Abrahamfromlansing
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: what the 411 on the Apt-x?  I have 2nd gen. MB Air

I have these nice headphones--but the codec says "SBC"

Any advice?

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.3), MacBook Air Late 2010

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 3:49 PM

by npgall,Solvedanswer
npgall npgall
Level 1 (10 points)
A:

In case anyone else has this issue, I got in contact with CSR (the company behind aptX), and they were really helpful and got some info from Apple.

 

The problem was aptX gets disabled in Mac OS under a few circumstances to conserve bluetooth bandwidth:

- if you have a macbook and you have already connected one or more bluetooth devices, or

- if you have a desktop machine and you have already connected two or more bluetooth devices

 

I have the Apple bluetooth keyboard and trackpad, so that was my issue. A workaround for me is to disconnect my keyboard and trackpad, then connect my aptX device, then reconnect the other devices. Then the aptX device continues to use the aptX codec.

 

I wouldn't have thought that keyboards and trackpads were high bandwidth devices, so this logic might have been intended for other situations. If I connect things in the correct order, aptX seems to work perfectly with the keyboard and trackpad also connected. I'm hoping that Apple will remove this limitation in an update.

 

In the meantime I'm playing with Automator to figure out a way to script this.

 

Also- I can't seem to edit my earlier reply, so just to add that my Creative D100 speakers don't support aptX after all, in case anyone gets as confused as I was. I've confirmed that this workaround works (aptX gets enabled) with Sennheiser MM550-x headphones and a QED uPlay receiver.

Posted on May 7, 2012 11:19 AM

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Abrahamfromlansing

Q: what the 411 on the Apt-x?  I have 2nd gen. MB Air

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  • by Pierre-Yves 1,

    Pierre-Yves 1 Pierre-Yves 1 Oct 6, 2012 5:17 AM in response to Pierre-Yves 1
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Oct 6, 2012 5:17 AM in response to Pierre-Yves 1

    In fact something else is required on my config to get aptX. After each reboot, after connecting my BT headphones I need to use the menu bar Bluetooth menu, then select "Don't use as audio device" and then "Use as audio device".

    Before this operation the codec is SCO and after it is aptX !

    It seems that it stays configured unitl next reboot...

     

    Nevertheless, audio quality is not perfect with aptX nor SCO.

     

    Hope it could help.

  • by seanmclainbrown,

    seanmclainbrown seanmclainbrown Oct 31, 2012 1:38 PM in response to Pierre-Yves 1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 31, 2012 1:38 PM in response to Pierre-Yves 1

    You're a genius! It worked for me using my new Dr. Dre Beats Wireless! Surperb sound quality now. It was using the SCO codec and now it uses the apt-x. I'm running 10.7.5, Mac Pro Tower and Mac Mini. Thanks!

  • by claire2904,

    claire2904 claire2904 Jan 3, 2013 3:47 AM in response to Abrahamfromlansing
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 3, 2013 3:47 AM in response to Abrahamfromlansing

    Thanks for this post! I got a pair of bluetooth sennheisers for xmas, sounded great on my iPhone and PS Vita but I thought all my music was screwed when I connected them to the iMac!

     

    All sounds amazing now

  • by NKhechog,

    NKhechog NKhechog Jun 18, 2013 6:58 PM in response to npgall
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 18, 2013 6:58 PM in response to npgall

    That worked perfectly. I love the fullness and detail that aptX enables on my MM400x headphones. Thanks a lot.

  • by SWTate,

    SWTate SWTate Jun 21, 2013 12:04 AM in response to npgall
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 21, 2013 12:04 AM in response to npgall

    Hi

    Whilst it sounds like everyone who's tried these various fixes has managed to get aptX working, I'm still struggling & wonder if I'm missing something. I've got a late 2009 iMac running OS X 10.8.4 and have been connecting it to an Arcam rBlink BT DAC; my other BT devices are the usual Apple mouse, keyboard & trackpad. At first I managed to get apptX working by simply disconnecting all my BT devices & then reconnecting with the rBlink first, but after changing the bitpool settings to cure dropouts, that trick refuses to work any more (even I restore the default bitpool settings). I installed Bluetooth Explorer & used that to enable aptX but simply get the error message:

    "A Bluetooth audio error occurred: there was an error connecting to your audio device. The encoded audio stream configuration was unacceptable to the remote device"

     

    Oddly I also now get a similar message if I try to use the rBlink after connecting it before my keyboard - or if I use it without any other BT devices.  I seem to have gone through every suggestion & possible work around multiple times & now I've given up & appear to be stuck with SBC - which is OK, but I did notice a significant boost in quality with aptX. Im waiting for Arcam to get back to me & will post any reply I get, but if anyone has any other bright ideas, I'd be really grateful. Thanks,

    Simon

     

     

    These are my bitpool settings btw:

    "Apple Bitpool Max (editable)" = 64;

        "Apple Bitpool Min (editable)" = 53;

        "Apple Initial Bitpool (editable)" = 53;

        "Enable AptX codec" = 0;

        "Negotiated Bitpool" = 53;

        "Negotiated Bitpool Max" = 53;

        "Negotiated Bitpool Min" = 53;

        "Stream - Flush Ring on Packet Drop (editable)" = 0;

        "Stream - Max Outstanding Packets (editable)" = 30;

        "Stream Resume Delay" = "0.75";

  • by NKhechog,

    NKhechog NKhechog Jun 21, 2013 12:10 AM in response to SWTate
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 21, 2013 12:10 AM in response to SWTate

    Did you try running this terminal script?

     

    defaults write com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent "Enable AptX codec" 1

     

    It worked for me.

  • by SWTate,

    SWTate SWTate Jun 21, 2013 1:22 AM in response to NKhechog
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 21, 2013 1:22 AM in response to NKhechog

    Hi

    Yes: tried it using terminal & also Bluetooth Explorer. Also just tried removing all other BT devices & it refused to even connect until I reconnected both keyboard & mouse. Driving me mad!

  • by NKhechog,

    NKhechog NKhechog Jun 21, 2013 1:36 AM in response to SWTate
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 21, 2013 1:36 AM in response to SWTate

     

  • by MDMac86,

    MDMac86 MDMac86 Feb 22, 2014 11:00 PM in response to SWTate
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 22, 2014 11:00 PM in response to SWTate

    If none of these recommendations work for you ... Try turning off multipoint functionality on your headphones if the feature is available. Having this enabled forced the SBC codec to be used regardless of the 'force aptx' setting.

  • by anticlomabliacs,

    anticlomabliacs anticlomabliacs Aug 2, 2014 10:22 AM in response to npgall
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 2, 2014 10:22 AM in response to npgall

    This solution works for those who can't seem to get apt-X working with their iMac connected to a bluetooth keyboard in combination with a magic mouse.

     

    Make sure that you connect the bluetooth keyboard and mouse and open itunes before doing the following steps:

     

    - Disconnect the bluetooth keyboard

    - Connect the speaker

    - Connect the bluetooth keyboard

    - Press the 'play' button (F7) on you're keyboard

    - Check if it worked bij clicking the option key + the bluetooth symbole in the top bar

     

    For some reason, only if you connect the speaker before the bluetooth keyboard, the imac uses apt-x

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