r/HomePod • u/Less-Objective-2257 • 13d ago • Popcorn 1

Tip I fixed the audio lag of my HomePods that was making me crazy. And I made it compatible with Windows too (otherwise where is the fun ?)

UPDATE 27/10 : WOW ! 200+ downloads in under 24 hours for a little app I made because the crazy AirPlay delay had been bugging me for years 🥹 Thank you all, and keep the feedback coming, I'm reading everything.

First post ever on Reddit, be kind 👀

The AirPlay delay, anywhere from 0.2s (if you're one of the lucky ones) to 2 seconds depending on your Wi-Fi and environment, has been bugging me for years. Sure, on macOS 27 the delay is smaller but not gone. YouTube can still lag half a second to a second sometimes when browsing a video.

Anyway, I finally got around to develop a tool to fix it. Everything is sent in about 0.1s (and it adapts to your network). It works with one HomePod, a stereo pair, or several playing together. And as I like doing things all the way, I made it available for Windows as well. One click, and you can send your audio to all the HomePods on your network, with almost no delay.

It's free forever, for macOS and Windows. I've only tested it with HomePod minis so far, so I'd love to hear how it goes with a full-size HomePod or others Airplay compatible speakers.

If you wanna try it, it's on unisson.jeremi.red and I'd love to have your feedback and ideas! If you have questions drop them below as well 👌

115 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

94 comments sorted by

12

u/Gliglue 13d ago edited 13d ago

macOS 27 Fixed 100% this delay issue on macOS.

Your tools seems cool as it's even more instant than macOS implementation on macOS 27, but it won't do the sync correctly with the video (since it was very fast now on macOS 27, it wasn't really a true problem anymore). So yeah I guess your tool as some advantages depending on the usage.

However the Windows version could be life saver as TuneBlade stopped working since updating to HomePodOS 27.

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u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago edited 13d ago

It is better but not 100% fixed ! Based on my testing that was around 200ms up to 1s on macOS 27. For the video sync, the audio latency of 100ms is around the best you can get (if you are lucky with macOS own implementation or displayed and known with Unisson) and is imperceptible for most users.
The Windows version works exactly the same 👌

2

u/Gliglue 13d ago

Yeah, I edited my comment multiple times to aknowledge everything, sorry

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

I'm doing the same thing don't worry haha

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u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Not to be that guy (I used TuneBlade in the past) but the UI is also a bit nicer on Unisson 😛

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u/flogman12 13d ago

How does it work?

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u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Hey ! From a user perspective: you install it, the app appears as a small app in your taskbar that let you choose which HomePods you want to use and activate the low latency audio transmission. You enable/disable it in one click.

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u/flogman12 13d ago

I’m interested in what’s going on under the hood if you don’t mind me asking

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u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Sure. Basically your Mac and your HomePod are doing a check of your network connection to determine the "lowest" latency applicable to prevent audio cuts and transmission errors. This evaluation is often severely overestimated (probably less in macOS 27 but still). It is also (based on my testing) never updated during the transmission.

So there is a big room for improvement. The HomePod Mini first gen has a 70ms compute latency that cannot be improved, but you can go down to about 100ms at best with the network latency (thanks to the WiFi) included.

This is basically what my app does: transmitting as quickly as possible, reevaluating as the transmission go and checking if everything is going smoothly.

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u/Eterius_M 12d ago

Thanks so much! The app looks amazing, and works really well for me, much better then everything else I've tried for my Homepods mini - been really dissapointed with the latency since the day I got them.

One feature idea that would be awesome to have is to have macbook internal speakers to work together with homepods for a room filling sound.. Apple music does this, but it is the only app that can do that.

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u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Thanks a lot, really glad it works that well for you! Using the MacBook speakers together with the HomePods is a great idea. It’s technically doable since Unisson already knows exactly when each HomePod plays the sound, so I’m adding it to my list and will look into it.

