AVAudioNode

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Use the AVAudioNode abstract class for audio generation, processing, or I/O block.

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AVPlayer Reverse Audio Scrubbing?
Hey all, here seeking some perspective. I have an audio player app on macOS built on top of AVPlayer, I want to add the ability to scrub the audio, and hear the audio frames based on the playhead's position whether going forwards or backwards. When going backwards, the audio frame should be played in reverse as well. The audio tracks live online and are streamed. I tried playing with AVPlayer.rate, but the time pitch algos built in (.spectral, .varispeed, .timeDomain) all only guarantee up to 32x rate decoding accuracy. So technically, if the user scrubs fast enough, the audio rendered would not necessarily match the playhead's position. My current solution that works is to cache the raw audio bytes and play the appropriate frame when the user starts scrubbing. I decode the audio data manually using AudioToolbox's AudioFileOpenWithCallbacks into an AVAudioPCMBuffer, then pass it into AVAudioEngine+AVAudioPlayerNode combo. The problem with that is that means I need to cache this audio data myself (remember this is a stream), and since I don't have access to AVPlayer's own cache I need to also download it myself... which means two downloads for the same track which is less than ideal. This lead me to take it a step further and hijack AVPlayer's download process by implementing AVAssetResourceLoaderDelegate, that way AVPlayer and my audio scrubbing cache are both fed from the same source. Now... I feel like I went down a bit of a rabbit hole here. At the end of the day I simply want accurate audio scrubbing in both directions, while keeping in mind I want the audio snippets to play in reverse when the user goes backwards. Is there really no way to do this that's more "vanilla"? Am I missing something obvious? Genuinely open to any and all suggestions. Thanks.
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AVAudioEngine input tap intermittently delivers all-zero buffers — valid format, no error thrown
We have a long-form audio recording app built on AVAudioEngine. We install a tap on inputNode, accumulate the PCM buffers, and encode them to AAC in ~60-second chunks. Setup is essentially: let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .default, options: [.defaultToSpeaker, .allowBluetooth, .allowBluetoothA2DP]) try session.setActive(true) let engine = AVAudioEngine() let input = engine.inputNode let format = input.inputFormat(forBus: 0) // valid, e.g. 48 kHz, 1 ch input.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: format) { buffer, _ in // In the failure case, buffer.floatChannelData is entirely 0.0 // (accumulate + encode to AAC) } engine.prepare() try engine.start() Intermittently — and so far only reported from the field, never reproduced in normal testing — a recording comes out completely silent. When we decode the resulting AAC and inspect the raw PCM, every sample is exactly 0.0. The signature is very specific: The engine is running and the tap keeps firing for the full duration (normal number of buffers / full-length chunks). inputFormat is valid (sampleRate ≠ 0, e.g. 48 kHz). No error is thrown anywhere — setCategory, setActive, start(), and the tap callback all succeed. The PCM is literally all zeros (not low-level noise / room tone — exact 0.0). Two separate silent recordings decode to byte-identical AAC, confirming pure digital silence rather than corruption. So as far as our error handling, format checks, and tap-liveness are concerned, everything looks healthy — yet the microphone is delivering pure silence. One way we can reproduce it: recording while the iPhone is being driven via macOS iPhone Mirroring (the iPhone stays locked, the mic is effectively unavailable from the device, but our session still activates with a valid format and the tap fires zero-filled buffers for the whole recording — with no error at any point). What we've ruled out: microphone permission is granted; it's not truncation or short capture (full-length, full frame count); it's not our encoding step (the input buffers themselves are zero); it's not a quiet/obstructed mic (that would be low noise, not exact 0.0). We also found two existing threads describing what looks like the same symptom: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/834950 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/808072 Both of those are PushToTalk apps where the system activates the audio session, and an Apple engineer notes it may be related to a CallKit issue (r.157725305). For context on our side: we do use CallKit, but only CXCallObserver — purely to detect whether a phone call comes in while a recording is in progress, so we can pause and resume around it. We do not use CXProvider or PushToTalk, and we activate our own AVAudioSession ourselves with setActive(true). I'm trying to understand whether there are other scenarios or device states that could leave a running AVAudioEngine tap returning all-zero buffers like this, and whether this is the same underlying CallKit issue (r.157725305) from those threads . And since nothing throws an error, any guidance on how to detect this at runtime and recover from it would be really helpful.
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AVAudioEngine input tap intermittently delivers all-zero buffers — valid format, no error thrown
We have a long-form audio recording app built on AVAudioEngine. We install a tap on inputNode, accumulate the PCM buffers, and encode them to AAC in ~60-second chunks. Setup is essentially: let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .default, options: [.defaultToSpeaker, .allowBluetooth, .allowBluetoothA2DP]) try session.setActive(true) let engine = AVAudioEngine() let input = engine.inputNode let format = input.inputFormat(forBus: 0) // valid, e.g. 48 kHz, 1 ch input.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: format) { buffer, _ in // In the failure case, buffer.floatChannelData is entirely 0.0 // (accumulate + encode to AAC) } engine.prepare() try engine.start() Intermittently — and so far only reported from the field, never reproduced in normal testing — a recording comes out completely silent. When we decode the resulting AAC and inspect the raw PCM, every sample is exactly 0.0. The signature is very specific: The engine is running and the tap keeps firing for the full duration (normal number of buffers / full-length chunks). inputFormat is valid (sampleRate ≠ 0, e.g. 48 kHz). No error is thrown anywhere — setCategory, setActive, start(), and the tap callback all succeed. The PCM is literally all zeros (not low-level noise / room tone — exact 0.0). Two separate silent recordings decode to byte-identical AAC, confirming pure digital silence rather than corruption. So as far as our error handling, format checks, and tap-liveness are concerned, everything looks healthy — yet the microphone is delivering pure silence. One way we can reproduce it: recording while the iPhone is being driven via macOS iPhone Mirroring (the iPhone stays locked, the mic is effectively unavailable from the device, but our session still activates with a valid format and the tap fires zero-filled buffers for the whole recording — with no error at any point). What we've ruled out: microphone permission is granted; it's not truncation or short capture (full-length, full frame count); it's not our encoding step (the input buffers themselves are zero); it's not a quiet/obstructed mic (that would be low noise, not exact 0.0). Questions: What other device states or scenarios can cause a running AVAudioEngine input tap to deliver all-zero buffers with a valid format and no error? (e.g. another process/system feature holding the mic, Continuity Camera/Mic, CallKit/PushToTalk session ownership, etc.) Since this surfaces with no error and a valid format, what is the recommended way to detect it at runtime? Is monitoring the input level / PCM energy the only signal, or is there a supported API to know the input isn't actually live? What's the recommended recovery once detected — is a full session deactivate/reactivate re-handshake sufficient, or is recreating the engine required?
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How to Monitor Any USB Audio or Video Device on macOS
USB cameras, microphones, HDMI capture cards, and audio interfaces are supposed to "just work" on macOS. In reality, it's often difficult to quickly access or monitor them without opening large and complicated software. Sometimes you simply want to see whether a USB camera is active. Sometimes you want to check an HDMI source connected through a capture card. And in other cases, you may want to use a Mac mini without a dedicated monitor by viewing its HDMI output through a USB capture device directly on another Mac. macOS supports many modern USB AV devices out of the box, but it surprisingly lacks a simple built-in utility for live monitoring and recording. Most users end up using oversized streaming or editing applications just to preview a video signal or monitor audio input. That becomes especially noticeable with: USB webcams HDMI capture adapters USB microphones audio interfaces secondary computers headless Mac mini setups A lightweight monitor utility is often much more practical when you only need real-time access to a device, want to record a stream, or quickly switch between multiple AV inputs. That's one of the reasons I built AV Monitor Pro  -  a native macOS app designed for monitoring and recording connected audio/video devices in real time. It can preview USB cameras, capture cards, microphones, and HDMI sources with minimal setup, and it's especially useful for workflows like running a Mac mini without a monitor, monitoring external devices, or recording live AV input directly on macOS.
