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.

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Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Sennheiser Ambeo smart headset

Got told by a mate while on the phone last week that my headset mic is shot as when I pocketed it, my voice went muffled so thinking I need a new one.. Went looking for interesting replacements and came across these ones which while they were £300 when first released are widely available for around £60 right now... anyone had experience with them?

They sound pretty cool, recording binaurally, as well as working as a normal headset so an interesting field recording option, or are they just consumer rubbish?

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Comments

  • edited August 2020

    Hi Krupa,
    I bought a set of Ambeo smart earbuds online at more or less the price you mentioned. They were really expensive when they first came out 2 years ago.
    I couldn't be more happy with them.

    On the posistive side:

    • The ability to record in binaural is priceless for me. Having a stereo mic on your head all the time is just amazing for capturing sounds. I even have decent result recording acoustic instruments straight into cubasis. ( you ll need to normalize it after)

    • the normal mono mic for phone conversation is way better ( cleaner and with less hiss) than the one in the apple earbuds ( the one with a wire). It can also be used for mono recordings with decents results.

    • it has a pretty decent active noise cancelation

    • Has this nice feature called sound awareness that let you actually listened your environement while listening to music or recording sounds.

    • for listening music I personally find them good, they have a sort of a flat response. Not bassy neither bright. ( a lot of people don t like them for that).

    On the negative side

    • the remote control ( actually its a AD converter by Apogee) is a bit big but you get use to it ( without it it would be impossible to get all of this in a headset.

    • The recording level is low compared to what we are used to with condenser mic but they are mainly designed to capture sound in an outdoor environment so they probably limited the recording input. For field recording it will be perfect, for instruments recording or conversation you ll need to normalize the recording.

    • they don t have a wind shield ( unlike the Roland binaural mic) and they can potentially be sensitive to wind noise during outdoor recordings.

    • the sporty shape factor is not of my favourite but you get use to it too.
      .........................

    So all in one and at this price it s acomplete steal.
    You won't regret it.

    This and just an Iphone loaded with cubasis an Koala and you ll have an always ready recording studio in your pocket.

    Hope that help
    Regards

  • @Krupa said:
    Got told by a mate while on the phone last week that my headset mic is shot as when I pocketed it, my voice went muffled so thinking I need a new one.. Went looking for interesting replacements and came across these ones which while they were £300 when first released are widely available for around £60 right now... anyone had experience with them?

    They sound pretty cool, recording binaurally, as well as working as a normal headset so an interesting field recording option, or are they just consumer rubbish?

    there is another thread on this ( maybe it’s the headphone thread? ) these were mentioned and the price drop pointed out.. obviously due to them only being lightning socket things.
    i managed to get a set for under £50 new on the old Bay of E .. and I have to say they are NOT BAD ,
    not much control over level but the ‘natural’ setting seems to cover field recording aok and it seems to have a lot of automatic stuff going on in the background , they even seem to deal with a light breeze outdoors ok, but they definitely need some kind of furry stick-on to deal with the more ‘robust’ uk weather for field recs, i’m trying to fashion something diy for this right now.
    i have DPA 4060’s and diy ear binaural clips for them but the Ambeo thing is super convenient as it’s all i need to carry along with the phone and it already doubles as nice ‘in ear’ headphones so no reason not to have them in yr pocket.. that’s a win..
    replace the silicone ear bungs with In Air or Comply foams though for a proper seal.
    apple seem to be bringing the lightning socket back on lower price range new phones so maybe not so redundant in the end. plus as they are lightning headphones if you have a new “brave” phone with no headphine socket then these are already sorted! :)

    i use an iphone 6s and record direct into Audioshare , no problems.
    there is a field audio example from an AB member in that other thread, a better demo than any of the hipster vids on youtube,

  • Ah cheers both, I did search ambeo but didn’t turn anything up, I’ll hunt there, they sound like they’re the kind of fun in after, though wind round here is always a nightmare... cheers!

  • I've mentioned them a few time on the forum - I think they're absolutely awesome. I spent the whole of last summer researching the best option for field recording with an iPhone and in the end this was the best option at any price for me, but the price drop made it even better.

    They are able to create excellent stereo recordings that are extremely immersive. The other benefit is that they allow you to record straight into Audioshare, so managing and cataloguing files is really easy. The biggest drawback of traditional field recorders for me is that the whole file management and file transfer aspect becomes a real chore, so I wanted something that allowed me to record straight into the phone, where I can listen and sort the files much more easily.

    The best way to avoid wind noise is to wear a suitable hat, a wooly beany for example :)

    Here are some samples:

    Woodpecker

    Waves

    Birds

  • Oh wow they’re ace, thanks @richardyot i think qvc (of all places🤣) is finally going to see some of my money as they’ve got them for forty five including delivery, Does buying from qvc mean I’m officially Middle Aged? 😆

  • edited August 2020

    @richardyot said:
    I've mentioned them a few time on the forum - I think they're absolutely awesome. I spent the whole of last summer researching the best option for field recording with an iPhone and in the end this was the best option at any price for me, but the price drop made it even better.