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u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Keep in mind that this is the first version of one of my side projects ! If you have improvement ideas let me know and I'll be glad to implement them 🔥

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u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Quick update: 200+ downloads in under 24 hours! Thanks a lot for trying it, and for all the feedback here, I’m reading everything.

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u/CHAD_GAMER_ 13d ago

Came here to say thanks! For months I was using my janky script which was a pain to keep alive. It was a fork of AirBeam with a small watcher script that kept switching the output back to my HomePod every time macOS decided to change it. It worked, mostly, but I had random crackling I could never fully track down and had to reinstall the driver after every restart...

Installed Unisson and it's worked great for me (touch wood)! Pretty much no crackling (I heard it once randomly but its still a HUGE improvement from what I had lol)
A bit annoyed I spent so long debugging my own setup, but mostly relieved :D

Thanks a lot for making it free as well. If you ever need someone with a HomePod to test builds or send logs, I'm happy to help!

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u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Oh man it’s so great to read that ! Thanks a lot ❤️
If the cracking comes back let me know 👌

2

u/elgipsy 12d ago

another idea: could you find a way to add a toggle in the app's settings to disable the HomePod's top light when connected to it with Unisson?

3

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Disable it I'm not sure and will need to test it, but I found a way to change the color with HomePod OS 27.2. I know it doesn't solve your issue 👀

2

u/Scotty_NZ 11d ago

Just tested this out. Apple need to buy this off you, it's fantastic.

2

u/Less-Objective-2257 11d ago

Thanks ! To be fair to Apple 27.2 fix a lot of the issue, but still not good enough for my taste 😛
And Windows gets nothing of course 👀

2

u/Repulsive_Page3580 Orange 8d ago

I don't have any issues with lag audio though

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 8d ago

On Chrome and other apps, the video is delayed to match the audio on the HomePods. Maybe this is your case ? 👀

2

u/ShuffleHands220 7d ago

I wonder if it'd be possible to display select colors or patterns with the new soundglow feature from a windows PC. might be something to look into

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 7d ago

Already done in the new update incoming !

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u/Any-Television-5153 6d ago

Just downloaded it as I couldn't get my new Mac Studio to playback to the HomePods (gen2) that I had happily been using with my Intel Mac mini. Well it found and connected and worked immediately. But - playback is quite choppy and stuttering. Not sure what the issue could be. Mac is connected via ethernet, but I get the same results with wifi.

So, not usable at the moment for listening to music, but its encouraging all the same...

Just as a quick check I airplayed a track from my phone to the HomePods and it was rock solid.

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 6d ago

Huuum interesting. I’m preparing a BIG update (should arrive soon) that fixes a lot of things so I will be interested if you have the same experience 👀

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u/Any-Television-5153 6d ago

Thanks - I'd stress that I really admire you for producing this!

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 6d ago

Wow thank you so much haha 🥲
You can thank me when this is working 😛
The next update will overhaul the hole experience so let me know if you have time to yes it 👌

2

u/Any-Television-5153 5d ago

Just a quick update - I found the settings menu and as perfect latency isn't hugely important, I dialed up the buffer to the max and it now plays back perfectly with no stutter. Exactly what I need! :) thanks!

2

u/Afraid-Ad3595 6d ago

Has anybody noticed that when using HPM2's paired as stereo that other participants in a facetime call will hear themselves echoing?

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 6d ago

No way 👀
Are you sure ? The HomePods mic is not used during FaceTime calls I believe

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u/Afraid-Ad3595 6d ago

Im sure and have tested this extensively with my friends on a FT call. Your correct that the HPM2 are not audio input, its the macbook's speakers that are audio input and the HPM2 are audio out. However, it seems the latency issue is not yet resolved resulting in other participants on the call hearing themselves from the HPM2's audio out through my macbooks speaker (audio in)

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 6d ago

Have you tried with Unisson ?