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588
May ’26
Unexpected Ambisonics format
When trying to load an ambisonics file using this project: https://github.com/robertncoomber/NativeiOSAmbisonicPlayback/ I get "Unexpected Ambisonics format". Interestingly, loading a 3rd order ambisonics file works fine: let ambisonicLayoutTag = kAudioChannelLayoutTag_HOA_ACN_SN3D | 16 let AmbisonicLayout = AVAudioChannelLayout(layoutTag: ambisonicLayoutTag) let StereoLayout = AVAudioChannelLayout(layoutTag: kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Stereo) So it's purely related to the kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Ambisonic_B_Format
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114
Mar ’26
AVAudioEngine obtains channel audio data
Currently, I have successfully used ChannelMap to map hardware input channels and obtained audio data from the hardware device's MIC and OTG inputs. Additionally, I have used ChannelMap to map output channels to freely feed data for playback to each output channel. However, I now have a problem. I have a hardware device that only has output channels (no input channels), and the system has set this hardware device as the default playback device. In this case, how can I obtain the audio data being played to the output channels for modification?
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418
Dec ’25
How to safely switch between mic configurations on iOS?
I have an iPadOS M-processor application with two different running configurations. In config1, the shared AVAudioSession is configured for .videoChat mode using the built-in microphone. The input/output nodes of the AVAudioEngine are configured with voice processing enabled. The built-in mic is formatted for 1 channel at 48KHz. In config2, the shared AVAudioSession is configured for .measurement mode using an external USB microphone. The input/output nodes of the AVAudioEngine are configured with voice processing disabled. The external mic is formatted for 2 channels at 44.1KHz I've written a configuration manager designed to safely switch between these two configurations. It works by stopping AVAudioEngine and detaching all but the input and output nodes, updating the shared audio session for the desired mic and sample-rates, and setting the appropriate state for voice processing to either true or false as required by the configuration. Finally the new audio graph is constructed by attaching appropriate nodes, connecting them, and re-starting AVAudioEngine I'm experiencing what I believe is a race-condition between switching voice processing on or off and then trying to re-build and start the new audio graph. Even though notifications, which are dumped to the console indicate that my requested input and sample-rate settings are in place, I crash when trying to start the audio engine because the sample-rate is wrong. Investigating further it looks like the switch from remote I/O to voice-processing I/O or vice-versa has not yet actually completed. I introduced a 100ms second delay and that seems to help but is obviously not a reliable way to build software that must work consistently. How can I make sure that what are apparently asynchronous configuration changes to the shared audio session and the input/output nodes have completed before I go on? I tried using route change notifications from the shared AVAudioSession but these lie. They say my preferred mic input and sample-rate setting is in place but when I dump the AVAudioEngine graph to the debugger console, I still see the wrong sample rate assigned to the input/output nodes. Also these are the wrong AU nodes. That is, VPIO is still in place when RIO should be, or vice-versa. How can I make the switch reliable without arbitrary time delays? Is my configuration manager approach appropriate (question for Apple engineers)?
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576
Nov ’25
AVAudioEngine : Split 1x4 channel bus into 4x1 channel busses?
I'm using a 4 channel USB Audio interface, with 4 microphones, and want to process them through 4 independent effect chains. However the output from AVAudioInputNode is a single 4 channel bus. How can I split this into 4 mono busses? The following code splits the input into 4 copies, and routes them through the effects, but each bus contains all four channels. How can I remap the channels to remove the unwanted channels from the bus? I tried using channelMap on the mixer node but that had no effect. I'm currently using this code primarily on iOS but it should be portable between iOS and MacOS. It would be possible to do this through a Matrix Mixer Node, but that seems completely overkill, for such a basic operation. I'm already using a Matrix Mixer to combine the inputs, and it's not well supported in AVAudioEngine. AVAudioInputNode *inputNode=[engine inputNode]; [inputNode setVoiceProcessingEnabled:NO error:nil]; NSMutableArray *micDestinations=[NSMutableArray arrayWithCapacity:trackCount]; for(i=0;i<trackCount;i++) { fixMicFormat[i]=[AVAudioMixerNode new]; [engine attachNode:fixMicFormat[i]]; // And create reverb/compressor and eq the same way... [engine connect:reverb[i] to:matrixMixerNode fromBus:0 toBus:i format:nil]; [engine connect:eq[i] to:reverb[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [engine connect:compressor[i] to:eq[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [engine connect:fixMicFormat[i] to:compressor[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [micDestinations addObject:[[AVAudioConnectionPoint alloc] initWithNode:fixMicFormat[i] bus:0] ]; } AVAudioFormat *inputFormat = [inputNode outputFormatForBus: 1]; [engine connect:inputNode toConnectionPoints:micDestinations fromBus:1 format:inputFormat];
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435
Oct ’25
macOS sample for AVAudioEngine recording with playthrough
Hi, I'm still stuck getting a basic record-with-playthrouh pipeline to work. Has anyone a sample of setting up a AVAudioEngine pipeline for recording with playthrough? Plkaythrough works with AVPlayerNode as input but not with any microphone input. The docs mention the "enabled state" of the outputNode of the engine without explaining the concept, i.e. how to enable an output. When the engine renders to and from an audio device, the AVAudioSession category and the availability of hardware determines whether an app performs output. Check the output node’s output format (specifically, the hardware format) for a nonzero sample rate and channel count to see if output is in an enabled state. Well, in my setup the output is NOT enabled, and any attempt to switch (e.g. audioEngine.outputNode.auAudioUnit.setDeviceID(deviceID) )/ attach a dedicated device / ... results in exceptions / errors
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560
Oct ’25
macOS Tahoe: Can't setup AVAudioEngine with playthrough
Hi, I'm trying to setup a AVAudioEngine for USB Audio recording and monitoring playthrough. As soon as I try to setup playthough I get an error in the console: AVAEInternal.h:83 required condition is false: [AVAudioEngineGraph.mm:1361:Initialize: (IsFormatSampleRateAndChannelCountValid(outputHWFormat))] Any ideas how to fix it? // Input-Device setzen try? setupInputDevice(deviceID: inputDevice) let input = audioEngine.inputNode // Stereo-Format erzwingen let inputHWFormat = input.inputFormat(forBus: 0) let stereoFormat = AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: inputHWFormat.commonFormat, sampleRate: inputHWFormat.sampleRate, channels: 2, interleaved: inputHWFormat.isInterleaved) guard let format = stereoFormat else { throw AudioError.deviceSetupFailed(-1) } print("Input format: \(inputHWFormat)") print("Forced stereo format: \(format)") audioEngine.attach(monitorMixer) audioEngine.connect(input, to: monitorMixer, format: format) // MonitorMixer -> MainMixer (Output) // Problem here, format: format also breaks. audioEngine.connect(monitorMixer, to: audioEngine.mainMixerNode, format: nil)
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250
Oct ’25
Is AVAudioPCMFormatFloat32 required for playing a buffer with AVAudioEngine / AVAudioPlayerNode
I have a PCM audio buffer (AVAudioPCMFormatInt16). When I try to play it using AVPlayerNode / AVAudioEngine an exception is thrown: "[[busArray objectAtIndexedSubscript:(NSUInteger)element] setFormat:format error:&nsErr]: returned false, error Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-10868 (related thread https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/700497?answerId=780530022#780530022) If I convert the buffer to AVAudioPCMFormatFloat32 playback works. My questions are: Does AVAudioEngine / AVPlayerNode require AVAudioPCMBuffer to be in the Float32 format? Is there a way I can configure it to accept another format instead for my application? If 1 is YES is this documented anywhere? If 1 is YES is this required format subject to change at any point? Thanks! I was looking to watch the "AVAudioEngine in Practice" session video from WWDC 2014 but I can't find it anywhere (https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/747008).
