Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Mini Jack vs Lightning
Any differences if routing signal from ipad out from mini jack or through lightning?
Did You experienced any problems with any of this outs?
Any limitations?
Comments
Out of lightning is as I’m sure everyone is aware- a higher quality signal. I struggle to tell the difference though with the distorted racket I am making. The only problem I have ever had is with the mini jack having a slight occasional connection crackle.
So out of the lightning is the best option all round- it’s totally solid- but it’s also more expensive.
With my setup, at least, the mini jack is much noisier. To get hot enough gain levels, I have to crank the iPad’s output above halfway. There is, then, a faint but constant noise floor, which is visible on the interface meters. This is with an Air 1 and a MOTU 828mk3. I only tried it a few times, and last time was over a year ago, so I’m working from fuzzy memories. I remember trying a couple of different cables too, but it didn’t help.
The digital connection with Lightening is clean and quiet. I’ve used MusicIO, Studiomux, and IDAM. Only way to go, IMO. Can’t imagine working with mini jack, but I know people do.
What exactly are you trying to compare here ?
One is an analogue headphone output, the other is a universal digital bus that can be connected to all manner of analogue and digital audio hardware that bypasses the iPad/iPhone internal audio hardware entirely.
They cant be compared.
Yup.
It is probably that freakin’ voltage to power headset mics. Wish it could be disabled.
Exactly. But if you start to compare them you should maybe talk about how is the use with lightning to mini jack connector. And pratical speaking what do you think of this adapter and signal it gives.
Well. on this forum are not only advanced users, but begginers too (me)
I'm sure that outs are comparable (quality, capabilities, pross and cons)
To be honest a proper audio interface connected to the lightning port will be always be much better. This applies to MacBooks and laptops/desktops as well. Just use an interface. The only pro for the headphone jack is you can use headphones without needing to lug around extra hardware. But for serious work it's not really comparable.
No they are not comparable at all, it is like comparing a car to a human.
The headphone socket is an audio interface, if you want to compare then compare it to any of the vast plethora of IOS capable USB audio interfaces that can be connected to the lightning port.
Dont expect people to start making things up (quality, capabilities, pros and cons) because you are "a beginner" if they do you will remain a beginner forever.
It all depends on what one plugs in into the Lightning port.
When using the Apple Lightning->3.5mm jack there is just about zero difference but when connecting an external audio-interface the difference becomes more clear and when using the lightning->usb cable to pipe the audio digitally from iOS to the Computer it's like, why even bother using the 3.5mm jack...
Output on ios devices is pretty decent, but even the budget interfaces(at least if you buy the right one) can give noticeably better sound output. Or well it depends on what you monitor with if you hear the difference. There is also some processing done to the signal on mini jack, turn on measurement mode from some app(its not too common for apps to have it, but if you turn it on in one, its on for whole device) to get rid of it.
I have always been somewhat confused by audio interfaces, mainly because I haven't owned one yet! The mystifying part is how to connect several iDevices as sound sources to one main ipad/audio interface, keeping the signal digital all the way. Possible? The humble newbie would think you can just use lightning to usb from the sound source ipads, and connect this into an audio interface which has usb input ports. But my impression is that such usb input ports only work for usb midi peripherals, and not for transmitting audio. True? Why ...
Does that mean one would always need to convert from lightning to mini-jack or something similar in this setup with 3-4 idevices and an interface?
I see there is some talk about audio over usb-c for future audio interfaces, perhaps that will also allow usb audio in.
To send digital audio and midi from one ios thing to another, you need a special product called the iconnectaudio4+.
If you don't care about keeping things digital, and don't need to pass midi between ithings, then you can use any audio interface, connected to ithing#1 (with apple's pricey camera connection kit, as a USB to Lightning adapter). Then you can just plug the headphone out of ithing#2 into the audio inputs of the interface, the way you would any other piece of external gear. You may need an 1/8" stereo plug to 2x 1/4" mono plug cable.
If you use a laptop, as well as ios things, you can forego the special interface, and connect the ithings to the laptop with their usb ("sync") cables, and either use apple's protocol they introduced a couple OS versions back, or use an app called Studiomux.
Just get an audio device and avoid using the mini jack unless you have no other option. If quality is not an issue, like you just need to hear something, then use whatever, even the built-in speakers.