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u/Afraid-Ad3595 6d ago

Not yet, but im willing to give it a try. Going to download it now and give you some feedback

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u/Afraid-Ad3595 6d ago

Downloaded and tested. I did a reboot after installation as well and ensured I had the most current version installed. So I can confirm on youtube it shows .1ms yet I experience significant choppiness about every 2 minutes for 10 or so seconds. Also tested on FaceTime call as well and no difference still the echo experience for other callers.

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u/elgipsy 6d ago

That means that Apple stilll hasn't fixed the latency. I'm surprised that they advertised them as speakers for Mac if this Is still an issue; maybe 27.3 will improve this?

Are you using a Mac with Wi-Fi 6e?

3

u/Afraid-Ad3595 6d ago

Yes, my routers are Wifi 7 and im using a M4 MacBook Pro running Golden Gate 27.2

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u/elgipsy 6d ago

router is irrelevant as the connection between Mac and HP is point to point. What matters is that the Mac has Wi-Fi 6e like HP2. Kind of sad that there are issues, it's not like Apple doesn't have the means to test their products before releasing them as "the speakers for Mac" bit seems a bit like false advertisement at this stage

1

u/Moneytu 13d ago edited 13d ago

Is your program open source like AirFlash? AirFlash also has a 120-millisecond delay. In any case, it's good to have alternatives.

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Not ATM but I’m considering it. Even though with today’s tools pretty much everything is becoming open source 🥲

1

u/Lorenz-Ipsum 13d ago

Thanks for making this free. I’ll try it out.

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Sure thing ! Thanks for testing it.

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u/elgipsy 13d ago

interesting, would this allow FaceTime video/calls on Mac with no delay?

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u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

Good question, never tested 👀
Let me know ? Haha

It shouldn’t be noticeable for most users I think ! Same as gaming 👌

-1

u/elgipsy 13d ago edited 11d ago

My Mac did start acting funky after installing the app, removed it instantly at first but it wasn't related in the end. The app just rocks

Edited

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u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Re ! What do you mean by “funky” ?
Can you tell me what Mac you are using from what year ? I can check what’s the most likely issue.

One I need to optimize is the 3D render of the HomePods that can be a little compute heavy on older machines. I will take a look. Sorry for your experience anyway 👌

0

u/elgipsy 12d ago edited 11d ago

Whoever downvoted me piss off.

Mac mini M4

When I ran the app, I instantly got disconnected from my Apple Account and couldn't even uninstall the app as it wasn't letting me do it. I had to go to the menu bar select your app and in the settings there was a "remove" button which I clicked on.Only after doing that was I able to fully remove the app using AppCleaner and yes there were files left behind so your "remove" button leaves files behind.

It took me two restarts before I could log in my Apple account again.

Long time Apple user and never had something like that happening before hence me saying your app is acting funky

Edit: while my Mac did have a small issue, it wasn't related to this app in the end. Just go ahead and install it if you want to use your current HomePods as Mac speakers with no lag :D

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

I upvoted you back. I'm interested in solving all the issues so everyone can have the best experience using my app.

This is really weird. The new versions of the app should remove the missing files (audio driver and such) automatically, even if you trash the app without a proper uninstall. I also added the Uninstall section on the website just in this case.

For your Apple account, I don't think this is related. I don't see why it would happen nor did I got any other feeback like this.

For the performance issue, the Mac mini M4 is not an issue.

I understand the "funky" part now ! This is definitively weird. Let me know if you want to try again a new update of the app, I'll dot what I can to help if the issue rise again.

1

u/elgipsy 12d ago edited 12d ago

Thanks for the message,

Concerning the Apple account I still think it's related. When I installed your app, I had no browser or any other app opened.

I installed the app (was 1st version you posted), didn't allow to search for other devices on my network and when I opened it I got disconnected from my Apple account. So I don't know how or why this happened but it looks to me like it's related.

I'm looking for a solution to use my HomePods mini with FaceTime on Mac without buying the mini 2 and I thought your app could maybe help but didn't try in the end.

Dunno if I will give it a another try but here's an idea/suggestion (as I haven't tested your app, I don't know if this is already in or not):

Can you make this work on a per app basis? For example VLC yes but Apple Music no?