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1.1k
Oct ’25
Can't set AVAudio sampleRate and installTap needs bufferSize 4800 at minimum
Two issues: No matter what I set in try audioSession.setPreferredSampleRate(x) the sample rate on both iOS and macOS is always 48000 when the output goes through the speaker, and 24000 when my Airpods connect to an iPhone/iPad. Now, I'm checking the current output loudness to animate a 3D character, using mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: nil) { [weak self] buffer, time in Task { @MainActor in // calculate rms and animate character accordingly but any buffer size under 4800 is just ignored and the buffers I get are 4800 sized. This is ok, when the sampleRate is currently 48000, as 10 samples per second lead to decent visual results. But when AirPods connect, the samplerate is 24000, which means only 5 samples per second, so the character animation looks lame. My AVAudioEngine setup is the following: audioEngine.connect(playerNode, to: pitchShiftEffect, format: format) audioEngine.connect(pitchShiftEffect, to: mixerNode, format: format) audioEngine.connect(mixerNode, to: audioEngine.outputNode, format: nil) Now, I'd be fine if the outputNode runs at whatever if it needs, as long as my tap would get at least 10 samples per second. PS: Specifying my favorite format in the let format = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: 48_000, channels: 2)! mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: format) doesn't change anything either
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621
Aug ’25
AVAudioPlayer/SKAudioNode audio no longer plays after interruption
Hi 👋! We have a SpriteKit-based app where we play AVAudio sounds in three different ways: Effects (incl. UI sounds) with AVAudioPlayer. Long looping tracks with AVAudioPlayer. Short animation effects on the timeline of SpriteKit's SKScene files (effectively SKAudioNode nodes). We've found that when you exit the app or otherwise interrupt audio plays, future audio plays often fail. For example, there's a WebKit-based video trailer inside the app, and if you play it, our looping background music track (2.) will stop playing, and won't resume as you close the trailer (return from WebKit). This is probably due to us not manually restarting the track (so may well be easily fixed). Periodically played AVAudioPlayer audio (1.) are not affected. However, the more concerning thing is that the audio tracks on SKScene file timelines (3.) will no longer play. My hypothesis is that AVAudioEngine gets interrupted, and needs to be restarted for those AVAudioNode elements to regain functionality. Thing is, we don't deal with AVAudioEngine at all currently in the app, meaning it is never initiated to begin with. Obviously things return to normal when you remove the app from short-term memory and restart it. However, it seems many of our users aren't doing this, and often report audio failing presumably due to some interruption in the past without the app ever being cleared from memory. Any idea why timeline-run SKAudioNodes would fail like this? Should the app react to app backgrounding/foregrounding regarding audio? Any help would be very much appreciated ✌️!
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368
May ’25
AVAudioMixerNode outputVolume range?
According to the header file the outputVolume properties supported range is 0.0-1.0: /*! @property outputVolume @abstract The mixer's output volume. @discussion This accesses the mixer's output volume (0.0-1.0, inclusive). @property (nonatomic) float outputVolume; However when setting the volume to 2.0 the audio does indeed play louder. Is the header file out of date and if so, what is the supported range for outputVolume? Thanks
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220
Apr ’25
Crackling/Popping sound when using AVAudioUnitTimePitch
I have a simple AVAudioEngine graph as follows: AVAudioPlayerNode -> AVAudioUnitEQ -> AVAudioUnitTimePitch -> AVAudioUnitReverb -> Main mixer node of AVAudioEngine. I noticed that whenever I have AVAudioUnitTimePitch or AVAudioUnitVarispeed in the graph, I noticed a very distinct crackling/popping sound in my Airpods Pro 2 when starting up the engine and playing the AVAudioPlayerNode and unable to find the reason why this is happening. When I remove the node, the crackling completely goes away. How do I fix this problem since i need the user to be able to control the pitch and rate of the audio during playback. import AVKit @Observable @MainActor class AudioEngineManager { nonisolated private let engine = AVAudioEngine() private let playerNode = AVAudioPlayerNode() private let reverb = AVAudioUnitReverb() private let pitch = AVAudioUnitTimePitch() private let eq = AVAudioUnitEQ(numberOfBands: 10) private var audioFile: AVAudioFile? private var fadePlayPauseTask: Task<Void, Error>? private var playPauseCurrentFadeTime: Double = 0 init() { setupAudioEngine() } private func setupAudioEngine() { guard let url = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "Song name goes here", withExtension: "mp3") else { print("Audio file not found") return } do { audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forReading: url) } catch { print("Failed to load audio file: \(error)") return } reverb.loadFactoryPreset(.mediumHall) reverb.wetDryMix = 50 pitch.pitch = 0 // Increase pitch by 500 cents (5 semitones) engine.attach(playerNode) engine.attach(pitch) engine.attach(reverb) engine.attach(eq) // Connect: player -> pitch -> reverb -> output engine.connect(playerNode, to: eq, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(eq, to: pitch, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(pitch, to: reverb, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(reverb, to: engine.mainMixerNode, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) } func prepare() { guard let audioFile else { return } playerNode.scheduleFile(audioFile, at: nil) } func play() { DispatchQueue.global().async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } engine.prepare() try? engine.start() DispatchQueue.main.async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } playerNode.play() fadePlayPauseTask?.cancel() playPauseCurrentFadeTime = 0 fadePlayPauseTask = Task { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } while true { let volume = updateVolume(for: playPauseCurrentFadeTime / 0.1, rising: true) // Ramp up volume until 1 is reached if volume >= 1 { break } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = volume try await Task.sleep(for: .milliseconds(10)) playPauseCurrentFadeTime += 0.01 } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = 1 } } } } func pause() { fadePlayPauseTask?.cancel() playPauseCurrentFadeTime = 0 fadePlayPauseTask = Task { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } while true { let volume = updateVolume(for: playPauseCurrentFadeTime / 0.1, rising: false) // Ramp down volume until 0 is reached if volume <= 0 { break } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = volume try await Task.sleep(for: .milliseconds(10)) playPauseCurrentFadeTime += 0.01 } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = 0 playerNode.pause() // Shut down engine once ramp down completes DispatchQueue.global().async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } engine.pause() } } } private func updateVolume(for x: Double, rising: Bool) -> Float { if rising { // Fade in return Float(pow(x, 2) * (3.0 - 2.0 * (x))) } else { // Fade out return Float(1 - (pow(x, 2) * (3.0 - 2.0 * (x)))) } } func setPitch(_ value: Float) { pitch.pitch = value } func setReverbMix(_ value: Float) { reverb.wetDryMix = value } } struct ContentView: View { @State private var audioManager = AudioEngineManager() @State private var pitch: Float = 0 @State private var reverb: Float = 0 var body: some View { VStack(spacing: 20) { Text("🎵 Audio Player with Reverb & Pitch") .font(.title2) HStack { Button("Prepare") { audioManager.prepare() } Button("Play") { audioManager.play() } .padding() .background(Color.green) .foregroundColor(.white) .cornerRadius(10) Button("Pause") { audioManager.pause() } .padding() .background(Color.red) .foregroundColor(.white) .cornerRadius(10) } VStack { Text("Pitch: \(Int(pitch)) cents") Slider(value: $pitch, in: -2400...2400, step: 100) { _ in audioManager.setPitch(pitch) } } VStack { Text("Reverb Mix: \(Int(reverb))%") Slider(value: $reverb, in: 0...100, step: 1) { _ in audioManager.setReverbMix(reverb) } } } .padding() } }
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373
Apr ’25
Level Networking on watchOS for Duplex audio streaming
