Connecting to an audio system

HouseCurve measures your audio system by listening to it play a test signal. There are several ways to send the test signal to the audio system as shown in the diagram below.

connecting housecurve

Airplay or Bluetooth

HouseCurve can connect to the audio system wirelessly using AirPlay or Bluetooth. Tap at the top right of the screen to see a list of wireless outputs.

Note - Connections established using the iOS Control Center or Apple Music are not recognized by HouseCurve (this is an iOS limitation related to long form audio and recording).

Some implementations of AirPlay and Bluetooth struggle with short segments of audio and will not work with HouseCurve. This can be compounded by long playback delay/buffering, for example, running a convolution engine (FIR filters).

If you encounter problems with wireless connections, try a wired connection or externally played sweeps.

Wired

HouseCurve automatically detects and uses USB audio and analog (ex: Lightning to 3.5mm adapter) connections. Wired connections override wireless ones.

Externally played sweeps

Use this method when direct connection isn’t possible, or if wireless methods are not working. The audio system is responsible for playing the test signal and HouseCurve will listen for it when measure is tapped.

The test signal can be downloaded by going to Measure Setup and changing the Stimulus Type to External Sine Sweep. The chirp and sweep channel settings are used to generate the file.

The file can be saved to any network drive visible to the iPhone/iPad (iCloud, Samba, etc). Alternatively, you can save locally and share with text message, email, AirDrop, etc.

HouseCurve must stay in the foreground when taking measurements. If you need to use your iPhone/iPad to trigger the playback of the test signal, put the player into single song repeat. You can then switch back to HouseCurve and capture measurements as needed.

Note - External stimulus mode overrides any wireless or wired connection. The AirPlay button will be disabled.

HouseCurve on macOS

HouseCurve can be used on a macOS computer with Apple silicon (ex M1 chipset), however it is not currently supported. Audio input/output must be controlled through the system sound settings, not the app itself. Mac microphones have not been tested for use with HouseCurve. An external microphone is recommended.