million
    ReplyDelete
  28. NadieDec 25, 2010 10:07 AM
    Desde Colombia Gracias, muchas gracias, baje el programa http://www.nightproductions.net/prefsetter.html y dentro del programa busqué com.apple.BluetoothAudioAg y cambie el minimo bitpool a 40 y espectacular, THKS, a thousand of thanks.
    ReplyDelete
  29. dreamhee0314Jan 5, 2011 04:24 PM
    once you have your device paired with your mac, go to system preferences>sound>output> selet the device as "headphones"
    ReplyDelete
  30. BarakatApr 9, 2011 02:44 PM
    There is no com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent
    on my mac. Any suggestions?
    I've paired my Plantronics headset and it's not in the general preferences or in my users preferences and it doesn't come up on a search for this file name.
    ReplyDelete
  31. bebethegameboyJun 9, 2011 05:55 AM
    Thanks, did the trick for me too on last gen MacPro Quad Xeon.
    Is there another value instead of 50 that could "boost" even more the quality ?
    ReplyDelete
  32. MikeJul 17, 2011 03:20 PM
    The "dynamic bitpool" option worked for me.

    What a stupid, basic thing for Apple to fail to support properly. It's 2011. Come on.
    ReplyDelete
  33. Llamaboy419Dec 20, 2011 05:42 PM
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    ReplyDelete

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