I did watch WWDC 2019 Session 716 and understand that an active audio session is key to unlocking low‑level networking on watchOS. I’m configuring my audio session and engine as follows: private func configureAudioSession(completion: @escaping (Bool) -> Void) { let audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() do { try audioSession.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .voiceChat, options: []) try audioSession.setActive(true, options: .notifyOthersOnDeactivation) // Retrieve sample rate and configure the audio format. let sampleRate = audioSession.sampleRate print("Active hardware sample rate: \(sampleRate)") audioFormat = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: sampleRate, channels: 1) // Configure the audio engine. audioInputNode = audioEngine.inputNode audioEngine.attach(audioPlayerNode) audioEngine.connect(audioPlayerNode, to: audioEngine.mainMixerNode, format: audioFormat) try audioEngine.start() completion(true) } catch { print("Error configuring audio session: \(error.localizedDescription)") completion(false) } } private func setupUDPConnection() { let parameters = NWParameters.udp parameters.includePeerToPeer = true connection = NWConnection(host: "***.***.xxxxx.***", port: 0000, using: parameters) setupNWConnectionHandlers() } private func setupTCPConnection() { let parameters = NWParameters.tcp connection = NWConnection(host: "***.***.xxxxx.***", port: 0000, using: parameters) setupNWConnectionHandlers() } private func setupWebSocketConnection() { guard let url = URL(string: "ws://***.***.xxxxx.***:0000") else { print("Invalid WebSocket URL") return } let session = URLSession(configuration: .default) webSocketTask = session.webSocketTask(with: url) webSocketTask?.resume() print("WebSocket connection initiated") sendAudioToServer() receiveDataFromServer() sendWebSocketPing(after: 0.6) } private func setupNWConnectionHandlers() { connection?.stateUpdateHandler = { [weak self] state in DispatchQueue.main.async { switch state { case .ready: print("Connected (NWConnection)") self?.isConnected = true self?.failToConnect = false self?.receiveDataFromServer() self?.sendAudioToServer() case .waiting(let error), .failed(let error): print("Connection error: \(error.localizedDescription)") DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2) { self?.setupNetwork() } case .cancelled: print("NWConnection cancelled") self?.isConnected = false default: break } } } connection?.start(queue: .main) } Duplex in this context refers to two-way audio transmission simultaneously recording and sending audio while also receiving and playing back incoming audio, similar to a VoIP/SIP call. The setup works fine on the simulator, which suggests that the core logic is correct. However, since the simulator doesn’t fully replicate WatchOS hardware behavior especially for audio sessions and networking issues might arise when running on a real device. The problem likely lies in either the Watch’s actual hardware limitations, permission constraints, or specific audio session configurations. I am reaching out to seek further assistance regarding the challenges I've been experiencing with establishing a UDP, TCP & web socket connection on watchOS using NWConnection for duplex audio streaming. Despite implementing the recommendations provided earlier, I am still encountering difficulties From what I can see, your implementation is focused on streaming audio playback with the server. In my case, I'm looking for a slightly different approach: I want to capture audio and send buffers of a specific size to the server while playing audio simultaneously, essentially achieving full duplex streaming similar to a VOIP call. Additionally, I’d like to ensure that if no external audio route is connected, the Apple Watch speaker is used by default. Any thoughts or insights on adapting this setup for those requirements would be very welcome.
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308
Apr ’25
Title: Ambisonic B-Format Playback Issues on Vision Pro
I'm trying to implement Ambisonic B-Format audio playback on Vision Pro with head tracking. So far audio plays, head tracking works, and the sound appears to be stereo. The problem is that it is not a proper binaural playback when compared to playing back the audiofile with a DAW. Has anyone successfully implemented B-Format playback on Vision Pro? Any suggestions on my current implementation: func playAmbiAudioForum() async { do { try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setCategory(.playback) try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true) // AudioFile laoding/preperation guard let testFileURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "audiofile", withExtension: "wav") else { print("Test file not found") return } let audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forReading: testFileURL) let audioFileFormat = audioFile.fileFormat // create AVAudioFormat with Ambisonics B Format guard let layout = AVAudioChannelLayout(layoutTag: kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Ambisonic_B_Format) else { print("layout failed") return } let format = AVAudioFormat( commonFormat: audioFile.processingFormat.commonFormat, sampleRate: audioFile.fileFormat.sampleRate, interleaved: false, channelLayout: layout ) // write audiofile to buffer guard let buffer = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: format, frameCapacity: UInt32(audioFile.length)) else { print("buffer failed") return } try audioFile.read(into: buffer) playerNode.renderingAlgorithm = .HRTF // connecting nodes audioEngine.attach(playerNode) audioEngine.connect(playerNode, to: audioEngine.outputNode, format: format) audioEngine.prepare() playerNode.scheduleBuffer(buffer, at: nil) { print("File finished playing") } try audioEngine.start() playerNode.play() } catch { print("Setup error:", error) } }
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562
Jan ’25
[VisionOS Audio] AVAudioPlayerNode occasionally produces loud popping/distortion when playing PCM data
I'm experiencing audio issues while developing for visionOS when playing PCM data through AVAudioPlayerNode. Issue Description: Occasionally, the speaker produces loud popping sounds or distorted noise This occurs during PCM audio playback using AVAudioPlayerNode The issue is intermittent and doesn't happen every time Technical Details: Platform: visionOS Device: vision pro / simulator Audio Framework: AVFoundation Audio Node: AVAudioPlayerNode Audio Format: PCM I would appreciate any insights on: Common causes of audio distortion with AVAudioPlayerNode Recommended best practices for handling PCM playback in visionOS Potential configuration issues that might cause this behavior Has anyone encountered similar issues or found solutions? Any guidance would be greatly helpful. Thank you in advance!
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1
715
Jan ’25
Why is AVAudioEngine input giving all zero samples?
I am trying to get access to raw audio samples from mic. I've written a simple example application that writes the values to a text file. Below is my sample application. All the input samples from the buffers connected to the input tap is zero. What am I doing wrong? I did add the Privacy - Microphone Usage Description key to my application target properties and I am allowing microphone access when the application launches. I do find it strange that I have to provide permission every time even though in Settings > Privacy, my application is listed as one of the applications allowed to access the microphone. class AudioRecorder { private let audioEngine = AVAudioEngine() private var fileHandle: FileHandle? func startRecording() { let inputNode = audioEngine.inputNode let audioFormat: AVAudioFormat #if os(iOS) let hardwareSampleRate = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().sampleRate audioFormat = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: hardwareSampleRate, channels: 1)! #elseif os(macOS) audioFormat = inputNode.inputFormat(forBus: 0) // Use input node's current format #endif setupTextFile() inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: audioFormat) { [weak self] buffer, _ in self!.processAudioBuffer(buffer: buffer) } do { try audioEngine.start() print("Recording started with format: \(audioFormat)") } catch { print("Failed to start audio engine: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } func stopRecording() { audioEngine.stop() audioEngine.inputNode.removeTap(onBus: 0) print("Recording stopped.") } private func setupTextFile() { let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory let textFileURL = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("audioData.txt") FileManager.default.createFile(atPath: textFileURL.path, contents: nil, attributes: nil) fileHandle = try? FileHandle(forWritingTo: textFileURL) } private func processAudioBuffer(buffer: AVAudioPCMBuffer) { guard let channelData = buffer.floatChannelData else { return } let channelSamples = channelData[0] let frameLength = Int(buffer.frameLength) var textData = "" var allZero = true for i in 0..<frameLength { let sample = channelSamples[i] if sample != 0 { allZero = false } textData += "\(sample)\n" } if allZero { print("Got \(frameLength) worth of audio data on \(buffer.stride) channels. All data is zero.") } else { print("Got \(frameLength) worth of audio data on \(buffer.stride) channels.") } // Write to file if let data = textData.data(using: .utf8) { fileHandle!.write(data) } } }
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1.1k
Jan ’25
AVPlayer Reverse Audio Scrubbing?