    They are able to create excellent stereo recordings that are extremely immersive. The other benefit is that they allow you to record straight into Audioshare, so managing and cataloguing files is really easy. The biggest drawback of traditional field recorders for me is that the whole file management and file transfer aspect becomes a real chore, so I wanted something that allowed me to record straight into the phone, where I can listen and sort the files much more easily.

    The best way to avoid wind noise is to wear a suitable hat, a wooly beany for example :)

    Here are some samples:

    Woodpecker

    Waves

    Birds

    Do you have a link for the wooly beanie?

    The quality of those recordings is excellent.

  • Yeah the beanie is a great idea 👏 I went ahead and ordered one in the basis of those recordings, runs in the woods will never be the same again

  • @Krupa Which online retailer did you order from?

  • @richardyot said:
    I've mentioned them a few time on the forum - I think they're absolutely awesome. I spent the whole of last summer researching the best option for field recording with an iPhone and in the end this was the best option at any price for me, but the price drop made it even better.

    They are able to create excellent stereo recordings that are extremely immersive. The other benefit is that they allow you to record straight into Audioshare, so managing and cataloguing files is really easy. The biggest drawback of traditional field recorders for me is that the whole file management and file transfer aspect becomes a real chore, so I wanted something that allowed me to record straight into the phone, where I can listen and sort the files much more easily.

    The best way to avoid wind noise is to wear a suitable hat, a wooly beany for example :)

    Here are some samples:

    Woodpecker

    Waves

    Birds

    hehe! i didn’t think of the wooly hat solution! good call, though i will continue with my double sided tape and 3cm x 2cm fur diy solution too... despite the fact it will make me look like one of those old men that has an entire guinea pig of hair growing out of their ears!

  • @Krupa said:
    Oh wow they’re ace, thanks @richardyot i think qvc (of all places🤣) is finally going to see some of my money as they’ve got them for forty five including delivery, Does buying from qvc mean I’m officially Middle Aged? 😆

    hell! £45 from qvc... i may have to get a backup/gifter set!

  • @Krupa said:
    Oh wow they’re ace, thanks @richardyot i think qvc (of all places🤣) is finally going to see some of my money as they’ve got them for forty five including delivery, Does buying from qvc mean I’m officially Middle Aged? 😆

    damn, they seem to be £55 now... with a £5 off for yr first purchase... i am willing to embrace old age for a better price though... at least they are the black ones which are less common .. maybe the white ones were 45 but you got the last one?

  • Oh sorry, auto correct made it forty and I didn’t notice, was fifty five, but there’s voucher you can use FIVE4U that takes a fiver off... @RockySmalls and @lukesleepwalker was QVC the shopping channel, just came up lowest price on duck duck go so I thought, at least I know they’re real, used to love seeing the nervous sales folk waiting in their reception when taking the train into Victoria station in London, they always looked a bit green 🤣

  • thanks !
    is fab :)
    playing with it right now.
    best bang for the buck lately!!!!
    thanks again !!!!

  • The pros and cons up thread seems to reflect how I'm finding these. I tend to use a lot of "real world" sounds in my music, so these will be perfect - and really perfect for collecting "found sounds" where messing round with a digital recorder (either one of the cheaper (or cheapest!) Zoom models, or a Tascam iM2 attached to an old iPhone 4s) is a little bit too obvious and visible.

    Having said that I suspect that I will end up using both, depending on what it is I want to record. A couple of "gotchas" I noticed were a) not to scratch ones ears whilst recording (or anywhere on your face - especially if you haven't shaved that morning - unless you are going for a percussive effect), b) don't move your head from side to side whilst recording.

    On the other thread I posted a link to this track I made using the Ambeo headset - all ambient sounds were captured "in real time" whilst I was improvising away using AUM on an iPhone whilst sat on a sea wall with the tide rapidly coming in. No other processing apart from fade in/fade out in Audioshare.

  • I have this earphones since about 2 years, and find them very good. You can’t go wrong with Apogee converters and Sennheiser microphones anyway. As already mentioned, ideal for ambient recordings.

    What is important for my ears is that these earphones hold on the top part of the ears, so they never fall down. Usual earbuds never hold in my ears, they drop after short time, when I move my jaw or turn my head. There are three different exchangeable sizes of thingies (don’t know what it’s called) for different ear forms.

  • edited September 2021

    EDIT -- didn't realise that this was a newer thread than the original so apologies for the duplicate post.


    Used these mics to record a very special performance in a ‘first person perspective’. I’ll tell you more about it soon!