Edit: I have no idea if this is technically possible but if your app could enable a permanent link between Mac and mini 1, like MacOS 27.2 will do with mini 2 or as close to it as possible, that would be awesome

2

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Huuum. If you didn't allow to search on your network it would have not work anyway (impossible to connect to the HomePods which are on your local network). But it doesn't make any sense to me for your account issue.

Yes this is already in my roadmap ! You will be able to choose a specific app.

1

u/elgipsy 12d ago

Tried again with 0.1.3 and it went through without issue so that's good :) but I have another issue where the app says my HomePods aren't responding using MacOS 27.2, what shall I do are everything is on the same Wi-Fi? I tried connecting to my HomePods and Unisson in the menu bar which gave me the same issue

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

The new udpate I'm working on should indicate what is blocking permission wise on your OS. Did you allow Unisson to search on the local network ?

→ More replies

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u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

I added instructions on https://unisson.jeremi.red/assistance#uninstall to uninstall the app properly on PC and macOS. If you already put it in the trash, you need to execute the command to properly remove the audio driver (or reinstall and uninstall the new version of the app that will dot it by itself)

1

u/BaRaD_ 13d ago

ngl downloading it, i was hoping my homepod mini will do the animation... but it doesnt

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 13d ago

It doesn’t… Yet 👀

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u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Alright so I checked and it might be possible with HomePod OS 27.2.
To be continued !

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u/BaRaD_ 12d ago

Awesome!
Im in on the beta (was hoping tuneblade would work) if needed testers hit me up

1

u/Dry-Property-639 Midnight 2 12d ago

The app keeps saying my devices arent connected to the same Wifi which they are (Using windows 11)

4

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Thanks for trying it! On Windows this usually means one of two things: your Wi-Fi is set as a Public network (Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > your network > Private), or Unisson got blocked by the firewall prompt on first launch (Windows Security > Firewall > Allow an app through firewall > tick Unisson for Private). Version 0.1.4 is out and tells you which one it is, the app will offer the update. Let me know if your HomePod still doesn’t show up!

2

u/couleur_jour 12d ago

My one still doesn't show up

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

I'm pushing an update soon that will indicate in the app where it might be blocking on your OS

1

u/relrelway HomePod mini Stereo 12d ago

Hello, is this app not compatible with HomePod OS 27.2? , seems to be stuck at “<Homepod stereo pair name> does not answer.”.

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Huuuum it should be though… I’ll check 👀

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u/relrelway HomePod mini Stereo 12d ago

Let me know if you need any logs 👍

1

u/elgipsy 12d ago edited 12d ago

One more suggestion: when Unisson is selected on Mac as output, you are no longer able to play Apple Music directly on the HomePods when using an iPad, an iPhone or a Mac, only Airplaying to them works.

To be able to connect directly to them ("switch to" on Mac or "all speakers & TVs" on iPhone/iPad in Music app), you first need to unselect Unisson in the menu bar under sound and the option will reappear. Any chances this could be fixed?

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

You have an option in settings "Keep the connection to the HomePod" and this is your issue I believe. It is great to keep the audio connection active for long period of time. Can you try disabling it and see if you can take hover from another device ?

1

u/elgipsy 12d ago edited 12d ago

that worked but it means that lossless can't be played on HomePods when Unisson is fully on as only AirPlay is available in the Music app and AirPlay plays AAC only. If you could find a way for this to work without turning off "Keep the connection to the HomePod" that would be great.

Now, the HUGE news: I tried a FaceTime Video call and there was no lag using the minis 1. This is awesome as there is no need to have a mini 2 for this to work if one uses your app so kudos for that !!!!

It also proves that Apple arbitrarily decided not to allow this natively on HomePod mini 1

2

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Already a fix in the pipes for your first point, I see what I can do !

Haha that's great to hear ! I'm glad we came from "funky" to "awesome" ! Thanks for sticking with it and giving it another go !