Hey all, here seeking some perspective. I have an audio player app on macOS built on top of AVPlayer, I want to add the ability to scrub the audio, and hear the audio frames based on the playhead's position whether going forwards or backwards. When going backwards, the audio frame should be played in reverse as well. The audio tracks live online and are streamed. I tried playing with AVPlayer.rate, but the time pitch algos built in (.spectral, .varispeed, .timeDomain) all only guarantee up to 32x rate decoding accuracy. So technically, if the user scrubs fast enough, the audio rendered would not necessarily match the playhead's position. My current solution that works is to cache the raw audio bytes and play the appropriate frame when the user starts scrubbing. I decode the audio data manually using AudioToolbox's AudioFileOpenWithCallbacks into an AVAudioPCMBuffer, then pass it into AVAudioEngine+AVAudioPlayerNode combo. The problem with that is that means I need to cache this audio data myself (remember this is a stream), and since I don't have access to AVPlayer's own cache I need to also download it myself... which means two downloads for the same track which is less than ideal. This lead me to take it a step further and hijack AVPlayer's download process by implementing AVAssetResourceLoaderDelegate, that way AVPlayer and my audio scrubbing cache are both fed from the same source. Now... I feel like I went down a bit of a rabbit hole here. At the end of the day I simply want accurate audio scrubbing in both directions, while keeping in mind I want the audio snippets to play in reverse when the user goes backwards. Is there really no way to do this that's more "vanilla"? Am I missing something obvious? Genuinely open to any and all suggestions. Thanks.
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161
Activity
1w
AVAudioEngine input tap intermittently delivers all-zero buffers — valid format, no error thrown
We have a long-form audio recording app built on AVAudioEngine. We install a tap on inputNode, accumulate the PCM buffers, and encode them to AAC in ~60-second chunks. Setup is essentially: let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .default, options: [.defaultToSpeaker, .allowBluetooth, .allowBluetoothA2DP]) try session.setActive(true) let engine = AVAudioEngine() let input = engine.inputNode let format = input.inputFormat(forBus: 0) // valid, e.g. 48 kHz, 1 ch input.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: format) { buffer, _ in // In the failure case, buffer.floatChannelData is entirely 0.0 // (accumulate + encode to AAC) } engine.prepare() try engine.start() Intermittently — and so far only reported from the field, never reproduced in normal testing — a recording comes out completely silent. When we decode the resulting AAC and inspect the raw PCM, every sample is exactly 0.0. The signature is very specific: The engine is running and the tap keeps firing for the full duration (normal number of buffers / full-length chunks). inputFormat is valid (sampleRate ≠ 0, e.g. 48 kHz). No error is thrown anywhere — setCategory, setActive, start(), and the tap callback all succeed. The PCM is literally all zeros (not low-level noise / room tone — exact 0.0). Two separate silent recordings decode to byte-identical AAC, confirming pure digital silence rather than corruption. So as far as our error handling, format checks, and tap-liveness are concerned, everything looks healthy — yet the microphone is delivering pure silence. One way we can reproduce it: recording while the iPhone is being driven via macOS iPhone Mirroring (the iPhone stays locked, the mic is effectively unavailable from the device, but our session still activates with a valid format and the tap fires zero-filled buffers for the whole recording — with no error at any point). What we've ruled out: microphone permission is granted; it's not truncation or short capture (full-length, full frame count); it's not our encoding step (the input buffers themselves are zero); it's not a quiet/obstructed mic (that would be low noise, not exact 0.0). We also found two existing threads describing what looks like the same symptom: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/834950 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/808072 Both of those are PushToTalk apps where the system activates the audio session, and an Apple engineer notes it may be related to a CallKit issue (r.157725305). For context on our side: we do use CallKit, but only CXCallObserver — purely to detect whether a phone call comes in while a recording is in progress, so we can pause and resume around it. We do not use CXProvider or PushToTalk, and we activate our own AVAudioSession ourselves with setActive(true). I'm trying to understand whether there are other scenarios or device states that could leave a running AVAudioEngine tap returning all-zero buffers like this, and whether this is the same underlying CallKit issue (r.157725305) from those threads . And since nothing throws an error, any guidance on how to detect this at runtime and recover from it would be really helpful.
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155
Activity
2w
AVAudioEngine input tap intermittently delivers all-zero buffers — valid format, no error thrown
We have a long-form audio recording app built on AVAudioEngine. We install a tap on inputNode, accumulate the PCM buffers, and encode them to AAC in ~60-second chunks. Setup is essentially: let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .default, options: [.defaultToSpeaker, .allowBluetooth, .allowBluetoothA2DP]) try session.setActive(true) let engine = AVAudioEngine() let input = engine.inputNode let format = input.inputFormat(forBus: 0) // valid, e.g. 48 kHz, 1 ch input.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: format) { buffer, _ in // In the failure case, buffer.floatChannelData is entirely 0.0 // (accumulate + encode to AAC) } engine.prepare() try engine.start() Intermittently — and so far only reported from the field, never reproduced in normal testing — a recording comes out completely silent. When we decode the resulting AAC and inspect the raw PCM, every sample is exactly 0.0. The signature is very specific: The engine is running and the tap keeps firing for the full duration (normal number of buffers / full-length chunks). inputFormat is valid (sampleRate ≠ 0, e.g. 48 kHz). No error is thrown anywhere — setCategory, setActive, start(), and the tap callback all succeed. The PCM is literally all zeros (not low-level noise / room tone — exact 0.0). Two separate silent recordings decode to byte-identical AAC, confirming pure digital silence rather than corruption. So as far as our error handling, format checks, and tap-liveness are concerned, everything looks healthy — yet the microphone is delivering pure silence. One way we can reproduce it: recording while the iPhone is being driven via macOS iPhone Mirroring (the iPhone stays locked, the mic is effectively unavailable from the device, but our session still activates with a valid format and the tap fires zero-filled buffers for the whole recording — with no error at any point). What we've ruled out: microphone permission is granted; it's not truncation or short capture (full-length, full frame count); it's not our encoding step (the input buffers themselves are zero); it's not a quiet/obstructed mic (that would be low noise, not exact 0.0). Questions: What other device states or scenarios can cause a running AVAudioEngine input tap to deliver all-zero buffers with a valid format and no error? (e.g. another process/system feature holding the mic, Continuity Camera/Mic, CallKit/PushToTalk session ownership, etc.) Since this surfaces with no error and a valid format, what is the recommended way to detect it at runtime? Is monitoring the input level / PCM energy the only signal, or is there a supported API to know the input isn't actually live? What's the recommended recovery once detected — is a full session deactivate/reactivate re-handshake sufficient, or is recreating the engine required?
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163
Activity
2w
How to Monitor Any USB Audio or Video Device on macOS
USB cameras, microphones, HDMI capture cards, and audio interfaces are supposed to "just work" on macOS. In reality, it's often difficult to quickly access or monitor them without opening large and complicated software. Sometimes you simply want to see whether a USB camera is active. Sometimes you want to check an HDMI source connected through a capture card. And in other cases, you may want to use a Mac mini without a dedicated monitor by viewing its HDMI output through a USB capture device directly on another Mac. macOS supports many modern USB AV devices out of the box, but it surprisingly lacks a simple built-in utility for live monitoring and recording. Most users end up using oversized streaming or editing applications just to preview a video signal or monitor audio input. That becomes especially noticeable with: USB webcams HDMI capture adapters USB microphones audio interfaces secondary computers headless Mac mini setups A lightweight monitor utility is often much more practical when you only need real-time access to a device, want to record a stream, or quickly switch between multiple AV inputs. That's one of the reasons I built AV Monitor Pro  -  a native macOS app designed for monitoring and recording connected audio/video devices in real time. It can preview USB cameras, capture cards, microphones, and HDMI sources with minimal setup, and it's especially useful for workflows like running a Mac mini without a monitor, monitoring external devices, or recording live AV input directly on macOS.