    ULUU KUDAY BAKHSY

  • if anyone did it already - I need help doing/buying a windjammer (furry) for these mics!
    so if you did it - pls post here clear ways to get/do it/fake it.
    thanks BIG TIME !!!!!

  • HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

  • @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

  • @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I don't have a Lightning to USB-C connector so I'm not able to test. But since they're specifically Lightning headphones I wouldn't really expect them to work with USB-C.

  • edited February 2023

    @richardyot said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I don't have a Lightning to USB-C connector so I'm not able to test. But since they're specifically Lightning headphones I wouldn't really expect them to work with USB-C.

    The Ambeos definitely work in stereo on my iPad Pro 3rd gen with the Anker adapter - the 3d recording also works - I use TW recorder and it's pretty impressive.

    If you look on ebay, Anker are selling the adapters and you can actually make an offer - I got mine for £4 less than the asking price.

  • Thanks Nige! Yeah I would have been very surprised if an adapter wouldn't work. Likely going to buy these, cheers! > @enkaytee said:

    @richardyot said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I don't have a Lightning to USB-C connector so I'm not able to test. But since they're specifically Lightning headphones I wouldn't really expect them to work with USB-C.

    The Ambeos definitely work in stereo on my iPad Pro 3rd gen with the Anker adapter - the 3d recording also works - I use TW recorder and it's pretty impressive.

    If you look on ebay, Anker are selling the adapters and you can actually make an offer - I got mine for £4 less than the asking price.

  • @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I was speaking with apogee technical support and all was because my iOS version!! At least 14.6 didnt work with the anker adapter. Also they told me one of the black anker models don’t work for the ambeos, but the white dongle should be fine

  • @Synthi said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I was speaking with apogee technical support and all was because my iOS version!! At least 14.6 didnt work with the anker adapter. Also they told me one of the black anker models don’t work for the ambeos, but the white dongle should be fine

    Oh wow, maybe I'll just buy an official appstore one

  • edited February 2023

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I was speaking with apogee technical support and all was because my iOS version!! At least 14.6 didnt work with the anker adapter. Also they told me one of the black anker models don’t work for the ambeos, but the white dongle should be fine

    Oh wow, maybe I'll just buy an official appstore one

    The one I got on ebay is official and is sold direct by Anker. The black ones don't seem to be available any more.

  • @enkaytee said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I was speaking with apogee technical support and all was because my iOS version!! At least 14.6 didnt work with the anker adapter. Also they told me one of the black anker models don’t work for the ambeos, but the white dongle should be fine

    Oh wow, maybe I'll just buy an official appstore one

    The one I got on ebay is official and is sold direct by Anker. The black ones don't seem to be available any more.

    I found the online apple store near me doesn't have any in stock, just gonna try my luck with a Chinese brand I found. Fingers crossed, reviews seem decent tho

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • @ehehehe said:
    I can't really see the use case for omni mics placed at ear level, unless you are doing some kind of ambience for film. The Sony PCM D10 is out of production, but works great

    I use my homemade binaural head (named Larry) for recordings all the time. It really adds a lot of depth. Here he is at a recording done at the College of Mt. St. Vincent in the Bronx:

    If you are interested, you can hear it here (main pair is my line audio cm4’s and Larry was about 15 feet back)

  • edited February 2023

    @Gavinski said:

    @enkaytee said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:

    @Gavinski said:

    @Synthi said:
    HI! I got two pairs of Ambeo that I have permanent attached to my upright and grand piano (I find them great as a spaced omni pair, an they work better than my earthworks TC30s in the piano!) . I`ve been using them for recording with the iPad pro 10´5 and iphone6. Now I want to use the ARi4 (no lightning connector) so I got an Anker lightning to USB-c converter, but the Ambeo headset works in Mono! but in audioshare and in AUM. Anyone using a converter to USB-C that can guide me?? its supossed to work with the anker...

    I'm quite interested in getting a pair of these. So are you saying that using a lightning to USB C adapter will make them sound mono? That would be a deal breaker. Maybe @richardyot or someone could comment on this 🙏

    I was speaking with apogee technical support and all was because my iOS version!! At least 14.6 didnt work with the anker adapter. Also they told me one of the black anker models don’t work for the ambeos, but the white dongle should be fine

    Oh wow, maybe I'll just buy an official appstore one

    The one I got on ebay is official and is sold direct by Anker. The black ones don't seem to be available any more.

    I found the online apple store near me doesn't have any in stock, just gonna try my luck with a Chinese brand I found. Fingers crossed, reviews seem decent tho

    Let us know how you get on - the Anker cable is certified 'made for iPhone' so the the usb-c side meets Apple standards - at least that's what they say!

  • Listening to audio examples of the AMBEO, I notice there seems to be quite a lot of self-noise/nose-floor. Has anyone been able to compare them to Lom mikroUši or EM272?

    These seem so low-profile and that makes them useful…but for the hiss.

    Thanks

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