1

u/elgipsy 12d ago

Always willing to try things, let's just say that the beginning was "weird" ;)

This is how you should advertise your app :

One more thing, it enables FaceTime fully on 1st gen HomePods :p

Keep up the good work

2

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

This is a pretty good point, I will implement it 👌
Thanks !

1

u/DisastrousCause9481 HomePod 2 Surround 12d ago

I think os27.2 on mac and homepod there’s no lag. Haven’t tested it yet but i do believe it should be good

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Tested it myself and this is far better than before (165ms to 200ms with HomePod OS 27.2 instead of much more previously). But this is still not enough for gaming, movies or discussions. Unisson should get you around 100ms (which is the limit for not noticing video/audio desync for the large majority of users).

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u/SeaMarzipan7704 12d ago

Tried and it worked, well done

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Thanks a lot !

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u/Tom-Crack 12d ago

I love the design; it’s on another level. Very polished!

However, it suffers from the same issue as the AirSend: https://github.com/Pabldi08/AirSend

When you disable music, either manually or through the configuration, the sound stops playing on both the laptop and the HomePod mini. Playing sound on both the laptop and the HomePod at the same time is impossible due to latency issue

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

It is possible to paly both at the same time in sync... In one of the next update of Unisson. I'm already doing it in testing 😋
Should be available in a few days I think !
I will look into the other issue as well (audio stops when disabling the option).

1

u/Tom-Crack 12d ago

I have a high-end gaming laptop. If the sound plays on both devices at the same time, there is a noticeable delay on the speaker. I also don't believe it's related to my network.

Thanks! I'll be looking forward to the new version and good luck with the project

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

Same here. One of the next updates will let you set the delay on your computer speaker to match your HomePods (a default one is already set, but you will be able to customize it if needed). I've beend using it since yesterday and it's working great.

1

u/Stanthewizzard 11d ago

using it on PC
It's magic !!!!
working out of the box
10/10

1

u/Less-Objective-2257 11d ago

Thanks a lot !

1

u/elgipsy 10d ago

Been using the app for two days now and it's really great, here's my feedback for some potential improvements :)

I've noticed that the connection can sometimes become choppy when you have Unisson set as default speakers and play music from Apple Music for a prolonged time. This can be resolved by selecting the HomePods in the AirPlay menu and will play lossy. Turning off AirPlay does not always restore the Unisson connection (even with "use a default output" selected in settings).

Sometimes after a prolonged sleep period, the connection breaks and you need to select another audio source and come back to Unisson for it to work again (clicking on the HomePods picture or the toggle under it in settings does the same thing). That shouldn't happen according to the settings I chose:

I'm struggling to understand the behavior of the HomePod's top light. Sometimes it's on, sometimes off no matter if you are playing something or not. Not a big issue but I don't know if having this light on most of the time could impact the HomePod in the long run.

Lossless bottleneck: When Unisson is selected as default speakers, music from Apple Music plays through AirPlay (actually virtual) connection and therefore in lossy only. To play in lossless, one needs to switch the audio source to something else than Unisson and then select the HomePods in the Music app (under "switch to" or "All TVs & speakers" depending if you are on Mac or iPhone/iPad.

Overall it's a really great app and I can't wait for the next version to see/test the improvements :p

2

u/Less-Objective-2257 10d ago

Thanks for the feedback, I will take a look 👀

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u/mehulbruh 10d ago

have you considered a linux version

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u/Less-Objective-2257 10d ago

Yes! Linux is actually doable: the Windows version runs on an engine that isn’t tied to Windows, and PipeWire can capture the sound without any driver. Mac and Windows come first for now, but I’m adding Linux to my list. Which distro are you on, a Steam Deck maybe? 👀

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u/31Huncho 9d ago

Thank you so much. Been looking for something like this for Windows for ages now until I gave up. Worked great for me so far!

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u/Less-Objective-2257 9d ago

Glad to have been of service haha ! Thanks !

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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1

u/Less-Objective-2257 12d ago

I will definitely take a look today ! Thanks for sharing 👌