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588
Activity
May ’26
Unexpected Ambisonics format
When trying to load an ambisonics file using this project: https://github.com/robertncoomber/NativeiOSAmbisonicPlayback/ I get "Unexpected Ambisonics format". Interestingly, loading a 3rd order ambisonics file works fine: let ambisonicLayoutTag = kAudioChannelLayoutTag_HOA_ACN_SN3D | 16 let AmbisonicLayout = AVAudioChannelLayout(layoutTag: ambisonicLayoutTag) let StereoLayout = AVAudioChannelLayout(layoutTag: kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Stereo) So it's purely related to the kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Ambisonic_B_Format
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114
Activity
Mar ’26
Audio System Trace: Zero Time Stamp
In Instruments, I'm seeing "Zero Time Stamp" events in the "Audio Server" lane. What does that mean?
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288
Activity
Mar ’26
AVAudioEngine obtains channel audio data
Currently, I have successfully used ChannelMap to map hardware input channels and obtained audio data from the hardware device's MIC and OTG inputs. Additionally, I have used ChannelMap to map output channels to freely feed data for playback to each output channel. However, I now have a problem. I have a hardware device that only has output channels (no input channels), and the system has set this hardware device as the default playback device. In this case, how can I obtain the audio data being played to the output channels for modification?
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418
Activity
Dec ’25
How to safely switch between mic configurations on iOS?
I have an iPadOS M-processor application with two different running configurations. In config1, the shared AVAudioSession is configured for .videoChat mode using the built-in microphone. The input/output nodes of the AVAudioEngine are configured with voice processing enabled. The built-in mic is formatted for 1 channel at 48KHz. In config2, the shared AVAudioSession is configured for .measurement mode using an external USB microphone. The input/output nodes of the AVAudioEngine are configured with voice processing disabled. The external mic is formatted for 2 channels at 44.1KHz I've written a configuration manager designed to safely switch between these two configurations. It works by stopping AVAudioEngine and detaching all but the input and output nodes, updating the shared audio session for the desired mic and sample-rates, and setting the appropriate state for voice processing to either true or false as required by the configuration. Finally the new audio graph is constructed by attaching appropriate nodes, connecting them, and re-starting AVAudioEngine I'm experiencing what I believe is a race-condition between switching voice processing on or off and then trying to re-build and start the new audio graph. Even though notifications, which are dumped to the console indicate that my requested input and sample-rate settings are in place, I crash when trying to start the audio engine because the sample-rate is wrong. Investigating further it looks like the switch from remote I/O to voice-processing I/O or vice-versa has not yet actually completed. I introduced a 100ms second delay and that seems to help but is obviously not a reliable way to build software that must work consistently. How can I make sure that what are apparently asynchronous configuration changes to the shared audio session and the input/output nodes have completed before I go on? I tried using route change notifications from the shared AVAudioSession but these lie. They say my preferred mic input and sample-rate setting is in place but when I dump the AVAudioEngine graph to the debugger console, I still see the wrong sample rate assigned to the input/output nodes. Also these are the wrong AU nodes. That is, VPIO is still in place when RIO should be, or vice-versa. How can I make the switch reliable without arbitrary time delays? Is my configuration manager approach appropriate (question for Apple engineers)?
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576
Activity
Nov ’25
AVAudioEngine : Split 1x4 channel bus into 4x1 channel busses?
I'm using a 4 channel USB Audio interface, with 4 microphones, and want to process them through 4 independent effect chains. However the output from AVAudioInputNode is a single 4 channel bus. How can I split this into 4 mono busses? The following code splits the input into 4 copies, and routes them through the effects, but each bus contains all four channels. How can I remap the channels to remove the unwanted channels from the bus? I tried using channelMap on the mixer node but that had no effect. I'm currently using this code primarily on iOS but it should be portable between iOS and MacOS. It would be possible to do this through a Matrix Mixer Node, but that seems completely overkill, for such a basic operation. I'm already using a Matrix Mixer to combine the inputs, and it's not well supported in AVAudioEngine. AVAudioInputNode *inputNode=[engine inputNode]; [inputNode setVoiceProcessingEnabled:NO error:nil]; NSMutableArray *micDestinations=[NSMutableArray arrayWithCapacity:trackCount]; for(i=0;i<trackCount;i++) { fixMicFormat[i]=[AVAudioMixerNode new]; [engine attachNode:fixMicFormat[i]]; // And create reverb/compressor and eq the same way... [engine connect:reverb[i] to:matrixMixerNode fromBus:0 toBus:i format:nil]; [engine connect:eq[i] to:reverb[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [engine connect:compressor[i] to:eq[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [engine connect:fixMicFormat[i] to:compressor[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [micDestinations addObject:[[AVAudioConnectionPoint alloc] initWithNode:fixMicFormat[i] bus:0] ]; } AVAudioFormat *inputFormat = [inputNode outputFormatForBus: 1]; [engine connect:inputNode toConnectionPoints:micDestinations fromBus:1 format:inputFormat];
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435
Activity
Oct ’25
macOS sample for AVAudioEngine recording with playthrough
Hi, I'm still stuck getting a basic record-with-playthrouh pipeline to work. Has anyone a sample of setting up a AVAudioEngine pipeline for recording with playthrough? Plkaythrough works with AVPlayerNode as input but not with any microphone input. The docs mention the "enabled state" of the outputNode of the engine without explaining the concept, i.e. how to enable an output. When the engine renders to and from an audio device, the AVAudioSession category and the availability of hardware determines whether an app performs output. Check the output node’s output format (specifically, the hardware format) for a nonzero sample rate and channel count to see if output is in an enabled state. Well, in my setup the output is NOT enabled, and any attempt to switch (e.g. audioEngine.outputNode.auAudioUnit.setDeviceID(deviceID) )/ attach a dedicated device / ... results in exceptions / errors
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560
Activity
Oct ’25
macOS Tahoe: Can't setup AVAudioEngine with playthrough
Hi, I'm trying to setup a AVAudioEngine for USB Audio recording and monitoring playthrough. As soon as I try to setup playthough I get an error in the console: AVAEInternal.h:83 required condition is false: [AVAudioEngineGraph.mm:1361:Initialize: (IsFormatSampleRateAndChannelCountValid(outputHWFormat))] Any ideas how to fix it? // Input-Device setzen try? setupInputDevice(deviceID: inputDevice) let input = audioEngine.inputNode // Stereo-Format erzwingen let inputHWFormat = input.inputFormat(forBus: 0) let stereoFormat = AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: inputHWFormat.commonFormat, sampleRate: inputHWFormat.sampleRate, channels: 2, interleaved: inputHWFormat.isInterleaved) guard let format = stereoFormat else { throw AudioError.deviceSetupFailed(-1) } print("Input format: \(inputHWFormat)") print("Forced stereo format: \(format)") audioEngine.attach(monitorMixer) audioEngine.connect(input, to: monitorMixer, format: format) // MonitorMixer -> MainMixer (Output) // Problem here, format: format also breaks. audioEngine.connect(monitorMixer, to: audioEngine.mainMixerNode, format: nil)
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250
Activity
Oct ’25
Is AVAudioPCMFormatFloat32 required for playing a buffer with AVAudioEngine / AVAudioPlayerNode
I have a PCM audio buffer (AVAudioPCMFormatInt16). When I try to play it using AVPlayerNode / AVAudioEngine an exception is thrown: "[[busArray objectAtIndexedSubscript:(NSUInteger)element] setFormat:format error:&nsErr]: returned false, error Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-10868 (related thread https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/700497?answerId=780530022#780530022) If I convert the buffer to AVAudioPCMFormatFloat32 playback works. My questions are: Does AVAudioEngine / AVPlayerNode require AVAudioPCMBuffer to be in the Float32 format? Is there a way I can configure it to accept another format instead for my application? If 1 is YES is this documented anywhere? If 1 is YES is this required format subject to change at any point? Thanks! I was looking to watch the "AVAudioEngine in Practice" session video from WWDC 2014 but I can't find it anywhere (https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/747008).
