• From: Hamburg / Germany
  • Registered: 2013-09-01
  • Posts: 18

Topic: Routing from Total Mix to a device connected via bluetooth?

Hi,
I want to have a speaker in my bathroom playing some rainforrest ambience while I am able to produce in the studio. I have a speaker connected using bluetooth but I don't know how to get the signal from total mix to the bluetooth speaker.
I am on windows 10 and the main output of my interface (fireface 802, using the aes ebu) is the one I have to choose in windows Soundmanager to get the total mix output connected. Is there any way to do this? Alternatively I would have to connect a bluetooth transmitter to one of my headphones out and send it from there but well if there was another way I would prefer to use it.

Thanks for helping

2 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2022-07-16 09:16:50)

  • ramses
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: UTC+1
  • Registered: 2012-10-14
  • Posts: 13,197

Re: Routing from Total Mix to a device connected via bluetooth?

The cleanest way would be to use a cable from 802 to an active monitor. Then you can create submixes as you like towards the active monitor and you will have no hassles with bluetooth if there are walls in between.

There is no way to integrate bluetooth devices into TotalMix, this makes no sense at all.

You need to see it from application perspective. An application loads the RME driver, by this the application can access the audio hardware and TM FX enables for routing and other features.
How should TotalMix FX now get access to additional Bluetooth speakers ?
And application is additionally only able to load one audio driver.

If you insist to use this bluetooth speaker then get an USB Bluetooth adapter, plug it to your computer, pair it with your bluetooth speaker and play music. But I fear you will get problems with connectivity. Distance, walls, negative impact to USB recording infrastructure the more USB devices you add.

Maybe better alternative, get an old smartphone with bluetooth, install a music player and place the smartphone together with the bluetooh speaker in the bathroom area. Then you should have less / no trouble with connectivity.
And .. you have your recording PC clean .. every added USB device can impact the recording interface if they share e.g. the same USB controller and what not ...

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
  • Registered: 2022-05-10
  • Posts: 1

Re: Routing from Total Mix to a device connected via bluetooth?

Just found out a solution which works for my use case (using UFX+ connected to a Windows 10 machine). I wanted to send audio from Reaper directly to a Bluetooth device to check out how the mix sounds on consumer devices, while also sending the audio through ASIO, and not have to switch devices from Reaper.

My solution goes like this:

1. Enable a random channel in Total Mix which you don't normally use (in my case it's ADAT 15/16). Make sure it's visible in all 3 sections (Hardware Inputs, Software Playback and Hardware Outputs).
2. Configure your device such that the channel is accessible by the OS (in my case I went to MADIface Series Settings -> WDM Devices -> Configure -> the WDM Devices tab -> check ADAT 15/16, this will vary with the device and OS)
3. You should now see the channel both as an input and as an output in your OS. You want to use it as an input which has monitoring (listening) active. In Windows this is configured from the Sound Control Panel -> Recording -> ADAT 15/16 -> Properties -> Listen -> check Listen to this device. You should also set it as the default input device, and set the Bluetooth device as the output device.
4. VERY IMPORTANT! I would just turn off every speaker connected to your interface, because the chances of blowing your windows out because of a feedback loop are not negligible if you're not careful. Also double check in Total Mix to have your speakers muted, your chosen Bluetooth channel not routed to your speakers, etc.
5. Go to your chosen Bluetooth channel in Hardware Outputs and enable Loopback. This will send the output of the channel back into the input channel with the same name.
6. Open your DAW, add your Bluetooth channel as an output channel and you can play the sounds from there.

Here's a tutorial video from RME about how loopback works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6PTnFo0cfQ

Hope this helps!

Also, RME for life!! If every company would design their products as good as RME does, the world would be a much better place! I'm still geeking out about how easily I was able to solve this for my use case.

4 Reply by Ninbura (edited by Ninbura 2023-09-27 21:41:03)

  • From: Utah, USA
  • Registered: 2020-10-08
  • Posts: 104

Re: Routing from Total Mix to a device connected via bluetooth?

It's quite easy to integrate Bluetooth with a cheap consumer grade transmitter. I have an Avantree Orbit connected to my UFX+ via toslink and it works great without the need for extra routing through Windows.

2x MADI FX | Digiface Dante | Fireface UFX+ | ADI-192 DD