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1.1k
Activity
Oct ’25
Can't set AVAudio sampleRate and installTap needs bufferSize 4800 at minimum
Two issues: No matter what I set in try audioSession.setPreferredSampleRate(x) the sample rate on both iOS and macOS is always 48000 when the output goes through the speaker, and 24000 when my Airpods connect to an iPhone/iPad. Now, I'm checking the current output loudness to animate a 3D character, using mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: nil) { [weak self] buffer, time in Task { @MainActor in // calculate rms and animate character accordingly but any buffer size under 4800 is just ignored and the buffers I get are 4800 sized. This is ok, when the sampleRate is currently 48000, as 10 samples per second lead to decent visual results. But when AirPods connect, the samplerate is 24000, which means only 5 samples per second, so the character animation looks lame. My AVAudioEngine setup is the following: audioEngine.connect(playerNode, to: pitchShiftEffect, format: format) audioEngine.connect(pitchShiftEffect, to: mixerNode, format: format) audioEngine.connect(mixerNode, to: audioEngine.outputNode, format: nil) Now, I'd be fine if the outputNode runs at whatever if it needs, as long as my tap would get at least 10 samples per second. PS: Specifying my favorite format in the let format = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: 48_000, channels: 2)! mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: format) doesn't change anything either
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621
Activity
Aug ’25
AVAudioPlayer/SKAudioNode audio no longer plays after interruption
Hi 👋! We have a SpriteKit-based app where we play AVAudio sounds in three different ways: Effects (incl. UI sounds) with AVAudioPlayer. Long looping tracks with AVAudioPlayer. Short animation effects on the timeline of SpriteKit's SKScene files (effectively SKAudioNode nodes). We've found that when you exit the app or otherwise interrupt audio plays, future audio plays often fail. For example, there's a WebKit-based video trailer inside the app, and if you play it, our looping background music track (2.) will stop playing, and won't resume as you close the trailer (return from WebKit). This is probably due to us not manually restarting the track (so may well be easily fixed). Periodically played AVAudioPlayer audio (1.) are not affected. However, the more concerning thing is that the audio tracks on SKScene file timelines (3.) will no longer play. My hypothesis is that AVAudioEngine gets interrupted, and needs to be restarted for those AVAudioNode elements to regain functionality. Thing is, we don't deal with AVAudioEngine at all currently in the app, meaning it is never initiated to begin with. Obviously things return to normal when you remove the app from short-term memory and restart it. However, it seems many of our users aren't doing this, and often report audio failing presumably due to some interruption in the past without the app ever being cleared from memory. Any idea why timeline-run SKAudioNodes would fail like this? Should the app react to app backgrounding/foregrounding regarding audio? Any help would be very much appreciated ✌️!
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368
Activity
May ’25
AVAudioMixerNode outputVolume range?
According to the header file the outputVolume properties supported range is 0.0-1.0: /*! @property outputVolume @abstract The mixer's output volume. @discussion This accesses the mixer's output volume (0.0-1.0, inclusive). @property (nonatomic) float outputVolume; However when setting the volume to 2.0 the audio does indeed play louder. Is the header file out of date and if so, what is the supported range for outputVolume? Thanks
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220
Activity
Apr ’25
Crackling/Popping sound when using AVAudioUnitTimePitch
I have a simple AVAudioEngine graph as follows: AVAudioPlayerNode -> AVAudioUnitEQ -> AVAudioUnitTimePitch -> AVAudioUnitReverb -> Main mixer node of AVAudioEngine. I noticed that whenever I have AVAudioUnitTimePitch or AVAudioUnitVarispeed in the graph, I noticed a very distinct crackling/popping sound in my Airpods Pro 2 when starting up the engine and playing the AVAudioPlayerNode and unable to find the reason why this is happening. When I remove the node, the crackling completely goes away. How do I fix this problem since i need the user to be able to control the pitch and rate of the audio during playback. import AVKit @Observable @MainActor class AudioEngineManager { nonisolated private let engine = AVAudioEngine() private let playerNode = AVAudioPlayerNode() private let reverb = AVAudioUnitReverb() private let pitch = AVAudioUnitTimePitch() private let eq = AVAudioUnitEQ(numberOfBands: 10) private var audioFile: AVAudioFile? private var fadePlayPauseTask: Task<Void, Error>? private var playPauseCurrentFadeTime: Double = 0 init() { setupAudioEngine() } private func setupAudioEngine() { guard let url = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "Song name goes here", withExtension: "mp3") else { print("Audio file not found") return } do { audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forReading: url) } catch { print("Failed to load audio file: \(error)") return } reverb.loadFactoryPreset(.mediumHall) reverb.wetDryMix = 50 pitch.pitch = 0 // Increase pitch by 500 cents (5 semitones) engine.attach(playerNode) engine.attach(pitch) engine.attach(reverb) engine.attach(eq) // Connect: player -> pitch -> reverb -> output engine.connect(playerNode, to: eq, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(eq, to: pitch, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(pitch, to: reverb, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(reverb, to: engine.mainMixerNode, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) } func prepare() { guard let audioFile else { return } playerNode.scheduleFile(audioFile, at: nil) } func play() { DispatchQueue.global().async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } engine.prepare() try? engine.start() DispatchQueue.main.async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } playerNode.play() fadePlayPauseTask?.cancel() playPauseCurrentFadeTime = 0 fadePlayPauseTask = Task { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } while true { let volume = updateVolume(for: playPauseCurrentFadeTime / 0.1, rising: true) // Ramp up volume until 1 is reached if volume >= 1 { break } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = volume try await Task.sleep(for: .milliseconds(10)) playPauseCurrentFadeTime += 0.01 } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = 1 } } } } func pause() { fadePlayPauseTask?.cancel() playPauseCurrentFadeTime = 0 fadePlayPauseTask = Task { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } while true { let volume = updateVolume(for: playPauseCurrentFadeTime / 0.1, rising: false) // Ramp down volume until 0 is reached if volume <= 0 { break } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = volume try await Task.sleep(for: .milliseconds(10)) playPauseCurrentFadeTime += 0.01 } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = 0 playerNode.pause() // Shut down engine once ramp down completes DispatchQueue.global().async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } engine.pause() } } } private func updateVolume(for x: Double, rising: Bool) -> Float { if rising { // Fade in return Float(pow(x, 2) * (3.0 - 2.0 * (x))) } else { // Fade out return Float(1 - (pow(x, 2) * (3.0 - 2.0 * (x)))) } } func setPitch(_ value: Float) { pitch.pitch = value } func setReverbMix(_ value: Float) { reverb.wetDryMix = value } } struct ContentView: View { @State private var audioManager = AudioEngineManager() @State private var pitch: Float = 0 @State private var reverb: Float = 0 var body: some View { VStack(spacing: 20) { Text("🎵 Audio Player with Reverb & Pitch") .font(.title2) HStack { Button("Prepare") { audioManager.prepare() } Button("Play") { audioManager.play() } .padding() .background(Color.green) .foregroundColor(.white) .cornerRadius(10) Button("Pause") { audioManager.pause() } .padding() .background(Color.red) .foregroundColor(.white) .cornerRadius(10) } VStack { Text("Pitch: \(Int(pitch)) cents") Slider(value: $pitch, in: -2400...2400, step: 100) { _ in audioManager.setPitch(pitch) } } VStack { Text("Reverb Mix: \(Int(reverb))%") Slider(value: $reverb, in: 0...100, step: 1) { _ in audioManager.setReverbMix(reverb) } } } .padding() } }
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Activity
Apr ’25
Level Networking on watchOS for Duplex audio streaming
I did watch WWDC 2019 Session 716 and understand that an active audio session is key to unlocking low‑level networking on watchOS. I’m configuring my audio session and engine as follows: private func configureAudioSession(completion: @escaping (Bool) -> Void) { let audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() do { try audioSession.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .voiceChat, options: []) try audioSession.setActive(true, options: .notifyOthersOnDeactivation) // Retrieve sample rate and configure the audio format. let sampleRate = audioSession.sampleRate print("Active hardware sample rate: \(sampleRate)") audioFormat = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: sampleRate, channels: 1) // Configure the audio engine. audioInputNode = audioEngine.inputNode audioEngine.attach(audioPlayerNode) audioEngine.connect(audioPlayerNode, to: audioEngine.mainMixerNode, format: audioFormat) try audioEngine.start() completion(true) } catch { print("Error configuring audio session: \(error.localizedDescription)") completion(false) } } private func setupUDPConnection() { let parameters = NWParameters.udp parameters.includePeerToPeer = true connection = NWConnection(host: "***.***.xxxxx.***", port: 0000, using: parameters) setupNWConnectionHandlers() } private func setupTCPConnection() { let parameters = NWParameters.tcp connection = NWConnection(host: "***.***.xxxxx.***", port: 0000, using: parameters) setupNWConnectionHandlers() } private func setupWebSocketConnection() { guard let url = URL(string: "ws://***.***.xxxxx.***:0000") else { print("Invalid WebSocket URL") return } let session = URLSession(configuration: .default) webSocketTask = session.webSocketTask(with: url) webSocketTask?.resume() print("WebSocket connection initiated") sendAudioToServer() receiveDataFromServer() sendWebSocketPing(after: 0.6) } private func setupNWConnectionHandlers() { connection?.stateUpdateHandler = { [weak self] state in DispatchQueue.main.async { switch state { case .ready: print("Connected (NWConnection)") self?.isConnected = true self?.failToConnect = false self?.receiveDataFromServer() self?.sendAudioToServer() case .waiting(let error), .failed(let error): print("Connection error: \(error.localizedDescription)") DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2) { self?.setupNetwork() } case .cancelled: print("NWConnection cancelled") self?.isConnected = false default: break } } } connection?.start(queue: .main) } Duplex in this context refers to two-way audio transmission simultaneously recording and sending audio while also receiving and playing back incoming audio, similar to a VoIP/SIP call. The setup works fine on the simulator, which suggests that the core logic is correct. However, since the simulator doesn’t fully replicate WatchOS hardware behavior especially for audio sessions and networking issues might arise when running on a real device. The problem likely lies in either the Watch’s actual hardware limitations, permission constraints, or specific audio session configurations. I am reaching out to seek further assistance regarding the challenges I've been experiencing with establishing a UDP, TCP & web socket connection on watchOS using NWConnection for duplex audio streaming. Despite implementing the recommendations provided earlier, I am still encountering difficulties From what I can see, your implementation is focused on streaming audio playback with the server. In my case, I'm looking for a slightly different approach: I want to capture audio and send buffers of a specific size to the server while playing audio simultaneously, essentially achieving full duplex streaming similar to a VOIP call. Additionally, I’d like to ensure that if no external audio route is connected, the Apple Watch speaker is used by default. Any thoughts or insights on adapting this setup for those requirements would be very welcome.
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Activity
Apr ’25
Title: Ambisonic B-Format Playback Issues on Vision Pro
I'm trying to implement Ambisonic B-Format audio playback on Vision Pro with head tracking. So far audio plays, head tracking works, and the sound appears to be stereo. The problem is that it is not a proper binaural playback when compared to playing back the audiofile with a DAW. Has anyone successfully implemented B-Format playback on Vision Pro? Any suggestions on my current implementation: func playAmbiAudioForum() async { do { try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setCategory(.playback) try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true) // AudioFile laoding/preperation guard let testFileURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "audiofile", withExtension: "wav") else { print("Test file not found") return } let audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forReading: testFileURL) let audioFileFormat = audioFile.fileFormat // create AVAudioFormat with Ambisonics B Format guard let layout = AVAudioChannelLayout(layoutTag: kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Ambisonic_B_Format) else { print("layout failed") return } let format = AVAudioFormat( commonFormat: audioFile.processingFormat.commonFormat, sampleRate: audioFile.fileFormat.sampleRate, interleaved: false, channelLayout: layout ) // write audiofile to buffer guard let buffer = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: format, frameCapacity: UInt32(audioFile.length)) else { print("buffer failed") return } try audioFile.read(into: buffer) playerNode.renderingAlgorithm = .HRTF // connecting nodes audioEngine.attach(playerNode) audioEngine.connect(playerNode, to: audioEngine.outputNode, format: format) audioEngine.prepare() playerNode.scheduleBuffer(buffer, at: nil) { print("File finished playing") } try audioEngine.start() playerNode.play() } catch { print("Setup error:", error) } }
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562
Activity
Jan ’25
[VisionOS Audio] AVAudioPlayerNode occasionally produces loud popping/distortion when playing PCM data
I'm experiencing audio issues while developing for visionOS when playing PCM data through AVAudioPlayerNode. Issue Description: Occasionally, the speaker produces loud popping sounds or distorted noise This occurs during PCM audio playback using AVAudioPlayerNode The issue is intermittent and doesn't happen every time Technical Details: Platform: visionOS Device: vision pro / simulator Audio Framework: AVFoundation Audio Node: AVAudioPlayerNode Audio Format: PCM I would appreciate any insights on: Common causes of audio distortion with AVAudioPlayerNode Recommended best practices for handling PCM playback in visionOS Potential configuration issues that might cause this behavior Has anyone encountered similar issues or found solutions? Any guidance would be greatly helpful. Thank you in advance!
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2
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715
Activity
Jan ’25
Why is AVAudioEngine input giving all zero samples?
I am trying to get access to raw audio samples from mic. I've written a simple example application that writes the values to a text file. Below is my sample application. All the input samples from the buffers connected to the input tap is zero. What am I doing wrong? I did add the Privacy - Microphone Usage Description key to my application target properties and I am allowing microphone access when the application launches. I do find it strange that I have to provide permission every time even though in Settings > Privacy, my application is listed as one of the applications allowed to access the microphone. class AudioRecorder { private let audioEngine = AVAudioEngine() private var fileHandle: FileHandle? func startRecording() { let inputNode = audioEngine.inputNode let audioFormat: AVAudioFormat #if os(iOS) let hardwareSampleRate = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().sampleRate audioFormat = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: hardwareSampleRate, channels: 1)! #elseif os(macOS) audioFormat = inputNode.inputFormat(forBus: 0) // Use input node's current format #endif setupTextFile() inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: audioFormat) { [weak self] buffer, _ in self!.processAudioBuffer(buffer: buffer) } do { try audioEngine.start() print("Recording started with format: \(audioFormat)") } catch { print("Failed to start audio engine: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } func stopRecording() { audioEngine.stop() audioEngine.inputNode.removeTap(onBus: 0) print("Recording stopped.") } private func setupTextFile() { let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory let textFileURL = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("audioData.txt") FileManager.default.createFile(atPath: textFileURL.path, contents: nil, attributes: nil) fileHandle = try? FileHandle(forWritingTo: textFileURL) } private func processAudioBuffer(buffer: AVAudioPCMBuffer) { guard let channelData = buffer.floatChannelData else { return } let channelSamples = channelData[0] let frameLength = Int(buffer.frameLength) var textData = "" var allZero = true for i in 0..<frameLength { let sample = channelSamples[i] if sample != 0 { allZero = false } textData += "\(sample)\n" } if allZero { print("Got \(frameLength) worth of audio data on \(buffer.stride) channels. All data is zero.") } else { print("Got \(frameLength) worth of audio data on \(buffer.stride) channels.") } // Write to file if let data = textData.data(using: .utf8) { fileHandle!.write(data) } } }
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Activity
Jan ’25